She quietly picked up her light purple backpack, slipped on her sneakers, and turned to head out the door with the other kids. Ms. Denise pulled her aside.
"Rhyme, shine bright today. Learn something new, okay?" Denise told her.
Rhyme nodded her head slightly and slowly followed the other kids as they got on the school bus. She took a seat near the front and pulled out a small blue journal, the one Ms. Denise had gifted her the night before. It was the second item she had ever owned.
Rhyme pulled out a pencil and opened the journal to the first page.
The bus had come to a red light. Rhyme glanced at the park out the window, her eyes landing on some daffodils. She put her pencil to the paper and began sketching the flowers.
A little girl with blonde hair stepped onto the bus and sat down next to Rhyme. Rhyme didn't notice the girl looking at her drawing, which looked quite impressive for a third grader.
"That's a really good drawing," the blonde told Rhyme.
Rhyme shot her a tiny smile, trying not to seem rude.
"I'm Lauren," the blonde moved her hair behind her ear.
Rhyme flipped the journal closed, showing her name on the front cover.
"Rhyme? That's a pretty name," Lauren smiled.
"Thanks," Rhyme quietly replied.
Lauren looked around the bus. Rhyme studied her, noting her blue eyes, shoulder-length hair, and light freckles. Rhyme noticed Lauren was wearing a brand new pair of twinkle toes shoes, something she's always wanted.
Once arriving at the school, the girls got off the bus and headed to their third grade classes. Rhyme remembered that Ms. Denise had told her that her teacher's name was Mrs. Cobalt.
She headed down the hallway and found the third grade classes, spotting one with her teacher's name above the doorframe.
As soon as she walked in, Mrs. Cobalt came over to her.
"Hi! Go pick a cubby and put your stuff away, then make a name tag and take a seat at a table," the teacher instructed cheerfully.
Rhyme chose a cubby on the end and put her backpack down. She took a seat at a table with no one at it and took a red sharpie and a name tag, writing her name in small letters. She put the name tag on and placed the sharpie in the middle of the table.
Other kids slowly filled the room, talking to their friends from the school year before. This was Rhyme's first year at Parksburg Elementary, and she knew no one.
A boy with short, curly hair had sat at her table a few minutes before and hadn't said a word to her. His name tag read Noah. Rhyme noticed that all the other tables were full, meaning that anyone else that came in was forced to sit either next to or across from her.
"Good morning class! I can tell that this is going to be a good year," Mrs. Cobalt smiled, then half-frowned, half-smirked.
"Take a look around. Almost every table has either all girls or all boys. Two girls and two boys at each table, let's go," she clapped.
Some of the students got up and swapped with the opposite gender. Three girls that were sitting at the same table were arguing over who had to leave. Mrs. Cobalt saw.
"Nope, all three of you are going at different tables since no one wants to leave. Carson go swap with someone from table 2, Sonia swap at table 1, and Sylvie join table 4," Mrs. Cobalt said. The girls complained as they got up and did what they were told.
Sylvie sat across from Rhyme and crossed her arms, looking over at Carson. Rhyme picked off the "nail polish", which was actually fast drying glitter glue, from when Haley insisted that she do Rhyme's nails two days before.
Once the swap was done, Mrs. Cobalt had the students stand up at their table and introduce themselves, saying their name and favorite flavor of ice cream. When it got to Rhyme's turn, she reluctantly stood up.
"I'm Rhyme and I like grape ice cream," she said quietly.
"Speak up honey, we can't hear you," Mrs. Cobalt told her.
Rhyme repeated herself slightly louder, and though she could barely hear it, Mrs. Cobalt thought she did okay.
Just within the first week, Mrs. Cobalt noticed something different about Rhyme. She would get every math problem correct and was excellent at spelling. She was very quiet and would never talk to anyone. During recess, she would either sit on the bench or swing on the swings, but never talked to or played with the other kids.
She was different.
A nice kind of different.
YOU ARE READING
Rhyme ~ an original story
General FictionShe's been told she isn't like the others. She's been told she's unique. She's been told she thinks in a way geniuses couldn't even think. But she didn't believe it. She didn't believe anyone, nor trust anyone. She's almost silent, just waiting f...
