Calamity Friendship

Episode 2: First Day of Kindergarten

Drake stepped into the classroom for the first time. Unsure of how the day was going to play out. Going to a playground to meet other kids was one thing but this felt different. Drake sat down at an empty seat.

A few minutes later a woman entered the classroom. She stood behind a large desk. "Good morning class."

"Good morning Mrs. Gaylord." the rest of the students said in unison.

"I'd like to introduce our newest student. Drake Cohen. Please come stand in front of the class." Mrs. Gaylord said.

Drake silently walked to the front of the room. He stopped in front of the teacher and smiled as he turned to face the class.

"Introduce yourself." Mrs. Gaylord said.

"Hi, I'm Drake." Drake said with a little bit of shyness.

"Hello Drake." the other students replied.

"Since Drake is new here, he's not going to be joining us in our play today." Mrs. Gaylord explained. "I hope you all practiced. It's time to change into your costumes. Please form a single file line at the door."

The children all lined up at the door with Drake standing at the back. Then they all filed out of the classroom. After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a large theater where the stage had already been set and a number of costumes were ready to be worn. All of them were teeth that could be worn on top of the children's normal clothing.

The children started to put on their costumes, all except Drake who was instead given his own private seat backstage where the audience wouldn't see him. As they prepared for the first act, Drake noticed a familiar dark-skinned girl putting on a tooth suit. He couldn't quite remember her name though.

Once everyone was in position, the curtains were pulled back. The children were lined up behind a large toothbrush prop. The girl Drake vaguely recognized started her performance.

She stepped forward. "I'm a tooth that's the truth!" suddenly she tripped and screeched as she fell. She landed on the toothbrush prop, causing the curtain to rip. An overhead light fell onto the stage, causing the entire stage to immediately be engulfed in flames.

The children started running in all directions. Panic ensued as parents rushed forward, trying to save their children. Some of the adults scrambled to hit the fire alarm or call for help while others attempted to escape the theater.

Drake's heart was racing as he didn't know what to do. He noticed the fire approaching the girl who had fallen. Drake charged forward and grabbed her hand. He then pulled her up with all the strength he could muster.

The girl looked up at him, a little confused as to what was going on. She felt him pull her to her feet. It was then she noticed the fire that threatened to consume everyone.

Drake tightly held the girl's hand as he ran towards the door, dragging her with him out of the theater. Not letting go, he dragged her out the front door towards the parking lot where a lot of cars were parked.

Not long after, more people poured out of the building as the entire school evacuated. The adults were all standing in a group, talking about what just happened while the kids were still confused. Smoke could be seen rising from the section of the building that housed the theater.

Some of the kids noticed Drake. "Hey, look he's holding her hand..." one of the kids teased.

"Looks like Drake has a crush!" another kid. said.

Drake looked down and noticed he still hadn't let go of her even though she was struggling to get out of his grip. He immediately let go.

Two adults appeared, presumably her parents. She walked away with them.

Some of the kids started singing. "Drake and Anne are sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Stop it!" Drake said in frustration.

There was more laughter as Drake started to back away from the group. He started blushing in embarrassment from the humiliation.

A few moments later, large red fire trucks appeared in front of the school, escorted by police cars. The firefighters climbed off the truck and walked into the building burning with fire hoses and various tools.

"Attention everyone!" a man called out which silenced the entire crowd. "Due to the unexpected fire, school has been cancelled for the rest of the day."

Drake felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. He turned around and saw his dad standing over him in his police uniform. "Drake, what happened?"

"I don't know, a fire just suddenly started." Drake answered.

Drake felt his father lightly grip him. "It's alright. Wait in the police car and we'll go home."

Drake started walking towards the back seat when he heard a voice. "Hey, wait!"

The two adults along with the familiar girl approached. "That's him." the girl said.

"Thank you so much for saving our daughter." the mother said.

"You're a good kid." the father complimented.

Drake didn't know what to say. He simply smiled then reached for the police car door. He barely managing to open it and get inside. With the door closed, the conversation was muffled but he knew his father was talking with the other two parents.

Then another police officer approached and joined the conversation. After a few moments, their conversation ended. Drake's father got into the driver's seat. "Alright, let's go home."

The police car drove off, leaving behind the still burning school.

Author's Note

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Here we are with still a few days to spare before the end of the month. Thinking up an episode for this story can actually be pretty difficult. One thing is sure, I'm going to be doing time jumps far more frequently than I originally anticipated. Which also means this story is going to be much shorter than I thought. Hope you are all enjoying the series of one shots.