Clara walked into school with a box on her head. The top flaps were folded down like ears. Tap, tap, tap went her fingers against the cardboard.
The classroom bell rang, but she did not move toward her desk. The girl in pink pointed at her and whispered to a friend. The friend giggled behind his hand.
One plane bumped her box. Thunk. She flinched and pressed her shoulders up against the cardboard sides.
Clara sat at her desk and pulled the box closer. She traced the crayon drawings on the outside — a sun and a cat — and pretended she could not hear the whispers.
She reached up with both hands and pulled the box off her head. She held it tight against her chest, eyes squeezed shut, breathing fast. She waited for someone to laugh.
A girl at the front table stood up and walked over, holding out a sticker. 'I like your hair,' she said.
Clara opened her eyes. Then another kid rose, then another, until three children were standing around her desk with smiles and small gifts.
Clara let the box fall to the floor and smiled back. The girl in pink grinned. The whole room seemed to breathe again.
Clara picked up the sticker and stuck it on her desk. Then she picked up the stone and the paper bird and held them close.
Clara looked around the room. It did not feel so big anymore. She turned to the girl in pink and said, 'Thank you.'