Excerpt from:

 

The Star Ball

 

Chapter 1

 

Ari’s brown eyes danced when he saw the yellow ball. It had a fat blue star on it just like the one in the Dr. Seuss books his mother read to him at bedtime. It was his favorite time of day, a time of warmth and comfort, the only time he had with his mother.

 

She softly rubbed the back of his head. He recognized the caress as her way of comforting him as she left him with yet another day care center. This time was different. She had seemed proud when she told him that he was old enough now to go to school with her. He had bounced with excitement until she said, “but we won’t be in the same room.”  She would stop in to see him at lunch time and it was more than he expected. He understood that she was an important person; the most important to him.

 

At this moment what was important to him was that yellow ball. In this odd place full of strangers and unrecognizable furniture he was delighted to find something familiar.

 

Leaving his mother’s side he raced across the room to get it, oblivious to her first-day-of-school sadness. Halfway across the room he stopped when a blonde boy close to his age suddenly picked it up and threw it hard against the wall. His eyes widened but never left it as it bounced off the wall and caught him square in the face, knocking him to the ground.

One drop of blood escaped his nose as he sat where he fell, dumbfounded and not sure whether to cry or be angry.

 

“Thomas T. Baisden, apologize to that boy please.” The second boy’s mother sung. There was no anger in her voice nor was there playfulness. It was a lesson and Thomas was paying attention.

 

“I’m sorry boy,” he said bending over and looking his victim straight in the eye. He wrapped his short arms around Ari’s chest in a wide hug in an attempt to pull him to his feet. His balance was right on track for a five-year-old and both boys tumbled to the floor. Now Thomas was bleeding too, from a scrape on his forehead. He wiped at it with his sleeve and looked astonished but not distressed when he saw the red smear.

 

Both mothers and the kindergarten aide rushed to help and lifted the boys to their feet where they were dusted and dabbed in an awkward silence. Neither made a noise, both believed they were in trouble but neither knew why. Another child began to cry for her mother and the aide rushed off to comfort her.

 

“I’m Erica Baisden.” Thomas’ mother spoke first and she held out her hand shakily, unsure if she should expect to shake, wave or bow. The dark boy’s mother was obviously Middle Eastern and she didn’t want to offend her unintentionally.

“Chitra Rajiv” Ari’s mother smiled and shook the young blonde woman’s hand confidently. She had seen her the day before when Erica was registering for classes at the small campus, she had looked even more nervous then.  “And this is Ari. It’s our third day in Ohio.”

 

“Tommy and I are new here too; I think a lot of kids are new this year.”

“It’s a good year for Kent State. I hear enrollment is up 35% this year.

“Let me guess, you are a math major?”

“I used to be. Now I’m an engineering professor.” Chitra grimaced, she usually found that when she revealed her education she could expect two reactions; people either pulled away because they assumed she was boring or they pulled away because they were intimidated by her brain. Most people in her country were unaware of her intelligence. She was only allowed to continue her studies here while she taught because her husband needed her credibility for his engineering firm although she did most of “his” design work herself.

 

“I’m going into education too and I would love to be a math teacher.” Erica saw the grimace and understood. She had experienced the same thing; suddenly she was glad her son’s impulsive nature had caused him to knock over the boy. Everyone was fine and here was the possibility of a new friend.

 

Thomas forgot about the ball and scampered away to find a new toy so Ari scooped it up and hugged it. The mechanism inside squeaked loudly, surprising everyone and reminding Thomas that he had the ball first. He turned and held out his arms and Ari threw it to him. When Ari in turn, held out his arms the ball came back. Both women stood in admiration of the unspoken agreement the boys had instantly made to share. They played happily until the teacher called the day to order and both mothers slipped out the door unnoticed.

Howard-Hirsch Publishing

Content for a contented life.