Kit sat at the table in the kitchen munching his breakfast of toast and smashberry jam, casually flicking through the pages of his latest copy of Inca Invincibles magazine.
“Oh, Kit” sighed Daddy. “Look at your tie!”
Kit glanced down and saw a blob of jam on his striped, olive green and ruby red school tie. As Daddy got a cloth from the basin Kit said “Don’t worry,” lifted the tie to his mouth and licked it clean.
“That’s a brand new uniform,” said Mummy.
“And now it’s a clean one!” Said Kit. “If the cat can do it, why can’t I?”
Mummy and Daddy looked at each other and shook their heads. “Kaolin!,” shouted Mummy, “come downstairs, you’ll be late on your first day!”
But there was no reply. Daddy smiled at Mummy, “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll go and find her.”
Upstairs, Daddy knocked softly on the door of Kaolin’s bedroom and opened it. Standing in front of the mirror, wearing her school uniform for the first time, Kaolin stared at herself and, without turning around to Daddy, said “I don’t want to go.”
“Now, look,” said Daddy, kneeling down beside her and taking her hand. “We’ve told you for weeks, Kaolin. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s your first day at school and everyone will be feeling a little bit anxious. But it’s just a big, brave adventure and you’ve always loved adventures, haven’t you?”
“Yes…”
“And remember, Kit will be there to meet you for lunch and make sure you’re happy. Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.”
Ten minutes later, having just about been able to eat a slice of toast and smashberry jam, Kaolin stood in the hall with her brother whilst mummy and daddy fussed.
“Remember, Kit. You meet your sister at lunchtime as we agreed,” said Mummy.
“I will, I will,” said Kit, and then noticed that his sisters hand was trembling. “Come on,” he said to her, taking it in his, “this is easy. You’ll love it.”
Mummy and Daddy watched them both go down the path and turn left along the road.
“But what if nobody wants to play with me,” said Kaolin as they walked.
“Why wouldn’t they?” said Kit. “You’re great at playing and making up games. Everyone will think you’re a games genius.”
Kaolin suddenly felt worse, a feeling of panic in her stomach. “But I can’t THINK of any games! Oh, I want to go back home.”
Kit smiled and softly tightened his grip on her hand. “You don’t need to think of games, they just happen, you know that.
And then turning the corner, he said “Look. We’re nearly there.”
Ahead of them, was a building that glowed orange and blue, with three floors of large windows and a green tiled roof. Around it, was a thick hedge, with a high wooden gate that dozens of children were entering. This, was Half Hitch, Horsmarlonerpool’s school.
It was a friendly looking building, but to Kaolin - who had walked past it hundreds of times and just thought of it as ‘Kit’s school’ - it looked terrifying.
Walking into the playground, Kit let go of Kaolin’s hand and gave the top of her head a rub. “New kids through that door,” he said and then - to Kaolin’s horror - walked away, waving to his friends.
“I’ll — I’ll see you at lunch,” she said, but maybe Kit put his thumb in the air or maybe he didn’t, he certainly didn’t turn around.
Kaolin looked at the door that Kit had pointed to. Other people about her age were walking nervously towards it in groups of two or three. She was all alone. She calmed her breathing and made her way over.
Inside was a hall with a stage and lots of comfortable looking mats own the floor. Kaolin sat down on a green one, and waited to see what would happen next. A woman, about the age of her granny but with her grey hair tied up into a tight bun on top of her head walked onto the stage and smiled.
“Good morning, everyone!” She said. “My name is Mrs Perrinpeas, and I am the headmistress of Half Hitch School. I am VERY glad to see you all. I imagine some of you are feeling very… apprehensive.”
Kaolin didn’t even know what ‘apprehensive’ meant. She felt sick.
“It means,” said Mrs Perrinpeas looking at Kaolin kindly, “a little bit worried.”
Could this woman, this ‘Mrs Perrinpeas’ read her mind? Was she a witch?
Mrs Perrinpeas looked back at the thirty children sat in front of her. “But there is no need to be worried because this wonderful school, I can assure you, will soon feel as snug as home. Now. You’ll be divided into two classes. Everyone put their hands together.”
Kaolin placed both her hands together. “And now open them,” said Mrs Perrinpeas.
Kaolin opened her hands and saw that they were glowing purple! She looked around the hall and saw that the other children were all looking at their own hands with astonishment. Some were purple, the others orange.
“Purple with Mrs Kipper, orange with Mr Bloom.”
Two teachers, Mrs Kipper and Mr Bloom, stood waving at the side of the hall and everyone got to their feet.
Mrs Kipper’s classroom was full of plants and smelt wonderful, like Bluebell Wood. “Find a chair, any chair at any table, and that will then be your chair for the year,” said Mrs Kipper.
Kaolin stood and watched as everyone found a seat, until there was only one left. She took it shyly. “Hello,” said the girl next to her, “I’m Olive.”
Well that morning was wonderful. They made figures out of clay, they met Greenleaves, the class turtle, and Mrs Kipper made everyone clear the tables and chairs away so they could all construct a huge kite, nearly as long as the classroom, on the floor.
Kaolin stuck with Olive all the time, and soon they were talking like they’d known one another their entire lives. The bell rang for lunch. “See you back here in an hour,” said Mrs Kipper.
Kaolin and Olive left the classroom and found themselves in the corridor. “My brother!” remembered Kaolin. “I’m to meet him!”
“Can I come,” said Olive!
“Oh course! But… where DO I meet him? We never said.”
Olive and Kaolin explored the corridors. But whenever they asked directions to the lunch hall they just seemed to get more and more lost. If they went downstairs, they found themselves upstairs, and if they went further downstairs, they found themselves on the roof! Nothing made sense. All they could find, after an hour of running up and down, was Mrs Kipper’s classroom.
Well the afternoon was even MORE fun! Greenleaves the turtle gave a talk about the tastiest things to find in a pond, and then they each made a shield and coloured it any color they wanted using the paints, and finally lifted their amazing new kite up onto the wall.
When the bell rang for the end of the day, Kaolin even felt disappointed and had totally forgotten she hadn’t had any lunch. But then her stomach sank - would Kit be annoyed that she hadn’t met him? Would he tell Mummy and Daddy.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” said Olive as they walked together into the playground. “Yes!,” said Kaolin. “I’ll… see you in class.”
She certainly felt very grown up saying that. As Olive ran off towards the gates, Kaolin looked around and saw Kit.
“There you are!” he said.
“I’m sorry! I tried to find you at lunch but I got lost and -“
“Oh let me guess…” said Kit. “You went upstairs and found yourself downstairs, then you went downstairs more and found yourself...”
“Up on the roof!” Said Kaolin.
“I think I should have told you about the stairs in this place,” he said. “But listen. What’s most important is - did you have a good day? In fact, wait - come in here.”
He led his sister into the corridor. “Did you have a good day?” he asked.
Kaolin was about to answer when the ceiling began to glow yellow and shimmer.
“I see you did! That’s great!” Said Kit.
“But how did the - “
“Oh the ceilings at Half Hitch always glow the color that someone’s feeling,” he said.
Kaolin stared upwards, and then at her brother.
“I’ve got so much to learn,” she said.
“Well,” said Kit, taking her hand and leading her back outside towards the gates. “Isn’t that what school is all about?”
