Croma stepped onto the wobbly rope bridge of the jungle treehouse school. The squawking of parrots and chattering of frogs made him squeeze his eyes shut. His scales instantly turned the exact dull gray of the wooden planks. A loud school bell rang, and he froze completely.
Inside the classroom, the teacher asked everyone to say their names. Croma opened his mouth, but only a tiny squeak came out. He shrank behind a large, prickly fern leaf. His entire body shifted into a bright, glaring yellow as the other animals tilted their heads to look.
A monkey swung down from a vine, dangling upside down right in front of the fern. "Are you a banana?" the monkey asked, tapping the little nose with a fuzzy finger. Croma blinked in surprise. Confused purple polka dots flashed quickly across his yellow scales.
Croma took a deep breath of the sweet, damp jungle air and shook his head. "I'm Croma, and I am yellow because I feel shy," he whispered. He watched his purple dots slowly fade into a calm, cool blue. The monkey flipped upright into a seat and grinned a wide, toothy smile.
The monkey grabbed a pair of hollow log drums and started tapping a bouncy, rhythmic beat. "I'm Milo, and this beat makes me feel happy!" the monkey cheered. Croma tapped his tail enthusiastically against the wooden floor to match the rhythm. Suddenly, his body burst into a joyful, vibrant orange.
The other classmates gathered around the drums, clapping and sharing their own favorite sounds. Croma boldly stepped right into the middle of the circle. He shook a bumpy seed pod proudly in time with the roaring music. From head to tail, he shimmered in a breathtaking, multi-colored rainbow.
