AGE 5

Once upon a different time, there was a school called Eastview Elementary, and one of the most notable things about that school was its huge sycamore tree. All the kids loved the sycamore tree, sitting under it to play with their friends. But one girl loved it more than all the others. Her name was Amaya.

Now, Amaya was a normal little girl. She had normal brown hair and normal green eyes and a normal, chubby face. Her laugh was brilliant, though. It was a melodious sound that all the teachers loved to pull out of her. That laugh came a lot when she was at school, but it came the most when she was sitting under the sycamore tree, book in hand.

Amaya was a very pleasant and likable little girl, you must know. Despite that, she didn’t have very many friends. But that never bothered her, not before this day.

When recess time came for the kindergartners on this day, Amaya raced to the tree, clutching her book—as usual. But no one else came to sit with her around the sycamore tree. It wasn’t as if she ever talked to them—because she didn’t—but it simply pleased her to know that they were there.

This troubled Amaya. She didn’t know why no one wanted to be near her. They had been acting like that all day, and she had no clue why.

A few tears leaked out of the corner of her eye, and she hugged her book. She sat there for a little bit in silence, listening to the other kids scream and chase each other around. Unfortunately for her, however, the sycamore tree was quite near where the teachers liked to gather and gossip about their students behind their backs.

“Amaya… ignored… horrible,” Amaya heard one teacher say. At the sound of her name, she perked up, and scooted a bit closer so she could hear.

“I know. It’s just awful that the other kids neglect her because of how she smells and what she’s wearing. I get that they’re too young to understand the situation with her parents, but couldn’t they just be a little bit more considerate?”

Amaya bit her lip. The other kids didn’t want to be around her because she smelled? That couldn’t be fair. She knew how hard her mother worked for her salary, which was barely enough to keep just the two of them alive, much less pay for running water and soap. And her clothes? What was wrong with them? They were a little too small, but other than that, Amaya didn’t have a problem.

The tears still came, though. Loud, ugly tears. All the kids turned to stare for a moment, and Amaya buried her face in her hands. Her mother worked very, very hard, and was very, very stressed, and although the kids were only looking down on her, it felt like they were looking down on her mother, too, and that made her feel worse than anything else could have.

She brought her knees in close and folded her arms around her face so no one could see how embarrassed and upset she was. She sat like that for a long while, blinking away all the hopes and dreams of being a normal child that could play happily with friends.

But hope wasn’t ready to be blinked away just yet.

Hope first took footsteps, and then a voice. “Can I sit here?”

Amaya looked up cautiously, rubbing at her eyes. “Um, y-yeah… sure.”

The boy sat down, and Amaya studied him carefully, trying to ignore the sounds of the teachers gasping in admiration. He had floppy dark brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. He crossed his legs and picked at the soles of his tiny Nikes, seemingly unsure of what to say. “I… I’m really sorry you were sitting here alone. I don’t think it’s fair.”

“Thanks,” she said slowly, a smile growing on her face. “What’s your name?”

“Everett,” he replied, holding out his hand and offering a crinkled nose with a smile.

She giggled and shook his hand. “I’m Amaya.” A pause. “Do you want to be friends?”

Everett nodded, standing up. He brushed the dirt off his shorts and broke off into a run. “Come on, new friend Amaya! Let’s race to the swings!”

Amaya, excited and surprised, followed Everett, leaving her book behind.

This was the moment that, looking back on it, Amaya realized that she would never be alone again. This is how it all began.

(A/N: I know that this doesn’t fit the prompt at all but I really wanted to post this! I think I will use it to start a novel and I really want feedback on how it is and how it could be improved! Thank you so, so much and I love you all! ❤️)