Friends

They sat side by side. The dark-haired girl was concentrating, her tongue sticking out between her teeth. Carefully, she drew slowly on the white paper with the thick black marker.

Meanwhile, the girl with blond ringlets was scribbling on a piece of paper. With a flourish, she signed her name.

"There!" she cried. "It's the best story I've ever written!" She shoved it under the nose of the dark-haired girl, interrupting her drawing. The dark haired girl patiently put her drawling aside and read the words the other girl had dashed onto the page.

"I like it," she said, smiling and nodding. She handed the paper back to the girl. The girl continued to stand there, her eyes wide and insecure.

"Did you like the part about the cat?"

"Yes," the dark haired girl said calmly as she continued to sketch.

"What about the dog? Wasn't that funny?"

"I thought it was wonderful," the dark-haired girl smiled at her.

Anxiously, the girl twisted the beloved story in her hands. "I put pictures in the margins. To give it a little something extra. Do you think it gives it something extra?"

"It's very colorful." The dark haired girl's tongue stuck out as she drew ears on a circle.

"Do you think Teacher will like it?" Her voice rose to a high-pitched whine. The dark haired girl looked up to see the girl threading her marker stained fingers through the thin white wisps circling her face.

"I'm sure she will," she reassured her jittery friend. Nodding, because the blond girl believed whatever her friend told her, she toddled off and shoved her picture in the Teacher's face.

"This is my masterpiece!" she announced.

"Thank you," the Teacher smiled and placed it on her desk. The blond girl stood waiting. The Teacher returned to her work.

"Well?" the blond girl asked impatiently.

"Well, what?" the Teacher asked, confused.

"What do you think of it?" the blond girl with wispy ringlets was nearly beside herself.

The Teacher smiled dutifully and picked up the paper.

"I think it's charming," she smiled.

"Is it the most brilliant work you've ever read?" the blond girl was anxiously gripping the Teacher's desk, her terrified blue eyes peering over the edge.

"I love it," the Teacher replied soothingly.

"I put pictures on there to give it something extra," the blond girl's stained finger pointed to the hastily scratched drawings.

"Thank you." The Teacher smiled and carefully put the story back onto the pile.

"Is it going to go on the wall?" the blond girl's eyes were going to pop out of her head.

"We'll see," the Teacher winked at her. Thrilled with a wink, the girl skipped off and plopped back next to her friend.

"She loved it!" she cheered happily, flinging her arms around her friend. The dark hair girl beamed and patted her.

"I told you," she said calmly, making the final strokes of her drawing.

"She winked," the small blond girl babbled, bouncing up and down in her seat. "She winked at me!"

The dark haired girl just smiled, her dimples showing. She drew the final stroke and held up her cartoon of an elegant and sassy cat.

"Thanks for being such a good friend!" the blond girl ecstatically clutched her dark-haired friends arm. "I like your picture," she added awkwardly. She didn't want to be self-absorbed.

The dark-haired girl just beamed. She didn't know what pleased her more: being a good friend or having a good picture.