Chapter 2: Friendship
"Hey! Look what I just found!"
"Oh wow…!"
A little girl with freckles and unruly, red curls holds a small wooden box with a sturdy grip. The other girl touches the box gingerly, dark fringe and glasses obscure the excited expression on her face.
"Ohhh…let me see it!"
A third little girl, smaller than the others, runs over to join them. Her hair is so light it is almost iridescent which gives the curls somewhat of a pinkish hue. The three of them stand beneath an old oak tree and admire the box.
"Hey what're you sissys doin'? We're tryina play a game!" says a boy with a ball cap and freckles on his face that reveal his relation to the red-haired girl.
"Oh shut up, Gray, you're the meanest and the stupidest!" yells his sister as the two start to quarrel.
"No, please stop fighting!" begs the smallest girl, her eyes swelling with tears, "Gray's not mean or stupid, Ann! I wish I had a brother to play with." The boy hides his blushing face under the shade of his ball cap as the girl with glasses blushes from his presence.
Two more boys come running to meet the group. One of them is slightly pudgy, his face red with exertion and his blonde hair wet with sweat. The second boy wears a ball cap very similar to the other boy except that he prefers to wear his backwards with the bill in the back, tuffs of brown hair poking out of the front. A smile is plastered on both of their faces; their youthful laughter is carried on the warm summer breeze.
"Jack, look what I found!" exclaims the red-head as she proudly displays her finding to the boy with the backwards hat.
"Wow that's cool, Ann!" replies the blonde boy, his eyes full of excitement as he goes to grab the box but she pulls it away from him, "noooo, not you Cliff! I want Jack to see it!"
Ann extends the box towards the other boy who instead walks past her, not noticing her gesture.
"Hey Poppy, why are you crying?" he asks as he puts his hands in his pockets. The girl hurriedly wipes her eyes and smiles a big smile, "I'm not crying! Look at this beautiful box Ann found…" Only then does the boy notice the girl who is holding the box.
The group, three boys and three girls, fight to see the box and struggle to open its rusted latch. Finally, they open it to reveal a melody that had been trapped inside for a long time.
"Oh, a music box!" says the girl with glasses.
"Wooooww! It's so beautiful!" says the small girl as she throws her arms outward and begins to dance to the music.
"Hmph, that's dumb," says the red-haired girl as she throws the box on the ground. The small girl gasps and falls to her knees.
"Noooo, you'll break it! It's so pretty…I love it!" she begins to cry as she holds the old, wooden box in her small hands. Ann walks away with the pudgy boy following closely behind. Her brother follows, since he does not want to appear interested in a girly music box, and the girl with glasses silently observes him as he walks away.
"Don't cry, Poppy, we can fix it," says Jack to the small girl, "but we'll hide it for now and…make a map! That way we won't forget where it is!" He puts his hands on his hips exerting confidence which brightens the girl's face. "And one day, we'll get it fixed!" The little girl laughs as she clasps her hands together.
"Mary, you want to help us make a map? You're the best draw-er!" she asks the girl with the glasses. She quietly agrees.