On a bus, a little girl sat alone, eagerly awaiting her first day of Kindergarten. The other children were bouncing up and down in their seats, causing the driver to every once in awhile glare with furrowed brow into the rear view mirrors at the children behind. The kids would continue with their antics, and the only one that could feel the driver's eyes up and down her small body was the girl and she was afraid.
There were no exchanges of kindness on the bus, no glances of friendly reassurance. It was a poor way to start off the first day of school.
Then, as she walked onto the campus and followed the swarms of children to a small office, she felt like one goat in a heard. At the office, things were in an uproar.
"Where did all of these kids come from?"
"They are all enrolled."
"Can't you cut some of them? Send them to another school?"
She could not hear the rest of the conversation, for she was ushered by a small lady to a dark and ominous room.
"Stay here!" the woman barked, and slammed the door.
The girl looked around. She saw a light switch on the wall and walked over to flick it on, but she was not tall enough. The door was closed and she could not reach to grab the handle to open it. So, she sat down and huddled into a ball like a dog does when it is cold.
Then, just as she was about to give up all hope of ever going home again, she heard the turning of a key in the lock of the door and then saw someone push it open. The girl crawled back into the shadows and waited.
Children were being ushered in by a woman with a net on her head. It was the teacher come with her class. She had been some time, and the lady from the office had thought that she was going to be earlier than she was.
As the children sat down on the rug, she walked to the front of the class and hollered.
"I am Miss Gulls! You may call me Miss G!"
She spotted the little girl in the back of the room and beckoned her forward. The girl did so, crawling on all fours, and when one of the boys poked a pencil at her and began laughing, she lunged for him and bit as hard as she could at their hand.
"Oooowww!" the child sobbed.
The teacher came up screaming, "Let go this instant, you little beast! Take those nasty little fangs of yours out of that boy..."