"Cosima! I said no!" Jennifer Niehaus screamed at the 6 year old cheerfully jumping through mud puddles, barefoot with the biggest smile she could plaster on her tiny face. The child looked up at her mother a small frown falling onto her face at being scolded, but mere seconds later the child giggled and jumped again, causing mud to splat all the way up to her thighs. She wiggled her toes in the squishy substance, marvelling at the tickling sensation and squishy sound. Her mother rolled her eyes and turned to her husband, who was watching his daughter and his wife's annoyance with a small smile of his own. His wife glared at him and when he caught her gaze he quickly let his smile drop, trying to look stern.
"Cosima, honey." He called and she teared her gaze from her mud soaked feet. "You'll get sick."
"But its fun Daddy." the child squealed, bounching from puddle to puddle back to her parents. She hit one a little too hard and slipped, splattering both her parents in mud while landing face first in the rest of it. Her father chuckled to himself but quickly stopped at his wife's warning glare before she rushed forward, pulling the giggling child off the ground.
"Look what you did! It was such a pretty dress too!" Cosima stared up at her mother, perplexed and feeling a little cheeky she puffed up her face.
"I don't like pink!" She states and her mother gave her a slap on her palm.
"You will not talk back at me young lady. I don't want you running in mud again, do you hear me?" Her mother chastized but Cosima was only half listening, her eyes following the flying ants in the wet air.
"Oh come now Jenny. She's only six years old. Let her have some fun. Goodness knows I ran around practically naked when I was her age." George answered, following the ants himself. Jennifer let out a loud sigh.
"You were a boy. Its different."
"Why?" George said angrily and Jennifer glowered.
"She's a little lady, she should learn to behave as such." She answered sternly.
"I don't think we should be forcing her into gender stereotypes!" George said, their argument being noticed by the other people milling about. Jennifer looked around before pursing her lips tightly.
"We'll continue this later." That's when they both realized Cosima wasn't between them anymore and Jennifer spun around, trying to locate the child. She spotted her daughter a little ways off, jumping into the air trying to catch one of the bugs in her pudgy hands.
"Cosima!" Her mother called and Cosima came bounding back to them, a truimphant smile on her face.
"I caught one!" She held up the bug happily and her mother rubbed it out of her hand.
"We're going home." Her mother hissed and Cosima's face fell.
"Why?" She whined and her mother sighed again, picking the mud covered child up.
"Because you need a bath." Her father said and she giggled.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Yeah, cause you are extremelly dirty and if we don't get you into a bath soon, your mother might have a stroke." Her father said matter of factly but gave her a small wink. His wife gave a huff, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to get them to be quiet even if she tried.
"What if I don't want a bath?" Cosima asked with a cheeky grin and her father cleared his throat as loud as he could in mock authority.
"I'm afraid you don't have a say in the matter." He said in his sternest voice he could muster and the girl stuck her tongue out at him but a second later it turned into a combination of her sticking her tongue out and grinning and her father gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"You have the cutest smile, sweetheart." He said, the child's playful grin and tongue still on her face. "Don't ever change!" He said and held up his hand for a highfive, Cosima reciprocated the offer and nodded her agreement at her father's words. Even her mother had a smile on her face. She didn't want her daughter to change at all, she just worried about the hardship their daughter would face because of her quirks. She had to be the responsible one because heaven knows, her husband wouldn't be.
Cosima had always smiled with her tongue poking out slightly since that day, it was a way to show society that she would be who she wanted to, no one could change her.