Maybe it was her tone of voice, but Loretta seemed different than the other girls she had known. Obviously, she dressed strangely, and maybe her pet of choice was a bit odd, but Sage trusted this girl. Yes, it has to be her voice it's so fluid and rich, and she sounds British, Sage thought. At last, Loretta said something that sparked both of their interests. "Do you like jelly beans? These are awfully tasty, watch out for grey ones and ugly- colored ones. They don't taste so good." Rosemary meowed and nudged Sage to show that she should watch Loretta's hand, which was carefully covering the title on the box of candy. "Alright," Sage accepted, pulling out a tiny green jelly bean speckled brown. "I'd better take that," Loretta added quickly, and snatched the candy out of her hand. "Here, have a peppermint, they are delicious!" Soon, the grey pancakes were forgotten as they laughed over stories of their pets. Of course, every now and then Loretta would curiously snatch a bean out of her hand, but then started conversation on something else. I knew we would be friends, Sage thought happily. All her miserable thoughts of this school faded away, and when the breakfast bell sounded, they were most disappointed. "Sage, sit next to me at lunch?" Loretta queried. "Sure, let's sit where we just were." They waved goodbye, and all through her arithmetic, social studies, and English classes she couldn't help but smile at the thought of having a friend.