Three Books, An Umbrella, and Samantha Hinds

A children's story about friendship.

 Corri White stared on at her endless sky of blue. No, it wasn't perfect. Clouds aligned everywhere, covering almost anything including her great sun. But that was good enough for her. Today was a perfect day. And no one could take that from her. 

          "Corri!" her mother yelped. "Corri!"

          Corri tried to block out this noise, but she fell into its victim and turned around.

          "Don't forget your lunch!" Suzanne White handed Corri a beaten-up tin lunch box. "And it may be cold." Her morhter hugged Corri tight. "And look at these clouds." she straightened up Corri's posture and patted down her jacket. "Bring an umbrella." Suzanne handed Corri a backpack with a retractable umbrella in it, and three books. 'The Hunter, My Son, and She Didn't Know Why.' They were the only three books the White family owned, and Corri was allowed to bring them on her first day of school. "Well, goodbye. Have fun. And learn something!" She called out to Corri. 

          Corri nodded her head in agreement then headed to the corner of the street to catch the bus. 

          Corri had long black hair. She had a long face and a small back, with an average figure for an average first-grader. She often dreamed of being like the singers she heard on the radio wiht the blue hair, lots of makeup, and heels that were so high it didn't matter your size. She lived on a farm in south-eastern Texas with her mother and both grandparents.

          The farm wa called Strong Perfection. There were few luxuries there, but to the people that lived inside it, it was perfection. And people had been living there for six generations.

          "Hello, class. I'm Mrs. Smith."

          "Hello, Mrs. Smith," the class echoed. 

          In that first-grade clas, the first day of school, they sat in a circle and introduced themselves. Te first to speak was a girl names Sady McCeeman. 

          "I'm Sady."

          "Welcome, Sady," the teacher's high-shrilling voice filled the room. "What do you like to do?"

          "Sing."

          "Nice. Do you have anything else you would like to share?"

          "My daddy is a lawyer. We live on a big mansion in uptown!"

          The classroom rejoiced with "oo"s and "ah"s.

          But Corri was next, and that was the only thing on that little farm-girl's mind. 

          "And who are you, Dear?"

          "Corri. I live at Strong Perfection!"

          Some kids yelped, "But Sady lives in a mansion!" Some kids held back smiles. Some kida laughed, and some kids stayed silent. 

          "Enough with that!" The teacher disciplined. "Beautiful place, my darling. And what do you like to do?" 

          From the back of the room, a young boy flung up his hand and hollered, "I like to watch TV!"

          "I don't have a TV," Corru answered. More laughs from around the room. 

          Sady smearked. "I have five."

          "3!"

          "2!"

          "1!"

          "2!"

          "4!"

         But no one had zero except Corri. She sank down in her chair. 

          The rest of the kids were called, each one with a comment about Corri. After a while, the teacher didn't object to them. She even made a few herself. Corri finally gave up. Her perfect day ruined. Now all she had left was her four friends: three books and an umbrella. 

          "Alright now, children. Recess!" Mrs. Smith flung her arms up in the air, then hurried the children outside. All but Corri. She refused to go outside. She wanted not to be seen. 

          "But you have to go! All the other kids are. Here! It'll be fun. You'll make new friends!" Mrs. Smith grabbed her hand and tried to lead her outside. But Corri folded her arms toghtly over her chest and shrunk into her chair more. 

          After several pledding attempts, Corri finally went outside. She sat on the bench, shrunk into that, and folded her arms. 

          Not long af ter, a teacher came out with another girl by her hand. "Now, you have to come out, but you don't have to play. You can sit on the bench if you like." 

          The girl, Samantha Hinds, trudged over to the bench where Corri sat. The teacher gracefully walked back to the classroom. The sound of her heels in the cement ringing in both the two girls' ears. 

          At first, Samantha and Corri didn't talk. But one hting led to another, and before long, they were in a conversation. 

          The hand that were folded across each girls' chests, were now pressing down on the bench as their bodies had turned so they could talk face to face. 

          They each leaned that the other also lived on a farm. That neither of them had a TV. And that, most important, they needed a friend. 

          "That's amazing!" yelped Samantha as Corri told her that they had lived at Strong Perfection for six generations.

          "How long as your family been here?"

          "We just moved from New York a couple months ago."

          "I always wanted to go to New York."

          "It's beautiful." As she said that the bell rang. Kids started to run inside.

          "I guess that means recess is over."

          "Yeah."

          "Friends?"

          "Friends," Samantha agreed. They reached for each others' hands, and turned around to enjoy the rest of the first day of school. 

Author's Note

I wrote this on paper at like midnight. Is it even a bit believable?

Reviews

[Flo_writer]

A true depictions of a new kid on the block elementary experience. I want to know how I can get my hands on a retractable umbrella. One thing about this story I'm one the fence about...I'm not so sure I buy a mother sending her little girl off alone to a new elementary school without accompanying her on the first day. Some very small grammar errors but nothing that hurt the story. Well done.

[Lauren Marie]

I thought it was very believable!
There were some spelling errors, but those are easily fixed.
"At first, Samantha and Corri didn't talk. But one [thing] led to another, and before long, they were in a conversation." I wish that you could have elaborated on this a bit more. Maybe Corri comments on the sky (since she seemed so drawn to it at the beginning of the story), Samantha agrees and asks Corri a question, etc. I think that would add a nice touch and make the characters even more life-like.

All in all, I loved it!
~Lauren

[Kelsey Desmond]

lol. funny ev. gotcha. maybe tomorrow or something...

[Bug377]

I love this one!!! It is so realy and feels like I am right there watching it happen. First off, let me get it clear that I love the name Corri. Random, I know. Anyway....Great Story! You misspelled some words, but hey, who doesn't?? It is very enjoyable and kept my attention the whole time, which is extremely hard to do. I love this story because this kind of thing happens in real life and we all know we all feel insecure somtimes. Everybody does that is human!! I think you should write more about children. I think you would be a good children's author, but that is just me. Anyway, keep up the good work girl! haha.

[Melissa Kesead]

Friendship is a great subject when it comes to children's books. I think the fact that children are mean and always compare themselves to other children that don't have as much is a constant. I would suggest, though, that you proof read it thoroughly. It has a lot of spelling errors. Also, you may want to mention something about the bus ride since she was waiting for the bus and in the next sentence she was in class already. Just a thought. I'm a children's book author and love to share and read what others write for children. Keep it up and if I can be of assistance in any way, feel free to send me a message. Thanks for sharing!

[Gregory Hill]

Good job first of all, I am going through it from top to bottom. Spelling and Grammar first:
Corri tried to block out this noise, but she fell into its victim and turned around. It should be she fell victim to it and turned around...
She often dreamed of being like the singers she heard on the radio wiht the blue hair, lots of makeup, and heels that were so high it didn't matter your size. Should be with not wiht.
Te first to speak was a girl names Sady McCeeman. Misspelled The, at the begining of the sentence and names ratehr than named.
Some kids yelped, "But Sady lives in a mansion!" Some kids held back smiles. Some kida laughed, and some kids stayed silent. Some kids laughed not kida.
"I don't have a TV," Corru answered. More laughs from around the room. Should be Corri not Corru.
Sady smearked. "I have five." Smirked.
But Corri folded her arms toghtly over her chest and shrunk into her chair more. Tightly
After several pledding attempts, Corri finally went outside. Sound better as, After attempting to plead several times, Corri finally went outside. Note the spelling of Plead also.
Not long af ter, a teacher came out with another girl by her hand. After, not af ter.
At first, Samantha and Corri didn't talk. But one hting led to another, and before long, they were in a conversation. One thing led to another.

Anyways good story, Content wise it was pretty good. Keep writing.