Janice And Jimmy Go To School

“That could happen,” Janice said. “But we can look together.”

Jimmy glanced at the path between their homes. A row of flat stones led toward the sidewalk, then turned toward the bus stop. Janice had walked that way many times, but tomorrow the path would lead them to a new place.

“What if I don’t like the classroom?” Jimmy asked.

“Then we can tell Mrs Hyree,” Janice replied. “She can help us.”

Jimmy rubbed one paw over his shirt button. “What if everyone already has a friend?”

Janice looked at him. His voice was softer now. He was not trying to be difficult. He was worried about being alone.

“You have me,” she said.

Jimmy looked at her. “You’ll stay with me?”

“Of course. We can sit together on the bus. We can find the classroom together. We can ask questions together.”

For a moment, Jimmy’s tail gave one small wag. Then he looked toward his huge house again.

Janice picked up a smooth yellow stone from the edge of the path. “Look. This can be our school stone.”

“Our what?” Jimmy asked.

“Our school stone. We can carry it tomorrow. When we see it, we’ll remember that we are a team.”

Jimmy took the stone and turned it over in his paw. One side was warm from the sun. The other side was cool and gray.

“It’s just a stone,” he said.

“Yes,” Janice answered. “But it can help us remember.”

Jimmy placed it on the porch step. “I don’t want to carry it.”

Janice felt her hope sink. She had thought a small idea might make school seem less large. Instead, Jimmy had pushed it away.

“Maybe you don’t need a stone,” she said. “Maybe you need to know what will happen.”

Jimmy’s ears lowered. “I already know what will happen. I’ll be stuck there all day.”

“You won’t be stuck,” Janice said. “School ends. Then we come home.”

“What if it feels too long?”

Janice thought about that. “We can break the day into small parts. First, we ride the bus. Then we find Mrs Hyree’s room. Then we have lessons. After that, we eat lunch. Each part will end.”

Jimmy looked at the path again. Janice could see that he was listening, even though he still looked unsure.

“Do you really want to go?” he asked.

“Yes,” Janice said. “I want to learn new things. I want to draw pictures and read stories. I want to know where the library is.”

Jimmy made a small face. “I don’t want to read in front of anyone.”

“Then you can listen until you feel ready,” Janice said. “You don’t have to do everything at once.”

A breeze moved through the grass. It brushed Janice’s purple dress and made the leaves whisper along the fence. From Jimmy’s house came the soft clink of dishes being put away.

Jimmy picked up the yellow stone again. He held it tightly this time.

“Would you be nervous if you were going alone?” he asked.

Janice looked at the tall house, the wide porch, and the path that separated them. “Yes,” she said. “I might be.”

Jimmy blinked. “You?”

Janice nodded. “Being brave does not mean you feel sure about everything. It can mean you feel unsure and still take one small step.”

Jimmy looked down at his pale green pants. “I don’t feel brave.”

“You don’t have to feel brave right now,” Janice said. “You only have to decide about tomorrow morning.”

Jimmy was quiet. Janice waited. She did not tug his sleeve or tell him to hurry. The yellow stone rested between his paws, and the sun made a bright spot on its side.

At last, Jimmy placed it in his pocket.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll go tomorrow.”

Janice smiled. “You will?”

“Yes. I’ll go with you.” Jimmy pointed at her with one paw. “But you have to stay beside me.”

“I will.”

“And if I don’t know where to go, you have to ask someone.”

“I will ask with you.”

“And if the bus is too noisy - ”

“We can sit near the front,” Janice said. “Then we can hear each other.”

Jimmy’s tail moved once, then twice. “All right.”

Janice felt lighter. They had a plan. It was not a big plan, but it was enough for now.

She stepped onto the first stone in the path. “Let’s practice walking to the sidewalk.”

Jimmy followed her. His large house stood behind him, and Janice’s small home stood behind her. Between them, the stones made a simple trail.

They walked slowly. Janice counted the stones under her breath. Jimmy counted too, but he skipped every third number and made her laugh.

At the sidewalk, they stopped. Cars rolled by with a soft whoosh, and somewhere down the street a bird chirped from a tree.

“Tomorrow the bus will stop here,” Janice said.

Jimmy looked both ways along the road. “It looks different when I think about the bus.”

“How?”

“Bigger.”

Janice understood. The sidewalk had always been just a sidewalk. Now it was the place where school would begin.

She pointed to a blue mailbox near the corner. “We can stand there while we wait. We’ll see the bus when it turns.”

Jimmy nodded, but his paws slipped into his pockets. His paw touched the yellow stone.

“What if I change my mind in the morning?” he asked.

Janice’s smile faded, though she kept her voice gentle. “You might.”

“Then what?”

“Then I’ll remind you of our plan. You can still choose to go.”

Jimmy looked surprised. “You won’t make me?”

“No. I want you to come because you choose to.”

He studied her face. “Even if I say I hate school?”

“Even then,” Janice said. “But I may remind you that you have not met Mrs Hyree or seen the classroom yet.”

Jimmy gave a tiny smile. “You talk a lot.”

“I have many school thoughts.”

That made him laugh. It was a small laugh, but it sounded warm.

They walked back toward their homes. The yellow stone bumped softly against Jimmy’s pocket with each step.

At Janice’s gate, she turned to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow it is,” Jimmy said.

He started toward his front steps, then stopped. “Janice?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for waiting.”

Janice touched the green bow on her forehead. “Friends wait for each other.”

Jimmy nodded and went inside his gigantic house.

Janice entered her small home, where the smell of warm bread filled the kitchen. Her parents were waiting for her. Her mother, an anthropomorphic black cat, wore a white shirt and white skirt. Her father wore a long-sleeved buttoned shirt and dark yellow pants.

“Did Jimmy decide to go?” her mother asked.

Janice sat at the table. “He said he would.”

Her father placed a slice of bread on her plate. “That sounds good.”

“It is good,” Janice said. She looked toward the window. Through the glass, she could see Jimmy’s tall house next door. “I just don’t know if he really means it.”

Her mother set a cup of milk beside her. “Sometimes a promise feels small when a worry feels big.”

Janice wrapped both paws around the cup. The milk was warm, and the cup warmed her paws. “I told him we could take one step at a time.”

“That is a kind way to help,” her father said.

Janice pictured Jimmy standing at the bus stop. She pictured his paw touching the yellow stone in his pocket. She hoped he would remember their plan when morning came.

After breakfast, she placed her purple dress neatly beside her pajamas. Then she set her green bow on top of the dress.

Outside, the path between the homes lay quiet in the afternoon sun. The stones were still warm. Jimmy had agreed to go, and Janice had promised to stay beside him.

Still, as she looked at his closed door, a question rested in her mind.

Would Jimmy come out tomorrow?

Janice could not know yet. But she knew she would be waiting at the path, ready to take the first step with him.

A friend can make a new place feel easier by listening, staying close, and taking one small step at a time.

End of chapter one. 4 more chapters and about 8,067 words in the full book.