The first day of school finally arrived. James woke up, showered, and ate breakfast early, so he could be ready for the arrival of the bus at 7:15. After a summer vacation that never seemed to end, he was finally ready to play football again.

He could hear the bus turn down his street, but it seemed different. It seemed louder, heavier, almost like a tractor trailer. James wasn't expecting what pulled up outside his home. 

It was by far the biggest vehicle he had ever seen. It looked like it was taller than any tractor trailer in the world. It's roof must have reached 17 feet in height, and that was with the body of the bus sitting lower than normal. It had 15 ft doors that were about 7 feet wide, and it had the length of one and half tractor trailers. He wasn't sure if this was the correct bus, but the door opened and a giant man sat behind the wheel. 

The bus driver asked if his name was James, and he nodded, and went up steps that seemed to be spaced 3 feet apart. Once at the top, he looked around for Todd, but all he saw were kids sitting down. And he had to look up at them. They must have been a foot taller than him, and he was standing. It made James a little disoriented. He had always been the tallest kid in his class, now he wasn't even the tallest on the bus.

He carefully made his way down the aisle. He could feel the really tall girls staring at him. He stood six foot five inches, but he never felt so small. It was unnerving. He eventually found Todd in tow near the middle of the bus, sitting alone. James quickly stepped up and sat down. He immediately noticed that the seat was too big for him, way to big. It felt like it could fit two of him . He also noticed something that he hadn't experienced since he was 6 years old. He was sitting, but his feet weren't touching the ground. Because of his unnerving feelings walking towards Todd, he didn't notice that he needed to climb up a couple of steps to sit. He couldn't fathom that feeling. He finally noticed how wide the bus was. It was twice as wide as the bus he took last year. He and Todd looked at each other and their eyes told each other that this had to be a dream. But it wasn't.

The bus was kind of separated, with the taller kids up front, and the smaller ones in the back. James and Todd were right on the divide. It was then the girl in the seat in front of his turned around. She said hi. When he was standing, he was shorter than her by about a foot. Seated, she was about 2 and a half feet taller than him. 

He wanted to close his eyes and wish this bad dream away. But he remembered what his parents had taught him, respect and kindness to those that are different from him. 

So, he met her gaze with his eyes. He immediately thought that she had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. 

He remembered his manners and said hi back to her.

Then she told him that her name was Meg, and she held out her hand to him. He replied that his name was James as he went to shake her hand.

James had some the largest hands around due to his size, but when he shook Meg's hand, it was like he could fit almost three of his in hers. She shook his hand gently, but even then, James could feel something different. It was as if she applied no pressure when he took her hand, yet it was still the firmest handshake that he had ever experienced. If she wasn't so nice, he would have gotten up and hid in the back of the bus. 

But, he was determined to be respectful. He asked her what grade she was in. She replied 9th. James said that he was going into 9th also. He told her that he hoped the teacher was nice. He disliked teachers that came in on the first day and laid down the law. It always seemed so standoffish. Meg agreed. And with that, the bus arrived in the parking lot of the new school.