Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Notes at the end.

Art of Balance

The strong bond of friendship is not always a balanced equation; friendship is not always about giving and taking in equal shares. Instead, friendship is grounded in a feeling that you know exactly who will be there for you when you need something, no matter what or when.
-Simon Sinek

Prologue

Kindergarten

September 1997

Today is his first day of school.

Becky told him last night that the first day of school is the Most Important Day. It is the day where everyone makes their opinion of who you are based on three things: what you wear, who you sit next to in class, and who you play with at recess. Because it is his very first day, it is even more important for him than for her, because if he makes a wrong choice for any of the three Most Important Things, he may be relegated to a school career of a lack-luster identity or, even worse, no identity at all.

So, as they walk into the school building, Becky frolicking ahead to her classroom to meet her friends and show them her very special first day of school outfit, TJ clutches his mother's hand so tightly his knuckles turn white.

Becky told him that he couldn't cry. Crying is for the first day of preschool. If he cries today, the school will forever know him as "Crier Boy" and good luck to him for the next seven years he attends Third Street School. So, instead, he holds onto his mother's hand and grinds his teeth. He will not be known as Crier Boy.

His mother guides him to the door of the kindergarten classroom and they step inside together. There are lots of other kids and lots of other parents. His teacher, Mrs. Klemperer, is an older woman with a big smile that also looks a bit apprehensive as she makes the rounds from family to family. His sister also had Mrs. Klemperer, so when she comes to him and his mother, the two women converse easily and Mrs. Klemperer mentions how much she loved Becky and makes a comment about how she imagines TJ will be just as sweet as his older sister. His mother laughs and says that the two are certainly different, but that he is a great little boy and that she is proud of him.

And then she tries to let go of his hand.

"TJ, honey, it's time to be brave," she says. "Look at all these kids just waiting to meet you! You are going to have so much fun!"

But, when he looks around, TJ can't help but think that he doesn't know any of these kids. Not one of them went to preschool with him and he's afraid that no one will like him like they did at Little Tykes Preschool.

He turns back to his mother. "What if I don't make any friends?"

She just shakes her head. "Don't let Becky scare you, sweetheart. You'll make plenty of friends. Just be yourself."

She pries his hand out of her own and kisses his forehead. She waves goodbye and TJ is determined not to cry, but as his mother disappears through the doorway, he can't help but notice his lip quiver. He wills himself to stop, remembering what his sister told him. Becky has been to school for as long as he has been alive and she definitely knows what she's talking about, or at least more than he does.

So, first things first, he needs to pick a seat. The second Most Important Thing after his clothes is whom he sits next to in class.

There are not many kids sitting yet. There is a boy with curly auburn hair sobbing in his father's arms. There is a girl looking annoyed as her parents sob on her. A taller girl with glasses is inspecting the chairs with her equally tall equally bespectacled dad and there is a group of girls slightly to her right all wearing purple outfits. There are lots of other families too, still hugging, still trying to uncling their children from their legs. There are only two or three kids sitting – a boy in a Cub Scout uniform, a large blond boy who is eating a snack, and a boy with a few baseball cards in his hands. Seeing that, TJ straightens up and decides that this is the boy he will sit next to – and moseys on over.

In Mrs. Klemperer's introduction letter, she had told the kids that they could bring a special toy from home for the first day, something that could make them comfortable as they started at their big school, an item that they would share with the rest of the class. TJ brought his very favorite baseball hat. His dad had bought it for him when they went to their first baseball game, driving all the way from Arkansas to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play over the summer, a special trip for his fifth birthday. He has rarely taken the hat off all summer and, although Becky told him not to wear it, he put it in his bag as his comfort object. The boy with the baseball cards will definitely understand this and maybe TJ will make his first friend.

TJ sits down in the desk chair next to the boy, at a clump of four desks with the two across from them still unoccupied. The other boy looks up, eyes wide at the fact that someone decided to sit next to him, and TJ remembers that his mom told him to be brave.

"Hi, I'm TJ and I like baseball too – do you wanna be my friend?"

The boy gives a small smile and shows him the cards. TJ appreciates that they're all Cardinals players, so he reaches into his little red backpack and withdraws his cap. The boy seems to relax instantaneously at the gesture.

"Sure, I'm Vince."

TJ tells him all about the game he went to and Vince tells him that he likes all sports – baseball, basketball, football. His dad takes him to all the high school games and TJ thinks that sounds like fun. By the time Mrs. Klemperer instructs all the kids to find a seat, TJ and Vince have decided that they will go to the football game together on Friday night if their parents say it is okay and that they have so much to talk about at recess. They are now best friends. TJ decides in that moment that he made a good choice, just like Becky told him to, and feels comfortable for the first time all morning. Maybe this school thing isn't so hard after all.

Once everyone is in their seats, the two seats across from TJ and Vince filled by two identical boys with overalls, Mrs. Klemperer decides it is time for the class to introduce themselves. She points to one of the desk clumps and a little blonde girl in a purple outfit begins to tell the class about her special object.

"My name is Ashley and my favorite number is one and my favorite color is pink and I brought my Pretty Princess make-up kit as my special toy."

"No way!" One of the other girls at the table says. Suddenly all three of them have removed the same toy from their backpacks. "I brought my Pretty Princess make up kit!"

"Me too!"

When they all squeal and reveal they are all named Ashley, TJ and Vince share a look. Girls. They'll need to stay away from them.

"So just remember," Vince whispers. "Ashleys are trouble."

TJ nods. And, when the crying boy from earlier says his name is Randall and he brought his spy-cam, he and Vince decide to stay away from Randall too.

Mrs. Klemperer moves on calling on the different desk clumps and finally reaches theirs.

"TJ, why don't you start for your table?" she asks.

So TJ goes. Then Vince is instructed to go. Then Mrs. Klemperer points to one of the twins, Sam, and calls him Dave, and the two look mortified at the mistake. It takes ten minutes for the two to describe their color coded outfit scheme and then, clearly frustrated, Mrs. Klemperer moves on to the next table, motioning to a small dark haired girl at one of the last clumps.

"Ash-"

Before Mrs. Klemperer can finish calling her name, the girl stands on her chair and raises a fist. TJ's eyes widen.

"I wanna go by Spinelli!" she says in a rush, trying to beat Mrs. Klemperer. "And if you call me anything else, you can talk to Madame Fist."

TJ takes a good look at this girl. She doesn't look very threatening. Her hair is in two low ponytails on either side of her head. The small amount of dark hair she has bunches at the bottom of the elastics as if she hasn't pulled it all the way through. She's wearing a red dress that looks very fancy to TJ, almost similar to the dress his mother made his sister wear to his uncle's wedding last March, with big capped sleeves and a large white sash with a bow. Under her arm, she has a doll, what must be her special toy.

No, the girl may not look intimidating, but TJ glances around and sees his entire class has focused on her fist and the fact that she has a little bit of a funny voice. It is almost like she's got a cold, sort of gravelly, kind of nasally. It's unlike anything TJ has heard or seen before.

Mrs. Klemperer is even taken aback it seems because when the little girl sits back down, she immediately motions for the girl across the table to begin introducing herself instead, not insisting that Spinelli answer any of the other questions they had all been forced to answer.

As the new girl, Gretchen, begins to answer, TJ turns to Vince. "We need to find her at recess."

Vince's eyes widen. "Are you crazy?" he exclaims quietly. "Why?"

TJ just shakes his head. "She's going to be our other best friend."

Vince gives him a look that TJ is sure means that Vince is unwilling to invite this girl into their duo. But, Becky told TJ to be very careful in determining his recess playgroup and this girl seems to be the most confident person in their class. He thinks it will be good to have her around, important even to have her with them when they're trying to establish themselves.

So, TJ tells this to Vince, who sighs dramatically and shakes his head.

"Okay," he says, drawing it out. "But, she might say no."

If she does, then she does, but he at least wants to try.

At recess, TJ Detweiler is a boy on a mission. As Vince keeps trying to tug him in other directions – "Oh, look at those twins digging, that looks...nah, that doesn't look fun, but what about that kid with the Cub Scout uniform? He looks like he might like baseball, so maybe he can join our group instead!" – TJ looks around the playground to see if he can find the fist-wielding girl from earlier.

"There!" TJ shouts and starts charging for the monkey bars.

He is so focused that he misses Vince's dramatic sigh and roll of his eyes before he reluctantly follows his new friend to where the crazy girl is playing. But, when TJ stops at the monkey bars, he feels Vince come up beside him and knows his plan will work.

"Hey!"

The girl dangles by her arms and looks down, as if she isn't sure if TJ is calling out to her or someone else. She stares for a long moment that makes TJ swallow his spit. Her gaze is even intimidating. Then she lets go, dropping down to the ground gracefully. Now that she stands before him, he realizes that she is small but not as small as he thought. The two stand nearly eye-to-eye, both coming still substantially shorter than Vince.

"Hi," TJ says, being brave just like his mother told him to be this morning. This girl is in the same situation he is in after all. She needs friends too, presumably. "I'm TJ."

"A–," she says, catching herself in a weird way. Almost like she forgot her own name. "Spinelli."

Then she turns to look at Vince, waiting for his introduction. The boy doesn't say a word until TJ nudges him.

He grunts. "Vince," he says after, his eyes still looking off at the other clusters of kids, all grouping off by gender to form their friend groups.

Before Vince can blow it, TJ cuts back in. "We were wondering if you wanted to be best friends with us."

"Best friends, huh?" she says, testing the words on her own tongue.

She seems to be looking them over and TJ wonders if maybe she is doing the same thing he did to her earlier, trying to gauge his worth as a friend. Perhaps she has an older sibling that told her what Becky had told him or perhaps she's just wary. There were many kids in their class that TJ wouldn't want to include in his immediate playground crew. Randall didn't seem fun and, even though he is friends with Menlo from Little Tykes Preschool, the kindergartener from the other class is sitting on the stoop of the school organizing rather than playing. The twins that sat across from Vince and TJ in class are digging in the sandbox. They don't quite have what TJ is looking for in best friends. Then there are the four girls all named Ashley and all dressed in purple who haven't left each other's sides since they pulled out their makeup play sets during introductions. He and Vince already decided back in the classroom that anyone named Ashley couldn't be any good and definitely not someone they want to add to their own group.

He wonders what Spinelli thinks as she looks at him and Vince. Is she trying to remember their show-and-tell items? Is she debating on whether they'll be trustworthy or kind?

"Okay," she decides. Then she looks over her shoulder and motions for someone else. "We'll be friends with you."

TJ hadn't seen her playing with anyone else. He and Vince share a quick glance between them, wondering what they've gotten themselves into now, when two shy figures poke their head out from behind the small slide attached to the jungle gym. TJ recognizes them both from class. The girl is tall and lanky, with auburn pigtails and glasses that are much too large for her face. Her teeth jut out of her mouth and dig into her lower lip. The boy is even taller than Vince and nearly as wide as his height, his flaxen hair covering wide blue eyes. TJ remembers the Ashleys laughing at him during show-and-tell, hearing them call him fat.

The girl has collected her own little crew of misfits.

Vince grabs TJ's arm and gives him a look. "TJ," he whines quietly. He pulls him slightly away, enough out of earshot. "You said that your sister told you to be careful who we make friends with today."

That is right. Becky told him that who he makes friends with today could shape the rest of his time at Third Street School, and perhaps even after that. He knows he likes Vince. They have a lot in common. He knows he wants to be friends with Spinelli. She has confidence and he just gets a good feeling from her. He turns back to the other two. He doesn't know much about them, but he feels like he can trust Spinelli's judgment because of how much she regarded him before agreeing.

In that moment, the boy with the Cub Scout uniform slips on the monkey bars. His scream rings out for a split second before the tall blond boy, who dodges Spinelli to reach their falling classmate, catches him with ease.

"Wow! Thanks, Big Kid!" the Cub Scout says, as the tall boy sets him down on the ground. He leaves the area, shouting over his shoulder as he goes. "Thanks for saving me!"

"Why, yes," the spectacled girl says, pushing her glasses up her nose. "From that height, the fall would surely have caused Phil to break an arm or a leg."

But the blond boy just keeps looking down at his feet and mumbles about being called Big Kid. So, TJ does the only thing he can think to do to make him feel better. He walks over to the tall blond boy and smiles.

"I'm TJ, what's your name?"

The boy lifts his eyes and looks down at TJ. "Mikey."

"Mikey," he repeats and then TJ turns to the girl. "And your name?"

"My name is Gretchen."

TJ looks around the group. Vince, Spinelli, Gretchen, and Mikey. This seems like a fine group to him. So, he motions for Vince to come back and the boy walks forward, standing between TJ and Gretchen. Spinelli comes to stand between TJ and Mikey. There they are, in a circle, and TJ suggests they all re-introduce their special item from class. Mikey brought in a stuffed Bonky and Gretchen a rock polisher. Vince holds out his baseball cards for the others to see and Spinelli shows her doll. Then TJ holds out his baseball cap.

"Why don't you wear it?" Spinelli asks. She reaches for it and puts it on his head, backwards. "It is a hat and hats go on your head."

"She's right, Teej," Vince says.

When the bell rings, the five of them walk in together, pulling a desk from one of the other clumps to make a clump of five. As Mrs. Klemperer begins her lesson, TJ just looks at his new friends. He's not sure if this is the group his sister would have built for him, but he likes it just the same.

...

Notes

There are many different accounts in the series as to how these kids met but I decided to go with my own retelling of TJ's recollection in the episode The Great Jungle Gym Standoff, where he mentions that the original five met on the monkey bars on the first day of school. I did move their meeting location to the kindergarten area monkey bars rather than the ones on Old Rusty, as it made more sense there than on the "Big Playground" where the kindergarteners don't usually go. The date of their first day of kindergarten (1997) assumes that they were in fourth grade when the show ended in 2001, rather than when the show premiered in 1998.

There will be some moments of creative license used throughout this fic, but my goal is to keep it as in-line with the original series as I can. There are a few instances of this in this prologue (i.e. "Purple Day" is inferred to be on a day other than the first day of school, since Gus is around in the episode Outcast Ashley) but I hope the slight alterations will still stay in line with major themes of the series. That being said, as for the war paint the kindergarteners typically wear in the series – because the series is told from the point of view of the kids (and arguably mostly TJ's point of view), I'm taking the paint as a war-like childhood illusion and not something the kindergarteners actually wear on a daily basis, though the paint will show up in a later flashback.

I will also be taking the stance in this fic that Sam and Dave (The Diggers) are identical twins (as alluded in The Terrifying Tales of Recess) rather than just best friends who look exactly alike (as alluded in Diggers Split Up). They'll be referred to in this fic as Sam and Dave, The Diggers, as well as "the twins" as the characters get older.

There will be a time jump after the prologue and the story will follow the main six as an ensemble like in the show. Each of the six (as well as some of the other Third Streeters) will be lending their voices to narration, not just TJ as in this prologue.

I'm hoping to get more of this written before I start posting, as I know I will be very busy in the fall and have more time to actually sit down and right in the summer. So, hold tight and I'll be posting the first chapter toward the end of the summer, right in line with the start of school, and hopefully have a fairly consistent updating schedule.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!