Forgotten Once

"Table five," she said," you are dismissed. Please grab your connections and backpacks from your cubby." 

Everyone rushed to the cubbies faster than I did. I almost fell. I wanted to get home. I wanted to show mom and dad what I had written today, but the thought of a sister coming did not help me much. My birthday would be coming up soon. Would I get a big party? Or maybe mom will bring cake to school and I can share with my friends! Or maybe she will be too busy with the baby? 

My mom had been getting fat these days and dad said it was my sister coming. Why did my mom eat my sister? 

I was standing on top of the number 5. My shoes were dirty and needed a wash. I was not the line leader, but I was close to the front. I sat on the cold green bench. I hate the cold. It bothered my skirt a lot. I felt like my butt was freezing. I held on tight to my button-down sweatshirt. I could not possibly lose this sweater too- I had already lost about three  sweaters in a year. They all looked the same, how can you expect me to remember which one is mine? The sweater is green, with Camino Nuevo written at the front. EVERY sweater has it! 

Looking at the clock from where I sat, iIt read 3:00, or maybe 12:03, I was still not sure how you read the clock yet. I knew my mom or dad would come soon. I would be able to show them my work and how good I was today. 

Ms.Sandoval stood there. She said hello to the parents and told them how my friends had behaved that day. Ms.Sandoval said Kimberly had done a good job that day. She had, she had helped me color in the animals on the work sheet. Then I saw Ashley leave with her mom. Ashely said something about the animals we learned in class today but I couldn't hear her. One by one, every student and parent left. I was getting jumpy. I wanted to see my mom and my dad. 

I asked Ms.Sandoval what time it was. 3:45 she said. Almost everyone was gone. The only kids left were the intervention kids, who had extra school because they were behind in their classes. We waited a while longer, but soon I was sitting on the brown bench. It was  worse than the green one! It meant you had been forgotten, left alone. Maybe my dad was not going to pick me up? Oh no! Why would they leave me? Did I do something wrong? Was it the bubbles that annoyed them? 

Ms.Susy had called my parents; she called all the parents that were late for us. 

"They said they will be here soon," she said. She told me I could come in to the office and sit on the fluffy green bench. It was not all that bad now. I was inside, safe. Ms.Susy was always nice. I had been in her office several times after I had fallen on the playground. This time she said she was happy I was not bleeding and crying. She gave me some cookies and asked me questions about the day, and about how today I did not walk into her office earlier in the day bleeding or with a bruise.  

She kept talking to me and I stopped feeling bad after a while. It is going to be alright, this will soon pass.