Milo Murphy kept glancing around nervously. He had done it so much, his hair was beginning to stick up in varying places. It was his first day of school, and he was worried about what the other kids would think about him, and his condition, despite the reassuring squeeze his mother kept offering him on his right hand. She was standing beside him, tall and proud, as other mothers and fathers came to the bus stop. Milo glanced at the big, red stop sign, and noted how it towered above his head substantially still.

Of course, he wasn't able to ignore someone when she spoke directly to him. She had orange-red hair that reminded Milo of his mother's, and ice-blue eyes, and a loud, reverberating voice. Milo clung to his mother's leg, shaking slightly.

"Hi," the other girl gave a small bounce as she greeted him, offering her hand. She wore a black shirt, and a cutesy pink skirt that went down to her knees. She radiated confidence, as she stared at him expectantly with her hand outstretched. But Milo had very little. He only gave her a confused look.

Her father, a man slightly taller than Milo's mother, tapped the girl gently on the shoulder. "Not all kids are going to want to talk right away," he warned her gently, "he's scared, okay?" The man looked down at Milo warmly, but then his face froze in a stupid open-mouthed expression. After a few seconds, he looked up and saw Milo's mother, and Milo swore his face turned as white as snow. "Murphy?" He choked out in a squeaky voice.

Milo's mother put her hands on her hips, and raised her brows. Her red lips were pursed in a very unamused fashion. Milo clung to the gray sweatpants she was wearing even tighter. "Yes, Mr. Chase," she said with a certain edge to her voice, one that Milo did not like. "Murphy. Milo Murphy, actually."

Mr. Chase nodded. "Right, right," he smiled weakly and swallowed hard.

"And who's that?" Milo's mother asked more gently, gesturing the redheaded girl standing in front of him.

"Melissa," the little girl offered, loudly, before Mr. Chase could respond. "Melissa Chase."

"She's confident," Milo's mother laughed softly, smiling at her. "That must be nice."

Mr. Chase then eagerly urged Melissa away from Milo and his mother, back towards the other gathered kids and their parents (of whom had also stayed a decided distance away from Milo and his mother). Milo cocked his head at them and let go of his mother. Nobody was even paying any attention to him, but they were clearly talking amongst one another. He gave his mother a look, and she sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Milo," she responded with a soft smile on her lips. She brushed his hair upright, and urged him gently toward the other kids. The bus had come over the hill on the horizon, and was slowing to a halt in front of the gathered kids. "Have a good day!"

A good day.

Milo tripped going up the stairs on the bus, and then the doors shut on his right leg. He wasn't injured, but he was spooked when the other kids on the bus gave a hearty laugh. Milo pushed himself from the grimy, rubbery, black floor of the school bus and he felt the bus doors let go of him and he hurriedly made his way to an empty seat on the bus. Unlike most other kids, he kept his backpack firmly against his back.

The same redheaded girl that had introduced herself as Melissa sat in front of him. She turned back, looking down at him mischievously. "So," she grinned at him with big, pearly teeth, "are you ready?"

"Ready? Not… not really," Milo said breathlessly. He was looking up at her almost as if he expected her to attack him.

"Why do you look like that anyway? It's just school. Just more kids to play with," Melissa looked quite excited, her icy eyes twinkling in a distant manner. "Don't be so silly. You look so scared!"

"I, uh…" Milo wasn't sure how to explain Murphy's Law to her. It didn't exactly make a lot of sense to him, much less anyone else. Would she even believe him? Now that was the real question…

"Come on, use your words," Melissa pushed on his shoulder jokingly, and Milo was pushed against the window of the bus. The black border of the window gave a small wail, and then the glass and the border fell onto the road in a single, massive piece. It screeched and clattered, breaking into thousands of pieces on the road, and Milo yelped and flung himself down flat against the gray, uncomfortable seat. The sudden, wild wind from outside beat against his bookbag and back mercilessly.

Melissa was looking at it in awe. "Whoa," she blinked, "how did you even do that?"

Milo wondered the same thing as he remained pancaked against the seat, with his hands over his head, and his backpack being blown around on his back. It was a lot lighter then than it was in more recent years. The bus driver, as well as the other kids on the bus, were caterwauling in confusion until the bus came to stop at the side of the road. Milo remained flattened in his seat - not because he was being blown by the wind there anymore, but because he was afraid of the bus driver's reaction. Sure, his parents were always nice about his accidents, as had been Veronica and a majority of his babysitters, but he didn't know about… strangers, people like Mr. Chase.