Her mother's gentle shaking awakened Paula.

"Time to get up, big girl!" Ginny sang. "Remember what day this is?"

Paula did and sat straight up in bed, wide awake.

"The first day of school!"

"That's right! Come eat your breakfast, and then you can put on your new dress!"

Paula glanced at Lili, fast asleep in her own bed, then followed her mother into the kitchen. She saw that her father was dressed and about to walk out the door to work.

"Well, good morning, school girl!" he said when he saw her.

"Good morning, Daddy!"

"Are you all ready to go, then?"

"No. I have to eat my breakfast and put on my dress first."

Matthias laughed and ruffled her hair. "Of course you do. Well, be a good girl. Obey your teacher and learn a lot."

"I will, Daddy."

Mattias kissed Ginny and then left for work. Benny woke up and started crying, and Ginny put a bottle on the stove to heat up for him.

Paula ate every bite of her breakfast, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. By then, Benny was about halfway finished with his bottle. Ginny burped him, then carried him into the girls' bedroom, where she took Paula's new dress down for her.

Paula was dressed and waiting when Elizabeth pulled up with Jakob.

"Goodbye, Mommy!" she said when she saw the car.

"Goodbye, sweetheart." Ginny kissed her cheek. "Have a good first day!"

Paula ran outside to the car and got into the back seat with Jakob.

"Good morning, Paula," said Elizabeth.

"Good morning, Aunt Elizabeth." Paula looked at Jakob, who stared back at her. "Do you think it will be fun?"

"I don't know," said Jakob. "I hope they give us time to play."

"I'm sure you'll both love school," said Elizabeth. "I know I always did."

Soon they arrived at the kindergarten. It was a white two-story building with a large yard with a big shade tree and playground equipment.

"I see swings!" cried Paula.

"And a slide!" added Jakob.

Elizabeth parked the car and led the children into the building and down the long hall to an open door. Inside the classroom, Miss Rinas sat at her desk, doing paperwork. She was tall and slender, with short, light brown hair. She looked up and smiled as her new students entered.

"This is Jakob and Paula Brimmer," Elizabeth told her.

"Twins?" asked Miss Rinas.

"Cousins," Elizabeth replied. "Jakob is my son, and Paula is my niece."

"Welcome, children," said Miss Rinas. "Come. I'll show you to your seats."

When all the children, who numbered about twenty, had arrived, class began. Miss Rinas led them in the pledge of allegiance and a short prayer, then taught them a new song.

After that, she told them the story of the lady who lived in a shoe, then passed out pictures of the shoe with all the children running around for the students to color.

Later, the class went outside for recess. Athletic Janice and Karen quickly scrambled to the top of the jungle gym, where they looked down on Paula, taunting her.

"Fraidy cat! Fraidy cat!"

After a moment's hesitation, Paula gingerly climbed onto the lowest bar. She reached for the second but lost her balance and fell.

Jakob, who was in line for the slide, ran to her and comforted her. Miss Rinas showed up a split second later.

"Can you stand up?" she asked a sobbing Paula, as Jakob glared up at Janice and Karen.

"I'll show you who's a fraidy cat!" he said as he began to scale the jungle gym. Janice and Karen quickly scrambled down and ran off.

Meanwhile, Paula stood and took a few cautious steps. Her sobbing dwindled to sniffles.

"Does it hurt to walk?" asked Miss Rinas. Paula shook her head vigorously.

"All right, then," said Miss Rinas. "Just let me know if it starts hurting later on, all right?"

"I will."

Just then a little girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes came up to Paula.

"I'll be your friend," she offered.

"What's your name?" asked Paula.

"Wendy," the little girl told her.

Paula smiled. "I'm Paula. Let's be friends."

The two girls clasped hands and walked toward the swings.