A Minor Kidtroduction
Dear Internet
Real Life Writes the Plot
Chapter 1: A Minor Kidtroduction
It’s the springtime of the year 2002 in Newshore Port. Everywhere you turn, new life is in full bloom. With every breath of fresh air the small town brings, there are scents of so many flowers it’s enough to give a whale hay fever. The entire town on the coast positively glows with life and radiance. The townsfolk are brimming with at least a little warmth and compassion for their fellow man on the particular day I speak of, the day that’s vitally important.
Looking back, that day’s also one of the best days I’ve ever had in my short life, because that’s when we first met.
I was five then, a round little girl with curly ponytails and dimples and bare feet and soft cotton sundresses, that loved candy and wanted to become a candymaker or a cake decorator. No wonder I was chubby.
When we met, it was at Octavia’s sister’s birthday and our whole kindergarten class was invited. I remember that her name was Penelope, or maybe Patricia, and not much else other than there was a lot of pink.
Being me, I was more interested in the snacks than the people, and they had watermelon, which is still about the best fruit ever. I grabbed a big slice off someone’s abandoned plate and sat down in the grass away from the grownups to eat my watermelon in peace. There were birds chirping and butterflies around, and I was watching Vikki pull up dandelions and blow away their seeds into Octavia’s face. I liked watching Vikki and Tavi interact. Back then I liked to imagine what they’d be like as grownups, if they’d be married and have five little kids, or if they became princesses, because every little girl knows that princesses are the best because they get to sing and have a gigantic library and pull swords on people they don’t like.
I took my watermelon with me to go wander around Tavi’s family’s big place, and ended up sitting on the porch with my little feet swinging in the air, without a care in the world. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to be there, but five-year-old logic states that if you say sorry, you don’t get in trouble. Besides, I had watermelon.
I was watching a bumblebee buzz through the air when I felt someone sit next to me.
I turned and saw a scrawny blond kid with bare feet like me and a bunch of freckles, chewing on a slice of watermelon just like mine. She looked at me cheerfully with this big grin I never forgot, a grin that told me that we were gonna be good friends one day and when we are, this girl’s got plans.
“I like watermelon too!” she said, her gold eyes big.
“It’s good,” I said, looking away shyly. Watermelon juice dripped onto my yellow dress.
I heard her tilt her head. “Why’re you looking away like that?” she asked.
I shrugged.
I heard her sigh. “Well, we can’t be friends if you don’t talk to me! What’s your name?”
I’m silent for a few seconds before I answer, “Bonnie…”
“That’s a great name! I’m Lyra Mazebreaker Heartstrings!”
I looked at her quizzically. “Mazebreaker?”
“Yeah! It’s the best name, right?” she’s still grinning that big, ear-to-ear grin of hers.
“I guess,” I said carefully.
We sat there in silence for a minute before Lyra broke it.
“You don’t talk much, do ya, Bonnie?”
I shrugged.
“I like you!” she decided.
I had to smile a bit. “I like you too,” I said.
Then she did something I didn’t expect. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, right in the middle.
I inhaled. “What was that for?” I asked.
Lyra shrugged. “My mom told me that people who like each other kiss sometimes. Since I said I liked you, and you said you liked me, we can kiss now.”
I blinked, then shrugged, choosing not to argue. “Okay.”
Lyra wolfed down the rest of her watermelon slice and hopped off the porch. “Hey, let’s go meet my friends and have an adventure!” she said, a wild glint in her eye.
I didn’t like that glint, but I was glad to have what I could call a friend in this big town and big kindergarten. I wasn’t very social at five, and admittedly I’m still somewhat of an introvert.
Lyra didn’t give me a chance to reply. Instead, she grabbed my hand and towed me towards the gathering of people, me fighting to keep hold on my watermelon.
It was then, at that moment, I realized that me and Lyra wouldn’t just be friends. We’d be best friends, inseparable(though I didn’t know that word at the time), like the three musketeers only there’d be two of us! I realized I never wanted to stop being her friend, ever in a million zillion years. Even if we get all the way to be eighteen, we’d still be friends.
But eighteen’s forever away, I thought with a secret smile. “So we’ll be best friends for more than forever.”
It was that day that my circle of friends grew beyond just me and my family. It grew to Ditzy(her real name was too long for us to pronounce) and Tavi and Vikki and Gina, friends forever and for always and forever, as long as you care to go. I felt happy, really happy and included, for the first time I can remember.
But the bond Lyra and I shared was special. Lyra was the one who introduced me in the first place, after all, but besides that, I felt something strong between us, like a bungee cord. At first I chalked it up to nerves, but when it didn’t go away, I began to think. Better than that, I began to believe. I began to believe and dream and strive for the power that all humans should know: the magic of friendship.