Dylan's Diary: Great Friendship Fix

Dear Diary,

You're not gonna believe what happened today! It's me, Dylan, and I'm six years old now. Things have been pretty rough lately with my friends, but today was different. Like, REALLY different!

So, you know how Jimmy, Max, and I haven't been talking much lately? It all started when Jimmy said my new light-up sneakers were for babies. Can you believe it? These shoes are the coolest thing ever! They flash red and blue when I run - how is that babyish? Anyway, I got mad and told him his dinosaur backpack was for kindergarteners. Then Max took Jimmy's side, and suddenly, we weren't friends anymore.

It's been a whole week of sitting alone at lunch and playing by myself during recess. It's been awful, Diary. I even pretended to have a tummy ache yesterday so I could stay in during recess. Mr. Thompson, our teacher, totally bought it!

But today, something awesome happened. Mr. Tanner, the new teaching assistant, noticed us all moping around. He's pretty cool for a grown-up - he wears funny t-shirts and knows all about video games.

During art time, Mr. Tanner came over to our table. He looked at my drawing (it was a super cool robot, by the way) and said, "Wow, Dylan! That robot looks like it could use some friends to go on adventures with!"

I mumbled something about not having any friends, and that's when Mr. Tanner got this weird twinkle in his eye. He called Jimmy and Max over and you know what he did? He challenged us to build the biggest, coolest pillow fort ever!

At first, we just stood there, staring at our shoes. But then Mr. Tanner started piling up cushions and blankets, and before we knew it, we were all pitching in. Jimmy had this great idea to use the classroom chairs as support beams, and Max figured out how to make a secret entrance using a cardboard box.

We worked together all afternoon, and by the end of the day, we had the most epic pillow fort in the history of pillow forts! It took up half the classroom, and Mr. Thompson even let us eat our snacks inside it.

While we were munching on our cookies, Mr. Tanner crawled in and said, "You know, guys, the best adventures are always better with friends. Even when friends disagree sometimes."

That's when Jimmy looked at my shoes and said, "Actually, those are pretty cool. They'd be great for night missions in our fort." And you know what? I told him his dinosaur backpack was perfect for carrying supplies on our imaginary adventures.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in our fort, planning secret missions, and laughing so hard my tummy hurt (for real this time!).

When it was time to go home, we were all sad to take the fort down. But Mr. Tanner had one more surprise. He said we could rebuild it tomorrow and even make it bigger! We're going to bring some of our own pillows and blankets from home.

As we were leaving, Mr. Tanner gave us all a high five and said, "Remember, guys, real friends stick together, even when things get tough. Just like the pillows in your fort!"

I can't wait for school tomorrow, Diary. Jimmy, Max, and I are friends again, and we have the coolest fort-building, mission-planning club ever. And it's all thanks to Mr. Tanner. He might be a grown-up, but he's pretty awesome for a 23-year-old.

Oh, and guess what? I'm wearing my light-up sneakers again tomorrow. Jimmy says they'll be perfect for our night patrol in the fort. How cool is that?

Gotta go now, Diary. I need to find my best pillow for tomorrow's fort. This is going to be epic!

- Dylan, the Friendship Fort Builder

P.S. I wonder if Mr. Tanner would let us sleep in the fort during nap time? I'll ask him tomorrow!