Open Testing the Waters

[Ramona Crane]

After the holidays Ramona found herself going with Dominic to the daycare every day. It made sense, he worked there and it was where kids went when their parents were at work. But it was a bit odd when he was supposed to be her dad and also the teacher. She couldn't help but watch the other kids as he taught them. The way some kids listened intently and others were distracted or just bored. Ramona wasn't sure which she was. Most of the time she was too busy taking everything in to pay attention no matter how badly she wanted to. She didn't entirely hate the place. The other kids were overwhelming but she liked getting out of the house. Besides, the daycare also had a big set of watercolors which she didn't have at home. They had been given some free time and she found a quiet table in the corner to paint. She was working on a starry sky, content to ignore the rest of the world for a while.

 

[Felicity Bell]

Felicity wished she and her sister didn't have to go to daycare so often, but she knew her parents were busy. It was alright, she understood that their work was important, but she still wished they could stay home more. But unlike Junie, she didn't complain. There was no point in it, and it just made their parents frustrated and snippy. Felicity was at least glad that there were a lot of fun activities at the daycare, and that she was in a different class than her sister. She loved Juniper, but she was a LOT sometimes. Felicity had spent most of the previous night in bed daydreaming about a story, and she kept thinking about it. She had written some of it down, but what she really wanted to do was draw the vivid images in her mind. She grabbed some paper and some paints, then saw another girl was also painting. Ramona was a little quiet, which Felicity didn't mind. She was quiet too. She hesitated for a moment before joining her at her table. "Can I sit here?" she asked.

 

[Ramona Crane]

Ramona knew it was impractical to expect to have a table all to herself but it didn't stop her from giving Felicity a blank stare when she asked if she could sit with her while already sitting down. The other girl seemed nice but being nice didn't mean much to her. She probably didn't mean it and thought Ramona was weird and just didn't want to be mean. Which was a shame. She would have preferred it if she were mean. Since Felicity wasn't really asking permission, she didn't respond.

 

[Felicity Bell]

Felicity hovered uncertainly as Ramona looked at her and didn't answer. She eventually decided that if she didn't want her there, she would have said so. Feeling a little less sure about her choice of table, Felicity put down her supplies neatly, putting her pencil and her brushes in a neat row. She looked over at Ramona's drawing, deciding to attempt some sort of contact again rather than sitting here in awkward silence. "I like your painting, it's pretty."

 

[Ramona Crane]

Ramona let some of her hair fall in front of her face when her coldness didn't drive Felicity away. Yet she watched out of the corner of her eye as the other girl neatly set up her things before she even started. She glanced at her own messy watercolor set that was now mostly covered in blues and purples. She felt on edge when Felicity tried again to make nice. What was her problem? She wanted to tell her to get lost but she shot a glance over to where Dominic was bent over talking to another student. She didn't want to cause a disruption. She took a deep breath. "Thanks." she muttered. She chewed on her lip and tried to think of what Felicity might ask if their places were reversed. "What are...you going to draw?" she asked as she squirmed in her seat.

 

[Felicity Bell]

Felicity watched as Ramona hid her face, feeling a pang of sympathy. She was probably shy, and maybe Felicity was overwhelming her a little. She decided that she would be quiet and just draw if the other girl didn't want to say anything. She grabbed a grey pencil and started to outline a castle on her page. Then she smiled as Ramona thanked her for the compliment. It surprised her a little when she asked her what she was going to draw, but she was glad the other girl was talking to her. "A castle, with a moat and a really high tower with a dragon on it," she said with a smile. "It's from a story I'm writing."

 

[Ramona Crane]

Ramona had every intention to end this interaction after a single question. But Felicity's answer had her more curious than she'd like to admit. The castle and dragon made her think it as for some kind of dumb fairy tale and about a princess being rescued. She couldn't stand stories like that most of the time. She never liked that the dragon always had to die, it was just doing what came naturally to it. It was it's fault people kept using them as guard dogs. "What kind of story?" Ramona couldn't help but ask. "What happens?" she asked bluntly.