Nico -Chapter 1: A Kid's Best Friend

If you so happen to live in a neighborhood that a huge amount of kids live in and you just love to keep to yourself, you’re a very sad, introverted person. From time to time you believe that you’re the coolest kid on this very Earth. You think you’re the best kid to exist if you do drugs, drink or other bad things. However, in reality the best kid known to be a true survivor and to be of small talk, is the greatest kid on this very Earth, his name is Nico Wilson.

DECEMBER 1, 2006

Dear diary,

I was playing outside today. I got to talk to daddy too. Why does he have to be so far away and in the military? Will he ever come home? I really miss him. I was outside today and I saw kids playing. They had a very good time. I wish I could play. Should I go talk to them? I am afraid that they will talk about me, give me bad looks, and even maybe never let me play again. I am 8 years old. I am in the 3rd grade. My birthday is coming up. Will I get to see daddy on my birthday? I might not have the best birthday. I have no friends except my best friend James. You know James, I talk about him a lot. I am about to start school tomorrow. I have been homeschooled my whole life. My mommy says I have spirit and I am the brightest kid she has ever met. Well, I got to go for now, maybe I will write to you sometime soon. I’ll have a great day while I can and I hope you do too.

Sincerely,

Nico

“Nico!” Mom called.

Nico quickly put his pretty blue band on his little journal and put it in his backpack. Nico quickly got up from the dirty old porch to run inside where his mother had been calling him. One step at a time, nearly tripping over his white, untied shoelaces, he makes it to where his mother was standing in the doorway of their old little house in a quiet neighborhood.

“Yes, mom?”

“It’s dinnertime son”, Mom announces.

“Okay, mamma!”

Nico ran into his house. The floor creaked with every step he took as he jogged through the small house. Around each corner and down every stair he eventually made it to the big dinner table that has the biggest meal he has ever seen sitting and waiting with the most amazing smell. As Nico stands wide eyed and his mouth open wide, he sees a big roasted turkey, beans, rolls, cooked breaded croutons, which nowadays they call it stuffing, and more. Nico is still wide eyed when his mother walks in and taps his shoulder and smiles brightly as she walks by to sit down at one end of the big brown dinner table.

Soon after Nico was done being jaw dropped by the amount of food his mother had made, he slowly went over to sit with his beloved mother and eat. Nico grabbed a small white glass plate that when he would look into it, he would see his reflection. He gets one of everything there on the table and smiles. He looks at his mother and his mother looks back at him, eye to eye. After a long look into each other’s eyes they grab hands and they start to pray.

“Dear lord” Mamma says. She pauses, opens her eyes as she begins to tear up because of the thoughts dangling in her head. She closed her eyes a few moments after and continued.

“Thank you for the life you have given us. All the food on this table right before my very eyes is such a blessing. I pray that Maxwell comes home to us in perfect shape. I pray that everyone in this world that lies before us stays amazing and healthy. Lord, thank you for all you have given us. Amen.”

“Amen”, Nico whispers.

Bite after bite of the heavenly, mouth watering food, Nico and his mother are soon done. She takes a napkin and wipes the corners of her lips, so precisely. Nico gets up and grabs both of their plates and in total silence, walks into the kitchen and starts washing the dirtied up dishes. . Mother walks in and stands by the door to look out the window. As she stands and looks out without blinking or saying a word, Nico looked at her in worry and at that very moment knew something was wrong with her.

“Mama, what’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing, everything is fine. Just looking out, at all the memories. All the memories that have soon been lost and forgotten.”

Nico looked at his mother with fright and guilt. Worrying what was really going on with his mom.

-Thoughts-

Nico: “ Mama looks and acts so different. It is all my fault that I made daddy move away and mama is sad. Why does everything have to be all my fault?”

Mama: “ I just want what is best for Nico. He isn’t going to be my little boy forever. I wish Maxell would come home so Nico could see him. I feel so alone inside.

Time passes and night falls. Nico is sitting in his room when his mother walks in and stands in the doorway staring knowing that something is really wrong with Nico. She takes a few steps over to Nico as the dirty, dusty, old floor creaks beneath her. Nico turns around slowly and looks at his mother.

“Why is everything different now mommy?”

“Sweetheart, I know that everything isn’t going the way that we planned when your father was supposed to be home with us eating this big dinner and it’s not going to be all different forever, I promise”.

She kissed Nico on the forehead and tucked him into bed.

“You need some sleep. You got your first day tomorrow sweetheart”.

She got up and slowly walked to the door. She hesitated a little before turning off the lights. After she turned it off, she closed the door and went to bed too.

The next day Nico got up early to get his favorite clothes on for his first day at the new school. Here’s the gist, his best friend James goes there too. Nico’s mom walks in and hands him his clothes for his very big first day at his first public school with real kids. He never felt what it was really like when he could be around people or kids in fact at a brand new school especially with a different teacher.

Nico is all dressed and slips his socks and shoes on. He jumps up from his bed and stomps on the creaky dusty, dirty, old floor to make sure that his shoes are on right and on tight. He runs downstairs hoping not to fall. When he makes it to the bottom of the staircase he sees his mother standing there with a smile on her face and of course his lunch and backpack too. Nico runs up to his mother and gives her a hug and says,

“Thank you mommy for making this happen. You the best mommy in the world.”

As Nico runs out the door and makes an effort to get in the car and buckle himself before his mother gets there faster than he could ever take a step. The car door closes tightly and Nico giggles. They are off. Nico finally arrives at the school. It is called Wildcress Elementary School. When he first sees this school , he falls in love with it. For an elementary school that he has only been to once in his entire life, he wouldn’t want to be any other place except home which in his case is the only place he had really spent his entire life in. Except, 3 years ago when Nico’s father Maxwell went to the military, Nico was sad and devastated. However, his mother didn’t want to be made fun of because of his father and all and decided to keep him with her for a few years in home studies. But, now, Nico’s mother thinks it is time for him to move ahead.

Wildcress is a big elementary school. Even though named after a really small plant… it’s true people, look it up… the school was really big compared to Nico’s small rounded, beady eyes. Nico really loved that school at first sight. Right at Nico started walking a few steps he heard a loud obnoxious yell coming from behind him.

“NICO!” Someone yelled.

Nico turns around and someone jumps on him. They fall to the ground giggling and laughing. It is Nico’s best friend in the whole wide world, well, his only friend. Let me take you back 2 years. When Nico was 6 years old, him and his mother lived in a small apartment where they both didn’t know anyone. Nico however went outside to play with all the kids that were there. Nobody was nice to him, nobody cared whether this little boy was hurt and felt lonely. Nico got turned down and he got called a stupid little boy. But, when Nico went to sit down all by himself at a tree, he started crying. This young boy comes from the group as to which he was turned down too and walks over to Nico. That young boy sits right next to Nico at the tree.

“Hi, I'm James, James Hutton.”

Nico looked so hurt on the outside but on the inside he was happy, happy that he had a friend. Now, in the present, they are still best friends and plan to keep it that way for as long as they can. Nico, was really thrilled so see James. They haven’t seen each other in so long*72 days* and they really wanted to catch up on their life story, more like their history. They talked for hours and hours that day and they never left each other’s side. They talked about everything. Nico even talked about his long lost family and his dad, especially without crying. However, I guess this is what you call a true kid’s best friend.