This was a lot funnier when I thought of it last night. Heh heh...
Things were simple. They were children, of course things were simple. Their motions, their thoughts, their games... sometimes. The concepts that they were taught and had to keep in mind - sharing was good, hitting was bad, being mean was being naughty and helping others was nice, all of those had to be kept simple. Later in life it would be known as generosity, abuse, cruelty and kindness. They had to learn what was what now so they could tell the difference later.
Today they were coloring. As the teacher handed out the pages so obviously printed out for the rainy days when the children had to stay indoors or for Free Choice every Friday, the children reached into their desks and took out their pencil boxes for their crayons, eager to get on with not having to put up with any more of the teacher's talking and just doing their own thing for a while.
Tori Vega grabbed the sheet with various dogs on it and got to work. That Pomeranian should be pink! And that German Shepard brown. And that Chihuahua yellow! When it came time to color the Dalmatian, she considered filling in the spots with red, but the boy next to her was already doing that. It looked like it had the chicken pox!
Bad idea, Tori.
Next she considered all the colors of the rainbow from red to purple... but that was Cat's idea and she'd be upset if she found out Tori copied her.
She looked at her crayons and realized her black crayon was missing. Again.
Tori pouted. It seemed she had no other choice. She went over to Cat's table group and gently nudged Cat's shoulder. "Cat, can I borrow your black crayon? I need it. Please?"
"Okay!" Cat smiled, taking it out from her box, "But don't let Jade see it," she whispered, standing and cupping a hand to Tori's ear, "Jade likes black crayons so she took them all. That's why no one has any."
"How do you have one then?" Tori whispered, brow furrowing.
"Because Jade's my best friend, silly!" giggled the brunette, handing Tori the color, "Here!"
How Caterina Valentine could actually befriend someone like Jade West was anyone's guess. Jade was the girl bully of the class. Even the teacher was disturbed by her sometimes. How could sweet, bubbly, pink Cat like someone like that? Thanking her, Tori walked back to her seat and resumed coloring. Not long after she put down the crayon did a large shadow loom over her. She looked up.
"Hi, Jade," she muttered.
"Hey," Jade said, holding her hand out, "Gimme that black crayon."
Tori picked it up and placed it on the desk of the boy next to her, "It's not yours. It's Cat's. You're not Cat."
"Cat's my friend," Jade responded quickly, "so it's mine."
Both girls looked up towards the teacher's desk when they heard the teacher clear her throat. Luckily for Jade, they were occupied behind their newspaper and didn't notice anything beyond its large sheets.
Jade stomped a foot in protest, getting the attention of every child nearby, including Cat, "Give it!"
"No!" Tori glared at her, grabbing the crayon and stuffing it in her jeans pocket, "You have everyone else's!" she stood up and gestured to the entire room, "We're s'posed to share things like this, Jade West!"
Jade pushed the seat away and turned Tori around, unknowingly putting her in a half-hearted headlock. "Give. Me. It," she said through gritted teeth, "Or I'll kick you in the butt, Vega!"
Cat ran over to them and put her arms around Jade's shoulders, "If you ask Tori nicely, maybe she'll let you have it, Jade."
"I might," Tori shrugged.
Jade glared at the two of them before pushing Cat off her and releasing Tori, who turned around expectantly. The class watched in awe as Jade mumbled out a quick "Can I have the crayon?" looking at the ground when she reached the last word. She didn't hold her hand out like before, instead kept her arms crossed in front of her chest. Usually crossed arms meant she was either pouting or angry, but this time embarrassment could be added to the list.
The Latina smiled and took out the coveted crayon and held it in front of Jade's face, "Is this what you want?" Jade looked up at her with a glare.
Stupid Vega!
Cat joined Tori in gasping when Jade snatched it from her fingers and ran away.
xXx
"What are you doing?" Jade asks, taking a seat on the bed, her usual brew in her hands.
Tori hid a small smile, "Just coloring. Like Cat, you know?"
Jade leaned over and took a look at the picture. It was one of those Disney princess coloring books that they gave Cat some time ago to keep her occupied. Tori was in the midst of coloring Snow White's yellow dress.
"Not bad," she shrugged, "but take my advice – make her hair brown."
"Why?"
Jade scanned the row of colors before snatching the black crayon from its place on the bed and gave it a new home in her pocket, "No reason."
Tori gasped and looked at her. Jade hasn't changed; she still loved black crayons. Jade smirked at her and took a sip of her coffee.
"What?" she asked, frowning, "Keep coloring, Vega."
It would be nostalgic for them both for Tori to repeat Jade's threat. It was simple, just like they were. But now they grew up. Things aren't always black and white anymore, there's no clear good guy or bad guy. Things are much more complex now with more than fifty shades of grey in between.
Tori pushed the crayons between the two pages of the coloring book and placed it on the bedroom floor. Jade pretended not to notice it and continued to sip from her coffee cup.
When they were little it was an empty promise. Now, Tori knows the words.
"Jade, give it back," Tori smirked, holding her hand out, palm up, "or I'll spank you."