This one will most likely be finished in another chapter. I have more ideas about Cordelia going to school, too many to post all together. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!
Cordelia stood in front of the mirror, beaming at her reflection. She was dressed in her new school uniform, preparing for her first day of kindergarten. She admired the navy blue jumper and white collared shirt underneath. I look like a big girl.
Fiona walked in, noticing the little girl staring at herself in awe. She laughed, happy that her daughter was so excited to enter school. Cordelia was bright and very pretty. Fiona knew that she would do well.
"Let's fix your hair. We have to hurry," she added as an after-thought. They weren't normally up this early and hadn't had time to fall into any sort of routine yet.
"Ow!" Cordelia exclaimed as her mother ran a brush hurriedly through her hair.
"Sit still and it wouldn't hurt," Fiona snapped, growing impatient with the long blonde curls. "If we don't hurry then you'll be late for your first day of school. You don't want that, do you?"
She began gathering the mass of hair back into her hands to form a ponytail.
"I don't want a ponytail," she said quickly.
"Well then what do you want?" she cried out in frustration. They were already almost late.
"I want it down. I want everyone to see how long it is," she chimed in a sing-song way.
"It's all in your face and it'll be tangled together like a bird's nest by lunchtime. You'll look like a ragamuffin and no daughter of mine will be seen looking like someone off the street."
"What if you just pull this part back?" Cordelia negotiated. "I just don't want it all up."
"Fine." She pulled the strands of her hair back hurriedly, Cordelia beaming with excitement despite the pain in her scalp.
"C'mon we have to get going."
Cordelia hurried behind her mother. "What about breakfast?"
Fiona turned on her heel and headed for a nearby cabinet.
She yanked a box of sugary cereal from the cabinet and hastily poured some into a container. "You can eat this on the bus."
Cordelia rushed behind her mother, attempting to match the longer stride as she made her way to the door.
"Here. Put on your backpack."
Cordelia slipped her arms through the straps of the yellow backpack with daisies on it, one she had specifically picked out herself. "Do I look like a big girl?"
"Yes, you look very big. Now we have to go. C'mon." Fiona ushered towards the door exasperatingly.
The pair rushed outside, Cordelia skipping along the sidewalk the whole way.
"You'll walk out here every morning, alright? You need to stand right her at the end of the street and the bus will pick you up."
Cordelia nodded and began scanning the area for the bus. She was so excited to be able to go to school, to make friends.
The bus came into view and Fiona was relieved. She'd been worried that they'd missed it.
"It's getting close, mommy!"
"I see it, Delia. Be good at school. The bus will drop you off here in the afternoon."
Cordelia was barely listening as the bus lurched to a stop in front of them. The doors opened and Cordelia all but burst through them. She waved to her mother as the doors closed, Fiona waving back.
Her heart lurched at the sight of Cordelia. She wasn't an infant anymore, or a chubby toddler constantly underneath her feet. She was old enough to go to school. What will I do without Cordelia for eight hours? She wasn't sure, but she knew the break would be nice. She would think of something.
The bus doors shut. Cordelia turned to see what felt like a million strange faces looking at her. The driver was an older lady with a gruff voice who smelled heavily of cigarette smoke.
"Sit down, mon cherie," she said with a thick Cajun accent.
Cordelia froze. Where would she possibly sit? She didn't know any of these people. She quickly found an empty seat close to the front and plopped down in it.
Her and her mother normally moved around a lot, not really providing much chance for Cordelia to make any friends. She listened to a few conversations near her, curious as to what they were talking about. Two boys in front of her talked passionately about baseball and the two girls across the aisle were giggling and chattering over a book in one girl's hand.
Maybe she could make friends with them. She loved to read. Maybe another day though.
The school came into view and the bus stopped. The students began exiting and Cordelia followed suit. They made it through the glass double doors and then they all began to scatter, some going left, others straight, some into another set of double doors. Cordelia froze. She had no idea where to go.
Everyone else looked so big to her, no one that could be in her class. She decided to go right first, but everything looked the same. No matter how many hallways she turned down, she couldn't seem to find a place that looked like where she needed to be.
It wasn't long before the bell rang, startling Cordelia. The hallways emptied and she felt like crying. She just wanted to get back on the bus and go home.
She turned down another hallway and found what looked like a teacher standing outside of one of the doorways. Cordelia felt her staring at her. She wanted to ask for help but she didn't know what to say.
"Are you lost, sweetheart?" Cordelia nodded, her chin quivering slightly. She'd been so excited about her first day and she was already messing up. Her teacher would probably yell at her.
"What grade are you in?"
"Kindergarten," she answered timidly.
"Ok, why don't you come with me? I'll help you find your class."
Cordelia felt relieved. "Thank you."
"No trouble. It's not safe to wander the halls. What's your name?"
"Cordelia Goode."
"That's a beautiful name. We'll go to the office and find out what room you're in. I'm Ms. Davis. Have you ever been to your class before?"
Cordelia shook her head again. It was the first day, how could she have been here before?
"That's alright. We'll figure it out." They weaved in and out of a few hallways and eventually ended up at the glass doors where the bus had dropped her off.
"This is where I walked in when I got off the bus!"
"Oh good! Then I'll teach you how to get to class every day. That way you won't get lost again."
Upon discovering the name of her teacher, Mrs. Thibodeaux, the pair walked to her classroom. Cordelia felt confident that she could find her classroom, and felt better about her day. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.