Chapter 4: First Day Of School

Emily was woken up by Vampirina knocking on the door and entering. "Wake up, sis," Vee said with a smile. "Today's your first day of school."

The younger girl didn't look thrilled. Last week, Oxana and Boris had taken her to the school to test and see what grade level she was and they found she was reading and learning at a first-grade level, which meant she would be in the same class as Vampirina. This relieved Oxana and Boris because that meant their youngest daughter wouldn't be alone and it would make school a bit easier if a familiar face was present with her.

Vampirina noticed her little sister didn't look very happy and understood. "I know. I was nervous my first day of school here too," she said. "But we're in the same class and you can meet Poppy and Bridget. They're my best friends. And Mr. Gore is our teacher and he's very nice."

Emily perked up a little at hearing they were going to be in the same class and looked at her closet. Smiling, Vee picked out a blue dress. "Mama thought you might like this dress for your first day," she said. "I'll let you get dressed and meet you downstairs."

Emily was soon dressed and Demi knocked politely on the door and smiled. "Oh, you look so cute in that dress," he said. "And I have blue hair ties to match your dress."

The young girl nodded and lightly tapped the top of her head and drew her finger downward towards the back. "A French braid?" Demi asked and she nodded. "One or two?"

She held up two fingers. "Okay," he said and quickly got to work, having Emily's black hair braided neatly into two French braid pigtails and tied off with not only blue hair ties, but blue ribbons that matched her dress. Emily smiled when she looked in the mirror and then she hugged Demi, who returned the hug. "Oh, you're going to shine in the classroom," he said excitedly.

Oxana and Boris smiled when they saw their youngest daughter come downstairs ready for school. "Breakfast is ready and our chef made lunch for you girls," Oxana said with a smile.

"And we have a good luck present for you," Boris said, handing Emily a wrapped present. "Go ahead and open it."

She opened it and her eyes lit up at seeing a new backpack that looked like a dolphin. "Do you like it?" Boris asked.

She responded with a big hug to both him and Oxana, a big smile on her face. "Alright, you better eat up. Poppy and Bridget will be here soon," Oxana said.

When the two girls arrived, they instantly welcomed Emily warmly. "Vee told us you're going to be in the same class as us," Poppy said excitedly. "It'll be so much fun!"

"We could ask Mr. Gore to add another chair to our table so you can sit with us," Bridget said kindly.

Emily smiled in response, liking the two girls who accepted her and were willing to help her have a good first day of school. "Vee, watch over Emily for us, alright?" Boris asked.

"I will, Papa," she promised.

"Girls, if Emily does get stuck, would you be dears and help her out?" Oxana asked.

"Will do, Mrs. Hauntley," Poppy said.

"We will," Bridget promised.

When they arrived at the school, some bullies came up to them. "What's the dummy doing here?" Asked one of them.

"Leave my little sister alone," Vampirina pleaded.

"She doesn't belong here," said another bully. "She can't talk. Remember how she wouldn't answer the teacher before?"

"Oh, yeah, what a freak," said a third one.

A throat cleared. "That's quite enough," said Mr. Gore, who had come out. "You kids head to your class."

Grumbling, the bullies left and Mr. Gore led the girls inside the school and to the classroom. "Vampirina, is this your little sister, Emily?" He asked.

"Yes, sir," she answered and turned to her little sister. "This is Mr. Gore, our teacher."

"Hello, Emily, and welcome to our school," he said kindly, kneeling down to her height. "Your parents already told me and I understand, so don't worry. We'll find ways for you to participate non-verbally."

She looked at him in confusion and he clarified. "Participate without forcing you to talk until you're ready to do so," he said. "For now, why don't you sit at the same table that Vee, Poppy, and Bridget sit at and I'll get your new schoolbooks for you?"

Emily gave him a grateful nod and sat down with her sister and friends, following their lead and mimicking what they did. Noticing this, they helped her out with the lessons and even took it slow so that she could keep up. Vampirina even took it upon herself to check on her sister's work when Emily showed it to her and she would gently point out if something was wrong with a gentle suggestion and nod when it all looked right. "You're doing great, Emily," she whispered to her, keeping her voice down as it was against the rules to talk in class during lessons.

Mr. Gore saw what they were doing, but because they were keeping their voices down and helping Emily, he decided he could allow it, knowing it would help his new student as encouragement was what she needed right then. When the break bell sounded, everyone got up to get a snack, but Emily went up to Mr. Gore to show him her work and he smiled, nodding. "Well done," he said. "Emily, how would you like to be my helper today? When we get back from lunch, we'll have a writing assignment. Would you be willing to pass out the assignments after lunch?"

Emily nodded eagerly, making him smile. "Okay," he said and indicated over to the others. "Why don't you go join your sister for now?"

While they were enjoying their break, Vampirina noticed some flashcards and cards with numbers on them. This gave her an idea and she went up to Mr. Gore, bringing the flashcards with her. "Mr. Gore, what if Emily used cards like these to answer questions?" She said. "Like Math questions and that? I've got a whole bunch of cards that were given to me as a gift that Emily could have."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Vampirina, and I think that's an excellent idea," Mr. Gore responded with a smile. "I'll see about getting some answer cards for the other subjects later, but in the meantime, Emily can use these."

When Vee told her little sister the great news, Emily hugged her happily, smiling up at her big sister who was helping make Emily's first day of school a good first day.

Well, looks like Emily is going to be alright with her big sister and friends there for her. Next chapter: little Emily meets our favorite skeleton chef. :)

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GoldGuardian2418