Team Catradora

28 -Hard Truths

"Do you guys think I'm a perfectionist?"

Glimmer, Bow, and Adora were in the middle of monopoly (Adora owned about sixty percent of the property) in the living room. With their vintage chairs, they surrounded the oak coffee table. The board, dice, and money covered the top surface, and they all leaned forward to view the game closely. 

Well, they leaned forward for that and the table's legs were a tad shorter than the seats. That was probably why Glimmer didn't notice when Adora spoke.

Well, that, and she was humming in tune to Adele, so she didn't even look up. It was one of the things that annoyed Adora.

How was Glimmer good at singing? Whenever Adora sang, she sounded so awful, it wasn't even funny. And here Glimmer was, effortlessly on pitch, like singing was easy. There was a reason she never played Rock Band with her. She'd get creamed!

Bow nudged Glimmer's side, and she startled, dropping the dice. It rattled, landing on one. "Hey, that's cheating."

"We're losing anyway." Bow gestured to Adora. "Our friend's asking if we think she's a perfectionist. Why do you ask?"

"I've just been thinking lately, that's all." Adora moved Glimmer's boot figurine for her, and Glimmer landed on Adora's property. Glimmer groaned.

"You're distracting us with these questions."

"Is it working?" She asked. Glimmer handed her a wad of cash, and Adora couldn't help but grin. "Seriously, am I a perfectionist?"

"Yes." Glimmer shrugged, leaning back. She glanced over at Bow's small stack of money, frowning. "I'm surprised you have time to play this game, what with your math project due tomorrow. Gotta make sure your writing is perfectly neat, am I right?"

"What's wrong with that?" Adora never understood why Glimmer thought it was odd, when Glimmer put ketchup on her grapes. "I don't like graphite smudges on my paper. It's not weird, okay? It's-ugh, we've talked about this before and you know how I feel about it!"

"So?" Glimmer giggled. "Teasing you is fun. And besides, it's math. Nobody cares if your writing is messy."

"But I do. And it's not cause I'm a perfectionist." Adora shook her head. "That's being a good student. Nothing else."

"Sure," Bow said, taking his turn. He shifted a little in his seat, his expression darkening. For a moment he was quiet, but then he took his turn, and faced Adora. It was like there had never been a pause in conversation. "What about that art project you had to do in tenth grade?"

"I suck at art! It's not my fault I quit."

"You don't suck, though." Bow sighed. "Your stick person was nice."

"Well, it wasn't good enough." Adora shrugged. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You were so excited to learn something new, but then you quit as soon as it didn't come naturally to you." Bow pulled out his phone. After a moment he presented a picture of her first (and only) art project. 

Adora cringed. 

It was supposed to be a watercolor painting of her and Catra. The assignment was simple: make  something that reflected a happy memory. Glimmer had sculpted them playing on a swing, and Bow had drawn a picture of him and his, well, bow. He really loved that thing. 

Both of theirs looked better than hers. 

The figures were barely visible under a pink background-the background was supposed to be red, but she'd spent so long trying to "layer" it that she ripped the paper. Apparently she was supposed to let it dry first.