Pebble squeezed flat behind the open door. His glasses fogged. He clutched his knapsack tight against the cool wood. Oh no, he thought.
One small sneaker wiggled forward over the threshold. Scritch-scritch went the sticky notes on thirty desks. Pebble yanked his foot back and cinched his knapsack straps tight.
He turned and faced the wall. The room hummed and buzzed behind him. Pebble tugged his knapsack straps once more and stood perfectly still.
Thirty little desks sat in neat rows. Yellow sticky notes fluttered on every corner. The morning sun poured across the linoleum, and the whole room hummed.
The teacher knelt low and pointed at the blackboard. "A seat right here — the sunflowers are waiting for you." Her finger traced the yellow chalk petals.
A wall of chalk sunflowers glowed yellow in the morning sun. Pebble blinked behind his fogged glasses. One petal. Two petals. Thirty petals.
Pebble let go of the doorframe. Squeak. One step. Squeak. Two steps. His sneaker stopped in the middle of the bright linoleum.
"H-hello," Pebble whispered. Two rows ahead, a girl with red pigtails shouted, "HI!" The whole room burst into giggles.
Pebble slid into the seat beside the sunflowers. His knapsack tumbled off with a soft thud. A crumpled crayon crab popped out onto the floor.
He tucked the crab drawing under his arm and turned to face the front. The bright room was just… a room. Pebble sat still.