Maya's fingers dug into her mom's palm as they crossed the school threshold. The noise of twenty children hit her like a wave of sound. She pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head when her mom suggested she let go.
Her mom knelt and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She pointed to the yellow chair near the window — her chair. Maya stood frozen between the door and the classroom, one foot planted and the other hovering.
Maya drifted toward the art table where the girl in blue sneakers was coloring a dinosaur. The girl looked up, offered a red crayon without a word, and tapped the empty space beside her. Maya sat slowly, and the crayon was warm from the girl's hand.
She colored one green stripe on the dinosaur's back, then another. Her shoulders dropped a little. The wax left a quiet scratchy sound against the paper.
The girl grabbed a handful of crayons and colored wildly outside the lines. The dinosaur's legs became curly spaghetti. Maya gasped, then burst into laughter. 'Spaghetti-leg monster!' the girl declared, coloring it purple.
Maya grabbed a blue crayon and added swirling water beneath the monster's feet. Crayons clicked against the table. The girl pointed. 'Yours has a tail. Mine doesn't.'
Maya froze when she heard her name. Her mom stood at the classroom door and the dismissal bell rang. Maya looked from her mom to the half-finished spaghetti-leg monster. Her crayon slipped from her fingers and clicked against the floor.
Maya took two steps toward the door, then stopped and turned back. 'Will you be here tomorrow?' she whispered. The girl nodded vigorously and held up the drawing like a promise.
Maya walked out of the school holding her mom's hand. Her grip was loose and her steps were quick. She looked back over her shoulder at the classroom window where the girl in blue sneakers waved a purple crayon.
'Can I bring my own crayons tomorrow?' Maya asked. Her mom said yes. Maya's smile reached her ears.
