Marco looked down and smiled as he felt the little boy grip harder at his hand, understandably nervous at his first day at a new preschool.
Marco stopped their progress next to a large chest with an open lid to show an abundance of toys. Little Ollie's eyes went greedily wide at all the choices. Before Ollie could reach for one of the toys, however, Marco placed both hands on the boy's hips and swung him around to face him. "We have some rules, buddy, so I figure I better share those with you. Are you listening?"
Ollie took his eyes off a scary, scaly T-Rex action figure. "I'm listening," he nodded, the picture of meekness as he tamped down a surge of irritation at Marco's unintentional condescension. After all, the daycare worker had no idea that Ollie was truly 23 years old. He only looked like a little boy because of the magic ring.
"First, you've got to share these toys with all the other kids," Marco said. He lifted the T-Rex out of the crate. "I saw you looking at this big guy."
Ollie clutched the offered T-Rex awkwardly in his little hands.
"But if another kid wants to play with Big Rex, you have to let him," Marco said. "Share and share alike."
Ollie nodded again. "It's just a dumb toy," he thought to himself while at the same time he felt mesmerized by the toy.
Marco knelt down and then put a hand beneath Ollie's chin and gently lifted the boy's face. "And I am sure a big boy like you knows not to hit, bite, or smack any of the other children, right?"
"Yes," Ollie said, feeling funny with his chin held securely by the man's big hand. He looked into Marco's big brown eyes and felt all squishy inside.
"We have nap times, which means you have to be quiet and still," Marco said. "You must not disturb all the other kids."
Ollie looked across the room at the rolled up sleeping mats. He didn't feel sleepy, but he supposed he might after he played for a while.
"And when we have snacks, try not to be a messy little piggy," Marco said and poked Ollie's tummy. "You're not a messy little piggy, are you?"
Ollie's laughter pealed throughout the room. "No," he squealed.
Marco stood back to his full height. "Those are the rules," he said. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. You can run off and play with some of the other kids now."
Ollie looked timidly up at the very tall man and then swung his tentative gaze toward the knots of kids gathered in other parts of the room. Most of them hadn't even been paying him any attention.