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First grade, Will had decided, was a nightmare. It was only the first activity of the day and he already was not having fun, no matter what Mrs. Jeskey said. He did NOT enjoy Legos NEARLY as much as she assumed he would and the other kids were taking his stuff anyway.
He was sitting on the floor with his arms crossed, giving the world at large his best disapproving look after the boy with dark brown hair whose name might've been Aiden took the plane he was making when someone sat next to him with a huff, crossing her arms and giving the teacher a truly scathing glare.
That meant she had also been told to go sit in the corner for saying something mean.
Will hadn't said anything mean. However, the boy whose name might've been Aiden was a rather conniving child and knew how to get Will away from his Lego plane.
The girl sitting next to him huffed again, prompting him to look at her, likely as she had planned. She was pretty, with darkish skin and curly black hair and those odd eyes his mother called "almond-shaped" and the eighth grade teacher he sometimes talked to called "mono-lidded" and a round face. She had overalls and a bright orange shirt and looked like the type of child who had opinions, which Will could respect.
"What're you in for?" he asked.
She glared at him, more because she was glaring at everything than because she disliked him in particular, he thought. "Why should I tell you?" Her accent was weird, a little like his but almost like the words didn't fit right in her mouth, kind of like the kid across the street who his ma said wasn't from America, didn't grow up speaking the language, wasn't used to the sounds.
"Well, we're both in the time-out corner, and we can't leave the time-out corner --"
"Who says?" the girl interrupted. He kind of wanted to glare at her, but he didn't because he was curious now.
"What?"
"Who says we can't leave the time-out corner?"
Will paused, trying to figure out how she could've not heard Mrs. Jeskey say they couldn't leave. Perhaps the teacher had assumed she understood? "Uh, Mrs. Jeskey --"
"Who says we have to listen to her?"
Again, Will paused, confused. "Well, Ma told me --"
"I'm saying we should break the rules," the girl specified, giving him a Look.
Will refused to be embarrassed that he hadn't understood. "Why should we do that?"
She gave him the Look once more, to inform him that he was an idiot, which he thought was kind of unfair. "Because it's boring here and that kid stole my Legos and I want --" she paused, frowning. "What's the word?"
"Vengeance?" Will offered.
She nodded. "Vengeance. I want vengeance."
"Well, I was unfairly punished. I didn't call him anything at all, not even his name."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know his name."
"No, why not call him names? He stole your Legos."
"It's impolite."
"Who cares? He stole your Legos."
"I don't like Legos."
"Oh." She frowned. "Then you probably don't want vengeance." She looked upset by this, which he didn't particularly like. She was right, he didn't want vengeance, but he thought he should help her, just to be polite.
"No, I want vengeance. He framed me, remember?"
She still looked a little upset, and he was about to try to figure out why when she asked, "Framed?"
"He said I did something I didn't," he explained, "and got me punished for it. It's called framing someone."
She nodded sagely. "I wasn't framed. I really did call him an upside-down turtle."
"Why?"
"Because, he is."
"Yeah, but it's impolite to say it."
"Who cares?"
This gave him pause, more than anything else she'd said. Did she truly not care that what she was saying was impolite? He asked as much, and she gave him a Look.
"Of course. But he doesn't deserve my politeness."
This was a novel concept. There were people who he wasn't supposed to be polite to? Very odd. He would have to ask his mother about this later.
"So, are you going to help me or not?"
Will, after only a second's hesitation, agreed. And thus went their plan;
Will, being a child commonly considered to be sweet and adorable, went up to Mrs. Jeskey and tugged on her skirt.
She turned to him, startled. "Will? You're supposed to be in time out!"
"Yes, but I wanted to tell you. I didn't call whatsisface stupid. He said that 'cause he wanted my plane. And Drew did call him an upside-down turtle. But he deserved it 'cause he stole her Legos."
And then he went back to the time-out corner.
The girl, meanwhile, being commonly considered to be a scary child, went over to the kid who's name might've been Aiden's friends and kicked over their Legos. Having their attention, she told them that those Legos were hers and Will's, and Will didn't call Aidan stupid, and if they told the teacher that she'd help rebuild their Legos, and they'd be friends then. She was cooler than the kid who's name might've been Aiden, anyway.
And then she hopped off back to the time-out corner and sat down with Will to watch the events unfold.
And unfold, they did. The kids who the girl had walked up to knew very well that Aiden was not good at building Legos, and the girl was cooler than the kid who's name might've been Aiden anyway, and so they went up to Mrs. Jeskey, pointed their fingers at an unsuspecting kid who's name might've been Aiden, and told her what had happened. She, realizing because of the vast number of children who agreed on this that she had made a mistake, walked up to the kid who's name might've been Aiden and asked him where he had gotten the plane and where he had gotten the other Legos. When he couldn't answer correctly, she was certain she had made a mistake and brought him over to Will and the girl in the time-out corner.
"It appears I made a mistake," she started, hesitantly. "And punished you unfairly. I'm sorry, Will. However, Drew, I would like you to apologize to Aiden for calling him an upside-down turtle. It wasn't very nice of you to do that."
Drew paused, looked at her, looked at Aiden, sniffed really, and said, "I'm sorry for calling you an upside-down turtle, even if you deserved it." That he was, indeed, an upside-down turtle, went unspoken.
Mrs. Jeskey pursed her lips, as if unsatisfied with this answer. Then she sighed, as if giving in to the reality of her situation. "Alright. You and Will can leave. Aiden, you and I need to have a talk."
Aiden protested, surely, but Will and Drew were already far enough away that they couldn't hear, Drew to fulfill her promise to Aiden's friends and perhaps become his replacement, and Will to follow her and perhaps become his friend.
Throughout the years, Will and Drew have grown and changed, found new friends and left old ones behind, but Drew has always been there to tell Will to be impolite, and Will has always done so, if only to be polite.