Hercules the Lesser wasn’t sure when or how Janice Coraopolis started walking him to school. He was walking along one day and there she was. She fell into step with him and they walked side-by-side for a few paces.
He slowed down to let her get ahead of him – she slowed down. He sped so he could put space between them so she sped up. He stopped. She stopped. They walked to school – side-by-side – in silence.
The next day she was waiting for him on the corner and she fell right into line. He didn’t speed up or slow down. He just kept walking.
Before long Hercules the Lesser memorized every crack in the sidewalk all the way to the front door of General John G. Pershing Elementary School.