Temper
"You're not the boss of me!"
I looked down at her and shook my head. There was only one thing to do when she was in this mood and that was bear it up. The worst Maeva ever did was scream anyway. At least, at me. In a few minutes, she had flung herself down against the tunnel wall and buried her head against her knees.
"Come on, Maeva," I said. "All I said was that I didn't think you should go out by yourself. You know Mom and Dad hate it."
"They're not my Mom and Dad!" Maeva's head popped up so she could glare at me again. Why did she have to be so dumb?
"Look, I'm not leaving you here by yourself, birdbrain," I said, ignoring her and popping down beside her. I didn't want to fight about that again. "I don't know why you have to go off alone, anyway. Why couldn't you ask Katie or Hannah to go out to the field with you?"
Maeva sniffled. I already knew the answer anyway. Katie hadn't spoken to Maeva since Maeva had shoved ashes into her hair, and Hannah was too scared to go outside. As for any of the other Littles…Maeva just didn't make friends well.
"Why do you have to go out anyway?" I asked, as Maeva wiped her nose on her sleeve. She was already a sight, dirt from the tunnels running in streaks on her skirt and blouse, her wavy ringlets wind tossed. She leaned against me. She must have been tired. "I just wanted to look up at the sky."
"You know it isn't safe to go out when the Big people are around." I tried to stroke her hair, but she pushed away from me again.
"I just wanted to see the sky! Why can't I ever do what I want?"
"Because you're a baby," I said, trying to sound like Dad.
"I'm eight!"
"Not until next month," I argued.
"You don't know that!" She was glaring at me again. "None of you know that!"
I sighed. Mom said I sounded too old when I sighed like that, but I couldn't help it.
"I'm just saying, you're too young to go outside alone. I can't even go outside alone!" I put my hands on my chest. "And I'm fifteen!"
"But at least they understand you!"
"Come on, birdbrain…"
"No!" Maeva jumped up on her feet and ran down past to me to another tunnel, shouting over her shoulder, "You just go away! I never, never want to see you again!"