The First Page of the New Term
Chapter 1A Clean Page
Before the new term, Devorah covered her exercise books and wrote her name on each label.
She was moving to another Bais Yaakov school because her family had moved across town. She knew two girls by name and neither well enough to know where she would sit at lunch.
Mama helped press the edges of a book cover flat. Her hair was fully covered by a light brown sheitel.
"The first day may feel strange," she said.
"I'll know if it is right for me."
"From one day?"
Devorah shrugged.
She wanted the first day to give an answer. If the girls were friendly, she would be fine. If she said something awkward, she would not fit.
A clean first page seemed like a fair place to find out.
Chapter 2The Wrong Peg
On Tuesday Devorah hung her coat on the wrong peg.
A girl named Breindy pointed to the labels.
"That one is mine. Yours is at the end."
"Sorry."
"It's all right."
Devorah moved the coat. She felt as if the whole corridor had seen her do it, though most girls were entering class.
In the classroom, she opened her book to the wrong section. When Mrs. Leiner said the page number again, Devorah turned too fast and tore a small corner.
Mrs. Leiner's hair was fully covered by a neat navy headscarf. She paused beside Devorah's desk.
"Here we are," she said, pointing to the paragraph.
Devorah nodded. That was two mistakes before the second lesson.
Chapter 3An Ordinary Lunch
At lunch, Devorah sat beside Breindy because there was room.
Two girls across the table discussed something that had happened the previous term. Devorah did not know the names in the story.
She smiled when they laughed, then worried that she had smiled at the wrong thing.
Breindy asked where she had gone to school before.
Devorah answered. Breindy began to ask another question, but someone dropped a spoon and the table turned toward the sound.
The conversation moved on.
Devorah ate her sandwich. She had expected a new friend by the end of lunch. Instead she had a half-finished answer and crumbs in the fold of her napkin.
Chapter 4The Verdict at Home
When Mama asked about the day, Devorah put her bag on the floor.
"I don't fit there."
Mama sat beside her.
"What happened?"
Devorah listed the coat peg, the book page, the lunch story, and the question that hadn't been finished.
"That sounds awkward," Mama said.
"Exactly."
"It tells us the first day felt awkward. Does it tell us every day will?"
Devorah picked at a crumb on her sleeve.
"Nobody asked me to be their friend."
"Did you expect someone to know you that well today?"
She had. She hadn't expected to have to say it aloud.
Mama did not promise that every girl would become her friend. She offered something smaller: talk again after a few days, and tell Mrs. Leiner if anything unkind or unsafe happened.
Chapter 5The Second Page
On Wednesday Devorah used the correct peg.
It did not feel like a triumph. It felt like hanging up her coat.
Breindy asked whether she had finished the homework. Devorah said yes and asked which part Breindy had found hardest.
They talked until the bell.
At lunch, Devorah still didn't know every name in the stories. She asked who one girl was. Someone explained, then went back to the story.
There were no speeches about welcoming her. There was room for one question and an answer.
Devorah went home tired again.
"Still strange," she told Mama.
"Anything different?"
"I knew the peg. And Breindy finished her question."
Chapter 6More Than One Day
By Friday Devorah knew where the spare rulers were kept and which door led to the library.
She did not have a best friend. She was beginning to know girls well enough to ask a question without planning every word first.
One afternoon she sat alone while Breindy helped another girl with a project. The old verdict returned quickly: perhaps Wednesday had been nothing.
Devorah looked at the covered book on her desk.
One lonely afternoon could not erase a conversation any more than one conversation could promise every afternoon.
She took out her homework. Later she asked Mrs. Leiner about joining the class library job for one lunchtime. Mrs. Leiner explained what the girls did and said she could try it.
Chapter 7The Small Job
On Monday Devorah and a girl named Chaya put book cards in order.
Chaya asked about Devorah's old school. Devorah asked how long Chaya had helped in this library.
One card was missing. They told Mrs. Leiner instead of searching until lunch ended.
The job was ordinary. Devorah was glad it was ordinary. It gave them something to talk about without asking either of them to decide what their friendship would become.
At the end, Chaya asked if Devorah would help next Monday too.
"I'll ask Mrs. Leiner," Devorah said.
She went back to class carrying no grand answer, just the next question.
Chapter 8A Book With Pages Left
That evening Devorah opened the exercise book with the torn corner.
There were several pages of work in it now. Some answers were right. Some had corrections. The first small tear had not spread across the whole book.
"How is the school feeling?" Mama asked.
"More familiar. Not all the time."
"That makes sense."
Devorah wrote the next heading.
She still wanted friends. She still missed girls from her old school. She could tell Mama both things without turning Tuesday into proof that nothing would work.
There were pages left in the book, and days left in the term.
She didn't have to write the verdict on the first one.
