My friend, Bun Bun

We all have that one thing that we can't live without. Until you learn that you can.

“Where is it?” I said to myself. There was stuff everywhere. There were cloths on my floor, toys under my bed, and my desk was filthy. I was looking for my stuffed bunny, Bun Bun. I know. It is silly for a sixth grader to still sleep with a stuffed animal, but I can not not get to sleep without it. I had Bun Bun since I was three. And Bun Bun has gone with me everywhere. Bun Bun was there to comfort me when I was getting a tooth pulled. Bun Bun was there for me when I was afraid of the dark. Bun Bun was even there with me when I learned how to ride a bike. Yes. We laughed together. We cried together. Bun Bun was the only one who could turn my saddest moments into my happiest ones. She has always been there for me. And now, at the time that I need her the most, she is gone.

My name is Lily by the way. And you all know that I am in sixth grade. But, what you don't know, is that Tomorrow is the first day of sixth grade. The first day of middle school, at a different school, in a different neighborhood. First day of being one of the big kids. And now at 8:30 at night I am scared. I mean, I have been scared a lot before. But, never as scared as I am right this moment. I am a nervous wreck.

Soon, I gave up on trying to find Bun Bun. I went to bed, struggling to fall asleep and the next thing I knew, It was morning. The start of my brand new life. The moment I stepped outside to catch the bus was the moment that I knew my child hood life would never be the same again. Ok, Ok. I know that I am being a bit overdramatic, but I am nervous.

Soon the bus screeched to a stop and I climbed on. Want to know what I saw? It was horrible. There were kids everywhere. Throwing spit wods, yelling, screeching, and above all there were no seats open.

“Are you going to sit down?” Asked the bold man sitting at the wheel.

Nervously I walked to the far back of the bus and sat three to a seat. As crowded as the bus was, I felt super lonely. How I wish Bun Bun was here with me to keep me company. I did not say this out loud of course.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, we were pulling up at school. As I walked in, I noticed something. Everyone had their own group of friends. Everyone but me that is. There were the nerds, cheerleaders, musicians, you name it. They all had a group. But what is my group you ask? My group is yet to be determined.

The warning bell rang, so I took my schedule out of my backpack and started going to my first hour Social Studies. I got my locker open easily. I have used a combination lock at my last school in Florida. The person next to me was having some trouble getting his locker open, so I asked him if he needed help. Here is how this conversation went. And let me tell you it was the most embarrassing thing in, like, ever.

I said “Do you need help?”

He said “What do you care?”

I said “ Well it looked like you needed help opening your locker.”

He said “What am I? Two?”

I said “No! I just thought…”

He said “Look. You do your thing and I do mine. Just because you got your locker open right away does not mean you have to show off.”

I said “Ok… I just thought…”

He said “You know what? Just forget about it!”

I said “Ok.”

Like I said, embarrassing. I got my books, went to the girls bathroom and cried and cried and cried. Suddenly the morning bell rang. I took a couple of seconds pulling myself together and ran to my class. As soon as I got there, all eyes were on me. That's what I get for being late. The teacher did not notice, however. She was too busy taking attendance.

She called everyone's name as I looked around to see who I would be spending the rest of my year with. Suddenly, I froze. You know why? Because, the kid who was having trouble with his lock was also the kid who was sitting right behind me. I later learned that his name is David.

I went to all 8 of my classes. Social Studies, Math, Art, Gym, English, Science, Link, and Health. Finally it was time to go home. I could not stand to ride the bus home from school, so, I called my mom from work and asked her to pick me up. She did not ask any questions, but just said she will be there in ten minutes. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, 20 minutes later, my mom pulled up.

“What took you so long mom?” I asked.

“I had to work for a couple more minutes before my bose let me leave.” Was her reply.

She decided to change the subject.

“So. How was school?”

“Fine.”

“How were the kids there?”

“Fine.”

“How were the teachers?”

“Fine.”

She soon got the hint that I did not want to talk about my day. When we got home, I ran upstairs to my room. My mom must have known that something was wrong because the next thing I knew, my mom was knocking on my door. I opened the door and there was my mom. I knew right then and there that this is going to be one of the long boring talks. But, I was wrong. My mom gave me a hug and said the three words that I will never forget. Never stop trying. She then handed me Bun Bun.

The next day I finally faced my fear. And confronted David. Now, you may think that David and I got into a huge fist fight or something like that. But, that is not exactly what happened. What did happen, however, is I said hi to David. He looked surprise. But he did say hi back. Then we talked and talked until the teacher had to quiet us down. We later became best friends. I think this school year at my new school, in my new town, is off to a great start. With or without Bun Bun.

Author's Note

Some stuff in this story may not apply for every school. Some schools, fifth grade is the first grade of middle school. And I don't know if every school has a warning bell or not. It is a bell that rings 3 minutes before the actual bell. Also Social Studies is another name for History. Link is what my middle school called reading.

Reviews

[Jacob Clifford]

This is a very charming story. The first-day-of-school idea has been done to death, but this one manages to remain interesting. I, and I'm sure many others, can relate to many of the problems the narrator faced, and the struggles of adjusting to a new school were written very realistically. I like the transition from childhood to young adulthood, with Lily and Bun Bun, and how uncomfortable/anxious she is, shown very well when she ventures out to make a new friend (only to be snapped at by the boy she was trying to help - yikes!) and has a breakdown when it doesn't work. There are very good lessons for children of similar ages: to never stop trying, things can get better, it is worth being kind. The way this story is written, it sounds like Lily is directly addressing someone. That can work as is, but it would also be fitting if you were to frame it as a diary/journal entry, if you were looking for an extra layer to add to this story. Enjoyable read, all around. I think sixteen-year-old me would have been jealous of your writing ability.

[Faust]

Thank you so much! This was a semi true story. I changed up the names and instead of a stuffed bunny, it was a small stuffed dog that I used to carry everywhere. I still have it but I gave it to my little sister because I didn't need it anymore.

[Rye]

very descriptive, and amazing imagery. Love the detail you wrote with.
We had school bells back in my day...this is a really good write

[Faust]

Thank you. I had alot of fun writing this story.