Peridot stopped in her tracks when she heard someone calling after her. Praying that the noise of the torrential rain was making her hear things she turned around, no such luck. A blue haired girl was running after her, holding the clear plastic backpack she left at the park in her frenzy to get out of there when the sudden rain had started. Nothing valuable had been in the bag so when she had realized she had forgotten it she hadn't bothered to turn back.

"Hey!" Called out the girl running towards her. "You left your bag at the park!" She yelled in an effort to be heard over the sound of the rain.

"It's okay. I don't need it!" Peridot yelled before turning around and sprinting away. She was sure she looked like a fool but the embarrassment of someone seeing the obvious contents of the bag was enough to make her run, something she never did outside of gym class. Sparing a look back she saw that the girl was easily catching up to her.

"Curse my short legs." She mumbled angrily as she stopped and waited for the girl to catch up. The girl was obviously more athletic than her and running had so far proved to be futile. She rested her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Um...why'd you run?" The girl asked when she had caught up.

"Embarrassment." Peridot wheezed, "Can you give me a second? I just need to catch my breath." At this point she had given up. Running was deadly and she couldn't be bothered to lie.

"Okay...so, this is your bag, right?" The girl asked. "Cause if it's not that means I ran in the rain for nothing and if it is yours I have a few questions about the contents. Like, why is it filled with acorns and leaves?"

Peridot took one more deep breath before standing up straight and making eye contact with the girl. "Yes, it is my bag. I ran because I was embarrassed that it was filled with acorns and leaves." The girl was much taller than her and she was more than a bit annoyed that she had to look up to make eye contact.

The girl handed Peridot the bag. "But why is it filled with acorns and leaves?"

"Because I wanted to use them for my art project. But when I got to the park I regretted bringing a clear bag because what are people going to think when they see a highschool student filling a bag with acorns." Peridot crossed her arms.

"Wait, you're in highschool?" The girl asked, obviously surprised.

"Really?" Peridot huffed. "That's what catches your attention? How old did you think I was?"

"Like, thirteen." The girl mumbled.

"Goddamnit!" Peridot stomped her foot. "I grew a few inches last month, too. I thought people would finally stop thinking I was in middle school." She ranted, more to herself than the other girl.

"Listen, I'm sorry about that." She apologized awkwardly. "I'm in highschool too but I've never seen you around. What grade are you in? I'm a senior."

"I'm a senior too, it's a big school. No hard feelings?" Peridot held out her hand as a offering of peace, which the other girl happily accepted. "My name is Peridot."

"I'm Lapis. I'm in an art course too, so I understand why you have so many acorns and leaves now that you've explained that it's for an art project." Lapis smiled.

Peridot was about to mention that she didn't normally collect such obscure supplies for her projects when something else caught her interest. "Your hair dye is turning your forehead blue."

Lapis' eyes widened as she reached for her forehead. "Oh, shit. I just dyed my hair, it's gonna get ruined. I've gotta go." She said as she ran off in the direction she had come from. "Bye!" She yelled as she turned a street corner.

"Weird girl." Peridot sighed as she shrugged on her backpack, glad it was waterproof and nothing in it would be ruined. "Time to go home and make a masterpiece." She said to herself as she trudged off through the rain.