Shivers ran down Dale’s scaly back. “Here I go again,” he thought. Forty eyes, glazed with fear, stared at him. He could feel his large nostrils flare with embarrassment.
“He’s a dragon!” one little girl whispered loudly.
“He’s HUGE!” another child practically shouted.
Dale’s attention moved to the quivering voice of the teacher. “Welcome, Dale.” Mr. Buff tried to smile but it looked more like he was about to pass out. “There should be an extra desk at the back for you.”
Dale felt the breath leave Mr. Buff’s lungs at the sight of the long, pointy tail dragging behind him. Dale had been through this many times. His mom kept moving, hoping to find a quiet neighbourhood they could call home. She had promised this would be the last move for a while and Dale was both relieved and scared. Sometimes, it was comforting to know he didn’t have to make friends because he would be on to a new school shortly.
Dale shuffled his large body between the desks and the cries of “Hey, watch out!” Like a puppet, his tail slid from side to side without care for what it hit. Dale tried to straighten it out but it was impossible to control. Desks jolted from the impact and children jumped on their chairs.
When he reached the back of the room, Dale twisted to face the front. He heard the swish of heads turning quickly, pretending they weren’t staring.
Dale sat on the floor with a thump. There was no way his six-hundred pound body would fit into a chair. At his other school, he had sat down, trying to blend in, and the chair had cracked followed by a deafening collapse, leaving the ringing sound of laughter in Dale’s ears. At least now he wouldn’t have to move for awhile.
Rrrrrrriiiiinnnnnnnng! The bell made Dale jump and began the lonely lunch hour.
Dale made his way out to the field and saw the children playing basketball and heard them laughing. He smelled Doritos and wished he was sharing them with friends. Dale found a quiet place under a large tree and opened his homemade lunch. The familiar scent of ostrich eggs filled his nose and reminded him of his mom. He wondered how her new job was going and hoped she was having better luck at making friends than he was.
Dale was about to take a bite of his juicy sandwich when something bumped gently against his foot. The bright orange ball looked even brighter next to his green toes. Dale looked across the field and saw several children glancing nervously in his direction. No one wanted to ask him for the ball. Dale flicked the ball up to his large hands and easily tossed it to the basketball court. With only one bounce, SWOOSH, it landed in the net.
The children’s stares turned to admiration. A girl Dale recognized from class ran toward him – toward him? He could hardly believe his eyes.
“That was amazing!” She smiled. Dale was too surprised to speak. No one had ever approached him without fear before.
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat.
“Can you do it again?” The girl handed him the basketball.
“I can try.” Dale leaned down to take the ball from her and tossed it just as easily as the first time. Again, it bounced once and swooped through the net.
“Wow! You’re like Kobe Bryant,” the girl gasped. Then she did something only his mother had ever done. She reached up as high as she could and wrapped her hand around his enormous claw. “C’mon!” She tugged at him and marched him over to the court.
“Dale’s on my team,” she announced.
For the first time, Dale saw jealousy in the other team’s faces. He glided up and down the court in two strides, scoring basket after basket for his team. When he laughed with delight some of the children froze with their eyes popping open - but only for a moment. They had a game to play.