Once all the kids arrived, Mrs. Egan made her way to the front of the room, which had a rug with many colorful circles on it.
"Good morning everyone," she said with a peppy grin, "Can we sit down on the lovely dots?"
It took a minute, but each of the students made their way towards the teacher. They each sat down on a distinct dot, claiming it as their territory. Some of them brought the toys they were playing with. Leni and Liliana sat next to each other, each holding Blacky and Barbie respectively.
"Good morning," she said, repeating herself, "My name is Mrs. Egan and I will be your teacher and friend this year in kindergarten."
The other kids viewed their surroundings, their innocent eyes a little nervous at the new setting.
"Let's go around and say each other's names. That way we can get to know each other," she said before turning to her right and lifting her hand in that direction, "Let's start over here."
Leni and Liliana were on the opposite end of the blob, so they waited as they learned all of the kids' names.
"I'm Adam."
"Lizzie!"
"My name is Elijah."
At last, the two girls remained. They were uncertain and they looked at each other for a moment.
"I'm Liliana," she said. She then held up the doll, "and I like Barbies."
She then looked at Leni, waiting for her to speak. The blonde then saw how everyone else in the room was staring at her, even then smiling, anticipated Mrs. Egan. She awkwardly held up the plushie.
"Um...hi...I'm Leni," she said quietly, "and...and this is Blacky, my...um...new pet doggie."
There was a brief moment of silence as she continued to hold the dog in the air, as if she had more to say. But alas, nothing came out.
"Well it's very nice to meet all of you," Mrs. Egan said, whose voice boomed compared to Leni's, "Now let's go around the room and say one thing about ourselves that make us special!" she then pointed at herself, "I'll start. I have a brother named Percy and he works at Chuck E Cheese."
Some of the kids gasped, some others smiled as they thought of the ball pits, lively mascots, and endless pizza. Mrs. Egan allowed these reactions to transpire before the first kids listed off what they had to say. A lot of the kids talked about stuff they liked-their favorite food, cartoon, toy, game, color, and whatever else a five year old cared about. Same as last time, the two girls waited patiently as everyone else went first; Liliana started to wish she had chosen a different circle to sit on.
"My favorite color is pink because it looks good on everything,". Liliana said when it was finally her turn.
Again, there were about five seconds of complete silence. Leni thought about what she would say, but she found it hard to find something.
"I..." she said, thinking. She then looked down at the plushie, "I like my dog Blacky," she then held up the toy again for everyone to see.
"I'm really glad we're learning about each other," Mrs. Egan said, "This year, I hope we all get to know each other even better. By knowing what others like, it can help us be friends with those people. And then you can play with those friends, watch movies, and talk to them."
The teacher then scanned at each of the smiling and anxious kids listening to her.
"So what I want you to do is sit down at those tables over there with a group of others," she said, pointing to the cluster of them on the other side of the room, "and you'll see pieces of paper and crayons. I want you to draw pictures of your house and your family. And then when you're done, show your drawing to the other kids at your table."
With a little encouragement, the kids found themselves able to make their way to the tables. Each table had five chairs, meaning that Leni and Liliana were surrounded by three girls. Although they introduced themselves along with everyone else, Leni had a hard time remembering their names.
"Polly...Dory...Blacky?...Oh...Cindy..."
As she pondered, Leni noticed the others grabbing paper to start their drawings. Seeing this, she copied this behavior. For the next few minutes, Leni unconsciously colored her house and other things she felt were needed.
"Are you done?" one of the girls asked.
On command, Leni stopped. She looked up and saw everyone else had finished. The girl that had asked was sitting right next to her and held up her drawing. On the top of the sheet was her name-Dorothy-written in red crayon.
"I live in a red house with my Mommy and Daddy," Dorothy said, pointing to each part of the picture, "My house has a slide in the back and inside there is a big TV. Like bigger than the whole school!"
She then lowered her sheet and turned to Leni.
"Do you wanna go next?" she asked.
Leni nodded. She scanned the drawing she made before presenting it.
"I...have four sisters..." she said slowly, her eyes wandering all over the room, "my Mommy said that I will have another one soon...but I don't know if it is a boy or a girl..." on the paper, she drew Rita with a bulge on her tummy. Leni then let go of the sheet, allowing it to slide back on the table. She then leaned forward with Blacky and began cuddling with him once more. The others presented their drawings, but Leni shut them out in favor of the plushie. She giggled and smiled as she embraced the puppy.
The bell rang at precisely 2 pm, signaling most of the kids to chatter.
"Alright kids," Mrs. Egan announced, grasping the class's attention, "We are done for the day. So let's clean up and put all our things back where we found them."
Leni watched the others restock the shelves with the toys they were playing with. She stared down at Blacky and brushed its soft fur.
"Leni, it's time to put Blacky back on the shelf," Mrs. Egan, coming up to her. But Leni stood there, unsure of what to do. Sometimes, she got so confused by what was going on. In response, she tightened her embrace with the plushie.
"It's okay, Leni," she said, "You can see Blacky again tomorrow and play with him even more. But now, he needs a nap from all the fun he had today," she then cast Leni a warm smile.
Leni smiled back. Then, without saying a word, she walked over to the shelf and rested the dog on its wooden surface. She leaned in and kissed it on the forehead.
"Goodbye Blacky," she said with a surprising amount of confidence. Her meek voice carried itself well as she spoke, "I will see you tomorrow. And then we can play and snuggle."
Leni gave Blacky one more hug.
"I love you."
She forced herself to break from the warm intimate hug. She turned away and walked to the others, who were grabbing their bags. They were all hanging around the corner of the room, talking incessantly. She tried recalling the names of the ones she saw.
"Elliot...Alan...Dolly...Lily..."
"Alright kids," Mrs. Egan said, "your parents are waiting for you in the hallway. I hope you have a nice day and I will see you tomorrow!"
Leni swiped her backpack and lunch bag and quietly walked out of the room. She saw all the parents lined up across the hallway, some of them accompanying older students that have already been dismissed. Leni wandered aimlessly in the open hallway, unsure of what to do next.
"Leni! Leni! Over here honey!"
Her right ear buzzed, alerting her to the sound waves producing those chants. She turned and saw Rita, waving her arms, and Lori standing impatiently. Seeing those two, Leni walked her way over there, her uneven steps occasionally throwing off her posture. Upon reaching Rita, she stopped.
"Hi sweetie," Rita said, hugging her, "How was your first day of school?"
"Good," Leni replied. She then turned to Lori, "D-did...Lori have a g-good day?..."
Lori frowned.
"No," she said, "it's not fair! Carol wore an prettier dress and everyone was saying how good it was. No one said mine was pretty at all. It's not fair!"
Leni stepped over to Lori and slid into her arms. Lori was thrown off by this sudden, unnatural gesture.
"Don't be mad, Lori," she said monotonously, "I like...your dress..."
Rita gleamed at the sight.
"Lori, it's okay," Rita added, "we both think you had a wonderful dress. Don't let anyone else bring you down."
Lori pouted a little, but then sighed. She peered down to her sister and realized that Leni, through all her creepiness, really cared about her. Lori took several breaths and then stroked her little sister's blonde hair.
"Thank you Leni," Lori said. She then looked up at Rita, "and Mom."
"Now," Rita said, turning to the nearby exit, "Let's go home."
Rita, Lori, and Leni were greeted to the sounds of laughter, banging, and television back at the Loud House. Everyone was settled in the living room, enjoying their day.
"Hey kids," Lynn Sr said, getting up from the couch, "How was your first day of school?"
"Okay," Lori said, twirling a strand of hair. She wasn't lying. Although Carol upstaged her at picture day, she admitted that she enjoyed seeing Bobby and some of her other gal pals again. Plus, Mrs. Turner was a pretty good teacher.
"And what about you Leni? How was your first day of school?"
Leni's shoulders tensed up, making herself look smaller. Her eyes darted back and forth, never settling on one object.
"Good..." she eventually said. Her head then dropped to the floor.
"Do you like Mrs. Egan? Do you have any new friends?"
Leni shrugged and turned her head towards the kitchen. She then walked towards the stairs, intent on heading to her room.
"Leni," Lynn Sr said, kneeling down, coughing out a laugh, "Don't you want to say hi to your little sisters? They have been waiting to see you!"
Instinctively, the young girl changed her direction. Her body's thrust in the other direction was jaw-dropping. Leni approached the toddlers, who were playing with plastic plates, cups, and dolls.
"Hi Luna! Hi Luan! Hi Lynn!" she yelled enthusiastically. Leni plopped herself on the floor and gazed at the dolls they were using.
"What are you all playing?" she asked.
"Tea party," Luna said, holding up a pink cup, "Want to play?"
"Yes!" Leni exclaimed. With that, Luna handed the cup to her. Leni propelled the cup into her mouth and drank the imaginary tea, even going as to include slurping sounds.
"That is a good tea, Luna!"
"Thank you," Luna replied, smiling. Seeing her face, Leni contorted her muscles to mirror it as precisely as possible. It was a habit of her's.
"Try it Lynn! It's good!" Leni cheered as she handed the tea cup to the infant. Lynn ripped it from her hands and chucked it at the couch. Leni couldn't help but laugh at her sister's rambunctious tendencies.
"No, no, Lynn," she said, struggling not to chuckle. She got up and retrieved the cup, which was resting on the couch's cushy surface, "You drink the tea. Like this," Leni then took a massive swig of the "beverage". Smiling again, she handed it to Lynn.
"Now you try!"
Leni watched as Lynn started to strike the cup on the floor like a hammer. She waited patiently, hoping the infant would eventually get it right.
"Lynn," Luna said, crouching herself closer to her little sister. She extended her hand towards the cup, "Here, let me help y-"
Lynn started banging Luna's hand with the cup. Although the blows lacked precision, when they locked with the hand, Luna recoiled. She yelped at the sting the plastic edge wrought. Leni transformed almost instantly, her eyes and face burdened by discomfort. She knelt down and grasped the cup.
"Don't hurt her," Leni said, pulling the cup. Her voice wavered, as if she herself had been hit. Lynn was strong for her age, but Leni managed to pry the cup away with a little extra effort. With the cup in one hand, she stretched her arm as far from Lynn as she could.
"Please," Leni said, her eyes suddenly devoid of life, "please don't hurt her."
And just like that, the dam broke. Lynn burst into tears and crawled to Leni. In desperation, she gripped Leni's dress trying to get her beloved toy.
"No," Leni said slowly, trying to stretch her arm even further, "I can't let you hurt Luna..."
Lynn Sr. And Rita rushed over to them. He lifted Lynn Jr. and rocked her in his arms, trying to calm the infant. Leni tried to walk over to Luna, but was stopped by Rita.
"Honey, what happened?"
Leni lowered her arms and allowed the cup to fall.
"She hit Luna...I wanted her to stop," she said, looking towards Luna. She stared at her little sister, who was still rubbing her hand. Her need to kiss and hug burned at her very soul.
"Well honey that's a very good thing you did. You're teaching Lynn how to play nicely and I'm glad you like helping others."
But Leni barely listened; she walked past her mother and enveloped Luna. Luna admitted that Lynn didn't hurt her that much, but she liked how her sister cared.
"Are you...okay?" Leni asked, stroking Luna's brown hair.
"I'm good."
Despite her reassurance, Leni refused to let go. To her, Luna's pain was unimaginable, worse than any fall or slap. For the next several minutes, all she did was hold onto her little sister.
"Leni," she whispered, "you can let go now..."
Leni rashly pulled herself away, asking if she was okay. Luna nodded her head.
"Are you okay?" she repeated.
"Yes, Leni," she said, realizing that she couldn't understand the gesture.
Rita offered to make the girls a snack, but Leni declined. She turned to the stairs and headed towards them. Any mark of excitment from the tea party had long dissipated at this point, but Leni was someone that likes being in her room. She liked the isolation, the freedom from talking to others (even though Lori was in there as well). Knowing this, Lynn Sr. and Rita escorted the others into the kitchen, much to their joy.