When Maven Meets Blakely

Maven watched as Iris stretched Blakely's sleeping cheeks and tried to tempt her friend to get up from her tangle of bed sheets. "Come. On. Blakely, we'll be late for school if you don't get up." She heard Iris grumble as she tugged at the comforters wrapped around the sleeping panda lover.

"Noooooo. Let me sleep, Iris! You meanie. Iris," Blakely whined. Hiding from their ever-diligent friend.

Maven chuckled as she watched this. She was thankful for the day she became friends with these two all those years ago. Remember that very same day.

Maven, five years old,

Maven was a bundle of nerves. Her family had just uprooted their lives, moving to a new town due to her father's promotion. Now, she was about to embark on a new journey-starting kindergarten at a school where she didn't know a soul. She stood at the front door of her new house, her backpack securely on her shoulders, her heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.