Hey guys hope you like this ( ╹▽╹ )
In little Tiger pre-school,James clung to his mother's pants all the way to the door. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was always afraid when she left that one day she wouldn't come back. He would have to live in the sandbox and eat grass like the cows do. What if it rained? He didn't like the rain. What if there were monsters? He began to cry. His mother sighed and bent down to look him in the face, wiping at his tears with a tissue.
"James, sweetheart, we can't keep doing this every time I drop you off. What's the matter? I thought you liked pre-school!" She pinched his cheeks gently, trying to tease a smile out of him. "You get to see your friends and have a snack and play in the sandbox! You like the sandbox, don't you?"
James nodded, wiping his face on his sleeve. "But you have to come get me later, okay? Don't forget me, Mommy!" He held his pinky out to her.
She laughed and looped her pinky through his. "I promise, James I'll be back at two, just like I always am. Are we okay now?"
James nodded. He threw himself into her arms for a hug. Over her shoulder,he saw a floppy black hat bounce into view. His eyes widened; Ethan was here! He pushed away from his mother, slinging his spider man backpack over one shoulder. His mother leaned in for a kiss, but he pushed her away.
"Mommy! Not now! My friends are here!" he whined.
She laughed. "Okay, okay. Have a great day, sweetie." She ruffled his hair and walked back to her car.
James bounced on his toes, waiting for Ethan to come around the corner. As soon as he did, James waved at him. Ethan waved back and James grinned widely, excited that he finally had the boy's attention. His excitement was short lived, however; from behind he heard Ethan's friends shout as they ran out to greet their friend. Ethan walked past James without so much as a glance. The redhead pouted. It just wasn't fair! He was just as much fun as his other friends. Why wouldn't Ethan play with him?
Later during snack time, James ran over to claim the seat next to Ethan. He set his backpack down on the chair and went to help the teacher pass out napkins. When he came back, his backpack was on the floor and Mark was in his seat.
"Hey!" he shouted. "That's my chair!"
Mark stuck out his tongue. "I don't see your name on it!"
James stood still for a moment, tears filling his eyes. He picked up his backpack and brushed it off, anger surging up inside him. He lifted his bag up and brought it down on mark's head. Mark immediately began to cry. A shadow fell over them and they looked up to see their teacher frowning down at them.
"What's going on here?" she asked.
"James hit me!" Mark wailed.
"Well, Mark took my chair!" James yelled.
"Nuh-uh! You weren't sitting in it!"
"I had my backpack there, you meanie!"
"You're the meanie!"
"No, you are!"
"Am not!"
"Enough!" the teacher shouted. The two boys immediately hushed and shrunk down, avoiding her gaze. "Both of you have earned a time-out. Five minutes. Go pick a corner."
James sat hunched over in the corner, huffing to himself. He hated Mark.
Now he didn't get to sit by Ethan during snack time. He could hear Mark laughing at something Dave said and he let out a loud "hmph!" His teacher came over and crouched down next to him.
"James, it seems like something's bothering you today. Do you want to tell me what it is?" she asked.
He pouted. "I just want to play with Ethan, but Mark keeps getting in the way."
She smiled knowingly. "Well, why don't you ask Ethan if he would like to play with you on the playground when we go outside?"
James thought for a moment. "Maybe he can go on the slide with me!"
"Maybe." She stood up and offered him her hand. "Come on. Your five minutes are up. Let's go get Mark and the two of you can eat your snack while I read everyone a story."
He took her hand and followed her to the opposite corner of the room where Mark sat sniffling. She helped him up and led them both to the table. They sat far away from each other and munched on their crackers. The teacher read from a book of fairy tales. James liked it. It had princes and dragons and sword fights. He wanted to be a prince. He looked over at Mark and pretended the short boy was a dragon. He grabbed his invisible sword and lunged, stabbing dragon Mark through the heart. He snickered to himself and finished his crackers.
Recess couldn't come soon enough. He practically threw himself into the line when the teacher called. He jostled with Mark for the spot behind Ethan,grinning when he won. They walked outside as a class, only splitting up when the teacher gave the okay. James immediately grabbed for Ethan's hand.
"Ethan! Will you play with me today?" he asked excitedly.
Ethan smiled, showing his white teeth. "Sure, James! I'm sure Dave and Mark would be happy to have a new friend."
James frowned. "I don't want to play with them. I want to play with you."
"Oh, but they're my friends. I want them to play with us." Ethan tried to pull his hand away.
"No! You have to play with just me!" James shouted.
"Let go!" Ethan yelled.
James released his hand and Ethan fell hard onto his backside. He began to cry, pulling his hat down over his face. The redhead stared at him, trying not to cry himself. He pulled his foot back and kicked down, spraying dirt into Ethan's front.
"I just wanted to play with you! Why do you have to be such a dork?" he screamed.
Turning on his heel, he ran for the slide. Hidden in the shadows underneath it, he let himself start crying. The tears felt hot on his cheeks and he wanted to hit something. He didn't want to play with Mark! Why couldn't Ethan pick him today, just this once? It wasn't fair.
Across the playground, a sniffling Ethan picked himself up and brushed his shirt off. He didn't understand why James got so angry. He just wanted them to all play together. Maybe the teacher would know. He ran up to the bench where she was sitting and reading a book, and tugged timidly on her shirt. She marked her place with a finger and looked up from the page.
"Hello, Ethan. What's wrong? Have you been crying?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. He wiped the back of his arm across his nose and made a face. "There was a misund... misunderstanding.James mad at me and I don't know why.He said he wanted to play,but he doesn't want to play with my friends..."
She nodded understandingly."Ethan you know how James and Mark don't really get along?"The little boy nodded,and she continued. "Well, would you want to play with someone that you didn't like?"
"No..."
"James doesn't want to play with Mark because they don't like each other. Do you want to play with James?"
"Yes, of course! I like James."
"Then do you think that maybe you can play with him today and Mark tomorrow?"
"You mean like taking turns?"
"Exactly," she beamed.
"Yes, I can try that. Thank you, teacher!"
Waving over his shoulder, he scampered off in search of the little redhead. He looked high and low without any success. He was just about to give up when he heard sniffling sound under the slide. Carefully, he made his way over and found Kevin crying into his drawn-up knees. He crouched down and poked him in the arm.
"James?"
There was a beat of silence before James spoke. "What do you want?"
"I want to play with you."
At that, James head shot up. "You do? Just me? Not Mark?"
"Well," Ethan clarified, "I do want to play with Mark, but I know you don't like him. So today I'll play with you. Just like taking turns!"
"Okay!" James held out his hand. "Want to go on the slide with me?"
"Yes!"
Ethan took the offered hand, letting James pull him up and lead the way around to the ladder. For twenty minutes they chased each other around the playground, laughing. During art time, they sat next to each other. They even shared beanbag while they waited for their parents. When James mom finally showed up, he waved goodbye to his new friend and walked out with a big smile on his face.
"How was pre-school today, dear?" Mrs. Smith asked as she lifted him into his booster seat.
He settled in with a contented sigh. "It was great, Mommy."
