Leo stood at the open front door in his red sneakers. His mom called, "Bus is coming!" but Leo shook his head.
His mom picked him up and set him on the kitchen counter. His toast crunches loudly as he sits beside the cereal box.
On the bus, Leo clutched his backpack strap between his fingers. The engine rumbled beneath him. Trees blurred past the window.
At school, Leo peeked around the classroom doorway. Two kids were stacking wooden blocks near the rug, building a tall tower.
Leo reached for a block. The tower crashed down with a loud clatter. All the other kids spun around to look at him.
Leo backed away and wandered to the cushioned reading corner. He pulled out a thick board book with crinkly pages.
From the edge of the rug, he spotted a boy with messy brown hair sitting alone, rolling a blue truck back and forth.
Leo grabbed his lunchbox, walked over, and sat down beside the boy. He opened the lunchbox and held out a cheese stick.
The boy stopped the truck, looked at it, then looked at Leo. He took the cheese stick and crunches.
"I'm Leo," he says. The boy takes the cheese stick and crunches. "Sam," he says, and smiles.
They sat together on the rug, eating their snacks. The blue truck rolled back and forth between them, bumping gently.
Leo looked around the classroom. It didn't seem so scary anymore. He was glad he had met Sam.
