The Joy of Friendship

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The Joy of Friendship

• Susan Booth

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Were in the same class together!!
Okay girls, go see what the sign says!!
Thats awesome. This is going to be the best
year ever!
Come on Susan, hurry up!
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Yep, lets do it! Bring on the new year!
Bye Mom, thanks for the ride. I love you!
Hey Sarah, Im here! Are you ready?
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Hi girls, my name is Mrs. Meyers. Im going to
be your teacher this year! Welcome to our
classroom.
I hope so too. Her name is Mrs. Meyers right? I
bet thats her!
Looks like we have a new teacher this year. I
hope she is nice!
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Hi, sorry Im late! I just moved here and I
dont know my way around the school.
Hi boys and girls! My name is Mrs. Meyers and
were going to be spending a lot of time together
this year!
Well, welcome to Bloomington. This is my first
year here too!
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Yea, its Ali. Umm, its okay I guess. Im not
really used to it and I miss my friends from
home. Well I guess this is home now.
Hi Sarah. No thanks, Ill be okay. Enjoy your
lunch!
Yea, I know that it is hard to move, but youll
make friends here.
Its Ali, right? My name is Susan. How do you
like Bloomington so far?
Hey Ali, this is my best friend Sarah. Do you
want to eat lunch with us?
It was nice meeting you Ali!
Alright class, it is time for lunch. See you
back here in a little bit and enjoy your lunch
and recess!
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I dont know. Maybe she doesnt like us or is
busy. Oh well, it is going to be a great year!
Why do you think Ali didnt want to eat with us?
Okay. If you dont finish all of your pizza I
will!
I dont know. We offered to eat lunch with her
and she said no. Lets just wait and see what
she does.
Shes sitting over there all by herself. Should
we go sit with her?
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Okay, sounds good!
Lets stop by and see if Ali wants to play with
us at recess.
Hey Ali. Sarah and I are getting ready to head
out to recess. Do you want to join us?
Thanks, but I brought a book to read today.
Maybe another time.
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One week later
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Well I am really proud of you Susan. That was
very thoughtful of you to ask Ali to eat lunch
with you guys and play at recess with you. Do
you remember how scared you were on your first
day of preschool after we moved here?
Well maybe that is how Ali felt today. Maybe she
just needed today to adjust to all of the
changes. Give her a little time to open up and
get comfortable here. Why dont you try asking
her tomorrow and see what she says.
Hi honey. Im doing well thanks. How was your
first day back?
It was great thanks! My new teacher is really
nice and I think she is going to be a lot of fun.
There is a new student in the class and her name
is Ali. She wont really talk to me, and Sarah
and I asked her to eat lunch with us and play
with us during recess but she said no.
Yea, I guess you are right. It was a really hard
adjustment for me. I never thought about it like
that. Thanks Mom. Maybe Ill just keep asking
and hopefully one of these times shell say yes.
Im going to go play with Taffy until dinner!
Anytime honey. Have fun!
Kind of. I was really shy and didnt really want
to hang out with anyone.
Hey Mom! How are you?
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Are you sure you dont mind?
Hey Ali. I know Ive asked you this a couple of
times, but would you like to sit with Sarah and I
at lunch?
Okay then. Lets do it!
Of course not!
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• The following Day

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Four square? I always love that!
Yea, thats fine. You guys go ahead and Ill
meet up with you.
Alright guys, thats the recess bell. Head
outside and run off all your energy. Ill see
you after lunch.
Oh Susan, can you come see me for a minute? I
have a quick question for you.
What do you guys want to do today?
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Well I just want you to know how proud I am of
you. You took Ali under your wing and befriended
her when she needed it the most. You have made a
huge difference in her life. I dont know if you
realize the impact you have had on her, but it
has been amazing to see!
I was wondering if you could tell me how Ali is
doing. I was concerned about her at the
beginning of the year and I wanted to make sure
that shes doing alright.
Thank you for saying those things. I had no idea
but I am glad that I could have done that for
her. She is a lot of fun and I look forward to a
lot of great memories with her. Were having our
first sleepover this weekend!!
Oh, I thought I was in trouble. I think that Ali
is doing really well. Sarah and I hang out with
her. At first she kind of kept to herself, but
now she has started to open up. I know that she
still misses South Carolina but I think that
were becoming pretty good friends.
Well have fun at that and go enjoy your recess.
Ill see you after lunch.
What do you need Mrs. Meyers?
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• The End