Level Three. Choose the Shoes.

Level Three – Choose the Shoes.

School was about to start.  It had been the Summer holidays and now after several weeks of fun it was time for school work again.  Children all over the land were prepping for the days ahead, uniforms were being sized, school related items were being located once again and for New One the first day of school was about to start…

New One had never been to school as a full time student before.  He had attended part time but this term was to be his first full time experience.  It was nerve tingling, it was scary, it was not something he felt ready to do but as his Mum had explained to him he had to start school and begin on the first rung of the ladder of learning.

The ladder of learning did NOT sound like something he wanted to climb.  He had begged, pleaded and resorted to doing some serious favours for his parents but nothing had worked.  School seemed like it was a definite and New One had felt like the saddest person in the world.  School would be full time, no time for play or for anything fun!

On his last day of freedom New One’s Mum dropped a bombshell.  New One needed a new pair of shoes, a pair of school shoes.  Off they went to the shoe shop and New One’s Mum took him to the seat where all the sizing was done.  New One sat patiently as the lady took his measurements and the tape measure tickled his feet.  New One asked if he could choose the new shoes and had the firm reply that no these would be school shoes, his Mum had a strict instruction from the new school as to what he needed.  Sadness washed over New One as he looked at all the neat rows of shoes, they all looked the same, they looked like nothing other than school shoes.  The rows of shoes further down the shop looked far more exciting but that was not somewhere he was allowed to go.

The assistant fitted New One with a pair of comfortable but plain looking shoes and as they were being checked a familiar voice came from behind them.  New One and his Mum were delighted to see R V and his Mum in the same shop.  Both sets of friends doing the same thing New One’s Mum apologised and said that they could not talk for too long as  they had a lot left to do.  On leaving the shop once again New One felt his heart lift as he saw Little Herbert and his Dad.  “You’re not on a mission for new shoes too?”  New One’s Mum asked.

“Absolutely!”  Little Herbert’s Dad looked none too happy about it.  New One knew how he felt and whispered to his friend not to get his hopes up as for the new shoes there was no way he would be allowed to choose.

The first day of school was nothing like what New One had thought.  It was a day full of new experiences, fresh fun filled ideas as to what to play and there was even time after lunch to get down to putting some plans into action.

At the end of the day, New One’s Mum asked him how it all had been.  New One told her all about the classes, the playtime and even the sports session.  It all sounded splendid New One’s Mum thought until she looked down and asked New One whose shoes he was wearing.  New One who had not realised had on a pair of older looking and a size too large shoes.  He was upset to have lost the new ones but not nearly as upset as his Mum appeared to be.  On walking back to the school it soon became evident that a lot of children had on the wrong pair of shoes as they had all looked the same and been acquired from the same shop.  New One cheered right up when he saw Little Herbert with his Dad and R V with his Mum, the boys were looking happy but the parents were incredibly glum.

After quite a while and there being no possible way to put the right shoe to the appropriate child the school decided to put out a new rule.  The next morning before school New One was taken back to the shoe shop where he met with his two friends and all three were allowed to do something, they could all go to the back rows of the shop where the shoes held far more of an appeal.  They were all told that as long as they were the right colour and size all three could choose their own style of shoes.