Awake and Dreaming - Kit Pearson [34]
It wasn’t fair! she thought, as she walked the few blocks with John and Anna and Lisbeth. So far this dream had been perfect. Now it could turn into a nightmare.
But she’d forgotten that she wasn’t alone any more—she belonged to a real family. Every time the Kaldors saw a friend, they introduced Theo as their new sister; every time, the other person gave Theo a welcoming smile. When they crossed a busy street and reached the playground of a high brick school, John went over to join some older boys. Anna, Lisbeth and Theo were immediately surrounded by an excited group of girls. All Theo had to do was stand and listen.
A buzzer sounded. “Come on, Theo, I’ll take you to your classroom,” said Anna.
“See you at recess!” called Lisbeth.
Theo’s stomach lurched. But a pleasant-looking teacher greeted them at the door of the grade-four classroom. “So this is Theo! I’ve heard so much about you. I hope you’ll be very happy here.”
Anna went off to the grade-five room; it was scary to say goodbye to her. Ms. Tremblay led Theo to a table and introduced her to the three students who would be sharing it with her: Jasmin, Will and Elise. They greeted her warmly.
But this had happened every time Theo had started a new school. The other kids always began by being friendly.
Today, however, they didn’t act as if they felt sorry for her. They didn’t have to! She was clean and rested and well fed, dressed in crisp new clothes, and armoured with the love of her new family.
“You’re John’s sister, aren’t you?” said Will. “My brother’s his best friend.”
“I like your vest,” said Elise.
“Did anyone watch The Birds on Saturday night?” asked Jasmin.
“I did,” said Will. “My parents were out so my brother and I saw the whole thing.”
Theo took a deep breath. “So did I. Wasn’t it scary?”
“You must be really brave,” said Elise. “I can’t watch movies like that.”
Ms. Tremblay began telling them about South Africa. Theo tried to pay attention. To her surprise, it wasn’t as hard to do so as usual. Later in the morning Ms. Tremblay asked Theo to name some of the books she’d read. She looked surprised when Theo reeled off a long list.
“What a wonderful reader!” she said. “We like books in this class, Theo. I think you’re going to feel right at home.” She asked Theo, Elise, Stefan and Yuko to draw a map based on the Narnia book the class had just finished. Theo found the others easy to talk to as they lay on the floor with their pencils and felts. She giggled with them when they were interrupted by a visit from Snuggles, the kindergarten rabbit who ran loose in the school.
“Is it okay?” Anna and Lisbeth asked her at recess. “Do you like our school?”
“It’s great!” said Theo. In fact, it was so pleasant it didn’t seem like school at all. The rest of the day passed just as smoothly as the morning.
THAT AFTERNOON Theo went for a long bike ride with Anna and Grace. She pedalled carefully as they rode along Dallas Road, on a sidewalk that edged a cliff overlooking the sea. She’d already walked along here on Sunday afternoons with the whole family.
“I think we should turn back now,” said Anna, when they reached Government Street.
“Let’s go downtown first,” suggested Grace.
“I’m not allowed to go there without an adult,” said Anna.
“Neither am I,” said Grace, “but who’s going to know? Come on, we can show Theo the Empress Hotel.”
Anna looked reluctant, but she finally agreed. Theo followed them along a busy street to an enormous hotel that looked like a castle. They stopped by a stone wall and watched the boats in the harbour. Then they walked their bikes along the sidewalk, looking in the windows of the stores selling sweaters and china and souvenirs of Victoria. They paused to sniff deeply in the doorway of a chocolate shop.
“Let’s go into the Eaton Centre,” said Grace. “I need to pee.”
“But what about our bikes?” said Anna.
“We can lock them here,” said Grace, pointing