Michael Murphey was dressed in his superhero T-shirt, with a Batman headband and Batman backpack, ready for his first day of kindergarten on Monday.
"I think every first day of school is super special," Murphey's mom, Brittany Denison, said.
At about 7:45 a.m., two Midlothian fire trucks pulled up in front of Murphey's house, sirens blaring.
"Hey buddy," Denison said to her son. "Somebody's here for you."
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The trucks were there because Andrew Gatlin of the Midlothian Fire Department read a Facebook post Denison made last week. It began, "Dear God, please make them be nice to him." The post talked about Murphey being born with Treacher Collins syndrome, which makes the bones in his face smaller.
Gatlin helped arrange to have the fire department and some of Murphey's favorite superheroes, Batman and Captain America, pick him up at home to escort him to his first day of school at Mountain Peak Elementary in Midlothian.
"You don't know what everyone's going through," Gatlin said. "So if you see somebody struggling, or if you see an opportunity to step in and be that hero for somebody, do it. You never know whose life you're gonna touch or change."
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When Murphey rolled up to school in his fire truck escort, the entire kindergarten class was curbside to greet him.
"He's part of the family now," Principal Adam Henke said. "I think that's huge to know you are different than me, and I want to recognize and understand what that is, and I hope they get that from this experience."
Sometimes there are tears on the first day of school. They didn't come from Michael, though.
"I could have never imagined," Denison said wiping tears from her cheeks. "I think he's gonna have a really good first year."
