you'll be with me until the sun shines through the night

[cheerleader]

[On the first day of Kindergarten, Chrissy cries when her parents leave her. She's never been away from them before, and is terrified. She tries to cry as quietly as possible, and hides under one of the big circle tables so the teacher won't be angry at her for crying. Her mother always gets mad at her when she cries. She thinks she might be forgotten under there when eventually a boy crawls under and hands over a wooden block.

He doesn't say anything but goes back to the tower he's building. She ends up curiously watching him, and crawls out from under the table to hurry over and help him. When the tower gets taller than she is, he pulls her back and knocks it over with a big kick. She laughs, even as the loud noise makes her jump and scurry to hide behind him.

He says his name is Edward, but he likes to be called Eddie. She's still too shy to say her name, but follows along after him when the teacher says it's time to sit on the carpet. Chrissy sits at his side for the entire story, and waits until he stands up before she does too. They're told to find their names at their seats, and Chrissy is dismayed when teacher makes her sit at her table. Eddie is on the other side of the room. And she has to sit next to someone named Jason instead. He likes to talk about all the toys he has, and how good he is at basketball. Chrissy stares over at Eddie in a panic, and is incredibly grateful when it's time to play outside.

It's when they're outside that Eddie tells her it's his second year in Kindergarten. She thinks that's really cool, especially since he knows the way this whole school thing works. They spend the entire recess pretending he's a dragon and she's a princess, and for the first time all day Chrissy can't stop laughing and smiling. When they have to go back inside though, Jason grabs her by the hand and tells her to stay by him instead. She turns and looks at Eddie with scared eyes as she's drug away.

But later that afternoon, after a stressful lunch where Chrissy didn't dare do anything but pick at her food, they're able to have free play choices in the classroom. The teacher has noticed her flocking toward Eddie and suggests she try playing with a girl named Robin instead. She's really funny and nice, and Chrissy gets wrapped up in playing with instruments together. But when she hears Jason yell that someone's a freak, she looks over to see him being mean to Eddie.

She's a good girl, one that doesn't want to get into trouble. But she still marches over and uses both hands to shove Jason over. Chrissy takes Eddie by the hand right after, and she runs them over to hide behind the puppet theater in the corner of the room. The teacher manages to find them pretty quickly, and the second she's scolded for pushing someone, Chrissy breaks down into tears. The teacher takes her by the hand and sits her out at the table, and she sits there and sobs. She doesn't stop even when Eddie sits down beside her and pats at her shoulder. Getting in trouble on the first day of school is the worst thing that's ever happened to her.]