Work Text:
Being a kid in Mt. Ebott Town meant that there were always odd people around you.
Yasmin wasn’t the only soul of patience in the classroom, nor was she the only kid who had breakfast from the school rather than some waffles with fruit or a bowl of cereal from home.
However, she was the only kid who didn’t know what her parents did for work. She only knew that they made a lot of money. When she went home to ask them a few questions about their jobs for a school assignment, they told her to circle whatever sounded good.
So when the paper asked what jobs they had, she went on the computer and searched up jobs that make a lot of money. It seemed that Yasmin’s teacher wasn’t quite expecting to see her dad as a gynecologist, but no questions were asked.
She was also the only kid who didn’t spend time with her family over the summer breaks. In 2nd grade, she started to check the box saying that she did so that it wouldn’t seem weird.
She wasn’t the only kid who didn’t like to be called on in class. She only raised her hand to take folders to the office, use the bathroom, and drink water. Some kids didn’t raise their hands at all.
She wasn’t sure if she was the only kid who felt like the world was far away from her brain sometimes, when she was upset. Her memories were a bit messed up, but she was glad she wouldn’t be as sad or mad or stressed.
Yasmin was eight years old in the summer before fifth grade. In that summer, she was bored at home, so she would go to the park every day. It only took ten minutes to walk there from her house after her parents went to work.
One day, Yasmin was at the park and saw someone alone, sitting on the second of the four swings. She was holding a book and pencil, and she looked sad. Yasmin wanted to sit by her, and she did.
She said her name was Arianne, and she was also going to 3rd grade. Yasmin recognized her from the kindergarten graduation pictures, and they went to the same school!
Arianne asked Yasmin if she believed in God. Yasmin didn’t know the answer to that. She knew about Christmas and Easter and other holidays, but she didn’t know if she was supposed to believe in God or not.
Arianne offered to tell Yasmin about believing in God the right way, but Yasmin said no. She didn’t need to listen.
Arianne asked if Yasmin was going to leave, but she stayed on the swing and shook her head. She wanted to be her friend, she said.
Arianne didn’t know. She said that she could only be friends with people who believed in God, but Yasmin said she didn’t have to tell anyone.
And then, Yasmin and Arianne became best friends forever.