the boy down the block

year 6

"IT'S COMING JASON IT'S COMING!!!" i shouted as i spotted the big yellow school bus making its way up our street toward the bus stop.

"calm down, it's just the school bus. it's nothing special." he shushed me.

"OH MY GOSH" i exclaimed, not listening to him. "FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL I'M SO EXCITED!!!"

i got an eye roll from Jason in response.

finally, the bus stopped in front of our stop and its big black doors opened up to welcome us onto it.

Jason got on first, then the other boy in his grade, followed by me and the two other boys in my grade.

i stepped on the bus and looked around in awe at all the other children on the bus. in the front were quiet, but anxious boys and girls awaiting their arrival to school with their perfectly packed lunches perched on their laps, and in the back were what seemed like the older kids, already tired of the first day of school excitement. they laughed and shouted and threw paper balls at each other.

Jason headed straight to the back with the other second graders. i tried to follow him, but a boy in the first grade pulled me into his seat instead.

"hey, what was that for? i wanted to sit with my friend Jason!" i impatiently asked the boy. he had dusty blonde hair and bright blue eyes and a star wars lunch box to contrast my barbie one.

"you don't want to go back there, trust me," he said. "the second-graders hate the kindergartners."

"no, my best friend Jason is a second-grader and he doesn't hate me!" i defended. "if he hates me, then how come we eat goldfish together every day after Jason gets back from school?"

" things are different at school, trust me. when my big sister first went to school, i was three and whenever she came home she would teach me how to read and write a little bit while she did her homework. then, when i went for the first time, she pretended she didn't know me anymore. when we got home that day, she explained that at school, we weren't brother and sister anymore, because i would ruin her reputation."

"that's horrible!" i exclaimed, "but that won't happen to me, he's my best friend."

"you'll see." he said solemnly, "but right now, you're stuck with me, so we might as well be friends.

"ok, i'm Alex. what's your name?"

"oh my gosh really? my name's Alex too!"