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It was a sunny Saturday in Moralton. Children in town were happy about not having kindergarten or school bothering them for the weekend. A group of 3 young boys were playing on one of the town's playgrounds, snickering among themselves. "Haha! Then I threw a toy car and it hit him right in his stupid face! It was really funny, shame you guys didn't see it." one of them bragged. He adjusted his blue baseball cap above his blonde hair, his free hand resting on his hip. One of his friends laughed at his story until a single tear appeared at the corner of his eye. "Aw, man! I really wish I wasn't absent yesterday.. It's always so fun messing with Orel." he replied with a wicked grin on his freckled face. Their third friend let out a fake laugh, nervously playing with his fingers as the warm gentle wind blew at the small propeller on top of his hat. "Haha.. That does sound funny, Tommy..." he lied, before a guilty frown made its way on his face. He didn't enjoy when his friends bullied other children, especially ones he also considered friends, but he could never bring himself to say anything about it. Tommy put his arms behind his head nonchalantly, glancing at the playground's swings subconsciously. "Think he's getting stitches, so he won't be coming here for a while." he shrugged, not really caring about Orel's wellbeing. "S-s-stitches?! Geez, Tommy.." his friend Doughy mumbled with a quivering voice. It was terrifying to think a little toy had caused that much damage to someone's face, especially someone he was friends with. "Don't worry, he'll be fine!" Tommy replied, waving one of his small hands dismissively before adding "When he comes back, I can bring my cars here and show you guys how I did it so you can see it for real this time!" with a playful wink. Doughy gulped nervously at the thought, but pretended to be excited about this upcoming 'event'. Their third friend crossed his arms smugly and flashed Tommy & Doughy another grin. "Great! Then you can give me something to throw at him too!" he laughed, making Tommy laugh with him. Doughy was uncomfortable, but he forced out another fake laugh, before he spotted someone approaching the sandbox. His friends followed his gaze, looking in the direction of the sand-filled pit too.
It was a little girl none of them had ever seen. She had long, silky black hair which was straight but curled up at the ends, big innocent doe eyes and an upturned little button nose. Her dark blue dress was long and elegant, not really something that should be worn at a dirty playground. She seemed to be around the same age as the 3 boys and the most noticeable thing about her was the large pink cardboard box she was carrying. She carefully placed it down and opened it, taking out a small toy table and putting it in the middle of the sandbox. Then she pulled out 4 plush rabbits, 2 big and 2 small ones. She placed the 2 small ones together at the opposite end of the table, making them face her, and the 2 larger rabbits at the left and right sides of the table, facing each other. Finally, she pulled out a miniature plastic tea set from the box which consisted of a tray, a teapot and 5 teacups with little saucers for each one. Carefully arranging the tea set on the table in front of both herself and the plush toys, she picked up the teapot from the middle of the table and pretended to pour tea for all five participants of this lovely little tea party. The 3 boys were still staring at her from a distance, with Doughy smiling at the sight and even kind of wanting to join in, while Tommy and his friend seemed unamused. "Dude.. What is she doing?" Tommy asked with a raised eyebrow. His friend scratched the back of his head before replying. "I dunno.. Looks dumb. Why is she talking to those toys like that? Is she crazy?" he asked, before Doughy interrupted with a bit more joy in his tone than he wanted to show. "She's having a tea party, guys! Girls do that all the time. Mostly with other girls though.." the chubby boy explained, the propeller on his hat slowly moving due to his excited movements. Tommy laughed at Doughy's clarification, crossing his arms. "Tea party? That teapot doesn't even have anything in it. And I bet she's having a tea party with toys 'cuz she has no friends!" he mocked, laughing at his own words and making his other friend chuckle under his nose as well. Doughy frowned, his head sinking a bit lower when he realized that even girls weren't safe from his friends' teasing and bullying. He knew what was going to come and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
Tommy looked over at the girl again, running his hand through his messy bangs before they fell into his eyes. "Sucks that she's crazy.. She's like, really pretty." he mumbled as he adjusted his cap. "I dunno how to talk to girls, but I wanna make her not-crazy. Then she can be my girlfriend! And if I get a pretty girlfriend like her, everyone in kindergarten is gonna be soo jealous!" he smirked to himself, a wicked little glint in his brown eyes as he revealed his plans to his two friends. "Do you guys know what girls like?" he asked as he turned to face Doughy and the other boy. Doughy played with his fingers nervously as he thought about it. "Um, girls like it when you give them things! And buy them presents.." he muttered shyly, repeating what he's seen in the random movies his parents forced him to watch to keep him occupied while they made out in the living room. Tommy rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before the third boy interrupted his fragile thought process. "Girls like bad boys! You should go and take one of her toys. That way you don't gotta give her anything!" the ginger boy said with a knowing grin that was a bit too evil-looking for someone his age. Tommy's eyes widened and he nodded, completely knocking Doughy's suggestion out of his mind and replacing it with his friend's idea. "Wow, you're a genius! Heh.. I'm gonna steal one of those stupid rabbits." the blonde boy smirked as he started walking towards the sandbox the little girl was having her peaceful little tea party in. Though it wasn't going to be so peaceful anytime soon..
This entire time the girl had paid the boys no mind, probably not even knowing they were there in the first place. She was so focused and happy in her little play-pretend world, until she noticed a shadow looming over her while she was pretending to pour extra tea for one of the smaller rabbits. She looked up to see a blonde boy her age wearing a blue baseball cap. "Oh.. Hello! Do you want to join our tea party?" she offered with a shy little smile. Tommy raised an eyebrow and kneeled down, taking one of the small plush bunnies in his hands. "Our? There's no one else here besides you. Why are you talking to toys like a crazy lady?" he asked mockingly, inspecting the plush in his hands. The little girl frowned, her eyebrows furrowing when she realized this boy might not be as nice as she thought. "These.. These bunnies are my friends... The one you're holding's a boy named Cheesecake, this is his sister Apple Pie and these are his mom and dad, Mrs. Biscuits and Mr. Truffles." she mumbled as she introduced her toys one by one. Tommy laughed so hard at the stupid names she had given to her toys that he felt like he was going to fall over. "Hahaha!! Your friends, are you serious? That's so stupid!" he snickered as he lifted his hand, holding up the plush he had taken. "This one's mine now! And his name's gonna be something cool, like Jack or Matt! Cheesecake is a dumb name for a boy!" he smirked as he stuffed the toy in the left pocket of his shorts. The girl was starting to panic inside, but she tried not to let it show too much. She reached her arms out towards the boy and tried to be a bit more assertive. "Please give him back! His family won't be happy if he goes missing.." she insisted, reaching for the protruding bunny ears coming out of the boy's shorts pocket, only for him to smack her hand away. "What are you talking about? These are toys, they can't have feelings or families. You really are crazy!" he snapped at her, holding her wrist tightly so she couldn't reach into his pocket. "Give him back this instant!" the girl snapped back, struggling to try and retrieve the stolen rabbit. Tommy took advantage of the fact she was on her knees and flung his sneaker forward into the sandbox, kicking sand right into her unsuspecting face. She pulled back and began spitting and sputtering, rubbing the sand away from her eyes and mouth. "Ahaha!! He's all mine now! See you later, crazy girl!" Tommy laughed at her misfortune and ran back to his friends, pulling out the plush from his pocket and holding it up in the air to them like a trophy. Doughy was afraid and a little upset with what he just witnessed, but the third boy was laughing like he had seen the funniest thing in the world. The young girl's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the boys from the distance, slowly getting up and dusting the sand off her dress before picking up her remaining toys, the tea set and the small table, throwing them back in the cardboard box with a thud. She closed the box and started walking away, feeling mocked and defeated. The boys just kept laughing and whispering among themselves as they watched her leave.
Inside a cozy little house in the nearby neighborhood, a woman with curled up dark brown hair and a lovely green dress was working on something using an industrial sewing machine. She was humming a little tune to herself, in a perfect rhythm with the way the sewing machine's needle clattered against the fabric and itself. While the woman was peacefully working, she heard the front door of the house open quietly, then slam loudly, sensing the small ball of anger behind the source of the loud sound. "Welcome home, Beth! How was your day at the playground, sweetie?" the woman's melodic voice echoed in the hallway where the young black-haired girl stood with her pink cardboard box. Angrily furrowing her eyebrows, she threw the box onto the floor, its contents spilling a bit from the force of the impact. "Terrible!! A boy stole one of my toys and kicked sand in my face!" she yelled at her mother from the hallway, not even bothering to enter the office she was sewing in. Beth sniffed and crossed her arms as she sat on the armchair that was placed in the hallway, allowing herself to cry some more. Her mother was silent for a few moments before nonchalantly responding. "That means he likes you, dear! But it also means you should take better care of your toys.." she said as she picked up the half-finished dress she was working on from under her sewing machine to inspect it for any missing seams. Little Beth stopped crying for a moment, completely caught off-guard by what her mom had just told her. There was no way she believed that. "Likes me?! No he doesn't! He was super mean to me and wouldn't give me Cheesecake back and, and.. And he called me crazy for talking to my toys and then he kicked sand in my face, and..." she rambled, on the verge of tears again even though her tone was angry. The older woman put the dress back under the sewing machine to work on it again before responding. "When a boy steals something from you, it means he wants your attention, sweetheart. He knows you'll go looking for it, leading you right back to him." she explained in a monotonous voice, a bit too focused on her work to care about something as minor as a stolen toy that she could just buy again if her daughter whined about it enough. Beth thought about those words, wondering in what universe this could possibly be true. It seemed.. So weird to believe. But maybe she'd give it the benefit of the doubt for now.
In another house, further away in Moralton than both the playground and Beth's home, little Tommy had just come home, still holding the toy he stole earlier from the black-haired girl. His father was reading a newspaper in the living room and his mother was in the kitchen, but she heard her son coming home and decided to go check on him while the water on the stove was boiling. "Welcome home, Tommy!" she greeted, reaching out and pinching the blonde boy's cheek affectionately. But as soon she saw the toy in his hand, Mrs. Littler's smile faltered and she raised an eyebrow. "What's that you have there?" she asked, more of a demand to know than an actual question. Tommy shrugged and rolled his eyes playfully. "A bunny! Someone had forgotten it at the playground and I liked it, so I took it." he lied smoothly, completely omitting the fact that it was stolen from a girl who very much did not want it taken from her. Tommy's mom remained skeptical, but nodded at his excuse. "I see.. Well, finders-keepers I suppose, but if the person who lost it goes looking for it, I hope it finds its way back to them, young man." she said with the scolding wiggle of her pointer finger, indicating there would be trouble if her son didn't listen to her. Tommy just rolled his eyes and sighed, not fond of moments where his mom wanted to ruin his fun like this and implied his actions had consequences. "Yeah sure, whatever.. Call me when dinner's ready." he murmured as he made his way to his room and closed the door behind him. Mrs. Littler just shook her head and went back to cooking. In his room, Tommy placed the stolen plush on the nightstand next to his bed and smiled as he stared at it. It was almost like he had a piece of that cute girl in his room with him right now. "Heh.. One step closer, princess." he smirked to himself, before hearing his mother's voice from the kitchen saying that dinner is ready. He got up from his bed and walked up to his bedroom door, turning towards the toy on his nightstand one last time before exiting the room. Tommy was still too young and way too rowdy to know what love really was, but he knew he liked this girl one way or another. Even if it was in his own twisted way of teasing and bullying her until she fell for him.
The next day was a calm Sunday. Still no kindergarten and school for the children, and most of the adults were in church today so kids who didn't go to Reverend Putty's latest sermon with their parents got to play around and just do what they wanted all day. That included Tommy and his 2 friends, who were at the same playground as yesterday again. Doughy still felt a bit bad about the events from the day before, but he tried not to let it show. "I wonder if that crazy girl will dare to show up here again after what happened!" the third boy said with a subtle snicker. Tommy laughed along, adjusting his cap by its red brim. "Nah, she's probably a goody two-shoes who went to church with her family or maybe got scared I'll steal the rest of her stupid bunnies if she brings them again." he said confidently, although he secretly hoped she'd come. Doughy fidgeted in place as he listened to the horrible things his friends were saying, his mind itching to express his disagreement but he was way too scared to think what would happen if he did so he just nodded and gave them another one of his nervous laughs. After some unrelated idle chatter, the boys went to play on their favorite parts of the playground. Tommy was on the seesaw with Doughy and their friend was on the swings, all of them laughing among each other. Back at Beth's cozy little home, the girl was in her room holding her Apple Pie bunny with a melancholy look on her face. "I'm sorry about your little brother, Pie.. I couldn't save him." she explained to the toy as if it could talk back, her eyes staring to water again. At that moment she heard a knock on her door, looking up as it creaked open and her mother, Mrs. Carvedson walked in, holding a tray with a glass of milk and a plate of pancakes with what appeared to be blueberry jam on top. "Breakfast, sweetie! I made you and your father's favorite pancakes.. Gluten and egg free, of course!" she smiled, her voice in a melodic, almost sing-song tone as she offered the tray to her daughter. Beth looked at the tray and then at her mom with her big, olive green eyes and scrunched up her little nose. "Not hungry.. I miss Cheesecake." she whined, looking down at the carpeted floor. "Well, I don't have the ingredients for a cheesecake right now, but I'll make some next time." the adult woman smiled, a bit more forced this time as her daughter shook her head. "No, not that kind of cheesecake! I mean my bunny.." Beth frowned, crossing her arms as her eyes watered. Her mom's smile faltered and she stood back up, still holding the tray. "Still crying over a toy?.. Honey, you know me and your father can just buy you that exact same plush again." she sighed as she turned around and started heading out of the room. "But I don't want a new Cheesecake! I want MY Cheesecake.." Beth scoffed angrily and stomped her little feet against the floor like any spoiled 5 year old girl would. "Well, if you get hungry I'm leaving these on the table, just know that they'll get cold. And that if you don't eat them, your dad will when he comes home from church." her mom notified her, peeking only her head at the door before vanishing back into the kitchen. Beth sighed and got up, following the older woman. Her little hand reached for the glass of milk on the tray that was set on the table and gulped it down greedily until there was nothing left before she started walking off. "Just the milk, huh?" her mother teased. "Why don't you go out and play, Beth? Maybe the boy will give you your rabbit back if you ask nicely. Though I recommend not taking any other toys with you this time." she suggested, hoping the little girl would cheer up a bit. Beth hesitated and thought about it for a moment, if she should really go back to that playground and risk getting bullied again. But what if her mom had a point? Eventually, she nodded silently and went back to her room to change back into her long blue dress from yesterday.
Back at the playground, the 3 boys were playing with a bunch of bottlecaps, stacking them up in little towers and then trying to knock all of them over with rocks. Whoever took down the most bottlecaps and got the most points won, or so said the 'rules' of the little game they just made up. So far Tommy had the best score, with his friend following closely behind and Doughy being in last place. They were so carried away with the game that they didn't notice Beth was sitting on the single bench near the playground, unamused by the boys' activity and doing her own thing, playing with little stones she had found. Only when a bottlecap flew towards the small girl's general direction did Tommy notice her by accident while his eyes darted to look at the bottlecap. He quickly turned to his friends and started snickering. "Guys look, she's here again! Is she stupid?" he whispered, trying to stifle his laughter. His friend smirked, his hand idly playing with one of the rocks he was holding. "Maybe our plan worked and she's totally into you, dude. I can't think of another reason she'd come back." the ginger boy said with confidence. Tommy looked at her again and noticed she wasn't on the bench anymore but next to it, squatting with her back turned as she was picking up more tiny stones. "She doesn't have anything with her today.. What do I do, guys?" Tommy asked, hoping his friends would give him some advice again since he had nothing to steal. "You should, uh... P-pick some flowers for her, maybe? Girls love flowers! And there's tons of daisies and dandelions around here.." Doughy suggested shyly, hoping Tommy would be a little nicer to the poor girl today. Their friend waved his hand dismissively before throwing his own suggestion in. "Nah, flowers are for sissies like Orel! What Tommy should do is pull her hair. Girls love it when you pull their hair!" he chuckled evilly, fully aware of how malicious this and his previous suggestion were. "Eww, I'm not a sissy!" Tommy whined as he stuck his little tongue out in disgust, before nodding in smug agreement. "And that's a great idea, her hair's so pretty.. I'm gonna pull it!" he laughed as he stood up and started sneaking towards her. Beth was unaware, as she was busy sorting the little stones she found into the shape of her favorite animal, a unicorn. She smiled at her work, feeling a sense of accomplishment until a sharp pain tugged at her scalp. "OWW!!.." she screamed as she turned around to see Tommy giggling with a few strands of her long hair still in his hand. He pulled them back again, forcing a yelp to come out of Beth's small mouth and a few tears to well up in her eyes. "HEYY!! What are you DOING?!" she squealed in both pain and anger as she tried to smack the young boy's hand away from her hair. "Hey, crazy girl! I didn't think you'd come back. Where are your 'friends', huh? Did they leave you behind?" he mocked her playfully, referring to her toy rabbits. Beth didn't respond and instead focused on trying to free the locks of hair entangled in Tommy's sneaky little grasp. But the boy's gaze shifted over to the little 'picture' she made out stones, his grip on his hair loosening on its own. "Wow, did you make that?" he asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, then looked down to see her nod. Tommy wasn't going to lie, that was actually a bit impressive. But he had to remember what his friend told him: Girls love bad boys. "That's cool!" he exclaimed as he let go of Beth's hair and walked a little closer to the stones on the dirt-covered ground. "Shame unicorns aren't real!" he chuckled before kicking the carefully arranged stones with his shoe, making them scatter around. "Only crazy girls think horses with horns are real!" the boy exclaimed insultingly before his hand found its way back into her silky hair and gave it another pull. Beth was appalled by his unacceptable behavior and whined in pain as she looked at the stones that were once a graceful unicorn, now scattered across the grass and dirt. "W-why are you doing this? Why do you hate me so much?.." Beth asked through tears, hoping the nasty boy would give her an explanation, but all she received was a bratty little laugh and another rough tug at her beautiful hair before Tommy dismissed her and walked back towards his friends. Beth sniffed and stood up, staring at the three boys before she started walking away. Doughy watched her leave while Tommy was laughing with his friend and felt an immense sense of guilt gnawing at his stomach. It was too much and he finally got the courage to say something. "Uh, Tommy?" he started, his voice already wavering. "I-I dunno if this is right.. I know you guys think it's funny, but... Y-you want to get her to like you, right? I think.. I think you're doing the um, the opposite. Didn't you hear what she said? She asked why you hate her.. A-and I think she might hate you too..." Doughy explained, secretly terrified what saying all this out loud might cause. But Tommy and the other boy went dead silent. Tommy was a bit more struck by this than he wanted to admit, but the gears in his head were spinning. She thinks he hates her? She hates him too? He was actually considering what the chubby boy was telling him and it was worrying for such a young boy like Tommy to realize that maybe his actions had consequences. This wasn't the result he was hoping to achieve. "Um.. I think I'm gonna go, guys. See you tomorrow." the blonde boy announced with a hint of guilt in his voice as his head hung low in defeat. Doughy and his friend glanced at each other before they looked back at Tommy and waved their goodbyes.
Beth had just arrived home, her eyes still watering as she looked around the house for her mother. When she found the woman hanging up laundry on the balcony, Beth tugged at her mom's green dress insistently to get her attention. "MOOOMM!! The boy at the playground keeps pulling my hair.." she screamed, her high whiny voice piercing both her own ears and her mother's. But Mrs. Carvedson didn't seem affected or bothered one bit. She looked at an orange polka-dot dress she was holding, inspecting it carefully before hanging it up with two clothing pins. "That means he like you, dear." she finally said, looking down at her crying child. Beth stomped her feet angrily, tugging even harder at her mom's dress. "HOW?! H-he hates me.. I know he does!" she hiccuped, unable to accept what her mom was suggesting. Mrs. Carvedson silently clipped one of her husband's scout uniforms to the laundry line before responding again. "He just wants your attention, dear. And he's trying to get it in any way he can, which includes being rude. Just give him a chance. Your father used to drown me with nerdy facts every day in high school before I paid attention to him and look where we are now." the brown-haired woman claimed with a dreamy sigh, recalling the way Mr. Carvedson desperately tried to flirt with her when they were both 15. "But that's not the same.. Dad was being nice to you..." Beth sniffed, before letting go of her mother's dress and slowly making her way to her room, sulking when she sat on her bed. Should she really consider giving that boy a chance? Would it be worth it, or would it just lead to more bullying and humiliation? The little girl calmed her shaky breath and laid down, staring up at the ceiling as thoughts clouded her young mind and she fell asleep during the peaceful afternoon hours. Back at the Littler family home, Tommy had just entered the house right on time as his mom finished preparing lunch. His dad greeted him with a friendly nod, holding up a fork that had some salad stabbed onto it. "Welcome back, son! Your mother made chicken salad for lunch. Go wash your hands and grab a fork, you must be hungry from playing around all day." Mr. Littler said as he began eating the salad on his plate. Tommy just nodded back without saying anything and walked towards the sink, thoroughly washing his little hands with soap and taking a fork from the utensil holder before sitting down at the table with his dad. Mrs. Littler was upstairs cleaning for a bit, so Tommy took the chance to try and talk about what's been bothering him with his father because he would get in less trouble than if he brought it up to his mom. "Um, dad?.." the little boy started, feeling nervousness in his voice for the first time in a very long while. It was very rare for something to affect him like this, especially with the way he always boasted about being the toughest boy in his friend group. "How do you know if someone hates you? And how do you tell them you're sorry?..." he asked, his throat suddenly feeling dry. Mr. Littler swallowed his salad before answering. "Oh, boy.. What did you do, son?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow as he stabbed his fork into the plate again. Tommy gulped anxiously and looked behind him to see if his mom was anywhere nearby before he admitted to what he's been doing. "I've been, uh.. Teasing a girl at the playground for a few days. But I think she hates me now... I just did what my friend told me to because he said girls liked bad boys, but I think I went too far and now I don't know if I can get her to forgive me.." he frowned, playing with his fork out of nervousness instead of eating. "I stole a toy from her, pulled her hair and said a bunch of mean stuff. But I thought she'd like it.." Tommy continued, hoping his father wouldn't be too angry.
The admission shocked Mr. Littler a bit, but he wasn't that surprised to hear his son was being a troublemaker again, considering what he heard from Orel's mother about the toy car incident that Mrs. Littler still didn't know about. The man shook his head, trying not to sound too harsh. "Son.. What did I tell you about bullying other kids? Let alone bullying a girl! If your mother finds out.." he mumbled, before realizing he shouldn't scare his son too much. "Listen, I'm not gonna tell her, but you should think about what you've done, Tommy. Try returning that toy you stole if you see her tomorrow. And my advice? That thing about 'girls liking bad boys' is nonsense! Girls like nice boys that can listen to them, provide for them, protect them.. Try being a little nicer, son. Maybe pick her some flowers, buy her a chocolate bar or something.. It doesn't hurt to be generous." Mr. Littler explained, putting his hand on Tommy's shoulder and giving it a reassuring pat. The boy's little mind started reeling as he realized that his father's advice was pretty much the exact same suggestions his friend Doughy was giving him. The same suggestions Tommy ignored because being mean was funnier to him at the time. "Wow.. One of my friends suggested those things too. Buying her stuff and picking her flowers, I mean. But my other friend's ideas sounded more fun and he said flowers are for sissies. And I'm not a sissy!" Tommy complained, still playing with his food instead of eating it. "You shouldn't listen to people like that, son. Flowers are for everyone. When I was just a few years older than you I used to give your mother daisy bouquets all the time! No one ever made fun of me or said anything about it. Try it out tomorrow, bring the toy with you too and tell her you're sorry. I think you're a little too young to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I'm sure she'll at least forgive you and be your friend." Mr. Littler smiled as he recalled the past between him and his wife, hoping his son would choose a similar path. Tommy smiled back, stabbing his fork into his untouched meal. "I understand.. Thanks dad, I feel a bit better." he said as he finally began eating the chicken salad his mom had made. After finishing his lunch, he got off his chair and walked into his room, his mind already full of ways he wanted to try apologizing to that poor girl and if she was still even going to show up after all he had done. Tommy wasn't used to being nice, but not only did he not want to get in trouble, he also genuinely felt sorry for his actions for once. He looked at the rabbit plush he had stolen from Beth, which was still sitting on his nightstand with an almost judgemental stare on its little face if that was even possible. The blonde boy sighed and bit his lip with his small overbite as he laid down, crossing his legs as he stared up at his ceiling. He thought life was all about fun and messing around, but with how serious some things could get, maybe Tommy should consider having a change of heart. Dozing off into a short nap from all the thoughts fogging his mind, his cap slowly slipped off his head and onto the pillow next to him.
Back at Beth's home, she had just woken up in the evening from the long nap she had taken to distract herself from thinking. She was confused and disoriented, wondering what time it even was. She looked at her unicorn clock to see it was 9pm and quickly got out of bed, afraid she might miss dinner. She ran into the kitchen and let out a short sigh of relief when she saw both her father and her mother still eating there. Her father turned around and smiled at her. "Good evening, pumpkin! We saw you were sleeping and we didn't want to wake you up so we've been moving around the house a bit quieter." Mr. Carvedson said as he adjusted his thick glasses. Beth ran up to her dad and hugged him tightly, looking up at him with her big innocent doe eyes. "Hi, dad.. How was work?" she asked, hoping that a quick chat with her easy-going, outdoorsy dad would cheer her up a bit. "Oh, it was wonderful! Me and the boys made pictures out of macaroni today. Gluten free of course!" he noted with a chuckle. "Wow.. I did something like that with some little stones today! But..." Beth began, but her voice trailed off and she frowned as she recalled the way Tommy ruined her stone unicorn. "Bad day today, huh? Your mom told me all about it! And she's right. That boy's teasing you because he likes you. It might not seem like it, but trust me.. I've witnessed this song and dance countless times when I was young! From kindergarten to high school, there was always boys bullying certain girls and then years later, those same pairs always ended up getting happily married! Good times, good times.." Mr. Carvedson grinned as he reminisced about his youth. Beth furrowed her eyebrows a bit, secretly a little upset that even her dad was telling her this. "And, if you don't mind me asking.. Do you remember what the boy bullying you looked like?" her father asked curiously as he cut into the vegan steak his wife had made for dinner. Beth sat on her father's lap because she was tired of standing and started recalling the boy's appearance. "Um.. Blonde hair, blue and red baseball cap and a brown T-shirt..." she mumbled as she played with the tablecloth. An imaginary lightbulb lit up in Mr. Carvedson's head and he knew exactly who Beth was talking about. "Ahh, I see! That's the Littlers' boy. He's going to be in my junior scout group in 3 years, actually!" he exclaimed, putting a fork-full of steak in his mouth. Mrs. Carvedson smirked when she learned who the little rascal was. "So it's little Tommy who has his eyes on our Beth, huh?" she said teasingly, her smirk widening as she already imagined the wedding bells chime. "Tommy.." Beth repeated under her breath, finally learning the identity of her bully. She was going to remember that. She got off of her dad's lap and sat down across him where her plate and drink were prepared. Her steak had gone a bit cold, but it was still delicious nonetheless, despite not being made from real meat. "That was really good, mom!" she mumbled with her mouth full, then washed the food down with a glass of freshly-squeezed bio orange juice. Beth didn't really understand why her parents loved eating overpriced 'environment-friendly and healthy' alternatives of things anyone could buy for much cheaper, but it was still delicious so she wasn't complaining. She noticed a plate of cookie-flavored sugar discs in the middle of the table and grabbed a few for dessert before hugging her mom and her dad, then telling them goodnight and heading to bed. Tomorrow was Monday, which meant she had to wake up early for kindergarten.
And so she did. In the peaceful Monday morning, Beth prepared for kindergarten, eating a full plate of her favorite blueberry jam pancakes before brushing her teeth. She put on her sleeveless plaid dress with a light blue short-sleeved turtleneck sweater underneath, then grabbed her bag and kissed her parents on the cheeks before leaving. At Tommy's, he was also getting ready to leave. He was wearing his white tank top, his brown shorts and of course his favorite baseball cap today because it was going to be a hot day. He snuck Beth's plush bunny into his bag and headed out of his room, waving his parents goodbye and leaving the house. Tommy had decided. From this point on, he was going to start being a bit nicer to other children, even if his friends called him boring or made fun of him for it. He was still going to mess around a bit, but never as roughly as he used to. After a long day of repetitive nursery rhymes, learning numbers and singing the alphabet song, kindergarten was over and Moralton's littlest of citizens were free to go home and play around as they wished. Tommy went to him and his friends' favorite playground, hoping to see Beth there, but all he found was Doughy by himself at the seesaw. Tommy looked around and walked closer with his head hanging low. "Hey, Tommy!" Doughy smiled and waved, getting off the seesaw to talk to his friend. "Hey.." Tommy greeted back, placing his bag on the bench beside the seesaw. "Um, about the stuff you said yesterday... I thought about it a lot. I asked my dad for some advice and he suggested the exact same things you did. Sorry I didn't listen.." the blonde boy mumbled, scratching the back of his head. The shame in his voice was very evident and he didn't like it, he always hated showing vulnerability but the weight of what he had done was too crushing for him to ignore. Doughy blinked a few times, in genuine shock that Tommy was admitting fault for once. He didn't really know how to respond, but he was glad his friend realized what he had done was wrong. "Woah.. H-hey, it's alright." was all the chubby boy could say, a bit too stunned to give any other reply. "That dumbass was lying! Girls don't like bad boys at all..." Tommy whined, referring to him and Doughy's friend, then kicking a small rock in annoyance. His eyes darted towards the field of daisies and dandelions next to the playground and he sighed as he walked towards the large patch of grass. With a trembling hand, Tommy hesitantly started picking dandelions one by one and bundling them up in a bouquet he held with his other hand. Doughy just kept staring, wondering if it was opposite day or something. In the short few years he had known Tommy, he never expected anything like this from his wicked little bully of a friend. It was at that moment Doughy noticed someone approaching the playground from the distance. It was the girl Tommy had his eyes on. The ginger boy gulped and sat back down on the seesaw, pretending he didn't know what was going on as the black-haired girl came closer. Tommy was still on his knees picking flowers and he turned his head around to ask Doughy something, but instead he noticed Beth's small figure in the distance and his eyes widened. He wasn't sure she was even going to come back, but something inside him was glad she did. He felt a lump forming in his throat as he stood up and hid the dandelions he had picked behind his back, hoping she didn't see them. He tried to keep his head up and act unphased, but it was really hard. Beth stopped walking when she noticed Tommy a few feet away from her and took a step back. Something about him seemed different, but she couldn't tell what. He just kept walking closer and Beth was scared, not knowing what to expect, especially when she saw he had his hands behind his back. But Tommy stopped and reached towards her with one of his hands, holding up the bouquet of clumsily-picked dandelions. "Hey, umm.. Sorry. About the hair and stuff..." he mumbled with a forced, but shy smile. He really wasn't used to apologizing about anything so he didn't know how to properly express himself, but he hoped the poor girl he had teased so relentlessly would forgive him. Beth's eyes became as wide as tea saucers when she saw the flowers in Tommy's hand and she tried to mutter out a response, but nothing was coming out. This was the last thing she was expecting from him. "Oh... It's okay.." her voice quivered, her words barely matching what she was feeling at all as she reached out to take the dandelions from him. The girl really hoped this wasn't a prank or anything like that, but this boy seemed genuine for once. When she accepted the bouquet, Tommy tried really hard not to blush as he felt an unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest. He quickly ran over to the bench where his bag was and unzipped it, slowly pulling out the plush he had stolen from her a few days ago and hiding it behind his back too as he walked back to her. "And, um.. There's someone who really wants to see you..." he said as he pulled the toy from behind his back and urged her to take it. "I'm sure his family really missed him too." Tommy said, a bit of a sad but genuine smile on his face. Beth's eyes lit up at the sight of the bunny and she grabbed it with her other hand. "Cheesecake!! Oh, Tommy.. Thank you for bringing him back." she smiled back at him, confident he was trying to change his ways.
The boy was a bit caught off-guard by the fact she knew his name when he hadn't mentioned it and nor did any of his friends, but he was glad she might have forgiven him. "You're welcome... What's your name?" he asked, wanting to learn who exactly he was so infatuated with. "Beth! Beth Carvedson." she replied, her voice becoming more confident as she grew more comfortable around him. "Beth.. Nice to meet you, Betty!" Tommy grinned, wondering where her last name sounded familiar from. The girl blushed a bit in surprise as she had never been called 'Betty' before, but she liked it. "I promise I won't bully you anymore.. I wanted you to notice me, but I tried getting your attention in the only way I knew how." the boy mumbled, feeling ashamed about the way he treated her the last few days. It was at that moment Beth knew both of her parents were right. He WAS bullying her because he liked her. She swallowed nervously as she hugged her plush rabbit closer and tightened her grip on the flowers Tommy had carefully picked for her. Doughy was still there, absolutely mesmerized by what he was witnessing. He was kind of glad the third boy from their group wasn't there today because he'd probably ruin the sweet moment between their mutual friend and this young girl. Nor Beth, nor Tommy had the courage to make any further moves because they didn't really understand love yet, but they looked at each other with knowing little smiles, butterflies fluttering around in their stomachs. "Well, um.. If you ever want to play together, I'm always down for it, alright? I'm here with my friends almost every day and I'd really like it if you hung out with us, Beth..." Tommy admitted, hoping to see the pretty girl more often. Beth nodded at his offer, squeezing the plush in her hand with joy. "I'd love to! And thank you.. For apologizing, and the flowers. And for giving back my bunny..." she said with a shy smile. She took off her bag and put Cheesecake in it, then carefully placed the flowers inside, careful not to squish them. "We can play for a bit now, if you want!" she exclaimed gleefully as she placed her bag on the bench next to Tommy's.
He smiled at her and nodded, then turned to Doughy. "Hey, let's teach her how to play Towercaps!" he suggested, reaching into his bag on the bench and pulling out a small clear plastic bag full of metal bottlecaps. "Great idea!" Doughy grinned as he got off the seesaw and started looking around for small rocks they could use. Tommy got on his knees and started stacking the bottlecaps into little towers on the ground while Beth watched curiously as the boys scrambled to set up their game. "What's Towercaps?" she asked innocently. Tommy looked up at her as he stacked and began explaining. "It's a super fun and easy game! We stack these bottlecaps here into lil' towers, then we stand further back and try to knock them over with rocks. Each cap you knock over is worth 1 point, and if you knock a whole tower over you get 3 extra points on top of the ones you got for the individual caps. Whoever gets the most points after 3 rounds of taking turns wins!" he smirked, adjusting his hat by the brim. Beth nodded in understanding, excited to play. "O-okay! I think I get it." she replied as Doughy walked over, both of his hands full of little rocks that were perfect for flinging. Beth and Tommy both grabbed an equal amount until each child had 3 rocks to throw, 1 for each turn. There were 9 towers, composed of 5 bottlecaps each. After a fierce game of Towercaps with laughter and cheers flying in the air along with the bottlecaps being flung around, Tommy wins 1st place, with Beth following 2nd and Doughy in last place again. "Aw, man! I'm never gonna get good at this game.." the ginger boy complained, even as a smile played on his freckled face. "Wow, that was really fun! I have to go now, but.. You two are really nice. I hope we can play again sometime soon." Beth said, a bit sad that she had to leave. "Already?" Tommy asked with a little frown as he grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "But we just started having fun, Betty! Can't you stay a bit longer, pleeease?" he begged, giving her the biggest, most pleading puppy eyes he possibly could. Beth hesitated for a moment, but knew she couldn't say no to this boy anymore after she warmed up to him so quick. "Oh, Tommy.. Alright, but just 5 more minutes, okay? Mom's gonna freak out if I show up for dinner late." she giggled as she watched Tommy's face light up. "Yeah!! Let's go on the swings, I'm gonna push you super high!" he suggested as he insistently grabbed Beth's hand again and led her to the pair of swings near the seesaw. The black-haired girl sat on one of the swings and held onto the chains tightly as Tommy stood a safe distance behind her and started gently pushing her, building a steady rhythm. "Hehe, yayy!!! Higher, Tommy! I want higher!!" Beth giggled loudly as she flew higher and higher as per request. Doughy sat on the other swing next to her and watched as she was practically soaring. "C-careful, Tommy! She can fall if you go too fast.." he warned with a hint of worry in his voice. He knew his friend meant well now, but he knew the blonde boy could go a bit far even if it was subconsciously. Tommy slowed down a little, realizing the potential danger even as Beth complained about the swing slowing down. "Sorry, Bets.. I don't want you getting hurt." he mumbled shyly, a bit embarrassed about showing he cared since he wasn't used to expressing it. Beth just smiled in understanding and adjusted to the slower speed. After 5 minutes had passed, Tommy helped her get off the swing by stopping it and watched with a sad, but content smile as she went to grab her bag from the bench. She ran up to the blonde boy and leaned in to give him an unexpected but innocent peck on the cheek. "I had so much fun today, Tommy! Let's play again tomorrow." Beth chirped happily as she waved goodbye to him and Doughy while she walked away from the playground. Tommy just stood there mesmerized and lazily waved back. "Bye, Betty.." he smiled with his cheeks flushed a bit, excited by the fact this was the first kiss he had gotten that wasn't a familial gesture from one of his parents. He really couldn't wait to see her again, even if he didn't quite understand the way his heart started to pound a bit faster. He wasn't going to lie, he initially liked her just because she was a pretty girl. But after getting to know her a little better, he knew there was much more about her that he liked. Maybe it was too early for them to consider being a couple, but he knew exactly who he was going to as soon as he was old enough to date.
Mr. and Mrs. Carvedson were at home preparing dinner together, occasionally stealing glances at each other like they were still teens deeply in love. Mr. Carvedson adjusted his thick glasses as he read through the vegan recipe book his wife had bought him for his birthday. "This is fantastic, Collette! Look at all these recipes that don't need us to harm and eat any of our animal friends.. Don't need any of their products either. So many recipes that replace milk with much better alternatives, like almond milk!" he spoke as he smiled childishly like he was a kid looking through a fairytale book. Collette grinned, enjoying her husband's fascination with the gift. "I knew you'd like it, honey! I thought some of the recipes in there were right up our alley. I can't wait for our lentil meatloaf to be done.." she smiled as she looked at the oven. At that moment, they heard the front door open and saw their daughter happily skip inside the house, immediately rushing to hug her dad and then her mom. "Welcome home, pumpkin!" Mr. Carvedson said as he gave Beth's head a pat. "Finally had a good day, I assume?" he asked, noticing the way Beth was barely able to hold in her excitement. "The best day ever!! Tommy said sorry and he gave me flowers and also gave me my toy back.. You and mom were right! I think he really likes me..." the little girl happily gushed as she pulled out the plush rabbit Tommy had returned to her, hugging it close. "That's great to hear! I guess my birthday's just a lucky date for all of us, haha." the man laughed at his playful claim, looking at his wife. "See, dear? I told you he just wanted your attention." Mrs. Carvedson grinned knowingly, proud of herself for being right as always. Her husband nudged their daughter with his elbow and winked. "So, are you two little sweethearts now, or?" he teased her. Beth's eyes widened and she shook her head 'yes', then 'no' in frantic conflict. "Ahh, um.. I-I don't know, dad..." she whimpered uncertainly, not really knowing how to respond to something like this properly. "W-we're friends for now... But I think he likes me and I think I also kinda do.. B-but... I don't know!" she stammered nervously as she waved her little hands around. Mrs. Carvedson opened the oven and took out the meal she and her husband were preparing; a lentil meatloaf with vegetables, onions, garlic, herbs, and of course, no meat. Was it even appropriate to call it a meatloaf anymore? Probably not, but the Carvedsons didn't care, as long as it was healthy. The smell hit the trio right in the nostrils and Mr. Carvedson inhaled deeply. "Mmm, smells great, honey! Best birthday dinner I could've possibly wished for." he cheerfully raised his hand to give Collette a thumbs-up before grabbing a large kitchen knife and cutting the meal into thin slices for him and his family. "Happy birthday, dad!!" Beth yelled with joy as she hugged her father. His wife leaned in to give him a kiss before grabbing a fork and trying out the food they had made together. The flavor exploded in her mouth and she nodded approvingly. Beth tried out the vegan meatloaf too and honestly didn't like it much, but she was hungry from the busy day she had so she didn't complain. After eating, she wished her parents goodnight and skipped over to her room, ready to go to bed. But before that, she put her bag on the floor and unzipped it, pulling out the dandelions Tommy had given her earlier. Luckily, they weren't very squished but she had no vase to store them in so she did something her mom sometimes did when storing herbs. She looked around for a book of any sort and found a blue notebook with a galloping unicorn on it. It was perfect and she put the flowers in the middle of the book, then closed and pressed it tightly until the dandelions flattened between the pages. Mrs. Carvedson had told her this was a good way to preserve herbs and flowers for a very long time. She smiled as she imagined herself as an older teen opening this notebook one day and seeing the flowers her first crush had given her when she was only 5. And who knew.. Maybe when she and Tommy were a bit older, they would be the best couple in Moralton, or so she dreamed. She reached into her bag again and pulled out her plush bunny, her smile widening. "Welcome home, Cheesecake!" she spoke to the toy and put it in a corner of her room where the rest of her plushies were. "Your family really missed you.. But I'm glad Tommy took care of you." she said before yawning and stretching, already feeling sleepy. She snuck under her bed's covers, already thinking about seeing Tommy again tomorrow. Peacefully, Beth fell asleep. Over at Tommy's, he came home happier than usual and his mother greeted him when he walked into the kitchen. "Hey, mom! Today was awesome. I made friends with a pretty girl.. And remember that bunny I found? It was hers! I gave it back and she was really happy about it..." Tommy boasted, obviously twisting the story a bit, but his mom didn't know. His father was secretly listening from the other room though and smiling to himself as he read his newspaper. Even though he knew Tommy was lying about the toy being 'found' instead of admitting it was stolen, Mr. Littler was proud of his boy for returning it and doing the right thing. Hearing that he and the girl became friends in the end was nice too, especially with how much Tommy seemed bothered about her potentially hating him. "That's so nice to hear, dear! What's her name?" Mrs. Littler asked curiously as she stirred the soup she was boiling. "Beth! Her last name was like, Carson or something.." Tommy responded, trying to remember where that name was familiar from. "Oh, you mean Carvedson? That girl is your future scout leader's daughter, Tommy.. You're still too young to join his current group, but when you turn at least 8, he'll accept you into his junior group. The Carvedsons have always been good friends of ours, so I hope you treat little Beth nicely." the woman claimed as she put a lid on top of the boiling pot. "Ohhh! So that's where I heard that name from.." the boy said with his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Thanks, mom! I'll treat her well.. Call me when dinner's ready, I'm gonna go and see dad!" he cheerfully added as he rushed into the living room. Upon seeing Tommy, Mr. Littler put his newspaper away on the coffee table and smiled. "I'm proud of you, son! You did good today." he said as he reached out and ruffled Tommy's hair, making the boy chuckle and grab his hat before it fell off. "Thanks, dad.. I'm glad Betty doesn't hate me! When we get older, I'm gonna marry her like you married mom.." he vowed, making his father laugh. "Wow, already thinking about that, huh?" Mr. Littler teased. Tommy nodded eagerly and dashed into his room to change his clothes and relax until his mom called him for dinner. But all the young boy could think about was meeting Beth again tomorrow, seeing her shy smile and teaching her more of the games he and his friends played. He was sure it was going to be the most fun they'll ever have, even if that one friend of his was going to whine about a girl intruding on their games. But Tommy didn't care about that. What he cared about was making that pretty girl smile and play with him until they were old enough to take things with each other more seriously. He sighed as he stared out of his bedroom window, slowly getting used to the unfamiliar emotions scrambling inside him. It was all so new to him, but he enjoyed it. Maybe it was a good decision.. To have a change of heart.