Chapter eight
School is now in session
The first day of school was a day a lot of children dreaded. Eight-year-old Wyatt had always been the exception as he loved going to school. He enjoyed learning new things and playing with his friends at recess. He also liked having a new teacher every year. This year he was heading into the third grade, an odd grade as he was no longer in the lower grades but not yet in the upper grades of primary school which ended with fifth grade. It was very clear that Six-year-old Chris (who was heading into the second grade) was different from his brother in most ways. One of those differences being he absolutely hated school, and he was definitely not looking forward to going back for yet another year. As for the four oldest girls in the family (Melinda, Kat, Tamora, and PJ) they were starting their very first year of primary school, starting with their first day of junior kindergarten. Melinda was excited but most of that excitement came from her believing that starting school would stop Chris from calling her a baby. The twins were also excited to start kindergarten, and their parents and every other adult who knew them, felt bad for their teacher who had no idea what was to come. PJ, on the other hand, felt anxious. PJ was a quiet and shy girl when around unfamiliar people, and to be starting school in a classroom she had only been in once taught by a teacher she had only talked to once with classmates she didn't know, well that was scary. Three-year-old Henry Junior was looking forward to heading back to daycare where he'd be around other mortal children, though he was under the impression his big sisters would still be in his class. His parents worried he wouldn't take well to being in a class without them, but since his sisters were both a year older than him… it was just something he was going to have to get used to. Luckily, he wouldn't be the only kid in his house in Mrs. Grace's class as his younger cousin Parker was now two years old and therefore old enough to join his class. However, this also meant Payton would be on her own in the "baby" daycare class. Payton spent a lot of time with Parker and Prue was worried Payton would get upset when she'd notice her cousin's absence. However, Andy believed that their sixteen-month-old daughter wouldn't notice at all.
Before the school year could start, the children needed to get their school supplies. To keep the youngest three children out of the way, Victor was taking Parker and Payton to the zoo while Sam had asked to take Henry Junior on a tour around the world...even though he was much too young to remember most of the trip. In previous years the entire family would go school shopping together but this had proved chaotic, so the children who weren't yet in school were being looked after by their grandfathers while the three sets of parents with school age children were taking just their own school age kids shopping. Piper had to work but Leo was free, so he was taking Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda shopping. Coop was supposed to be out fulfilling his cupid duties but there was no way he'd skip PJ's first school shopping experience, so he and Phoebe were taking just PJ to the mall. Henry and Paige both had urgent cases at work that couldn't be ignored or postponed. So, Prue had offered to take the twins school shopping at the mall while Andy would be busy with multiple charges getting themselves into trouble.
At the Walmart in the shopping mall, Leo brought his three kids over to the back to school section. He handed the boys their lists of their required school supplies and their baskets and told them to come find him if they needed help. He put his focus on helping his daughter collect everything she needed for school. Leo attempted to just point out the items she needed and have her pick them out and toss them into the shopping cart, but Melinda was more interested in grabbing random things and throwing them into the cart. "Melinda, stop that. You don't need a ruler, and you don't need ten boxes of pencils. Put all of this back and just get what I tell you." Melinda didn't listen and continued to take anything within reach and toss it into the cart. Leo started grabbing things out of the cart she didn't need and putting them back. He then lifted his daughter and dumped her into the cart. This didn't stop the telekinetic four-year-old. Leo grabbed a glue stick in mid air before anyone could see and put it back in the bin. "Knock it off or you're going home." Melinda huffed but she did listen and just sat in the cart calmly as her father emptied out the cart leaving only what Melinda actually needed. A pink pencil box, a box of Crayola markers, a box of crayons, a pack of the wooden no. 2 pencils, a couple glue sticks, a pack of erasers, and a pair of child safety scissors. "Okay, you're done, little witchling. You can look at your stuff while you wait for your brothers but don't put anything back or get anything else." Melinda nodded and picked up her box of crayons. Wyatt and Chris came around with full baskets a few minutes later and Leo looked through them while also checking the lists, to ensure they had what they needed and only what they needed.
. Two pencil boxes
. Coloured pencils
. No. 2 pencils
. Pencil grips
. Pencil sharpener
. Gluesticks
. Erasers
. Index cards
. Scissors
. Plastic folders
. Wide-ruled notebooks
. Ruler
Prue had taken the twins to the bag store and had thought it a good idea to leave them on their own at the school section while she went over to the baby section to pick out a new diaper bag for Payton. Kat loved the pink bag that had a white Kat on it and Tamora wanted it too. The problem was there was only one left. Kat took the bag off the rack and her sister tried to snatch it from her but Kat wouldn't let go. They both started pulling on the bag and yelling at each other to let go. Prue heard the commotion and quickly went over to defuse the situation. She took the bag from both of them. "If you can't decide nicely then neither of you can have it." Kat looked at her sister. "I took it first so I should get it." "I saw it first," Tamora argued back. "Did you?" Asked Prue. "Yes. I saw it and said it was really pretty and then Kat saw it." "Okay. Then I think it's fair that Tamora gets the bag." Kat crossed her arms but then decided to let it go. In the end, neither of the girls actually picked that bag. Kat spotted a Dora bag and Tamora had changed her mind when she spotted a white bag that had all the princesses on the front.
The morning had started off before the sun had begun to rise and had started with morning baths. Wyatt stepped into the shower in the first floor bathroom and the warm poured down onto him. Up in the second floor bathroom, Chris dumped too much of the children's shampoo into his hands. In the third floor bathroom, Leo was mixing shampoo into Melinda's hair as Kat was washing her body with the bar of soap. Tamora was waiting for her turn with the soap and was splashing through the water in the tub and PJ started screaming when a drop of shampoo got into her eye. Leo quickly retrieved a dry washcloth and wiped PJ's eye. In the fourth floor bathroom, Little Henry was playing with his rubber duck in the tub as his father had just finished cleaning him.
This year, Westcott elementary school had issued a new dress code. Girls and boys were to wear white button up shirts. Boys were to wear black or navy blue pants, and girls were to wear black or navy blue skirts. Both boys and girls were to wear black running shoes. Jewelry was no longer allowed but head attire was. Wyatt ran his brush through his short blonde hair as he looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, while Chris refused to brush his short brown hair because he believed unbrushed hair meant no school. Leo had the four oldest girls stand in a line as he brushed their hair. Melinda's brown hair was getting long now but PJ liked her brown hair short and so her parents often brought her to the salon to keep it short, although they weren't too fond of it. The twins both had short red curls. Henry brushed through little Henry's brown hair while Phoebe and Prue finally had available bathtubs to give Parker and Payton baths. Sitting in the tub, Payton looked up at her mother with her beautiful blue eyes, her dark-brown hair barely touched her ears. Parker's brown hair was finally getting long after being stuck at the same length for a year.
Down in the kitchen, Wyatt happily swung himself into his seat and poured himself a bowl of cheerios. Chris was seated at the table but wasn't eating, this was merely out of protest...as if skipping breakfast would get him out of school because surely his mother wouldn't send him to school hungry. Melinda had a bad tendency to set herself up when it came to Chris's teasing. She sat down at the table next to Wyatt and looked over at Chris and said to him, "you can't call me a baby anymore." "Why not?" "Because I go to school now." Chris snorted in response. "Kindergarten," he said. "Yeah, you're just a kindergarten baby." Melinda's face dropped and she orbed out of her chair. "Did you have to?" His mother coldly asked. Chris didn't reply.
Phoebe stood by the front door with Parker in her arms as the other children and adults scrambled around looking for their shoes, making sure they had their keys, and making sure not to forget their bags. Leo had to go to magic school. He hugged Wyatt and Melinda and wished them a good day and planted a kiss on Piper's lips but Chris wouldn't let him hug him goodbye and when Leo wished him a good day Chris's reply was, "good days only exist in the summer." Leo ignored him and summoned the magic door that led into magic school. Andy kissed his daughter's head before handing her to her mother and planting a kiss on Prue's lips before having to orb out because the Elders wanted a word with him. Parker looked up at her dad and reached out her arms towards him. Coop smiled at her and happily took her from Phoebe's arms into his own. He and Phoebe both knew that the days of holding their daughter in their arms were ending now that Parker was two-years-old. "Chris! Put on your shoes, I'm not telling you again," Piper snapped. He was getting on her last nerve. Chris ignored his mother, she may have won the clothing battle and the breakfast battle but she was not going to win the war. He was simply not going back to school. "Put your shoes on or leave them here. Either way, you're going." Chris let out a scream of frustration. "A tantrum? Seriously?" Melinda laughed and said, "look who's a baby now." In response to this, Chris angrily slapped her across her face. Now Melinda was crying and Piper was giving Chris a piece of her mind.
Since Prue didn't have any school-age children and had time before heading to work, she had been put in charge of taking little Henry, Parker, and Payton to daycare. She arrived at the daycare not a minute too soon after a long ride of Payton screaming because she hated being trapped in her carseat, and Parker complaining about Payton's screaming for the entire drive. Prue climbed out from the driver's seat and needed just a second of silence before getting the kids out. She was starting to wonder if she really wanted a second child. Having collected herself, she opened the back door and let Henry and Parker out first before collecting her own daughter.
Prue entered the daycare with Payton in her arms and the two older toddlers walking alongside her. Though they would come across the "baby" room first, it was easier to drop off the other two kids before Payton. So they passed Payton's room first and entered the classroom for the two and three year old's. Mrs. Grace was on her knees talking with a little boy when she spotted Prue and the children walk in. She finished talking to the boy who then ran off to play and she approached Prue and greeted her with a handshake before acknowledging the children. "Hello, Henry. Did you have a good summer?" "We went camping." "You went camping? Well that does sound like a good summer." Henry nodded in reply. "Hi, Parker. How are you?" "Good?" Parker replied in a small voice. "Okay, you go and play." Prue gave them a quick hug and chuckled as she watched them run off towards the toys. "Just let me grab my sign-in clipboard." Prue nodded.
Piper parked her car and Wyatt jumped out from the back after helping Melinda out of her carseat, but Chris refused to move. His mother watched him through the rearview mirror for a moment as Wyatt and Melinda waited outside of the car. "So, what's your big plan? Gonna wait me out? You can't use your powers in front of all these mortal kids and teachers so orbing isn't an option." Chris looked out the window at his brother and sister. "You have to take Melinda to kindergarten," he said. "And you're going to do what while I do that? Drive yourself home? Try that and I'll send Darryl and uncle Henry after you. Is juvie better than school?" Chris didn't answer that. Piper watched him for just a second longer and then said," fine, you want to play games...let's play." She got out of the car, opened the back door, unbuckled Chris, removed him from his carseat and started carrying him in her arms like a baby with him screaming and kicking, Wyatt and Melinda following along behind. Her two younger sisters were standing with their husbands and children in the parking lot and were laughing. Piper arrived at the kindergarten area with her kids. Mrs. Wellington came over to the gate. "Hello, Melinda! Are you excited for your first day!" Melinda nodded with a huge smile on her face. Mrs. Wellington unlatched the gate and Melinda wrapped her arms around her mom's waist in a hug. "Love you, have a great day," Piper told her. Melinda nodded and walked through the open gate. "You can go now, Wyatt. Love you and have a good day." Wyatt nodded and ran off towards the side of the building where the older kids played.
Piper carried Chris away as Coop and Phoebe arrived at the kindergarten area, both holding one of PJ's hands. Henry and Paige were right behind them. Coop and Phoebe dropped down to their knees and wrapped their arms around their daughter. "Remember what we talked about, okay? You don't need to be scared, Mrs. Wellington is very nice. If you have a problem you can tell her, and I'm sure you'll make some new friends, okay?" PJ nodded to her mother but was still nervous. Her parents got back up and Phoebe nodded to Mrs. Wellington who unlatched the gate again to let PJ in. "Don't worry, lots of kids are nervous on the first day. I'll keep an extra eye on her, make sure she settles in nicely and the other kids are nice to her," said Mrs. Wellington. "Thank you," Coop replied. Tears filled in Phoebe's eyes as the realization that her oldest baby was starting kindergarten settled in. Now on the other side of the gate, PJ kept her eyes on her parents as they waved and walked away. Then, once they were out of sight, PJ started to cry. Melinda heard and came over to her and gave her a hug in an attempt to comfort her. Henry and Paige stood in front of the twins. "Remember the rules we talked about. No… you know what. Behave, listen to your teachers, do your work, be nice to the other kids, don't get into any trouble, and have fun...but not too much fun." Tamora and Kat nodded, and their parents gave them a hug before sending them into the fenced in kindergarten play area.
Piper entered the school and carried the heavy six-year over to the second grade classroom. The door was open and Piper carried her son into the classroom. Chris was still kicking and screaming, throwing a complete tantrum. Mr. Andrews , who was standing at his desk, looked at them. It wasn't every day he saw one of his second graders having a meltdown and being carried into the classroom by their parent. "Mr. Andrews. This is Chris Halliwell. Refused to come in himself." Mr. Andrews merely nodded in reply. Piper put Chris down and he stopped screaming. "You can help me set up," his teacher told him. "I don't want to." "I didn't ask if you wanted to, and it wasn't optional. Chris, you don't disrespect your mother...who kindly drove you to school, and then come into my classroom kicking and screaming, and think you can just take a seat and wait for the bell." Chris didn't reply. "You could be outside like your brother and your friends but instead you chose to act like a four-year-old and now you get to help me set up. Or you can go join your sister in kindergarten. You can start by sharpening pencils." Chris sulked but did as he was told and Piper left with a grin on her face. The last thing he wanted was to go back to kindergarten.
The bell rang and just like last year, all the teachers emerged with their class lists. They called the names of their students to file them into the correct lines to ensure each child got to the correct classroom. Darryl Junior was now in the fourth grade and lined up with the rest of the fourth graders after fist-bumping Wyatt. Wyatt was called by a male teacher named Mr. Dawson and lined up with Carter, Austin, Dakota, Kennedi, Wesley, and the other third graders. Mr. Andrews had emerged from the school with Chris to ensure he didn't try to run away. Chris's friends Lily and Zoe lined up in front of Mr. Andrews as the rest of the second graders lined up behind them.
Mrs. Wellington had her students sit down on the carpet while she sat in front of them on her chair. "Good morning boys and girls, welcome to kindergarten. My name is Mrs. Wellington and I'm your teacher. What are your names?" At once, every child in the class shouted out their name. "Wow, everyone has such nice names. Does anyone have siblings?" Melinda, the twins, and PJ raised their hands as did a few other children. "Melinda, who are your siblings?" "Wyatt and Chris, they're big kids now." "Like teenager big?" One girl asked. "Nope, not that big." "PJ, how about you?" "I have a little sister. Parker." "Oh, that's nice." "No, she cries too much." "Well, that's what babies do, honey." "Parker's not a baby." "Oh...um, Tamora, you and Kat are sisters." Tamora nodded and for no reason at all decided to pull her sister's hair. "OW!" "Tamora, that wasn't nice. You need to say you're sorry." "I'm sorry."
Wyatt had been tasked with writing a paper on himself. Once he was finished, he had to stand at the front of the class and present it to his teacher and classmates. Wyatt didn't mind, he enjoyed presenting. When his teacher called him up, he happily obeyed and faced his class with a smile on his face.
Name: Wyatt
Date: September fifth, 2011
Hi! My name is Wyatt Halliwell and I am eight years old. I love going to school and playing with my friends and my brother and sister. Chris can be a jerk but he's not always like that, and Melinda is so cute. She laughs at everything. I love going to school because I like to learn new things and play with my friends. When I'm older, I want to do something with the law. My mommy's friend Darryl is a cop and his job sounds cool, and Uncle Henry deals with bad kids… he's a parole officer. That sounds cool too. Mom's job is boring and dad's job is boring. I like cowboys and food. I love cookies. I love playing and being a witch.
Wyatt put down his pencil and waved his finger forward. The pencil rolled off his desk. Wyatt giggled and picked up his pencil. Meanwhile in Chris's class, Mr. Andrews asked everyone to put down their pencils, he had given them the same task as Wyatt's class had been given. "Okay, who would like to present?" Mr. Andrews asked. A bunch of his students raised their hands but Mr. Andrews picked Chris because he had refused to do the assignment at first and wanted to ensure he had gotten it done. "I don't want to," Chris said. "Well, I told you too so you will." Chris shook his head and refused to move from his seat. "Okay, then you can stay in during recess and read it to me." Chris angrily banged a fist on his desk. "Nope. None of that or you can go straight to the office," Chris sulked with his arms folded at his chest but he didn't make another sound.
Mrs. Wellington had thought it a good idea to put the four girls at a table together with Alyssa and a boy named Nolan. They had been given sheets of white paper and instructed to draw their favourite animal. PJ was using her brown crayon to draw a big horse...that looked more like a straight line with feet, and Melinda was drawing a dog with her black crayon...which was mostly a human face with long ears. Tamora was attempting to draw a dragon but was growing frustrated because her drawing looked nothing like a dragon. She took out this frustration by scribbling all over her sister's drawing of a bunny. Kat freaked out and threw a handful of crayons at her sister causing her to scream and catching the attention of their teacher who walked over to them. "Tamora, is there a problem?" Tamora nodded and explained how Kat had thrown crayons at her and Kat made sure to add that Tamora had started the conflict by scribbling all over her bunny. Mrs. Wellington simply had the girls apologize to each other then returned to her desk. Kat looked at her sister's drawing. "What is that?" She asked. "A dragon." "That's an ugly dragon." Tamora started to cry and again, Mrs. Wellington came to investigate. "Kat said my dragon's ugly." "Oh. Kat, that wasn't nice. You need to say you're sorry." "No. I was telling the truth." Tamora cried harder and then became angry. She took her sister's paper and ripped it in half. "MY BUNNY!" Now Kat was crying and Tamora was in a foul mood. "Tamora, no, we don't rip pictures." Tamora started screaming and threw her whole case of crayons across the table hitting PJ and Alyssa in the face. Now they were crying alongside Kat and Tamora was throwing a full-blown tantrum. "Tamora! You need to stop right now. Go take a break in the corner." Tamora wouldn't listen as she continued to scream and bang the table, every other child watching her, Kat and PJ and Alyssa still crying. Mrs. Wellington had had enough, so she removed Tamora from her chair. "You two come with me, let's get you some ice. You, young lady, are going to the office." Tamora refused to walk, forcing her teacher to drag her while PJ and Alyssa followed.
At the daycare, one little girl was playing pretend doctor and giving the other kids checkups. Henry had decided to have a checkup. He sat in a plastic chair next to the girl who had a plastic Stethoscope around her neck and in her ears. She reached into the plastic bin with the other toy doctor tools and pulled out a thermometer which she stuck in his ear. She left it there for a few seconds before taking it out and looking at it. "Uh oh," she said. Little Henry looked up at her. "You're very sick," the girl told him. Thinking he was very sick for real, Henry Junior started to cry and the girl gave him a hug and then said, "it's okay. You're all better now. Not sick anymore." Henry ran off not wanting to play doctor anymore... just in case.
Back in Wyatt's class the students were solving subtraction questions. Wyatt had an easy time with this, but Dakota was struggling. "Wyatt, what's ten minus six?" Dakota whispered. "What's ten minus five?" Wyatt asked. "Five," Dakota answered. "So take away one more," Wyatt said. "Four, the answer is four," Dakota realized. Wyatt nodded and turned his attention back to his own worksheet and he solved the last question without any problems at all. It was only review, and he had mastered addition and subtraction.
Meanwhile Chris was writing a short story assignment. There was a rabbit and he loved carrots. He ran out one day so he called his mom. His mom had no carrots so rabbit was sad. His daddy gave him money and told him to buy some. He did and now rabbit is happy. Chris was very proud of his story and handed it in. Mr. Andrews said it was a good start but it needed to be longer. Chris took it back and added to it, but this proved difficult as he pondered over the words he had written. He couldn't think of what to add.
In Kindergarten, the girls were learning the first letter of the alphabet. It was a connect the dots activity. On each page the dots formed a letter of the alphabet. Melinda found this easy, PJ had more difficulty but caught on quickly. Tamora was doing her assignment in the office because she wasn't welcomed back to class until recess...to give her time to cool down. If she had one more violent incident that day, she would be suspended. Kat had never been good at connecting the dots and she was getting frustrated. She must have erased her work a good ten times. "Melinda, can you help me?" Kat asked. Melinda nodded, but she didn't understand what helping meant and therefore started completing Kat's work for her. Luckily, Mrs. Wellington noticed. "Melinda? Why are you doing Kat's work?" "She needed help," Melinda replied. "Oh. Well it was very nice of you to help her but you can't do it for her." "Then how do I help?" "You show her how and then let her try it." Melinda nodded as she now understood.
It was recess. Wyatt looked for Chris but didn't find him because he didn't know he had to stay on. Eventually, he gave up and joined his friends. They played a game of spies on the playground. "I'll go make sure the coast is clear," Austin stated. Austin went down the slide and walked around the playground. He pretended to get shot and fell to the ground. Wyatt slid down the pole beside the playground and pretended to heal Austin. Austin got up and followed Wyatt up the playground stairs. Meanwhile in the fenced in play area, the girls were playing tag with Alyssa and Allie. Allie was it and raced after Alyssa. Alyssa finally ran out of breath and Allie caught her. Alyssa gave the others a chance to run away from her and then chased after them. Kat was running and unfortunately tripped over a ball. She got a bad scrape on her knee and was bleeding. Mrs. Wellington brought her to the school nurse for a bandage. Once it was taken care of Kat rejoined the game. "I blew up the ball for you," Tamora whispered in Kat's ear. She pointed over to a pile of ashes. "Good, I won't tell," Kat whispered back. At the pre-school Parker and Henry were outside riding baby bikes. They got bored riding around and started using them as bumper cars. "Boom," Parker said as she bumped into Henry. "Henry, Parker, don't do that please, you could get hurt," Mrs. Grace stated. "Ok sorry," Henry said.
Back at the elementary school it was class time again. Wyatt's class was learning about the pioneer times. Mr. Dawson handed out question sheets. The class answered the question together. Chris's class was in the gym. The class was split into two teams. They were playing dodgeball. One of the balls rolled to Chris's feet. As he bent down to pick it up another one flew right over him. Chris threw the ball at the other team. A little girl caught it and threw it towards Chris's feet. Chris jumped to avoid getting hit. It worked for him but the ball hit one of his teammates behind him.
In Kindergarten the kids were at their tables. They were using building blocks to build towers. Melinda's tower was so high it came crashing down, a few blocks hitting her. She was startled but didn't cry.. Poor PJ didn't notice Nolan was stealing her blocks. When she reached for one she realized they were all gone. She looked under the table and behind her chair. She had to ask her teacher for more. Mrs. Wellington noticed Nolan had too many blacks and realized what happened. She had Nolan give PJ back her blocks. PJ soon after her teacher had walked away caught Nolan trying to steal them again and slapped his hand to stop him. "Don't you dare thief."
Back at the elementary school it was third period. Wyatt's class was now in the gym. His class was split up into two teams. They were playing soccer. Wyatt was the goalie for his team. Wesley had the ball and kicked it towards Wyatt. Wyatt stepped aside and reached out his arms. He caught the ball and tossed it to Mr. Dawson. Mr. Dawson put the ball down and the game continued. In Chris's class Mr. Andrews was teaching them how to use commas. Mrs. Andrews passed out practice exercise worksheets. Chris did his bed to add commas where necessary. He found this task a little difficult.
In Kindergarten the kids were having free time. The girls started a game of restaurant. The other children ordered and the girls pretended to cook and serve. "Melinda, why did you put the water bottle in the oven?" PJ curiously asked. "I did? Oh look at that, I did, silly me," Melinda stated. Melinda took the water bottle out of the oven and put it in the fridge. Then Alyssa came up to them and ordered a chicken. PJ put a plastic chicken on a play plate and handed it over to Alyssa. Alyssa paid invisible money and walked away. At the daycare the children were playing with play-do. Parker made a play do cookie and Henry made a play do hot dog. Parker stuck into her mouth and took a bite only to spit it straight out. "Yucky!" Her cousin was laughing at her. "You're not supposed to eat it. It's pretend food." "I don't like pretend food. It's yucky."
It was lunch time. Wyatt ate his baloney sandwich that had mustard on it, and drank apple juice. Chris ate his ham sandwich that had mayonnaise on it instead of mustard, and drank orange juice. Wyatt also ate: goldfish crackers, a cheese string, a strawberry yogurt and banana bear claws. Chris also ate: a cheese string, a blueberry yogurt and a fruit rollup. Melinda ate a beagle with cream cheese and drank grape juice. P. ate a jelly sandwich and drank lemonade. Tamora ate a turkey sandwich that had butter on it, and drank chocolate milk. Kate ate a salami sandwich and also drank chocolate milk. Melinda also ate gummy worms and a cheese string. PJ also ate a raspberry yogurt and a granola bar. Tamora also ate a yogurt bar and baby crackers. Kat also ate cheese and crackers. Mrs. Grace handed out animal crackers, small milk cartons and cheese strings. Parker didn't like cheese so she only took the crackers and milk. Henry took all three as usual.
At the end of the day, Wyatt collected Melinda and his three cousins from their classroom and led them onto the bus where Chris was already seated. (They had been dropped off by their parents that morning only because it was the first day. From now on, they'd be taking the bus to and from school.) The kindergarten kids had to sit in the front seats, the first- third graders in the middle seats and the older two grades in the back seats. Andy was awaiting the kids at the bus stop that was just up the street from the manor. Once the bus had dropped them off, Andy walked them home where Leo had just gotten and was now waiting for them so Andy could go pick up Henry, Parker, and Payton from daycare. "Uncle Andy!" Parker squealed, she ran into his arms. "Hi honey, did you have fun?" Andy asked. Parker nodded her head like crazy. "How about you?" He then asked little Henry, who also nodded as he too had had a good day. Andy then collected his own daughter from the baby class and brought the three kids home marking the end of the first day of the new school year… 2011.
