nursery
Levi noticed a girl sitting alone in the far away corner of the class.
He watched as she colored the piece of paper in front of her with the green coloring pencil held awkwardly between her small fingers.
Levi turned to his friends as they were playing with blocks and eating silently, he wondered why the frowning girl didn’t join them.
He noticed she wasn’t eating like every other child in the room.
Maybe she had finished her sandwiches, but maybe she doesn’t have any and she is really hungry.
The thought itself made three years old Levi tear up instantly, and he got up his lunch bag that is filled with treats in his hand, heading to the unknown girl’s table.
He took a seat silently, and took in her messy gold hair, and green eyes. Her cheeks were so rosy, and her tongue was slightly out hinting how she was concentrating in her drawing.
“What’s your name?” Levi’s childish voice got her to look up and check him out.
“I am Bloom.”
Levi wondered why Bloom’s face seemed to always be downwards in a frown; it bothered him.
“Hi, Bloom. I am Levi!”
He grinned in an attempt to be friendly.
“Funny name.” Bloom’s giggle filled the quiet place, and the teacher looked up briefly to make sure no one was getting killed before going back to her magazine.
“That’s not very nice.”
Even though Bloom was making fun of Levi he was still happy he got her to interact with him.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Levi questions when Bloom goes back to coloring not ready for the conversation to end just yet.
“I finished my food.” Bloom didn’t look up from her green cat.
Levi wanted to scrunch his nose in disgust at the ugly cat, but he decided to focus on Bloom instead.
“Do you want to have a sandwich?”
Bloom shakes her head, “I hate sandwiches.”
“Then maybe you can have my cake?”
Bloom looks up with a wary face, but it soon vanishes when she sees Levi’s very hopeful face.
“Why aren’t you in your place?”
“Because you seemed lonely, and I don’t like people being lonely.”
Levi’s explanation made Bloom more than happy, and she grinned.
“You are nice, Levi!”
That made Levi very pleased like he just received his Christmas present directly from Santa.
“So do you want the cake?”
Bloom shook her head shyly recalling her mother’s instructions about taking things from people especially strangers.
“But please-”
“It’s nappy time!” Their teacher exclaims with a warm smile plastered on her face.
Bloom gets up abandoning her drawing and Levi for the sake of her beauty sleep.
Levi was not happy, and he wanted to cry again..
~
Levi noticed Bloom skipping towards what seems like her mother’s car, and he ran after her with a cake in his hand.
“Berry!” He screamed, and frowned when she didn’t stop.
He quickly caught up and she stopped when she noticed his tired figure.
“Levi?”
“Why didn’t you stop when I called your name?”
“I didn’t hear you..”
“Bloom, come on!”
Bloom’s mother called her and she turned to him apologetically.
Levi realized he messed up his new friend’s name, and felt very guilty- like he was a fake friend..
“You are very beautiful, Bloom!” He said quickly, handing her the cake and running off.
Bloom remembered what her father told her about the word beautiful.
‘Only use it when you see something you can’t take your eyes off. Something that is just perfect.. We don't want the word beautiful to lose it’s meaning now do we? Because beautiful is such a special word that should only be used for special things.’
Bloom felt very special with a cake in her hand, a mother calling for her urgently, and dorky grin on her face.
