Brotherhood

New Friends

    "Hi, Violet!" Elizabeth greeted her, excitedly. Casey just stood by her friend, not saying much. "Hi Elizabeth!" Violet smiled, as she started talking with her friend. Casey just sat there, staying completely silent. "What's wrong?" Violet asked, noticing Casey's look. "What, me?" She asked. "Yes, silly." Violet giggled a bit. "Oh... Ummm." "She's shy."Elizabeth explained. "You look like you could use a friend." Violet offered with a smile. Casey smiled back. "Yeah, I'd like that." Violet threw her arms around Casey in a loving embrace. Casey was understandably shocked, so decided to simply hug her back. "Aww, it looks like you made a new friend!" Mrs. Gibson smiled at the children's cute gesture of affection. Casey smiled a little bit. "Yeah." She muttered meekly.

    Violet laid on the changing table with her wet pull up on display. She was waiting for the school nurse to get the changing supplies and clean her up. The nurse appeared, holding a case of wipes and a fresh pull up from Violet's backpack. She ripped the sides off of Violet's pull up before wiping her down and helping her into a new one. "There you go, sweety. All cleaned up." The old lady said in a kind voice. "Thank you!" Violet hugged her leg. "Why, you're welcome sweetheart." The lady patted her head.

    Violet was back in her classroom, sitting in a circle with all the other children. "And C H makes the sound Ch, like Chin." Mrs. Gibson explained, as she held up a picture of a man's chin. Violet sat there with her legs crossed while listening to her teacher show different pictures. "Can anyone else name another word with the sound Ch?" Mrs. Gibson asked the class. "Oh!" Elizabeth raised her hand. "Yes, Elizabeth?" Mrs. Gibson called on her. "Chocolate." Elizabeth answered, with a grin. "Yes! Very good! Anyone else?" Mrs. Gibson asked the class. Casey shyly raised her hand, but another boy raised his higher. "Franklin." Mrs. Gibson called out. "Chair!" He answered zealously. "Great job, class! Now, who's ready for recess?" Mrs. Gibson smiled. The children raised their hands excitedly. All except Casey. Violet saw her friend sitting there quietly, not looking the least but excited. "What's wrong?" Violet asked her friend. "Oh. Nothing." She forced a fake smile. Violet didn't want to press her any further. "Ok." She nodded. She wanted to help her, but didn't know how to.

    "Tag!" One of the boys tapped Violet on the shoulder. The children giggled, as they ran about the playground excitedly. "You're it!" Violet said, as she touched Elizabeth's back. "I'm going to get you!" She declared, as she attempted to chase Violet down. "No you're not!" She laughed as she ran away. She managed to loose Elizabeth after maneuvering between a couple of boys. Violet laughed joyously, until she spotted Casey rocking back and forth on the swing alone. Violet didn't want to see her friend all alone during recess, so decided to go see if she wanted to play. "Are you alright, Casey?" Violet's question seemed to startle her. "Wha- oh. Yeah." Casey nodded, not very convincingly. Violet sat down on the adjacent swing. "Come on. Tell me. What's wrong?" Violet insisted on knowing. "I don't know. It's just. I don't have any friends." Casey's eyes teared up a little bit. "What do you mean?" Violet asked, placing an arm around her. "Well, it's just. Elizabeth used to be my best friend, but now she has other friends and doesn't want to play with me anymore." A tear ran down Casey's cheek. "I'm your friend." Violet lovingly patted her back. Casey sniffled a little bit. "Do you really like me?" She asked, as if to verify what she heard. "Of course!" Violet pulled her into a full hug. Casey smiled, as she returned the loving hug. A few tears trickled down her little cheeks. "Thank you, Violet." She whispered in her ear.