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.]

Comments

[cheerleader]

[She's still on shaky legs after climbing down that tree. It had been so scary, but Eddie kept her safe. Even now he's holding her hand as they walk. She trusts him to keep her safe. She's so excited about the idea of running away with him to have their own house that she doesn't even look back behind her at the life she's leaving behind.

All she knows is that if Eddie's going somewhere, she has to be there too.]

Yeah, lots of fun! [She laughs, swinging their arms.] Only...

[They're at the end of her street now, and he pulls her along across it and around the corner.]

Do you know where we can even find a house?

[gygaxed]

Um...

[ Eddie trails off, trying to think about what their lives in the woodPs might be. He wishes that it was as simple as them finding a house already ready and waiting for them. Even now, at the age where they are young and full of optimism, it doesn't seem likely. By himself. nothing seems to matter, but with Chrissy, everything seems different.

Eddie keeps a death grip on her hand, hesitating only when they come to the edge of the woods. ]

I think it'll be easy. [ And while he wants that to be true, he feels nothing but hesitant now. ] The forest is nice, I think.

[cheerleader]

[Surprisingly, it's Chrissy that puts on a brave face and leads the way into the forest. The trees are tall and the sunlight starts to fade away pretty quickly. But they're together, and this is an adventure.]

It's really nice, Eddie. See?

[She gasps and points over toward a couple of rabbits that are running past. In her mind, anywhere that has bunnies around has to be safe. Right? So she keeps walking, holding on tighter and tighter to his hand.

After walking aimlessly for an hour or so they wind up face to face with a giant rock that looks an awful lot like a skull. They both are stopped before it, heads tipped back enough to take it in completely.]

It's not a house but maybe we can rest here?

[gygaxed]

[ Seeing the rabbits help in a way he wouldn't have expected. It settles the funny feeling in his stomach, and makes him smile. There are all sorts of animals in the woods, and he likes animals. Part of him is still naive enough to think that the animals might help them somehow, fairytale style. After an hour of wandering they come across skull rock, and Eddie can't help but find it impossibly cool. ]

Yeah! [ He's bright and excited, squeezing her hand as he tugs her towards the sheltered area beneath the rock. Once there, he slings his backpack from his shoulders, digging through it in search of snacks. Eddie pulls out an apple and bites into it, before fishing out a second to offer it to Chrissy. ]

You want some?

[cheerleader]

[She's really hungry after not getting a snack or dinner. Nodding eagerly, she takes hold of the apple in both hands and begins to devour it. She doesn't care if she's messy right now. She's starving!

They talk about their plans from that point, which direction to keep going in. It's evening now, and the sunlight that's left is starting to fade.]

Maybe if we keep going, there's a cabin. People go camping in the woods!

[gygaxed]

[ Eddie doesn't think he should be watching her eat. He knows she has some weird feelings about it, ones that he doesn't quite understand. But she looks so happy as she bites into the apple, it's hard not to watch. His own snack is what finally gets him to pull his attention away. ]

Yeah, I think you're right!

[ He isn't sure that she's right, but he very much wants her to be. Because for all his previous bravado about running away, he's starting to get a little concerned. He had hoped it would be like one of those stories, where they find someplace beautiful to live away from cruel parents. Eddie stands and takes her hand in his, walking them both deeper into the woods.

But there isn't any cabin, and soon the sun has set and left them to wander in what moonlight manages to filter through the trees. ]

Um... there might not be any cabins out here.

[cheerleader]

[It's about at this point that Chrissy starts feeling afraid. He's holding her hand, and that helps a little, but she's starting to realize that things aren't as fun as she originally thought they would be. They're lost in the woods, and it's dark. Her feet hurt, and she's tired, and it's taking all of her effort to not ask for another break.

They walk for a little longer before she bursts into tears.]

Eddie, I want to sit down! I'm too tired to keep going.