The Beginning of a Friendship
Lucy was a shy and frightened litte girl when she first stood in front of Mrs. Campbell’s third-grade class. It was Monday. The teacher pointed to a two-student desk that was empty and told her to sit there.
Lucy walked over to her desk carefully. However, her books fell on the floor. Some of the kids in the class laughed- because that’s the way some kids were. Lucy picked up her books and sat down, alone. She was the only one without a desk partner. No one knew who she was. She was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone.
Every time she heard the other students talking and laughing, she felt her heart break. She couldn’t talk to anyone about her problem, and she didn’t want her parents to worry about her.
Then one day, something different happened. The teacher said, “Class, this week we are very lucky to have another new student, Henry.” The little boy came over and put his book bag on Lucy’s desk. He looked at her, smiled at her. It was a shy kind of smile, but it was a nice smile. She smiled back.
When lunch time came, Lucy sat on the bench under the big tree eating her butter sandwich. She didn’t feel like crying. She was looking for Henry. There he was – playing ball with some boys. Henry made friends quickly, it seemed. Then he looked over at Lucy and saw her looking at him. Shyly, she looked down, but when she looked up again, there was Henry-standing right in front of her, his lunch bag in his hand. “Can I sit on this bench with you?” he asked. She nodded. For a few minutes they didn’t talk at all. But right away Lucy knew she had a friend. Henry was nice. Some kids were just that way…