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In the bright morning classroom, Miss Hart stands near the doorway holding a cardboard box brimming with tiny seed packets while Tiny, half-hidden behind taller desks, watches with wide eyes. Fluorescent lights glint off the box and her shy smile.
Tiny was the littlest kid. She spoke softly, like a breeze. People often overlooked her. Today, school buzzed with excitement. Miss Hart carried a box of tiny seeds.
Inside the sunlit classroom, Tiny leans over a clear plastic cup on the science table as Buddy, a fresh green sprout, pushes through dark soil. Miss Hart, smiling proudly, points to the cup under the warm afternoon window light.
Miss Hart said, 'Seeds need care.' Tiny peered at a clear cup. A sprout popped through dirt. 'Meet Buddy,' said Miss Hart. 'Love and attention help Buddy grow,' everyone heard.
At a brightly lit art table, Tiny cradles a single tan seed—Bud—on her open palm while Miss Hart kneels beside her holding a marker for labeling cups. Overhead lights cast soft reflections on the waiting row of empty plastic cups.
Each child got a seed. Tiny held hers gently. 'What will you name it?' asked Miss Hart. 'Sprout,' Tiny whispered, smiling. She promised love and attention, like Buddy's getting.
Under mid-morning sunlight streaming through classroom windows, Tiny carefully squeezes a dropper, letting water fall onto Bud’s soil in a cup on her table. Across the room, Miss Hart applauds while Buddy’s taller sprout lifts two leaves toward the light.
At her table, Tiny worked. She dripped water, just enough. 'Grow, Sprout,' she sang softly. Across the room, Buddy stretched greener. 'Look at Buddy popping up!' Miss Hart cheered.
In the softly lit reading corner, Tiny crouches beside a desk staring at Bud’s still-flat soil surface, her worried face framed by afternoon shadows. Classroom posters hang above, but the untouched plastic cup rests motionless under the pale overhead lamp.
Sprout still hid under soil. Tiny felt small beside desks. Sometimes she felt hidden, too. 'Will love help me grow?' she wondered. She decided to try speaking up.
Near the sunny classroom window during morning circle, Tiny stands with tentative smile while Miss Hart lowers Bud’s cup onto the sill where golden light pours in. Dust motes sparkle around them, capturing their shared hope in one bright beam.
During circle time, Tiny breathed. She raised her hand bravely. 'Miss Hart, can Sprout sit by the window?' she asked. 'Great idea,' said Miss Hart. Together, they moved Sprout into sunshine.
That afternoon in the art station’s warm glow, Tiny bends close to Bud’s cup, grinning at a tiny soil dome while paintbrushes and colorful pots wait nearby. Overhead fluorescent lights reflect on wet paintings drying behind her.
By afternoon, a bump appeared. Sprout was waking up. Tiny grinned at the little dome. 'May I have a turn painting?' she asked. 'Yes, Tiny,' Miss Hart replied kindly.
On the window ledge flooded with late-morning sunlight, Tiny gently tilts her watering can above Bud while Buddy’s taller sprout stands beside it, both cups casting short shadows on the sill. She smiles softly, cheeks bright in the golden glare.
Tiny felt seen and strong. She watered Sprout carefully again. 'You matter, little seed,' she said. 'You matter too, Tiny,' she told herself. Buddy and Sprout soaked sunlight together.
At the science table under cheerful ceiling lights, Tiny holds Bud’s sprouting cup beside Buddy’s, their small leaves almost touching, and giggles, ‘Buddy, meet Bud.’ Miss Hart watches from behind a chart, hands clasped and eyes shining with pride.
'Buddy, meet Sprout,' Tiny giggled. Leaves peeked from Sprout's bump. Miss Hart invited kind words. 'Grow strong, little plants,' the class said. Tiny shared kind words with friends, too.
In her softly lit bedroom that evening, Tiny stands before a mirror practicing a confident smile while Bud’s cup sits on the dresser marked with a hand-drawn heart. Lamp light creates warm reflections on glass and soil.
After school, Tiny practiced speaking. She stood by her mirror. 'Please listen when I talk,' she rehearsed. She drew a heart beside Sprout's name. Love and attention felt brave.
During morning show-and-tell in the bright classroom, Tiny holds Bud’s clear cup at chest height, smiling proudly as other students clap in soft focus behind her. Sunlight from tall windows sparkles through the water around Bud’s emerging shoot.
Next morning was show-and-tell. Tiny held Sprout's cup proudly. 'I cared with love and attention,' she said. 'Now he's growing. Hearts grow with care, too.' The class clapped happily.
On Friday afternoon, sunlight pours across the classroom as Tiny stands straight beside the window displaying Bud’s leafy stem, now inches tall. Miss Hart rests a reassuring hand on Tiny’s shoulder, both beaming amid green leaves and glowing dust motes.
By Friday, Sprout had leaves. Tiny stood taller, too. 'I will speak up kindly,' she said. Miss Hart smiled, 'You grew, Tiny.' Tiny beamed, feeling heard and blooming.
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