Chapter Text
Melvin waited a long time for Schmitty to start school.
Mostly because he was excited to do his big brother duties like holding their hand on the walk to school or making sure they weren't scared on their first day. But also because he didn't have a lot of friends at school and he would get to see Schmitty before lunch!
Even though Melvin's first day of school had been forever ago, he still remembered how scary it was. And his promise to Mom about being brave for the baby- and now the baby was all grown up into Schmitty!
And Schmitty was already so smart, so Melvin knew he'd be really good at school.
Even though Schmitty didn't talk so much yet ( or at all, really ) they were really good at signing! They could write their name, too, but Melvin couldn't really read it because their letters were really shaky.
Melvin was good at sign language, too, but sometimes he forgot what words and signs were supposed to go together. He was pretty sure Schmitty was going to be the best at it one day, though.
Even better than Mom, and she was the one that taught them.
She read it all in a big book that she got at the library and even went to classes sometimes to learn it! And then she came home and taught Schmitty and Melvin and Dad!
‘Cept Dad wasn't very good at it at all.
Mom and Schmitty and Melvin had a long, long talk about getting ready for the first day of school. Dad was busy, though, so he didn't come. Mom said he had lots of work to do in his office, but Melvin was pretty sure he just didn't want to. Now that he was almost in middle school he was pretty good at telling when people were ‘stretching the truth’.
“Mel, you're gonna have to help Schmitty get to school, okay?” Mom explained, “you know all the important walking rules, but Schmitty doesn't know yet, so you'll have to help him, okay?”
“I know! Cause I'm almost in middle school, right?” He was way too proud to be almost out of the elementary school. He was going to be a real teenager in a few years! It was pretty exciting.
“right. You're also going to have to give this note to Schmitty’s teacher, okay?” Mom slid the note across the table and Melvin took it.
“Can I read it?” He asked, already opening a corner of the note. Mom shook her head.
“No, but it's important, okay? Make sure the teacher reads it before you go to your classroom. It’s really important, Mel”
Melvin nodded and stopped fiddling with the paper, instead holding it close to his chest.
“I promise I will stay until the teacher gets done reading,” he promised. He held onto the note while they talked, trying to remember to put it in his school bag later.
“Schmitty” Mom tapped the table and signed their name, getting his younger brother's attention. They looked up from the toys they were playing with, Melvin following along with Mom's signs carefully.
“Melvin won't be there to help you in class. He has to go to his own class. And Mama won't be there either, okay?” she said it slow and careful, and Schmitty stared with wide-eyes.
Their lip trembled a little, but Schmitty nodded and Melvin had to keep himself from swallowing his little sibling up into a tight, squeezing hug. Not in the middle of their very important conversation.
“you know what to do if kids are mean to you, right?” Mom pretended to make a mean face.
Schmitty nodded, making a mean face to match Mom’s and made claw hands. Melvin giggled- Schmitty didn't look scary to him at all.
“And if you need Melvin or me you go to the principal’s office and show them your note. We’ll put it in your pocket, tomorrow, okay?”
Schmitty nodded and pulled at the front of their overalls, showing off the little pocket there. Mom probably wasn't gonna let them wear those same overalls tomorrow, but Schmitty had a whole collection, so Melvin was pretty sure they would get to wear some anyway.
Schmitty looked at Melvin with big, wet eyes, letting go of his pocket to sign to him.
“Melvin going to be there too?” They asked, sniffling a little. They weren't crying just yet, but Melvin was pretty sure he was going too soon.
He nodded quickly.
“Yep. I’ll even show you where my class is, okay? So if you get scared of the principal you can just come get me, okay?”
Schmitty nodded a little and made grabby hands at Melvin, which meant they wanted a good, squeezy hug. And of course Melvin gave them one because he wanted one too all of a sudden.
He wasn't scared of school anymore, but for some reason he was really nervous about tomorrow.
The next morning was fast and loud. Which it always was when Melvin had to go to school, except Schmitty had to go now, too.
Melvin hated getting up early, but he had to now that he was a big kid.
Plus it took him forever to get ready because he always had to fight with his socks and beg Mom to let him go without them. Even though that also didn't feel good on his feet.
She never said yes, except for that one time that he hurt his ankle and got to only wear one shoe.
That was pretty cool even though it hurt.
Melvin got dressed by himself and sat on the floor for a long time trying to fix his socks, finally making them comfy enough that he wasn't gonna get all cranky at the end of the day.
He wore his pink shirt and those pants with the funny texture that sometimes he hated. But they looked really pretty with his pink shirt and it was the first day so he could handle it.
Once he was all ready, Melvin checked his school bag and made sure he had his new notebook and pencils and crayons and then double checked that he had the note for Schmitty's teacher. Once he was all ready he went to eat breakfast.
Mom made them eggs and toast and then went to get ready - she had to go run some errands before lunch. Then when she was done with those she would pick Schmitty up from school, because Kindergarten ended at 12 and Melvin didn't get done until 2:30. She had told them both the schedule for the whole day last night during their important conversation so that they didn't forget.
Schmitty didn't look very excited about school. He was eating really slowly and wouldn't play the alphabet game with Melvin when Melvin tapped his arm. That meant he was probably really nervous. And that made Melvin really nervous, too.
He ate all his food really quickly and then put his plate in the sink, then went to find Mom.
She was putting her pretty lipstick on in the bathroom. Melvin knocked on the open door and waited for her to say something. She finally stopped and looked over.
“what is it, honey?”
“I don't think Schmitty wants to go to school. He looks really nervous” he said. Melvin didn't say that it was making him nervous too because he was supposed to be the brave big brother today.
“well, I think he'll be okay. Because you're going to be there to help him, right?”
Melvin nodded. Right. He would be there just in case.
He went back to the table and waited with Schmitty for Mom to be done so she could give them both a kiss on the head and to make sure Schmitty was all ready.
After a thousand goodbye kisses and Mom checking and double checking that they were ready, Melvin took Schmitty's hand and went down the steps to the sidewalk.
The walk was really long, but it was always really long when it was hot outside like this. And probably because Melvin was so nervous. And he could tell Schmitty was nervous, so that made Melvin even more nervous.
They finally walked up to the big school and Melvin led Schmitty up that steps. He wrinkled his nose at the smell - which he now knew was a combination of B.O. and the special wax the janitors used on the floor. Knowing what it was didn't make it any better, though.
Schmitty halted inside the doorway and cringed a little, probably for similar reasons.
“Stinky” They made a disgusted face, freeing their hands from Melvin's to sign, “why is it stinky?”
Melvin finger spelled B.O, but he couldn't remember the sign for janitor, so he just simplified his answer. “Floor has stinky wax”
Schmitty nodded, but their face was still twisted up in disgust. Melvin took their hand again and led them to their classroom. It was the same as when he was in kindergarten, with the same nice smelling candles and the quiet music playing. The same teacher, too, but she probably didn't recognize him at all since he was so big now.
Schmitty relaxed a little next to him when they entered the room, trailing behind Melvin slowly as he made his way to the teacher's desk.
“well, look who it is! Melvin! I haven't seen you in so long, you're so big now!” the teacher - Ms. Green - said with a huge smile. Even from across the desk Melvin could smell her fancy perfume, wrinkling his nose a little at how strong it was.
“and who's this with you?”
She peeked around to see Schmitty, who quickly tucked themselves to Melvin's back to hide.
Melvin was surprised she remembered him, but he guessed it hadn't been that long. And he had cried a lot in her class, so it made sense.
“H-Hi- this is my little brother, Schmitty” he introduced, giving Schmitty a could of comforting pats. They didn't move from their spot, though, arms wrapped around his middle tight.
Then he remembered the note.
“I have a very, very important note from my mom. Our mom” he corrected, pulling said note out of his bag pocket, “ Schmitty is deaf and he's really good signing, but Mom said you might not know that so she wrote this note”
He handed it to her, still not really knowing what it said. He hoped Mom had put enough information in there. He didn't want Schmitty to have a bad first day.
A tug in his shirt made Melvin turn around and face his brother, who was staring up at him with tears in his eyes.
“don’t go?” They asked, a few huge tears falling down their cheeks. The sight made Melvin's chest hurt, frowning to match his brother.
“I have to go to class soon,” he said it with a frown, so Schmitty would know how sorry he was, “Mom is coming at lunch, though. And that's super soon, I promise”
That only made Schmitty cry more, their tears turning into sobs very quickly.
“I’m scared. Please, stay?” They asked again, repeating their please over and over again against their chest.
Melvin took a deep breath like Mom showed him when he got all nervous and he shook his head.
“I have to go to class. But you're going to have so much fun” he made a big gesture and smiled along with it, “I was really scared when it was my first day, too”
Schmitty gave him a funny look.
“Really?”
He nodded.
“really. And I didn't want Mom to go, but she had to. And I was so nervous because I was all by myself,” Melvin explained slowly, trying really hard not to frown, “but you don't have to be all by yourself, because I am right down the hall, remember?”
Schmitty looked at Melvin, then the door.
“show? You promise?”
He nodded.
He turned back to Ms. Green, who was still reading the note over her funny, small glasses.
“Ms., I’m going to show Schmitty where my classroom is, okay? We'll be back really quickly”
She only nodded and went back to reading.
Melvin picked Schmitty up really careful and carried them back out the door into the stinky hallway. He remembered the number his room and walked to it - it was kind of a long walk, but not that bad. At least there were no stairs like his classroom last year.
The hallways were almost empty since school was going to start soon, the thought of being late making Melvin hurry a bit more. He stopped in front of his classroom and pointed at the sign above the door.
He set Schmitty down and showed him slowly.
“Number 306, okay? It's on your note, too, so the teacher can help you if you forget, okay?”
Schmitty wasn't sobbing anymore, but their face was still all red from crying. Melvin wiped their tears away with his shirt like Mom did for him sometimes and gave him a smile.
“It will be okay! Cause I'll be here the whole time!”
Schmitty nodded and asked for a hug, Melvin quickly pulling them into a good, squeezing one that made him feel better, too.
Then he took their hand and they walked back to the classroom together.
Ms. Green was waiting at the door this time, her freckly face all smiling now and her glasses hanging on her neck.
“All ready?”
Melvin nodded and turned to Schmitty, “you’re gonna have to best day ever, okay? I'll see you at lunch when Mom picks you up”
He gave Schmitty one last squeezy hug and told him he loved him before Ms. Green led him inside to his seat.
Melvin stood in the doorway for a few more minutes, just making sure Schmitty didn't need him again. They sat in their chair and Ms. Green helped them get their crayons out. and when they looked at the doorway he waved and smiled and they waves and smiled back. And then they turned back to look at their desk again.
Melvin felt nervous again, even worse than before, but he finally went to his own class.
He didn't stop feeling nervous the whole dsh until he went home in the afternoon and got to see Mom and Schmitty again.
