by Kym LangfieldKatie stood clinging to her mum’s hand, her knees wobbling like crazy.
Suddenly a huge, green monster with a hairy chin lunged at her.
“Hello dear,” it shrieked. “I’m your teacher.”
“No!” Katie screamed.
Just then, Katie felt someone shake her awake.
“Katie, are you alright?”
She sat up.
“Mum, I had a bad dream!”
“Well it’s all over now,” her mother kissed her forehead. “Besides, it’s time to get up…it’s your first day of school!”
“Oh no,” Katie cried, “I don’t want to go!”
“It’s going to be fine.” Her mother handed her a school dress.
“I don’t like this uniform,” Katie grimaced. “It’s too stiff.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
Katie trudged into the kitchen.
“I don’t have any friends,” Katie moaned into her cereal bowl.
“You’ll soon make some,” her mum said cheerfully.
“What if I need to go the toilet?” she asked.
“You can ask your teacher.”
Katie pictured the green monster and shuddered.
She thought she might just hold on.
“What if I get hungry?”
“You will eat at recess and lunch.”
“But I don’t know how to read yet,” Katie exclaimed. “Everyone will laugh at me!”
“They’re all learning too,” her mother explained. “You’ll learn lots of wonderful things like writing, counting and even sports.”
Just then, Katie’s older brother Tom ran in.
He threw his school bag over his shoulder and grinned.
“Don’t worry Katie - I was scared on my first day too, but school is heaps of fun! Mum, can we go now?”
“Soon,” she smiled. “I’ll just pack Katie’s lunch.”
She placed a cheese sandwich, a homemade muffin and a bottle of water in Katie’s colourful lunch box.
It looked delicious.
But Katie still didn’t want to go to school.
“Come on,” her mother took her hand. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
They walked along the footpath to school and butterflies darted around Katie’s stomach.
Then a big bike flew past them, making Katie jump.
“G’day Tom,” the rider called back. “See you at school.”
Katie didn’t like the look of the big kids.
They walked through the school gates and the bell rang loudly.
“I want to go home,” Katie whimpered.
“It’s going to be okay,” her mother whispered. “Come on, let’s meet your teacher.”
Katie was on the verge of tears as they approached a bright, red building.
Children were running around everywhere.
They didn’t look scared.
“Katie, there’s your teacher,” her mother cried.
Katie gazed up fearfully but then gasped with surprise.
Her teacher was not a monster at all, but a young lady with long, dark hair and blue eyes that sparkled.
“Hello Katie,” she smiled, her eyes crinkling in the corners. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Katie’s fears melted away instantly.
She grinned back. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you too.”
Then she took her teacher’s hand and went into the building, not looking back once.
She knew everything was going to be fine.
Kym writes novels and short stories for children and young adults. She has published a book with The Book Company and was recently awarded third prize in the Writers' Unleashed Picture Book Competition 2014 for "The Baby's Enormous Cry". She is a mum of two adorable girls and is a primary school teacher. Kym is passionate about children's literature. She loves sharing adventure and magic with young readers and runs writing and book making workshops for children. To find out more about Kym and her work, visit her on Facebook.
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