And now we go back a bit, to the beginning of the year at some point.
Quit It!
Paraietta marched up to Amuria. She had had enough of being pushed aside. It didn't help that Neviril liked playing with Amuria more than she did Paraietta. Amuria sat at the table, drawing a picture. It was the right time to talk to her. Neviril had left early.
Amuria hummed to herself as she drew. She was drawing a picture of herself with Neviril. They were outside with a tree behind them. Amuria currently had a pink crayon, coloring in Neviril's hair carefully. She didn't notice Paraietta march up to her.
"Hey!" called Paraietta, getting Amuria's attention.
Amuria looked up from her drawing. "You wanna color too? There's paper here—"
Paraietta cut her off. "No, I don't want color. I want to play with Neviril."
"She left early though, remember? Right after lunch." Amuria was confused. Paraietta had seen Neviril leave.
"No. I want to play with her too. You're always playing with her."
"But she wants to play with me too."
"Why do you have to hog her?"
"I'm not! You can play with her too. You just stay away all the time!"
"That's 'cause you always take her away!" retorted Paraietta angrily.
"She chooses to come with me."
Paraietta leaned closer, looking Amuria in the eyes. Her gaze was intense, but Amuria gazed right back, engaging her in a staring contest. The two continued to look at each other, intent on winning the contest. Finally, Amuria broke her gaze and looked down at her paper. The picture of herself and Neviril together smiled back up at her. She looked back up at Paraietta. "I'm still gonna play with Neviril. She's my friend."
"She's my friend too. You should share."
"Why not let Neviril pick?"
"She's not a dog!"
"You're stupid. Go away." Amuria didn't feel like talking to Paraietta anymore. She reached for another crayon, a lighter purple that would match the lilac color of her hair. She began carefully coloring. She was surprised when Paraietta snatched the crayon from her hand. "Hey!"
Paraietta held the crayon above Amuria's head. "You're not listening to me!"
"Girls, stop this arguing! Paraietta, why would you take away her crayon?" asked the teacher, interfering.
Paraietta sat in the chair, head in her hands. Nearby, Amuria sat in a similar position. After getting each girl's story, the teacher decided they needed some time apart to think. She had talked to them about Neviril, and about both girls spending time with the girl. Paraietta didn't want to spend time with Neviril and share with Amuria. She wanted her friend back. At least Neviril had left early. Paraietta felt embarrassed, but it would have been worse if Neviril had seen it too. Maybe she'd be able to go play with Neviril after school.
Amuria looked over at Paraietta. She couldn't believe she'd gotten in trouble as well. All she'd done was color! Paraietta had been the one to take her crayon. She was glad Neviril wasn't around to see them both get in trouble. She didn't want Neviril to know. She didn't think Paraietta would tell her either. She looked over to the table where her picture still sat. She really wanted to finish coloring it in. She wanted to take it home and show it to her parents. Vaguely, she wondered if they'd let Neviril come over to play.