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Sara's Seat on the Bus

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

The yellow bus to Bais Yaakov rolls down Maple Street at 7:40 every morning. Sara always sits in the fourth row by the window. Her friends Leah and Malky always sit beside her.

On Tuesday, Sara climbs up the steps with her lunch bag swinging. She looks for her seat. Leah and Malky are there, but a third girl is in Sara's spot. Her name is Dina, and she is new.

Dina is squeezed against the window. She has her backpack on her lap and her eyes on the floor.

Sara stops. She feels a hot, tight feeling begin in her chest. That's my seat, she thinks. Why is she sitting there?

She looks at Leah and Malky. They are talking about a book and don't look up. There is no room on the bench for her.

Sara walks slowly to the back of the bus. She sits down by herself, right near the bumpy part over the wheel. Her bag falls off her lap twice.

The whole way to school, she feels grumpy. Her mind spins with thoughts. Leah forgets about me. Malky doesn't care. Everyone likes Dina more.

At school, she hardly speaks at recess. She doesn't join the rope game. She sits on a bench and kicks at the gravel.

Her teacher, Morah Rosen, notices. She comes and sits on the bench.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind," says Morah Rosen.

Sara shrugs. "Nothing."

"It sounds like nothing might be something," says Morah Rosen gently.

Sara sighs. "My seat on the bus got taken. And my friends didn't even notice."

"That sounds hard. When something like that happens, what do you tell yourself?"

"That they don't care about me."

"Hmm. Is that a fact, or a guess?"

Sara thinks. Leah and Malky have never said they don't care. They have just been talking about a book. Maybe they haven't seen her. Maybe they didn't know how she feels.

"It's a guess," Sara admits.

"A good way to find out is to use your voice," says Morah Rosen. "You can say how you feel in a calm way and ask for what you need. That isn't mean. That's brave."

"What do I say?"

"Try this. 'When this happened, I felt left out. Next time, can we save my seat?' Say it kindly. Then listen to what they say."

Sara practices it twice under her breath.

The next morning, Sara climbs the bus steps. The seat by the window has Dina in it again. Leah and Malky are next to her.

Sara's heart pounds. She stands by their row and takes a slow breath.

"Hi, Leah. Hi, Malky," she says. Her voice shakes a little. "Yesterday I felt left out when I didn't have my seat. Next time, can we save a spot for me?"

Leah's eyes go wide. "Oh! Sara, I didn't see you walk by. I'm so sorry. I'd have squeezed over."

"We were just trying to help Dina feel welcome," says Malky. "We should have thought of you too."

Dina looks up shyly. "I can move if you want your seat back."

Sara looks at Dina. She notices how Dina's fingers clutch her bag. She remembers how scary it is to be new.

"No, stay," says Sara. "There's room for all of us if we scoot."

They all shift over. Leah squeezes in on one side and Malky on the other. It is tight, but it works.

"Do you like to read?" Sara asks Dina.

"I love it," says Dina, and for the first time, she smiles.

All the way to school, the four of them talk about books. The bus bounces over the bumps, and nobody minds.

On Thursday, Leah saves the window seat with her backpack. Dina sits in the middle. Sara gets the aisle, and she doesn't mind one bit.