Casey and Max

Copyright © 2020 Kimberly Bray

All rights reserved
First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2020

ISBN 978-1-64654-901-6 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64654-902-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Casey and Max
The Magic of Friendship

Kimberly Bray
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C
asey and Max lived in the same neighborhood. Casey lived in a
small house with her big family. She was the youngest of six kids.
There was always someone to play with and never a loss of ideas
for fun. Her mom stayed at home with the kids while her dad went to work
every day as an accountant. Casey had gone to preschool at Tabby Press.
She made many friends and learned quickly with the help of her brothers
and sisters. She especially liked the lunch bunch, where she got a special
time with her teacher and a few friends. Now it was time for kindergarten.
Casey was very excited to start elementary school. She even got a new dress
for the first day.

*****

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 Max was not excited for his first day of kindergarten. It was just him
and his mother in their tiny house that seemed so big and empty at times.
Max’s father died in the military when he was a baby. His mom worked full
time to keep things going. She tried to play with him often, but there just
wasn’t enough time in the day. She worked full time in a bookstore and read
to him every night. His favorite stories were about magic and how wishes
come true. Max stayed with his grandparents during the day. Although they
loved him very much, they couldn’t always keep up with a five-year-old.
Max didn’t go to preschool; they just didn’t have the money, but he enjoyed
his time with Nanny and Pop. Pop would play music and dance with him,
and Nanny would bake cookies with him. The peanut butter ones were his
favorite.

*****

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 On the first day of school at Redbird Elementary, Casey was up early.
She put on her new dress and headed down to breakfast.
“Waffles are ready, Casey,” said her mom.
“I’m right here,” answered Casey.
She ate quickly and was ready with her new backpack twenty minutes
before the bus was to arrive. She knew the routine well when she got to
school. She put her backpack by her door, and then she went to play on
the playground. She knew one girl, Beth, from preschool. They climbed up
to the slide and waited their turn. Casey looked around from up top and
noticed a boy standing with his mom in the corner. He looked scared and
ready to cry. Casey thought she should go say something to him. Beth told
her it was her turn to go down the slide, and she forgot about him.

*****

The house smelled so good when Max woke up. It made him smile.
Then he realized that it was his first day at Redbird Elementary, and he
wasn’t quite so happy.
Mom came in and said, “Come on, Max. We have to get going. I will
drive you to school and take you to your classroom. But you have to be
brave. This is a new adventure for you. Remember all the books we have
read about magic. There could be magic everywhere at school.”

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 Max doubted that, but he got up anyway. It took him longer than usual
to eat his pancakes, probably because he was stalling. He got his book bag
and got in the car, trying not to cry. He wanted to make his mother proud
of him for being a grown-up on his first day of school. When they got to the
playground, there were so many kids. He couldn’t believe it. It was a nice
playground, but he was not interested in playing right now. The teacher
outside told him to put his book bag by the door and go play with the
other kids. He wanted no parts of that and clung to his mother like he was
fighting a windstorm.
He promised himself he wouldn’t cry for his mom. When the bell rang,
Ms. Acorn came out to get the class. All the parents left, and he was sad
and scared. Ms. Acorn’s room was decorated like the forest. She had tents
and campfires and fish tanks all around. It did make Max feel a little better.
Ms. Acorn smelled like flowers, and she was so sweet. He thought he could
probably like it here.

*****

Casey settled in right away, finding her spot on the rug and chatting
with the other kids. The boy whom she spotted from the slide was very
quiet and shy. Casey made a mental note to say hi to him later if she could.

*****

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 The morning was long but good. They played a few games and learned
about what they would be doing this year. They would get to go to music and
art. They also had a big library, which made Max sit up and pay attention.
Books reminded him of his mom and all the stories she read to him before
he went to bed. He wished his little rug was magical and could take him
home right now. Soon, it was time for lunch. Everyone lined up in number
order. That put Casey toward the front of the line, not quite the line leader,
and Max was all the way in the back.
It was chicken nugget day at Redbird Elementary. That will always be
one of the good days. Most of the kindergarteners brought their lunch
today. The teachers felt it would be easier than trying to teach everyone how
to go through the line and buy their lunch so early in the year. The ladies
in the cafeteria were super nice and tried to help the kids who missed their
mom or just wanted to go home. They had a “Miss Your Mom” table. Max
was allowed to go and sit there. He missed his mom and his Nanny and
Pop. Most of the kids were just excited to see the big cafeteria and get out
to recess. Max wasn’t used to this many kids and didn’t make any friends in
class yet.

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 Ms. Ann came over and sat down next to him. She tried to get him to
eat some of his lunch. “Maybe if you could just take a bite of your sandwich
and drink your juice, that would be good,” she said.
Max looked around at the other kids. Only a few others were crying. He
wished he knew at least one of the other children. He wanted to go home.
“You know,” she said, “when you go outside for recess, there is a magical
red table. If you sit at it and wait, a new friend will come and sit with you.”
“Really?” asked Max. “Just like magic?”
“Just like magic,” she replied. “I promise. I can walk out with you and
show you if you like.”
Max’s eyes got really wide. Could it be that magic really did exist? In all
the stories his mom read him, he didn’t remember anything about a magic
picnic table, but who knows?
Max looked at Ms. Ann and told her, “I would like that very much.”
He was so excited about the table that he was able to take a few bites
of his peanut butter and jelly. Ms. Ann smiled, knowing that sitting at the
table would help him more than he knew. The kindergarten began to line
up to go outside. Ms. Ann took Max’s hand and led him to the front of the
line. They waited for the bell and then walked out together. The big kids
were coming in from recess, and Max was glad he had someone with him.
He guessed they were nice, but too many of them tried to high-five him,
and he wasn’t ready for that.

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 When Max got outside, there was a giant playground with two sides.
He saw swings, slides, bars to climb on, and so much more. Ms. Ann led
him over to a shiny red metal picnic table. It had holes all through it, and it
sat under a big tree. The picnic table sat a little higher than the rest of the
playground so he could see everything. It was almost like looking out over
your kingdom.
“Let’s sit down and see what happens next,” whispered Miss Ann. “Not
to worry,” she promised. “Remember…magic.”
They sat there for a few minutes. No one came over. Max began to get
a little nervous. He so wanted the magic to be true.
“Oh wait!” cried Ms. Ann. “I forgot. It only works for kids.” Ms. Ann
jumped off the seat “I will stay close and watch. You stay here.”
Ms. Ann moved down a little to the basketball net and waited.

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 Max was very nervous, but almost immediately, someone came walking
over and sat next to him. Max couldn’t believe it. It worked. “Hi, my name
is Casey. I saw you sitting here alone, and I thought you might need a
friend. Come on. Let’s go play on the swings.”
Casey took his hand, and they hopped off the seat. As they went by,
Max waved to Ms. Ann and smiled. Ms. Ann knew that the magic would
continue to bring friends together.
Casey and Max played all recess together. They even came up with some
new games to play with others. Casey introduced Max to Beth, and he now
had two friends. He was going to have to write a thank-you note to Ms.
Ann for showing him the way.

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 When they got back in from recess, Max asked Ms. Acorn if he could
sit next to Casey when they go on the carpet. Ms. Acorn said yes as long as
they didn’t talk too much while she was teaching. Casey and Max promised
to be quiet. They didn’t want to make her mad, and they knew following
the rules was very important.

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 Finally, the day was over, and Max waited anxiously for his mom. When
she arrived, he almost knocked her over with a hug. Ms. Acorn told her that
Max had a rough start but that he had already made a few friends. Max ran
over to Casey and pulled his mom over with him. He introduced his mom
to his new friend and told her all about Ms. Ann and the magical table.
Max wanted to get a picture with Casey in front of the picnic table so
he could show Nanny and Pop. Casey’s mom said it was okay, and they all
went around to the big playground.

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 The big red table did seem to shine in the sunlight even under the tree.
Casey and Max sat on the bench, right in the middle of the picture. Both
moms took pictures to show their families. As they were finishing up, a first
grader named Sebastian came running over to them.
“Are you guys okay?” he asked.
“We’re fine. Why?” said Casey’s mom.
“I saw you sitting there and thought you might be sad or need a friend.”
Casey and Max looked at each other and said at the same time, “Will
you play with us?”
Sebastian hugged both of them, and they ran off to explore.

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 Both moms knew, like Ms. Ann, that they didn’t need a magical table to
make new friends. The magic is in the person. It’s nice to believe, however,
especially when you’re five, that a little magic can power a friendship as
much as anything or anyone, but it never hurts to have a shiny red picnic
table to get things started.

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 About the Author

K
im Bray lives just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with
her husband and two children. She has always enjoyed writing
including short stories and poetry. Animals play a big role in her
life with two dogs and four cats. She even worked in a pet store for many
years. Currently, Kim works in an elementary school that inspired her to
write Casey and Max: The Magic of Friendship.