The morning bell dings loud. Marisol waves her red crayon at the whole class. "Play with me!" Three kids shake their heads. No.
The girl in the yellow raincoat colored the same square. Over. And over. Without looking up. Marisol's red crayon snapped clean in half.
On the bench by the slide, knees pulled tight, a red scrape on her shin. Marisol plopped down beside her. The girl shoved a ball away with her toe.
"No one likes my raincoat." The sun glinted hard on the yellow fabric. Outside, the slide creaked. Tap-tap-tap went Marisol's fingers on the bench.
Marisol crouched very low. "What do you want to do?" The girl's chin wobbled. "I just… I missed my old class." A pigeon cooed on the bench.
"Tell me about your old class." The girl's eyes went round, then a big snorty laugh. "They had a HAMSTER named TUESDAY!" Marisol giggled.
The girl patted the empty spot on the bench. "Sit." Marisol sat down. The pigeon tucked its head under a wing and went still.
Ding-ding-ding! A boy in a blue shirt stood at the classroom door, clutching a stuffed lizard. Marisol walked up. "Hi!"
"I'm Marisol. Bea likes animal stories—come sit." The boy's eyes went wide. The little stuffed lizard's tail wiggled between his fingers.
Three kids turned their chairs around. The boy sat down. Out the open window, the slide creaked and creaked in the warm afternoon light.