Sophia stared wide-eyed at the other children. It was her first day in kindergarten and she was there with other kids in her age. It had been three days since she turned one. Jessica smiled as Sophia grabbed her leg and looked up at her mother with puppy-eyes. The same look her father had sometimes.
"It's okay sweetheart, these children are going to be your friends." Jessica smiled as she knelt down.
Sophia shook her head. The first day at kindergarten was going to be a short one and Jessica would be with Sophia all the time. Sophia would only spend three hours at the kindergarten and hopefully she would calm down and play with the other children.
"Everyone is a little shy at first." Melissa smiled, she was the kindergarten teacher.
Melissa bent down to Sophia's eye level and gently took her small hand in her big one.
"Hey, you don't feel like playing with the other children?" Melissa smiled.
Sophia's answer was to hide her face behind her mother's leg. Sophia and Jessica were so much alike in this situation. Jessica was usually very shy when she met new people and Irene had told her that when she first started kindergarten she had sat by the door all the time wanting to go home.
"Come on; let's see what this boy over here is playing with." Jessica smiled and went with her daughter to one of the older boys.
The boy was three-years-old and named Carlos; he smiled as he saw Jessica and Sophia.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jessica asked.
"Making a castle." Carlos smiled and pointed at the big castle of lego he had built.
"Look how big it is Sophia." Jessica said and Sophia looked between her mother and Carlos.
Carlos smiled and patted Sophia's head, which made the girl giggle. Carlos smiled bigger and patted her head again, then he ruffled her hair and Sophia squealed in delight.
Eventually Sophia stopped being shy and built two new castles with Carlos. The boy was patient when he tried to explain to Sophia where to put the pieces and she ended up putting them in the wrong place. He just smiled and moved the piece where he wanted it to be. When the castles were built, Carlos took Sophia to the other children and she soon made it known she was a stubborn child who liked being in charge. If she had grabbed a toy from the toy-box then it was hers and Sophia didn't like it when another child tried to take it from her. Eventually she would give the toy away and pick a new toy.
"Sophia, time to go home!" Jessica called and waited for her daughter to come to her.
Sophia turned to her mother from where she was sitting; smiled and waved goodbye to her. Jessica and Melissa chuckled and Jessica went to pick her up. Sophia started crying when her mother picked her up and went to the door to put her shoes on.
Jessica was going back to work full-time. It meant she worked between 9-13 everyday, with paperwork and coaching of the professional adult teams. Three times a week she had to coach her team of two teenagers later in the evening, but during the evening either Kyle or Horatio could look after Sophia. When jessica worked during the day Sophia would in kindergarten.
"We'll come back tomorrow sweetheart." Jessica smiled, but Sophia was still not happy about leaving kindergarten and her new friends. When they waved goodbye, Sophia was still crying and she only calmed down when she was put in the car. She looked at her mother and sighed.
"I can only imagine how hard it'll be to take you home tomorrow." Jessica chuckled as she drove home, "You want ice cream?"
Sophia shook her head no furiously. She was not happy right now.
"You'll see Carlos, Nelly, Amanda and Julian tomorrow sweetheart, as well as all the other kids." Jessica smiled, but Sophia was still not cheering up.
Once mother and daughter got home Sophia cheered up some and played with her toys in her room. Although she was still somewhat quiet as she played.
When daddy got home Sophia ran to him and he picked her up just as he came through the front door.
"How's my little girl doing today?" Horatio asked and kissed her on the cheek.
"She was so shy when she first stepped inside the kindergarten, but when we were leaving she started crying. She really likes it there." Jessica grinned.
Sophia reached for mommy and then hugged her. Jessica smiled. Sophia giggled and played with mommy's hair while mommy and daddy shared a kiss.
"It's a good thing she enjoys being there." Horatio smiled, "How about we order take-out for dinner?"
"Sounds like a great plan." Jessica smiled.
During dinner Sophia babbled with her parents and they smiled even though they didn't understand what she said.
The next day, Sophia was standing on Jessica's side of the bed, waiting for mommy to wake up. When Jessica finally opened her eyes, she was surprised to see her daughter smiling at her.
"She moves as quiet as you do." Jessica said as she heard Horatio wake up.
Horatio peeked over his wife and chuckled.
"She's learned how to climb out of the crib apparently." Horatio said.
"Mama." Sophia smiled.
"She's waiting for you to take her to kindergarten." Horatio grinned.
Sophia just giggled.
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