"Everyone please give your warmest welcome to our new student."

Dellie looked up to a blaze of colour. Like a comet streaking across her retinas, there was a girl- a new girl- with the brightest purple and green and red sweater she'd ever seen, large enough to swallow her up if it wasn't for the even brighter smile on her face. 

"I'm Joni Faith Tanguli!" The bright comet-girl said. "What are your names?"

No one said anything, because that wasn't how new kid introductions were meant to go. New kids had darting eyes and shrunk into corners like a relocated animal- getting used to its new habitat before one of the native species introduced themselves with an offer of friendship during recess. In this class, that person was always Dellie.

"I'm Delilah." She spoke into the silent room because Joni's smile was beginning to fade.

Now everyone was looking at her- her brother and Nickie and Dickie and Evan and Lawrence who was sitting beside her for the third year in a row (free her please) because teachers always somehow thought she could make him a better student through proximity alone (something she still had yet to achieve). He looked like he was enjoying this. She lifted her chin higher in the hopes that they wouldn't notice her reddening face.

"Well now, that's lovely." Ms McKinnon clasped her hands together, rattling the beads on her bracelet as she brought the classroom back to order. "You wouldn't mind showing Joni around a bit until she settles in then, would you Delilah?"

Dellie shook her head because she always volunteered for that job anyway. Ignoring the "poor hippy girl" sigh beside her, she looked over at Joni, whose attention was already elsewhere- wide eyes eating up the florescent lights and inspirational posters of smiling kids on cork boards as she was led to her seat beside Matthew Pratch. There were horse stickers on her backpack and an eagerness about her that matched the restless thing she had in herself. 

Turning to the next page in her notebook, Dellie began a rough draft of the Joni Friendship Scheme (beginning with an approach during recess and a question about horses, ending with them at the movies, it was all very scientific).

And when Dellie had been sent to chase after her later that day (Joni was not used to asking for permission to go to the bathroom), she'd known that the two of them would be the best of friends. She would make it happen.