was There was Nora Resnick who was seven years old and her little brother Teddy who was five And there was also Eugene Spencer Eastman who was eight years old These friends often played with Russell and sometimes they even played school Nora and Eugene Spencer took turns being the teacher and telling the others what to do Playing with his friends was always fun for Russell But attending a real school was not quite the same True knowing that he was big enough to go off to school every morning just like the others made him feel grown-up Still many mornings as his mother helped him get dressed Russell wished that he could stay home with her the way he did when he was little He looked at his baby sister Elisa She 10
was only a few months old so she didn’t have to go anywhere How lucky she was to stay home alone in the house with Mommy and do whatever she wanted She didn’t have to listen to the teacher and remember all the nursery school rules like clean-up time and no-pushing-on-line Russell you’re a big boy now his mother reminded him when he said that maybe he would stay home too Only babies stay in the house with their mommies mommies all day long One of the problems with going to school was that Russell always seemed to be losing things On the very first day of school he had taken his favorite little car with him I think you should leave that at home said Mommy 11
No Russell had insisted I’ll keep it in my pocket where it will be safe He felt better knowing that he had his car with him If he got lonely or sad during the morning he could take it out of his pocket and play with it He ran the wheels of the little car along his arm It might get lost his mother said I’ll be careful Russell told her Somehow during the morning the car did get lost Russell didn’t even notice it was missing until he came home and was eating his lunch At first he was very upset but his mother said that perhaps he would find it the next day So the following morning Russell returned to school hoping to find the little car He looked for it in every box of toys and in each corner of the room but he could not find it It was lost 12
The second week of school Russell had worn a red baseball cap that his grandfather had sent him in the mail He was very proud of it Eugene Spencer had a baseball cap that was blue but Russell liked red even better He wanted to wear his hat in class but Mrs Lane who was the teacher said that a gentleman never wore a hat indoors I’m not a gentleman said Russell I’m a boy But Mrs Lane had insisted so Russell put his cap in the cubby in his classroom Later in the morning when the children went to the little play area on the building’s roof Russell proudly put on his baseball cap again Up on the roof there were swings and a slide and even a sandbox The playground was just like the one in the park except it 13
