September 24, 1932
"How has school been going, Maddi?" Aunt Lily asked as I ate dinner with her and Uncle Ryan.
"Alright. I made a couple friends, but I don't really seem to fit in with the class. They dress and talk different than back home." I played with my food a bit while I thought about how the last couple weeks have been. Steve and Bucky were definitely very nice to call friends and I liked spending time with them, but girls still gave me strange looks and boys would bother me if I wasn't with my new companions.
"Well, our neighbors have a granddaughter on the other side of town about a year or two older than you. I'll see if she has any extra dresses you can have," Aunt Lily offered. I knew she and Uncle Ryan felt bad for not having enough money to spend on me, but I really didn't mind. With their two children already grown and moved across the country, they didn't exactly plan to pay for an extra mouth to feed. Times were hard enough as it was without unexpected expenses. I never actually met these family members before: we never had the money to travel, but I heard about them a lot.
September 30, 1932
I wore my new dress that seemed to match more with the girls at school and it made me feel a little less nervous, but I also felt sad to be giving up more and more from my life in Tennessee. I sat with Steve and Bucky at lunch like I did everyday, and we talked about frivolous things until I asked Steve what was in the book he always carried around.
"It's a sketch pad, I like to draw," he said shyly.
"Can I see?" I asked and he hesitantly handed me his sketch pad and I flipped through the pages in awe. Each piece of paper had beautifully drawn pictures of buildings and landscapes. He had a few with people, but one close up of a young woman and man who looked in their early 20s. "Who are they?" I curiously questioned.
"That's my parents," he said quietly. "It's from a picture when they were newly married. I don't really remember my dad, he died in the Great War."
"I'm sorry," I said hoping I didn't make him feel sad as I know how it feels to lose a parent. "I lost my ma when I was young too, not as young but still I was 5 when she got sick."
"Is that why you moved?" Bucky asked me.
"No, I still lived with my daddy and brother, Alex, until this summer when a storm hit and they both died. I was with a friend when it hit and a tornado took down my entire house and my family inside."
"Jeez, I'm sorry Maddi," Steve said as I fought back a few tears thinking about what happened.
"Don't worry about it. I was lucky to have Aunt Lily and Uncle Ryan to take me when they heard, and now I got to meet you two so that's good I guess." I always tried to look towards the better things in situations but it was always hard.
"Well, you're officially a our friend so there's no getting out of it now," Bucky said with a smirk.
"Only now it's official? What has been the last month then?"I asked with a laugh.
"A trial friendship," Steve stated smiling.
"Yeah, just to make sure you weren't crazy or anything" said Bucky.
"I'm glad y'all think I'm worthy of being your friend then!" i winked at them as I continued the joke. We all laughed as we finished our food and headed back to class for the day.
December 24, 1932
"The snow is so beautiful on Christmas," I sighed as I walked through the park with Steve and Bucky like we sometimes did together.
"It sure is, but I've always wanted to see snow where there were no buildings in sight. Just miles of it with nothing else to mess the blanket of white up," Steve told me as we saw children running through the already played in snow.
"That would be some sight to see, but wouldn't it be wasted? Look at how happy all this available snow makes everyone, that's something worth drawing." I said this as I knew that was one of the reasons he probably liked the idea of untouched snow: to be able to draw the scene. "Draw me and Bucky!"
"What?" Bucky questioned, not sure what he had to do with this topic.
"Draw us playing in the snow," I requested with a smile. Bucky quickly got the idea and ran towards a clean pile. He made a snowball and threw it directly at me hitting me on the shoulder. "Alright Barnes, you have it coming to you now!" and I laughed while I ran to make a snowball as well except I missed when throwing it at him. He laughed at me until I made another and hit him square in the face. I heard a chuckle from Steve and I looked over at him sitting on a nearby bench watching us and making small rough sketches in his book. "Come one Steve, put it to memory and come play with us!" He looked slightly surprised for a second until he put his book down and came over to join our snowball fight. We did this for about an hour until we sat down on the bench to rest. Steve quickly went right back to his book to continue his scene he started on. We sat in silence for a while just taking in the day.
"What are your holiday plans, Maddi?" Bucky asked.
"I'm not sure. We haven't really talked about it. We'll probably go to Mass tonight and I got a small present for my aunt and uncle tomorrow. I don't really expect much of a present for myself; besides, my favorite part has always been Christmas Eve Mass. My daddy and Alex and I would go and then always visit mama after. I guess I can't see any of them this year since their all buried in Tennessee." I had never really thought of that until now and it quickly took away all of my joy from playing in the snow before. "They would have liked you guys," I added before they could reply. "You're both gentlemen and passionate about what you care for."
"They'd like Bucky," Steve tried to clarify as he continued to draw.
"No, they'd like you both," I told him with confidence. "Especially you, your heart is much more kind than this silly guy sitting next to me," I laughed as I sat between them and gestured towards Bucky.
"Hey!" Bucky said with a smile. "Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it!" Steve just stayed quiet and had a slight blush on his face.
I put my arms around both their necks and said "thank you for making Brooklyn more bearable."
"You did that," Steve said as he looked at me and I smiled back at him.
December 25, 1932
There was a knock on the door and I went to answer it. When I opened the door, Steve stood there waiting and I gave him a surprised smile. "Hey," he started. "I know today is mostly spending with family so I'll try to be quick. I just wanted to give you your present."
"Steve, you didn't have to get me anything!" I began to feel bad as I had nothing to give in return.
"It's nothing, here." He handed me a piece of paper and I saw it was a beautiful drawing of Bucky and I in the snow from the previous day. I just stared at it for a few seconds in awe before he continued, "Sorry it isn't that detailed, I was trying to finish as quick as I could and the shading might not be-" I cut him off by hugging him.
"I love it!" I said as he wrapped his arms back around me. "I love the art you make, it's so good. Thank you for giving me one, it really means a lot." We both let go and and he was redder than I had ever seen him before.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind," he said with a chuckle. We then said our goodbyes and he went back home to spend the rest of the day with his mother.
