I Don't Wanna Go

Today is my first day at school. I’m really scared because I don’t wanna leave Mommy. Mommy has always been there for me and protected me. What am I gonna do without her? I’ve never known anything else besides my home and my grandma’s and my grandpa’s house. I really don’t wanna go. Please don’t make me, Mommy!1

My heart beat-raced as I thought about having to leave. Mommy woke me up a little bit early so I could be on time. She kept asking me, “You don’t want to be late, do you?” The thing was, I did wanna be late. I didn’t wanna go at all. I started munching on my cheerios as my fear began to increase. It felt like every bite increased my fear, but I just kept eating. I love cheerios.2

After I finished eating, Mommy took me upstairs and started getting me ready, like we did everyday. She brushed my teeth and combed my hair. Then we put on my blue jeans, my red, striped shirt, and my little blue tennis shoes. “Honey, let’s not forget to put a jacket on you because it’s suppose to be cold today; it may even snow.” Mommy always knew what was best for me; that’s why I love her. “We have to hurry, sweet heart. Otherwise, we might be late and we wouldn’t want you to be late now, would we?”3

We rushed out the door and got on our way. Mommy forgot my jacket. “Mommy, mommy! We forgot…” I said, but Mommy wasn’t paying attention. 4

We got into the car and she strapped me into my seat. As we pulled out of the driveway, Mommy remembered my jacket. She slammed her fist down hard on the steering wheel and said some words I had never heard before. She muttered under her breath as she pulled back into our garage and ran inside to get my jacket.5

Finally, we got on our way again. Mommy seemed even more rushed than we had been before. It made me more scared, so I began to cry. That made Mommy even madder and she began to yell at me. Tears trickled down my face as I could taste the salty flavor as it touched my tongue. Why was Mommy so mad at me? I don’t wanna go to school.6

We pulled away from our house and memories entered my mind. That one time we were playing in the front yard having a water fight; that was a lot of fun. Then I remembered that time I was learning to ride my bike and I slipped and fell. That really hurt! I remembered so many good and bad memories as the house slowly faded into the distance. I turned around in my seat as far as it would let me so I could catch a last glimpse of the house.7

I looked outside the windows at some of the familiar places I had been before. I saw the McDonalds where Mommy and Daddy often got me an ice cream cone. I saw the park where we went to swing and play on the see-saw. These sights made me not wanna go to school even more. I wanted to play at the park or go to McDonalds and eat ice cream. I don’t wanna go to school.8

The sights and scenes went by slowly as we drove for a long, long time. Mommy stopped the car and turned around to face me with a grin, “We’re here!” I had stopped crying a little while ago, although the salty tears still lingered on my face. The next few seconds went by in a blur. Mommy got out of the car and got me out. We were walking inside, but I don’t even remember doing it. All I remember is suddenly being at the door leading into my class.9

Some strange lady came out and smiled at me. “You must be Nathaniel. Come on in.” Who was this strange woman? Don’t touch me! I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go! I began to scream and cry again as she picked me up. I kicked my legs and struggled as much as I could. I didn’t wanna be held by this woman! Let me go! I continued to squirm and scream until she handed me over to my mommy.10

I wrapped my arms around her neck and my legs around her waist. I never wanted to let her go. Mommy just held me there for a while, comforting me as I slowly stopped screaming and crying. She set me down, but I kept close to her, wrapping my arms around her leg. I just held on for the longest time as the teacher and my mommy talked.11

A little boy and his mommy came up and I heard him screaming. I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was scared. These other kids were just like me. I still didn’t want to go, but I let go of Mommy and went with the teacher and this other little boy into the class room. When I turned back around, Mommy was gone. I wanted to scream, but I decided not to, although I still don’t know why I didn’t.12

I kept close to the teacher because all these other new kids scared me. I didn’t wanna make new friends. I liked life how it was and I didn’t want it to change. I glanced around the room at all the other boys and girls. Some were in a corner playing legos together, others were sitting on the floor, but I saw one kid playing by himself with two transformer figures. He looked lonely and scared… just like me!13

I ran over and sat down by him. He looked up at me and said, “You wanna play with me?” I nodded my head with a smile. I grabbed the action figure as he handed it to me. 14

“Vrrooom… boom!” I made the noises as I flew my action figure around.15

“Rawr… grrr…. Shww…”16

“Powwww… poww…”17

“Ahhhhh…”18

We played and laughed for a little while until the teacher called us over for her to begin class. I had just found my new best friend. Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad.19

We ran over and sat on the colorful rug that all the other kids were sitting on. The teacher cleared her throat and began talking. “Hey there! My name is Miss Robertson, but you can call me Miss R, for short. Welcome to my kindergarten class. I’m so excited to be teaching you guys this year.” She smiled, looking around at us. She kinda seemed nice, like Mommy. “This year we’ll be learning all sorts of fun stuff like learning our shapes, how to count, our ABC’s, and all sorts of fun stuff like that.” I’m really glad that I decided to come school.20

“So, how many of you like to color?” We all screamed out that we liked to and one kid started jumping up and down. “Well, over at those tables I have got paper and some crayons. I want you guys to go over there and draw me a picture of your favorite thing in the entire world.”21

My new friend and I went over and sat down at one of the round tables. I wanted to draw a picture of my mommy and daddy. I grabbed a couple of colors and started my piece of art work. “So, what’s your name?” I said.22

“My name’s Tommy. What’s yours?” said my friend.23

“Mine’s Nathaniel, though you can call me Nathan,” I replied. I smiled looking at him. “So, what are you drawing?”24

“I’m drawing a picture of my house,” he said as he motioned to his picture. “See, there’s my mommy and daddy and there’s my soccer ball. What are you drawing?”25

“My mommy and daddy because they are always there for me and love me. I love them so much!” I smiled proudly and then I went back to drawing. I grabbed a couple more colors to finish it up.26

Miss R came up behind me and looked down at my paper. “Nathaniel, that’s an amazing picture…. Can I keep this and hang it up in the classroom?”27

I wanted to say no because I wanted to take it home and show it to my parents, but I said, “Yep, go ahead.” I smiled confidently and handed it to her. She took it and went and stuck it up on the wall. I was proud of my work and hopefully Mommy and Daddy would be able to see it sometime, too.28

Soon, all of us were finished with our pictures and Miss R called us back over to the mat. Tommy and I sat next to each other. “So, does anyone want to share their pictures that they drew?” she said.29

One little girl a little ways away from me stood up and held up her picture so everyone could see. “This is a picture of my dog Pickle. We gave him that name because when he was a puppy he got into a pickle jar and ate all of our pickles,” the girl said. Everyone laughed as she sat down.30

“All right, thanks for sharing Sarah. Anyone else want to show us their picture?”31

A boy near the teacher stood up, beaming as he looked around. “Hi! This is a picture of my toy car. I got it from Santa Clause last Christmas and it’s my favorite car. It has light up parts and everything!”32

“Hey, that’s a really good drawing there, Peter. So, how many of you have a favorite toy?” 33

Shouts came up saying, “I do, I do!”34

Everyone started talking, but Miss R brought us back in. She’s a great teacher! “Well, I’m going to read a story about a girl who has a favorite toy. So you can make yourself comfortable and listen to the story.”35

I moved around and laid on my stomach, facing the teacher. As she began to read, I became more and more tired. My eyes grew heavy and so they slowly shut. I drifted off into a peaceful sleep hearing my new, favorite teacher read the story.36

* * *37

I awoke to the gentle shaking of Miss R. “Hey Nathaniel… time to go home.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Time already?38

“But… I don’t wanna go home,” I said with a yawn.39

“Your mommy is already here to pick you up.”40

I looked around the room and saw Mommy standing over in the corner smiling. “Mommy! Mommy!” I jumped to my feet and ran over to her. She reached down and picked me up. She stood there holding me as we hugged for, well, it seemed like the longest time ever.41

“How was your day, honey?” She smiled, combing back my hair as she normally did.42

“It was amazing! We got to draw pictures and Miss R read us a story and everything. It was great! Can I come back tomorrow?”43

Mommy smiled at me. “Of course!” Then she put me down and we went home.44

By: Sharcu(Tim)45