Shy Sharon
(A Chapter Book for Ages 8 to 12)
Betty Ward Cain
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Betty Ward Cain
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Copyright 2011 by Bedford Publications
All Rights Reserved
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Chapter One
Kindergarten
Shy Sharon was both excited and scared. Mom and Dad were driving to her first day of kindergarten. New experiences are always scary to Sharon until she knows more about them. She was excited to be meeting new friends, but what would they be like? Sharon became more frightened the closer they came to the school.
Will the kids like me? Will the teacher like me? What will I do if they want me to talk to them? I’ve never talked to strangers before.
Shy Sharon is not really her name. Everyone just calls her that because she is so shy. Sharon had been staying home with Mom while her two brothers and sister went to school. They had just moved to a new town, her brothers and sister were already in school, and now it was Sharon’s turn to leave home.
Sharon had never been anywhere without her mom. But after the move, her parents had decided to send her to kindergarten. School had started two weeks ago for the kids in the new town, so Sharon would be late. She was worried everyone would have a friend and no one would want a new one. Mom leaned over the seat and patted Sharon’s leg. “You are going to have a lot of fun at school,” she said.
Sharon was excited, but the uncertainty in her mom’s eyes made Sharon become fearful. She smiled a crooked smile at her mother.
“Here we are,” Daddy said. The building was huge and did not look friendly at all.
“Do I have to go?”
“Let’s try it for one day and see how it goes,” her mother said. Sharon could see the strange way her parents looked at each other.
What are they thinking? Do they know something I don’t know? Are they going to leave me here forever? Maybe they’re tired of having four kids. Maybe just three would be better.
As they got out of the car, Sharon looked at her parents to see if she could tell what they were thinking. They both smiled at her in their special, loving way.
Oh, I’m being silly. My parents love me. They won’t leave me here. I’ll bet Mom will even stay with me all day.
Sharon was feeling better about the whole thing. The teacher met them at the door and seemed like a nice person. She smiled at them and invited them into the classroom.
“Well, hello. Welcome to our class. I am Mrs. Trudabolt.”
Mrs. Who? I’ll never remember my teacher’s name. Mom will have to stay with me now.
The teacher smiled and leaned down to Sharon. “My name is hard for the kids to remember, so they just call me Mrs. T,” she whispered to the shy little girl. Then turning to the class she announced, “Boys and girls, we have a new student. This is Sharon Wilson. Let’s make her feel welcome.”
“Good morning, Sharon Wilson,” the children shouted in unison. A little boy in the back of the room gave Sharon a mean look.
“Mom, why is he looking at me like that?” Sharon asked. But her mother was talking to the teacher and did not hear. Sharon’s eyes filled with tears when she heard the teacher say, “Oh, no, Mrs. Wilson. Parents are not allowed to stay with the students. Sharon will be fine.”
The teacher began to lead Mom out the door. Sharon panicked. She grabbed her mother’s leg. The teacher held Sharon back and the frightened little girl watched as her mother closed the door and left. Sharon could see her mother’s face through the window.
Was Mom crying?
Sharon’s tears began to spill onto her cheeks. She could feel the panic filling her stomach.
Handing Sharon a teddy bear, the teacher said, “your parents will be back before you know it. This is Sedgewick. He is our classroom bear. He will help you today.” Mrs. T crossed the room to break up an argument between two little girls. When her back was turned, the mean-looking boy came over. Sharon was afraid he was going to hit her or yell at her.
“That’s Sedgewick and you can’t touch him, he’s only for boys,” he said as he grabbed the bear from Sharon’s hands.
Crossing her arms, Sharon slumped into a chair, lowered her head to the table and silently cried. A few minutes later, the teacher brought over a sweet-looking little girl.
“Susie, would you be Sharon’s special friend today. Help her find something to play with,” said the teacher. “Where is Sedgewick?” she asked. Sharon pointed at the mean little boy who was hugging the bear. The teacher left Sharon and Susie and went to speak to the mean little boy.
“Hi, Sharon, would you like to play in the playhouse?” asked Susie.
There is a playhouse? I wonder what it is like? I‘ve always wanted to play in a playhouse, Sharon thought to herself. She so desperately wanted to go with Susie, but she was too shy. She, also, didn’t want anything to do with that mean-looking boy. Sharon didn’t even raise her head to look at Susie.
“Is there something else you want to play with?” Susie asked. Sharon kept her head down and didn’t look up. The new friend sat with her for a few more minutes, but when the new, shy little girl didn’t raise her head or speak, Susie decided the new girl didn’t want a friend so she returned to the playhouse.
“You be the daddy and I’ll be the mother,” Susie said to some kids in the playhouse. “Jennifer you can be the little sister.”
Sharon could hear the other children having so much fun. She wanted to play with them in the playhouse. She raised her head to take a peek. The mean-looking little boy was glaring at her. Susie quickly put her head back down and covered her eyes.
Why doesn’t he like me? What have I done to him? I just wanted to see the playhouse. How am I ever going to make friends?
“Ok, everyone, it is snack time. Let’s all have a seat at one of the tables,” announced Mrs. T. Children began to sit at Sharon’s table.
“Larry, would you give everyone a milk and Jennifer would you pass the graham crackers,” the teacher instructed.
So the mean kid is Larry. I wonder if he will give me any milk? Will he hurt me when he comes to my table?
“Hi, Sharon,” said Jennifer as she gave Sharon some crackers. She scooted the crackers under Sharon’s hand.
“Do you want some milk?” asked Larry. He said it in such a mean way that Sharon was afraid to lift her head. “I guess not,” Larry said as he passed her by.
Sharon listened as the children began to talk and eat their snacks. Everyone seemed to be so nice, except for Larry. She began to think this was going to be a great place if only she could get over being so shy. Sharon lifted her head just enough to take a small nibble of the graham cracker. It was mixed with her salty tears and didn’t taste right. The teacher saw her movement and encouraged her to join the talk around the table. She turned to the little girl sitting next to Sharon.
“Patsy would you tell Sharon about your new puppy?” the teacher asked.
“Oh, he is the cutest thing. He has brown fur, but one of his front paws is black. We call him Blackfoot. He loves to run. I’m trying to teach him to bring me a stick when I throw it. He will go and get the stick, but then he runs from me. He is just so cute when he does that.” The other students laughed. Sharon smiled to herself. She really wanted to laugh with everyone, but she was afraid.
When snack time was over, the teacher called everyone to the story rug. Stories and books were Sharon’s favorites, but by this time the chair felt so secure, Sharon didn’t want to leave it. She continued to sit, but raised her eyes just the least bit so she could see the pictures in the story. Larry’s back was to Sharon, so she enjoyed the story without his mean looks.
It was time for play time again, and Sharon wanted so much to join the others in the playhouse, but she didn’t want to leave her secure little chair. Once again Sharon sat and listened to the others having fun. She lifted her head just enough to see the playhouse. It had a sink, stove and a refrigerator. There was a hard, wooden bed for the dolls.
I’ve always wanted a bed for my dollies. Oh, they need a soft mattress and pillow on the bed for the dollies, Sharon thought. The baby will bump its head on that ole hard bed. Larry had put on a dress and was pretending to be a mommy. Sharon wanted to laugh at the mean boy, but she was afraid he might see her. He did look silly, though. Sharon laughed to herself.
When the teacher called out “rest time,” Sharon was thinking this would be a good time to get up and join the group. A rest mat would be much more comfortable than this hard table. Just as she raised her head, Larry turned and saw her.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you retarded or something?”
He was standing right beside Sharon. But this time the teacher heard what he said and she scolded him.
“Larry, you will apologize to Sharon this instant. There is nothing wrong with her. She is just new. She wants you to be her friend.” Larry dropped his head and whispered, “sorry”.
“Sharon didn’t hear that. Tell her you’re sorry.”
“Sorry,” Larry said and he really seemed to mean it.
“Now, you will have 10 minutes of time out,” the teacher demanded as she pointed to a chair in the corner.
Larry sat in the special time-out chair and looked at Sharon. Sharon peeked through her fingers and could see him looking at her. He looked so sorry, Sharon began to feel sorry for him. She began to cry again.
Larry might not be so bad after all. He just doesn’t understand someone as shy as I am. I wish I weren't so shy. I could be resting on a nice cozy cushion. Instead here I sit with my head down. My neck is getting sore. Why am I so shy. I know it would be more fun to talk and play like everybody else. Is Larry right? Am I retarded or something? I want to be normal. I want to be brave. Tomorrow I plan to come right in and start talking to Jennifer and Susie and even Larry and I mean it. I’m not going to be called Shy Sharon anymore.
Sharon was thinking about her new plan of action when her parents returned. The teacher explained to them that Sharon had not participated. When she mentioned that Sharon had sat in the same chair all day, her mother looked upset. The teacher told Mom things would be better tomorrow she was sure.
Sharon was sure of it, too. She could hardly wait for tomorrow. She knew everybody now. Even Larry was being nicer to her. She held Mom’s hand as they got into the car. All the way home, she told her parents about what a special day it had been. “They have a playhouse and lots of toys. They even have a special little bed for the dollies. And the teacher read two stories. There is a girl named Patsy who has a new puppy. Susie is my special friend. Larry didn’t like me at first, but I think he does now.”
Sharon noticed her parents were not as excited as she was. “Tomorrow I’m going to play in the playhouse and…….”
“You won’t be going back tomorrow,” Mom said.
“Why not?”
“We are going to Chimney rock tomorrow,” Daddy said with a big smile.
“Chimney rock, really?” Sharon whooped. “Is the whole family going?”
“No, it will be just you, me and Daddy,” Mom said. “The other kids have to go to school.”
“But don’t I have to go to school tomorrow, too?”
“You won’t be going back to kindergarten,” Mom said.
I have really messed up this time. Oh, why do I have to be so shy? What is wrong with me? Am I retarded like Larry said? Please don’t let me be retarded. I wish I wasn’t so shy. I will be brave next time.
The next day Sharon and her parents took a day trip to Chimney Rock Park. Sharon felt special. She had Mom and Dad all to herself.
“See the rock that looks like a chimney?” Mom asked?
“I don’t see it.”
“Here, let me lift you on my shoulders,” Daddy said. “Now do you see it?” Sharon strained her eyes to see it, but it just looked like a rock to her. She didn’t want her parents to be disappointed, so she said, “Oh, yeah, I see it now.”
“I brought a special lunch for us. Let’s find a picnic table,” Mom said.
“The kids will soon be home for lunch. What about them? Will they join the picnic too?”
Daddy lifted Sharon on his shoulders, “Mrs. Brown is going to feed the kids. Today it is just the three of us.” Sharon thought about how jealous her brothers and sister would be when they heard about their day and the picnic in the park.
They drove further into the park and Mom put lunch on the table. Sharon began to think of the kids in kindergarten. I wonder if Larry’s parents ever took him to a park like this? Maybe not. That may be why he was so mean at first. He was jealous of me and my parents. I bet Patsy’s puppy would love this place. I wonder what the kids are doing now. I bet they are having story time. Oh, I wish I could be there and here at the same time. I really want to be like everybody else. Why am I so different?
“How about an ice cream cone for dessert?” Daddy suggested when they had finished eating.
“Oh, boy! Can we?” The three drove back to the store to have ice cream. “I want chocolate, please.”
“Coming right up,” Daddy said. The ice cream tasted better here in the park. It was almost like homemade ice cream. It was so creamy and sweet.
When they were finished eating their ice cream, they walked through some of the souvenir shops. When they got back out to the front of the shops, Daddy wanted to take a picture of their day. Daddy loved to take pictures.
“Sharon, stand by the fountain and let me get your picture,” Dad said. “Then we need to get home before the kids get home from school.”
“I can’t wait to tell the others about our day.”
They decided to give the kids a ride home instead of them having to walk home. They drove to the school. The minute her brothers and sister were in the car, Sharon began to brag about her day.
“Oh, ya’ll, we had the bestest day. We saw a rock that looked like a chimney and we had a picnic and Daddy bought us an ice cream cone.”
Bobby was just about to say something when Mom gave him the eye.
I wonder what that means? Did the kids know we were going to Chimney Rock?
“Bobby, don’t you wish you could have gone with us?” We had the bestest time.” Sharon could tell he was jealous and wanted to say something, but Mom gave him that look again and all he said was, “we had to go to school.” It was for sure and for certain that he was jealous, but Sharon decided to let it go.
Chapter Two
Just a Loaf of Bread
Life went back to normal after the kindergarten adventure day. The kids went off to school every day and Sharon stayed home with Mom. Sharon had her own little iron and ironing board. The iron plugged into the wall and heated so she could help Mom with the ironing. Sharon ironed Daddy’s handkerchiefs while Mom ironed the clothes.
“We had such a fun time at the park. Thank you for taking me there,” Sharon told her mom.
“I had a good time, too, honey.”
“Will I ever get to go back to kindergarten?” she asked.
Mom just looked at Sharon and smiled. Without answering, mom looked at the clock on the wall. This was the year 1950 and the students came home for lunch every day “It is almost time for the kids to come home for lunch “Oh, I just remembered, we are out of bread. Could you run to the store for me?” Mom suggested.
“You want me to go to the store by myself?” Sharon almost shouted. She wasn’t sure if it was the fear in her that was yelling or if she was surprised that Mom would trust her with such a grown up task.
Mom took the money from her purse, tied it into a handkerchief and instructed Sharon, “Now honey don’t go in the road, just cut across the field. I would go with you, but I need to heat the soup and get things ready for lunch. You’ll be fine.”
“Ok, Mom. I’ll be right back,” she almost whispered in response. Sharon felt excitement about this adventure. She skipped out the door with the money and handkerchief clutched in her hand.
When she got outside, she felt very alone. Her steps slowed as they thought about this new challenge. This was going to be as scary as her first day of kindergarten. There were too many things lately that made her more afraid and more shy. Sharon didn’t really like the field because of how the tall grass scratched her legs. She was also afraid of critters that might be in the tall grass. Even a grasshopper was scary to the shy little girl. She didn’t even want to think about grass snakes.
Walking down the side of the road would have made it easier to avoid snakes, scratchy grass or even grasshoppers, but there were cars in the road. Sometimes people were walking in the road and Sharon didn’t want to talk to anyone. Going around the road would take longer, too, besides she had told her mother she wouldn’t go in the road and she always kept her promises to her mother.
Sharon bucked up her courage and stepped into the tall grass. It was as tall as she was. The store was kitty-corner from where she started, but because of the tall grass she couldn’t see it. She just hoped she was going the right way. Taking her time and looking carefully where she stepped, Sharon inched her way through the grass. Surely she was getting close to the other end of the grass, but where was the store? She still couldn’t see it. The dress she was wearing didn’t do a lot to protect her legs from the scratchy grass.
When a rabbit hopped across in front of her, Sharon screamed. Her heart began to beat faster. She closed her eyes and stopped walking. She wondered if the rabbit was as scared as she was. When she opened her eyes again, the bunny was gone. After a few more steps, Sharon could see the store. There were only a few more steps to go, so Sharon began to think of another problem. Who would tell the man at the store what she wanted? She had been to the store many times with her mother, but this was the first time she had to do the speaking.
As Sharon came out of the grass, she slowly turned, mounted the steps and quietly entered the store. The store keeper was busy putting some cans on a shelf. Sharon looked around and was relieved there were no other customers in the store. As the door was closing, it made the bell jingle. The man turned around and saw her.
“How may I help you, little lady?” he said.
Sharon was afraid to lift her eyes and look at the man. With her chin almost touching her chest she quickly sputtered, “Uh, I… uh… need a loaf of bread.”
While the man went to get the bread, Sharon lifted her head, raised herself up on her tiptoes, and carefully placed the handkerchief with the money on the counter. The man returned and smiled at her. He took the money and rang up the sale at his cash register. Am I really doing this? Sharon thought to herself. The man counted out change and tied it back into the handkerchief.
“Do you need your bread in a sack?” Sharon shook her head and smiled. She was feeling so proud of herself. She quickly swung the money and bread down off the counter and put the handkerchief in one hand and the bread in the other hand. She slowly and quietly left the store, but when her feet hit the soft ground, she began to skip. I did good, she thought to herself.
Sharon slowed a bit when she got back to the tall grass and she carefully began to ease her way back across the field. “Won’t Mom and Daddy be so proud of me? What will my brothers and sister say? They will be so jealous. I know Bobby will be jealous. He has never gone to the store by himself. Just wait ‘til I tell everyone,” she said aloud.
Sharon took a big whiff of the fresh bread in the sack. It smelled so good, her stomach began to rumble. “They won’t miss just one little piece of bread,” she said to herself. She carefully opened the end of the wrapper and took out a fresh slice of bread and began to eat it. “Mom would say, now don’t spoil your lunch,” she giggled to herself. She had a smile on her face because of her silliness. Sharon sat down in the tall grass. She was so hungry she paid no attention to the scratchy grass. She forgot to look for critters. She just enjoyed her bread.
Mom had been watching out the window for the past half hour. “Where is she? What is taking so long? I should have gone with her. Daddy and the school kids had come home. Mom had fixed them all some soup with crackers since there was no bread for sandwiches. Everyone had gone back to their day except Mom. She was wringing her hands wondering where her baby girl was. When she spotted Sharon out the window, she was so relieved. Sharon was slowly shuffling up the walk. She was holding something behind her back. Her head was bowed so low it touched her chest. Mom could tell right away she was crying.