Child!LatviaXChild!Reader~ What Friends Are For

“Be good at school today, (name)” your mother said.

“Yes mommy,” you nodded dutifully.

Today was your first day in kindergarten. You were wearing a nice blouse, a plaid skirt and your (h/c) hair was styled in pigtails. You and your family had just moved here and you had yet to meet any children your own age. You walked into the classroom holding your mother’s hand, nervous and insecure.
 
Inside the classroom there were many children playing and laughing. The teacher was an Italian man who didn’t seem to have any real control, and was sitting at his desk chatting happily to no one.

You mother looked conflicted about leaving you but when she glanced at her watch she sighed and knelt at your level.

“(Name), sweetie, Mommy has to go to work now. Try to make friends, okay?” your mother said.

“I’ll try Mommy,” you said.

Your mother smiled and kissed your head. She stood and walked down the hall with a final wave of farewell, leaving you alone.

Apparently, your teacher had realized the time too because he was standing at the front of the class asking everyone to take their seats. You quickly found an empty desk.

“Ciao children, I’m Mr. Vargas! Let’s start with roll call shall we~” he said cheerfully.

As he ran through the list of students, you thought it was pretty odd that they all seemed to come from a different nationality, but shrugged it off as a coincidence.

The next few hours passed by as a blur. You painted, practiced letters and numbers and listened to a story. Before you knew it, Mr. Vargas had declared it recess time. The rest of your classmates excitedly ran out the door. You however, hesitated at the door. You had learned the other children’s names but had yet to make a real friend.

“Something wrong, (name)?” your teacher asked.

“No, sir. I just don’t have anyone to play with,” you mumbled.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure a pretty little girl like yourself, will have no problems making friends,” Mr. Vargas said, ruffling your hair and gently pushing you out the door.

The playground had a small jungle gym with a slide, several trees and bushes and a small swing set. Your classmates had already found friends, and were cheerfully playing. Still feeling shy you opted to sketch some pictures with chalk on the small sidewalk. At one point, a small Italian boy named Feliciano joined you, but he left to play tag with two boys named Kiku and Ludwig.

That was fine with you, other children would say hello and request you to play games with them, but you would smile and say no thank you. You felt happy that you had the option to play if you wanted too, but your classmates were not what you were looking for in a friend.

You scanned the playground once more and locked in onto something curious. Behind one of the bushes you could see the top of the head of your Russian classmate Ivan. The bush shook on the other side near the ground and you were curious.

Cautiously, you crept across the playground to investigate. You stood behind a tree near the bush, giving you a clear view. Ivan was holding the collar of a small boy who was on his knees trembling. You recognized him as Raivis Galante, the quiet Latvian boy.
“You’re funny,” Ivan giggled, still unaware of your presence.

“P-please don’t hit me again,” Raivis whimpered.

That got you mad. If there was one thing you couldn’t stand, it was bullies. You stepped out from behind the tree, shouting at Ivan.

“Leave him alone, meanie,” you huffed.

Ivan released Raivis and turned to smile at you.

“And what will you do if I don’t, hm?” he said, threat in his voice.

You folded your little arms, not the least bit frightened.

“Then I’ll scream and tell Mr. Vargas you're being a bully!” you said hotly.

Ivan seemed to think about this; weighing his options finally he smiled again, this time with a darker undertone.

“Fine, he was boring anyway,” Ivan said, and skipped off.

You watched him for a moment, making sure he left, until you turned to the boy you just rescued. He was sitting on the ground, sniffling.

“Are you okay?” you asked, sitting with him. “I’m (name).”

He nodded and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

“Uh-huh, my name’s Raivis” he said. “Thank you for saving me.”

“No big deal, that’s what friends are for!” you grinned, offering your hand. “Do you wanna swing with me?”

Raivis timidly nodded and timidly took your hand. You pulled him off the ground, and ran with him towards the swings. For the rest of recess the two of you laughed, and played as if you’d know each other your entire lives. When Mr. Vargas called the class back in, the two of you sat together and did all your work together too. Finally, Mr. Vargas claimed it was naptime. You and Raivis rolled out your sleeping mats together. As you were both settling in, Raivis turned to you.

“Are we best friends now?” he asked.

You thought about it for a moment and brightly smiled at him.

“Sure!” you said.

He smiled at you as you both lay down under your covers, as you were falling asleep; you reached out and held his hand.  He squeezed it, and the two of you drifted off into dreamland.

You didn’t know it yet, but you were going to marry that boy one day. For now though, you were going to stick together and make each other happy. Because that’s what friends are for.