Chapter Ten - Rain Day Reveal

CHAPTER TEN

Rain Day Reveal

THE RAIN CAME sideways on Monday.
It splashed windows and painted puddles in the halls.
Recess was cancelled.
Everyone groaned.

Everyone except Bluster.

He bounced a little slower that day.
His squeaks were smaller.
His eyes looked out the window like he was waiting for something.

Inside the classroom, it was Puzzle Day.
Games and pairs and corners full of chitchat.
Bluster sat by himself.

Until Pebble plopped down beside him.
She didn’t say hi.
She just opened a puzzle box and started sorting edges.

“Wanna help?” she asked.

Bluster blinked.
Then nodded.

They worked quietly, but not uncomfortably.
Piece by piece, they started to see the picture.

It was a house.
Small. Cozy.
One window had a light on.

“Looks like my grandma’s place,” Bluster said.

Pebble smiled.
“Looks like it’d be warm inside.”

He nodded.

And then, something surprising happened.

Bluster didn’t say anything loud.
He didn’t make a joke.
He didn’t bump the table or try to win.

He just finished the puzzle.

When the last piece clicked in,
a few other kids had gathered around.
No one clapped.
But someone said, “Cool.”

And that was enough.

Later that day, while everyone packed up,
Pebble slid a tiny folded note into Bluster’s backpack.

It said:
You don’t always have to be loud to be heard.

Bluster didn’t bounce on the way out.
He just walked.
But his steps made little splashes.
And the rain didn’t seem so loud anymore.