Danielle Tooth's First Day of School The Brilliant Adventures of Thomas J. Tooth

The days were getting shorter, the summer sun was not so hot, and it was time to go back to school. Thomas J. Tooth was getting very excited about the coming year, but, Danielle, his little sister, was getting very anxious. This would be her first year, and even though she had been looking forward to it all summer, the closer it got the more she was dreading the first day. What if her teacher was mean? What if none of her classmates liked her? What if she got a less than perfect grade in one of her subjects? Thomas J. kept telling her she would love school, would do well, and wasn’t expected to be perfect.

It was the night before school started, and Danielle had packed her pencils, crayons, glue stick, and a box of tissues neatly into her new tooth princess backpack, along with her matching lunchbox and water bottle. She went to bed early and fell right to sleep but had a dream that she dropped her water bottle and it broke into pieces, and she needed to call home to have her mom bring her a new one.

The next morning Thomas J. was up early, but Danielle stayed in bed, awake, but hiding under the covers. Finally, her mom came in and said she needed to come out of her hiding place and get ready for school. After breakfast, she walked with Thomas J. to the bus stop. Soon the bus was there and they were on their way. Thomas J. had her sit by him on the bus, which made her feel much safer, and soon they were walking up the steps into the school. Thomas walked with her to her classroom, and she went in and found a desk. Her teacher seemed very nice, and asked everyone what his or her favorite thing was, they had done during the summer. Danielle told about camping at the ocean with her family, and building a fort out of driftwood on the beach. Everyone seemed to like her story.

Before she knew it, it was time for recess and she was glad to see her brother going outside at the same time. He saw her, came over and asked her if she was having a good first day, and she said it was okay. She hung around with Thomas J., because she didn’t know anyone else. One of Thomas J.’s friends, Johnny Plaque, saw them together, and kidded Thomas about his new girlfriend. Thomas just smiled and said, “Yes, isn’t she cute? Eat your heart out.” “A little young,” Johnny said, and then laughed and said, “It’s my sister’s first day, too.” Thomas J. played soccer with his friends and Danielle just ran around on the field, trying to get the ball, too. She saw Thomas J. at lunch time and he signaled to her to come over and sit by him. Johnny Plaque was there also and introduced Danielle to his sister, who had come to sit by him. Her name was Abby, and she was in Danielle’s school class. She asked Danielle if she liked to play four-square, but Danielle said she had never played it before. Abby said she and some friends were going to play it at lunch recess, and they needed one more to give them four, and she would show her how to play. After lunch Danielle was off with Abby, and Thomas J. was glad to see that she was fitting in and making friends. He saw her again on the way to the bus after school, and she asked if she could sit by him. She had made some new friends, but she still wanted to sit next to him on the bus ride home, so he wouldn’t feel lonely.

Thomas J. said that tomorrow would be easier, but Danielle looked a bit confused, and said, “You mean I have to go back?” “You’ve only started,” said Thomas J. “and it just gets better.”


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