Summer's a Bummer, as Dull as Can Be... or is it?

Olivia clutched onto Rodina's hand like it was the most fabulous thing on the planet aside from her stuffed rabbit. She followed after the older girl, only too happy to do so, eyes shining bright as she watched Rodina's hair flick back and forth as they walked, liking the way the sun hit it. She was always pondering other people's bits and pieces, wondering if maybe, just maybe, she had looked a little different, her parents might have wanted to keep her. Perhaps if she had blonde hair like Rodina, they wouldn't have given her up as easily as they had. Or at least as easily as Olivia felt it probably was in her case. She was a very plain looking little thing and had, really, not been the prettiest of babies. However, the amount of positive attention Olivia was currently being showered with quickly outshone such thoughts, pulling her back out and into paying attention as to where she was setting her feet.

It was strange, having another person acting as if they wanted her around, Olivia thought. She was not the least bit used to such things. Most of the time she was just told what to do, yelled at if she didn't, and then ignored if she did. Back home, she was left to her own devices, finding games to play in solitude aside from her rabbit. She would read, or sit in a corner for hours on end, just making up stories in her head because it was much better than the reality she lived in. Right now though, Olivia was perfectly glad to close the portion of her that spaced out in order to escape and focus on what was happening for now. Her eyes glanced over at the picnic tables full of mingling children and she smiled. Yes, with most of the camp spending time there, it would be much easier to see if they could find some bunnies.

When they reached the trail and were quite out of sight of everyone else, Olivia let the rest of her inhibitions drop away. She started skipping and bouncing along the trail, eyes going every which way as she drank in the gloriousness of the little patch of forest they were in. It smelt of good things, decaying leaves, overturned earth, everything fresh and green and lush with the vibrancy of life. The sun filtering through the canopy and dappling upon the ground gave everything a little bit of an ethereal feeling as well as a slightly greenish tinge. Olivia's ears began to pick up sounds as well and she paused, listening. The rustle of a breeze through the trees, birds chirping happily somewhere above them, and the occasional creaking of an older branch. Olivia beamed, as Rodina made her aware of a particularly cute little bird fluttering by and then the younger girl began pointing as well, never saying a word, though the excitement was quite evident in her face. She rarely let so many expressions flow across it, never having anyone to converse with before but needing her face to do so when her voice had never been an option. Sure, she probably could have used it right then, now that it was just her and Rodina, all sense of pressure gone, but she chose not to. Speaking as vastly overrated and she had no need for doing it herself. Besides... Rodina seemed to understand what she was saying without Olivia having to open her mouth, at least, the younger girl felt she might be.

When Rodina said to sit down on a large rock they came to, Olivia did so without question. She flopped down, bringing her legs up and crossing them beneath her before setting her rabbit down on her lap so she could properly dig one hand into the bag containing her grapes. She munched away at them quickly, feeling hungrier now that they had been moving for a little bit. She blinked, as Rodina let go of her other hand, and turned her head to see why. She frowned as the older girl seemed to struggle with something inside herself before she started speaking.

As Rodina told her the story about the fire and how scary it had been, Olivia's eyes went wide, not liking the idea of her new acquaintance having had to go through such a terrible thing. To think someone had done it on purpose! What kind of awful person did you have to be to set someone's home on fire, especially with someone inside? Olivia couldn't even begin to fathom it, though, she did suppose maybe it would look different from the fire setter's perspective. She didn't want to try and ponder their side right now though, no, there were more pressing things at hand. Like the fact that Rodina looked quite like she could use a hug. It was no wonder she wasn't looking forward to the bonfire later. After having to experience something as horrid as being stuck in your house surrounded by flames and smoke, a bonfire would definitely be a cause for concern.

Olivia dropped her baggy of grapes, letting it sit in her lap and not caring when a few rolled free into the dip of her skirt. She leaned, wrapping both arms tightly around the older girl's shoulders and nuzzling her face against Rodina's cheek, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine. She was a little surprised, that Rodina would trust her with such delicate information, however, Olivia was even more shocked about something else.

Rodina had understood her earlier.

Despite having not opened her mouth at all, the older girl had read Olivia's expression with such accuracy that she had known exactly the question Olivia had been asking. Of course, it wasn't too difficult a thing to do, but it took a special kind of person to pay attention enough to actually bother reading another's face. Then, when the chance had arrived to properly answer Olivia's inquiry, Rodina had done so. It made Olivia's eyes start to water as well, but her tears were, again, of the happy variety. Her arms tightened around Rodina, fingers clutching and gripping hard at the back of the blonde's shirt, holding onto her with such desperation, Olivia was sure she must seem quite silly. No one had taken the time to listen to what she was trying to tell them before, even if it was always silently, and now that she had found someone who could and didn't seem to mind that she wouldn't speak, Olivia wasn't about to let her go. She hoped, with all of her heart of hearts, that Rodina wouldn't abandon her too.

Pulling away because she knew that she couldn't hug her forever, Olivia reached up one hand, wiping away a tear from a Rodina's face that she older girl had missed. She smiled, shaking her head. No. It was alright to talk about things that weren't always happy. Sometimes it was better to let out your fears or frustrations rather than keep them in, or at least, that was what Olivia had always been told when she got taken to her psych evaluations.

The younger girl watched as Rodina ate some more trail mix and then coughed before holding out her hand. It took Olivia but a second to understand the gesture, and she quickly dug into her pocket, receiving the juice box. Olivia opened the straw and shoved it in through the silver circle on top of the box, squeezing a little bit too hard and getting squirted in the face in the process. She grinned, holding the juice box out to Rodina as she wiped at her face with her other arm, not caring too much that she was probably going to be sticky in a bit.

Once she had both hands free, Olivia took their map and held it up, pointing at the place marked for the bonfire, and then grabbed hold of Rodina's hand. She lifted her arm, pulling Rodina's upwards as well, showing her their hands and pointing at the bonfire again. They could stick together during it, and then maybe Rodina wouldn't have to be so afraid. Olivia was sure they would be perfectly safe. The camp counsellors had been doing this for years and knew how to treat the fire as well as keep it under control. There's was no way they would expose a bunch of kids to it otherwise. Then, Olivia pointed to the lake and her herself, shaking her head with a frown before holding up their hands again and indicating the lake once more.

Smiling, Olivia folded the map and tucked it away in her pocket. She pressed a finger to her cheek against the place Rodina had honored her with a simple little kiss, her cheeks pink but beaming at it. No one kissed her, ever. Kisses were reserved for the babies and preschoolers at the children’s home. Olivia couldn’t even remember the last time she’d received one, if ever. She was pretty sure she hadn’t though, she couldn’t remember anything further back than when she’d been about three. The fact that Rodina had deemed her worthy of one made Olivia’s little heart soar, feeling more and more like maybe she had finally made an actual friend. A part of her still warned against getting too excited though. That things this good couldn’t last, right? Olivia wasn’t sure, but she was willing to do her very best to keep Rodina from abandoning her if the time should ever come.

Olivia blinked as Rodina told her to hold out her arm, confused for a moment. She did as she was told though, and then watched as the older girl tried to clean her off. She shrank a little, her cheeks going pink as she looked down. Only little kids were supposed to spill juice on themselves, but then, Olivia wasn’t too big of a kid yet. She was actually below the average height for her age, even though she was due to be eleven at the very end of August. She would be starting at the public secondary school next September… and she was not looking forward to it at all. While Olivia liked school most of the time, she struggled with being around a class full of other kids who ignored her all day unless they were picking on her. The past school year she and her peers had been the oldest students at their school, so she hadn’t had to worry too much about bullies that were a whole lot bigger than her, but the new school… She would probably be one of the smallest students there, an easy target for cruel jokes. That, and she had been expressly told that under no circumstances was she going to be allowed to take her rabbit along with her. He was the only thing that kept her calm when the world got too big and she wasn’t sure how she was going to cope if she couldn’t hold onto him. Had she been going away to school it might have been different, but no… Well, at least she’d still have her rabbit except for those six hours of the day.

Rising to her feet, Olivia stared at Rodina in confusion for a moment. How on earth, was spinning going to make rabbits appear? Wouldn’t that just scare them away? Then again, Olivia didn’t want to upset Rodina but not doing as she suggested, that would be worse than not getting to see rabbit. Then again, maybe, if Rodina said it might work, then it very well might be true. Olivia couldn’t know for sure, but then, there were a lot of things she hadn’t learned yet and she knew it. She did know quite a lot, constantly reading, but that didn’t mean she knew everything she possibly could yet. The world was too vast for any one person to have all of the knowledge it contained. So, perhaps, Rodina was onto something. It couldn’t hurt at least, to spin around with her eyes closed. It wasn’t like she was being asked to pour syrup on herself and roll in the dirt.

Olivia placed one of her rabbit’s ears over his eyes, and then, using him and her other hand, she covered her own. She spun, skirt flying out around her legs, second juice box weighing it down slightly but her momentum keeping it going. Her toes left a bit of a mark in the dirt beneath them, and she spun again, and then, once more. Coming to a stop, Olivia peeked between her fingers, gazing at Rodina and then…

Olivia’s eyes widened and her mouth formed into a perfect ‘O’ of surprise as her arms dropped down to her sides. She stared at the bunnies, the joy inside of her increasing tenfold until she thought she might burst out dancing. However, that would probably have scared the meek creatures away, so she refrained. Instead, Olivia dug into her pocket and tugged out the carrot sticks. She offered one to Rodina and then crouched down, slowly easing her way closer to the rabbits, arm outstretched with one carrot stick. Her face was set, determined, as she edged nearer, watching the bunnies’ little noses wiggle as they sniffed, not sure whether they should flee or follow the scent of the carrot. The smallest of the rabbits gave a hop forward, sniffed at the very tip of the carrot while Olivia held her breath, and then… it nibbled. Olivia could have shouted for joy if she had been the type of person to do so. Instead, she glanced at Rodina, eyes shining.

Olivia nodded, fully understanding Rodina’s meaning when she pointed at the carrot. Yes, the rabbit did seem to rather love the delicious orange vegetable. Olivia was fond of them as well, though mostly the center where they were at their absolute sweetest or cooked until they were soft but still quite firm. She grinned, watching at the little rabbit nibbled away, chewing at the carrot until it was nothing more than a nub between Olivia’s small fingers. She shifted her hand slowly, letting the nub rest on her fingers instead and the tiny bunny kept munching until it’s nose was tickling her skin, its fur soft as velvet. It ate until the carrot was gone, and Olivia turned her head to look at Rodina again, seeing that she was interacting with the largest of the rabbits. The rest of them moved forward, and Olivia drew the last carrot out of her pocket, breaking it up into several pieces and setting them down on the patchy grass along the edge of the trail.

A breeze ruffled at Olivia’s hair and she smiled, closing her eyes and breathing it in. It was warm, full of the impossibly delicious scent of all things wonderful. Flowers, grass, dirt, and the slight hint of sunshine that one could only ever smell upon such a gorgeous day as this was. She turned, hoping Rodina was feeling such a wonderful thing from the breeze, and blinked as she watched as the other girl’s hair was gently lifted from her back. It only last for a moment, but Olivia’s eyes had gone wide again, her mouth a perfect circle of wonder. In that second, with her hair floating and shining in the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, Olivia could have sworn Rodina looked like some kind of angel. She wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the case, after all, Olivia liked to believe in a slew of possibilities about the world, whether others thought them too or not. But then the moment was over, and Olivia’s face went back to a simple smile, knowing she was just being silly. Rodina wasn’t an angel. She was just a really nice girl Olivia had gotten lucky enough to be paired with.

When Rodina asked Olivia if the bunnies were beautiful, Olivia nodded, in full agreement. She reached out, accepting the older girl’s hand and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. She clutched her stuffed rabbit tightly to her chest, not bothering to wipe at the dir that had gotten along the hem of her skirt. She beamed, pointing in the direction the rabbits had gone and jumping up and down, so excited to have seen them. She’d never gotten to really see real ones before up so close and it had been impossibly wonderful. Rabbits were probably her absolute favorite kind of animal, just because they were so gentle.

Olivia allowed Rodina to lead the way, trialing along after her slightly and skipping every now and then, the cheese stick and other juice box long forgotten in her pocket. She’d remember them later most likely, but for now, she was too impossibly happy drinking in the gorgeousness that was the forest and the sound of her Mary Janes upon the packed earth beneath their feet. The sound of the creek, babbling along by them, the sunlight glinting off of it where it could, sparked Olivia’s soul and she raced forward a little bit, tugging Rodina along for but a moment before they paused so Rodina could pick a flower. It was a little one, simple and sweet, and Olivia bounced slightly as Rodina tucked it into her hair. She would have returned the favor, but then they were off again, racing down the trail in the direction of the small wooden bridge.

Releasing Rodina’s hand, Olivia shot forward towards the bridge. She laughed, the sound echoing brightly out of her mouth as she spun in a circle, hair and skirt flying up, arms out as she reached the very center of the bridge. She leaned over the side of the bridge, barely tall enough to do so, her toes almost leaving the ground as she gazed downward as the sweet water flowing out from underneath it. She grinned, turning to look back at Rodina, her smile so big her teeth were showing. She liked this bridge, but, upon seeing that Rodina was looking at her watch, she frowned. Oh.

Looking up at the sky, Olivia noted the position of the sun and nodded to herself, knowing that there was no way they could stay and play here today, no matter how much she wanted to. It would have to wait until another time. Olivia darted back over to Rodina, taking her hand again, and following her over the bridge, feeling a bit sad that they had to go back already. She hoped they would get more free time tomorrow so they could come and play here by the creek. She wasn’t fond of water most of the time, but the creek wasn’t deep at all, maybe up to their knees at it’s deepest point. They would be perfectly fine to go wading if they wanted. The walk along the rest of the trail didn’t take very long. They couldn’t linger due to the sun starting to set more rapidly in the sky and it was already beginning to get darker than Olivia would have liked beneath the trees. She wasn’t exactly afraid of the dark per say, but you never knew what could be lurking in the shadows. It was a bit of a releif when they finally reached the end again, stepping out of the woods and out into the open where they could see the sun setting out over the lake.

It was a beautiful sight, the sky full of reds and oranges, the clouds above them bright pink against the darkening blue. Olivia didn’t see too many sunsets in the city, the buildings blocking her view out of the windows of the children’s home. There were voices now, most of them chattering excitedly, figures in the distance skipping and racing and walking towards the lake where there was a huge area of sand… the section they would be doing the bonfire on. The counselors would be counting heads and checking their groups to make sure they had everyone before the fire was lit up. Olivia didn’t move though, too focused on the sunset and the wonderful feeling that was having another human being holding her hand for once.

”I hope you don’t mind if I call you my friend.”

Those words hit Olivia right in the face, stunning her so hard she stopped breathing, her entire body going still. The wind flicked at her hair slightly and she didn’t even blink, eyes unmoving for a full minute before she turned her head, shock written all over her visage. She gazed at Rodina as though only just realizing she was there. Friend. They were… Rodina had called her a… Olivia gulped, finally regaining her ability to breathe before she shot forward. Her arms wrapped tightly around the older girl, burying her face against her neck and gripping so tightly onto her shirt it was a wonder it didn’t tear. She nodded, lifting up slightly to kiss the other girl's cheek, rapidly and over and over, unable to express herself in any other way than this. Friends…. She had made a friend.

Olivia’s heart was soaring and she was crying quite openly by the time she’d finished kissing Rodina’s cheeks. She rubbed at her face with her rabbit, pushing away the wet tears that took a few moments to get to stop flowing. She was unable to adequately express just how much Rodina’s words meant to her… the simple promise of being friends no matter what. How could that ever be a burden? Olivia was quite sure she would never, ever tire of being around Rodina. The older girl was wonderful and transfixed Olivia’s mind like no one else ever had been able to. Normally, it took her a good while to open up to anyone, fully aware that they would probably balk at any advance of affection. Not Rodina though… no. She had taken it in stride and returned it, unknowingly pulling Olivia out of that little shell she lived in. She had never spent a day so much in reality as opposed to the make believe land in her head. Rodina’s kindness and bold way of tugging her along had kept Olivia aware of her surroundings… and she was actually quite thrilled about it for once. Normally she hated being stuck without being able to spend time daydreaming, but she didn’t mind so long as her new friend was with her.

Relishing the kiss on her head and the feel of having Rodina’s hand holding hers, after spending so many years only holding onto her rabbit, Olivia nodded. Yes, their hair was quite a mess and it was getting a bit chilly out. She did miss her sweater quite a bit and would be very glad to have it back. Tomorrow would be better. She wouldn’t be required to wear the purple camp shirt and could opt for one of her larger t-shirts that usually fell down to her knees making them easy to hide in just like her sweater. The ten year old allowed Rodina to tug her along, back to their cabin where someone had clicked on some lights so it wasn’t dim in here due to the setting sun. She pulled her sweater out of the drawer and tugged it over her head. It was bulky, an odd fuzzy green thing that occasionally got itchy, but that was because it was made from course wool. Olivia hugged herself, glad to be back in her sweater, the hem of it reaching her knees, the sleeves much too long and falling well over her hands unless she bunched them up to her wrists. That was how she liked it though. Safe and big and easy to curl her entire body up in like a turtle should she choose to.

Olivia flopped down on the bed, crossing her legs and sitting still as Rodina began running a brush through her hair. She closed her eyes, biting her lower lip as the older girl came to a particularly bad patch of tangles. Yet, Rodina was gentle, not yanking the brush right on though, but pausing to gently tug the knots apart with such care Olivia thought she might cry again. She’d never been doted upon, even a little bit, and this… this counted as doting right? She was pretty sure it did. Once her hair was done though, Olivia turned around, accepting the brush and going at Rodina’s hair. She tried to be just as gentle, though she wasn’t particularly used to brushing anyone’s hair but her own and to be frank, she rather sucked at it. However, she did her very best, only ending up yanking a couple of times accidentally, though her cheeks flared with color each time. She ran the brush straight through those lovely dirty blonde locks right before they were told to get going down to the bonfire.

Rodina didn’t need to say a word. Olivia knew, by the way the older girl clutched at her hand and looked at her, that she was nervous. Olivia smiled reassuringly, giving Rodina’s hand a little tug and gripping it back just as tightly. She pulled her along, out of the cabin and down the steps, feet making their way down the path in the direction of the lake. There was already a large crowd ahead of them, everyone excitedly chattering as they began to gather in a circle, taking up seats on the sand. Olivia glanced back at Rodina and paused for a moment to give her a bright smile and a thumbs up. She had her back and no matter what happened, she’d be right there the whole time.