He crouched by the lockers.
Feet swarmed by. Sneakers, sandals, loafers, tennis-shoes. The hallways rang with voices and a smell wafted from the floor. A mix of sweat, old puke, and industrial cleaner. The smell of school.
It was odd. To be invisible.
Not literally, but still. A new kid in a city with more kids in this one building than in the whole town he’d come from.
“Hey, you,” a foot in a shiny Mary Jane nudged the edge of his bag.
He looked up.
“You Mark?”
He nodded.
“Cool. Come with. I’m Clara. Welcoming committee. Show you around.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
(Photo credit: J Hardy Carroll)
Na'ama Yehuda 
There are times when a friendly face is priceless
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Indeed! And oftentimes that is all it takes to make all the difference! 🙂 Thanks for reading, Neil!
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I’m glad schools do things like this now, such a difficult time of life to go through without a friendly face.
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Exactly! Yes, me too! A child I know has volunteered to be an embassador in their school – to find and show around and introduce new kids to others and teach them the ropes. Made good friends in the process.
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Glad for a welcomer. That is a hard situation.
Ronda
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Yes! Very! There are more and more schools that try to incorporate ‘ambassadors’ to welcome new students. It ends up teaching empathy AND preventing some trouble. Also, it is the decent thing to do.
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Very cool to have a welcoming committee. I’m sure it is useful in any school, but a huge one – it might be needed!
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Yes, absolutely needed. Kids can literally get lost and forgotten and trodden upon and no one would know … (or so it might feel). And being kind is good for the ‘welcomer’ too.
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Nice ending Na’ama
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Thank you! 🙂 I hope it was – for this kid – also a good beginning … 😉
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You’re welcome!
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🙂
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Feels like a start to a larger story. New schools are daunting. Great description.
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Thanks! Yes, they certainly can be, and not all are accommodating. Thankfully some schools are better these days at recognizing that helping children settle in with some help, helps prevent a lot of other issues in the long run (bullying, withdrawal, depression, aggression, anxiety, etc), all of which affect schooling and sometimes others in the school. … Also, being nice to newcomers is just the decent thing to do, and a good thing for kids (and some adults) to learn …
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I 100% agree! 😀
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Me do like being agreed with … 😉
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Brilliant idea! Lovely feel-good tale.
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Me love feel-good tales. We gots us plenty too much of not-so-feel-good realities around us … So, some balance … 😉
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Na’ama Y’karah,
This story just made me smile and smile some more. Glad he found a friendly face in the sea of strange ones. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, my friend! I’m glad it made you smile – we can use all the smiles we can get, especially these days. Not that there’s nothing to smile about, but there are surely tons of (justified) frowns and a LOT is at stake, and not all think that newcomers should be welcomed … while I totally think we do more with kindness than with bullying and intimidation … So, yeah … I’m glad he found a friendly face. It’s the decent thing to do. 🙂 Na’ama
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Sweetly told tale 🙂
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Thank you, Dora! 🙂
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i could relate. i remember the time my dad took me to first grade on first day of school. i cried because i didn’t know anybody. 🙂
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I’m sure many can relate! It is not necessarily a bad thing (in the long run) to experience some distress and overcome it, but there is no rule that says we should not try to minimize or soften it … So, yeah, knowing even ONE child can make all the difference. (and, yeah irst day of first grade can be super difficult!)
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Having been the new girl way too often, I was always thankful when someone finally broke through and offered a hand of friendship. Good story.
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Yes, I can see how that would be a relief! It should be something all schools seek to minimize and prevent when possible. Glad you liked it!
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I read this yesterday, forgot to comment. I can picture this scene so well, right down to that smell… maybe the smell the most, like the basement hall of the high school, the one down below the old moldy water pipes that once fed the old steam heaters. and the old gym, no windows, no ventilation… just “that” smell. Yuck! Okay, so that was a trip down the old memory lane… 🙂 ❤
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Oh, well … I guess that WAS effective … 😉 because now I can smell YOUR school … 😉
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hehe. Not sure you’d want to. LOL!
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😀 LOL
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❤ I love your story, Na'ama. Every school needs a welcoming committee.
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A friendly face and proper human contact at last 🙂
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Those final few words turned a sad story into a happy one. Delightful Na’ama.
Here’s mine!
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So glad you liked it! 🙂 Yes, sometimes sad can change to glad in a smile and a moment of connection. 🙂
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In all walks of life, a smile and pleasant human interaction can make a huge difference in someone’s day and even life. Good story.
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Thank you! Yes! I absolutely agree about the immense value of interaction!
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Nice that the school realises how overwhelming a first day can be.
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Yes! Some schools do. Not enough of them, but more and more. And it is good for the welcoming ambassadors, too … because it reinforces empathy and allows them to be the ones who are helping. Win-win!
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Love, love, love this, Na’ama!! Loneliest thing ever to arrive in a new school and know no one. I love they have welcoming committees in some places. One person that will make all the difference. Lovely story.
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Indeed! It is so important! I’m glad more schools are doing that! 🙂 xx
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💞
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🙂
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Wonderful story, Na’ama. Great take from the prompt.
I grew up in the same town. However, I spent a career moving about every three years. My children had the experiences of new starts at new schools and neighborhoods many times.
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Thank you, Bill! Yes, I think that this is a part of many’s experiences and while it need not be traumatic, it is certainly not a trivial reality for children. There is resilience in change but it doesn’t meant it isn’t taxing and that we shouldn’t do all we can to minimize the challenge. 🙂
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