Page 27 of Home Field Advantage
“You do?”
“Of course.” I chuckle lightly at how cute she is. “I put it closest to my desk for now. This way, if you need anything, I’m right there.”
“That makes me feel a whole world better.”
“Good,” I say through a laugh.
She makes her way to the open desk, and I take my place in the front of the classroom.
“Waterfall, waterfall,” I announce to the room.
The kids all raise their hands and say, “Shhh,” as their hands fall in a waterfall down the front of them.
“Excellent job. Today is a very extra-special day. We have a new friend in class. Everyone, help me give Sage the biggest warm welcome.”
They all turn to face her, and her cheeks turn a shade of pink. Then, all the students shout their greetings—a mix of hi, welcome, and hello—while they all wave.
“Hi.” She raises a hand in the air shyly to return the greeting.
“You all remember how nervous you were on the first day of school, so we’re going to do our best to use our kind words to make this a great day for her.”
“Sage, will you be my new best friend?” Ally says from the desk next to her.
“Sure.” Sage beams, and they both high-five before facing me again.
I spend the next few minutes settling into our morningroutine, which the classroom seems to thrive on. We review the calendar, the day of the week, and the month before discussing the weather. After that, we do a quick review of spelling words that were covered throughout the week.
Sage fits right in, as if she’s been a part of this class since day one. I watch her to learn more about her and ensure she’s picking up on things.
When I wrap up, we go around the classroom and let each student introduce themselves to Sage. As each of them says their name, their favorite snack, and a fun fact about themselves, I notice Sage’s fears melt away in front of my eyes.
“Do you want to tell the class a little about yourself?” I ask Sage.
She nods, standing the way everyone else did. “I’m Sage. Which you all know.” She giggles, and the rest of the students follow suit. “My favorite snack is weird, but I really like croutons dipped in Caesar dressing. But I like what I like.” She shrugs.
“I want to try that,” one student shouts.
“That’s not weird at all. If it makes you feel less weird, I eat my bread from the inside out,” another says.
“I do, too.” Sage smiles with wide eyes. “That’s so cool.”
Seeing and hearing them all interact and make Sage feel welcome is everything I could have hoped for this day. While she feels less nervous, I do too. She fits right into the crazy crew I’ve come to know over our first few months of the school year, and I know we’re going to have a great year together.
“What about a fun fact?” I ask Sage.
“Hmm.” She brings her fingers to her chin, deep in thought. “I have lots of fun facts. But Ireally, reallylove doing puzzles.”
“Ilovepuzzles,” I say, grinning from ear to ear.
“I wish my daddy was good at puzzles to do them with me. He prefers murder.”
My face falls, and I’m positive all the color drains from my face. For a six-year-old, that’s a heavy topic to carry. Julia said herparents—plural—were coming to sign paperwork later.
Oh, my god. Was her father a murderer?
No. If he’s coming here, he can’t be.
My insides crumble, and I can’t help it when my brain goes to the worst-case scenario. Would he come after me? Would he go after her? Is that why she’s in this small town and we haven’t heard about anyone else moving here? Are they hiding?
