“I’m home!” Azura announced loudly, as if she wanted the whole world to know.
“I’m in the kitchen,” said her mother.
Azura ran into the kitchen and hugged her mother from behind. “Kaelin’s coming over again tonight. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s working late today, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
Her mom grinned and rolled her eyes. “You better clean your room before Kaelin gets here.”
“What are you talking about? It looks like it always does when she comes over, and besides, it’s clean!”
“If you call that clean then I’m wondering what your definition of messy is.”
“Fine. I’ll go clean it, but only until Kaelin gets here.” She kissed her mom on the cheek and ran off to her room. Half a second later, there was a knock on the door. “Never mind!”
Just as Azura opened the door, a sketchbook was kindly thrown in her face.
“Last page,” grumbled Kaelin as she stepped inside.
Azura knew that Kaelin’s grumbling was rarely an accurate gauge to her mood; she was always like that. Her face only seemed to know two expressions: indifference or a smirk. On the other hand, Azura’s face was always cheerful and she could never keep a straight face. She flipped to the last page of the sketchbook and her bright eyes gazed at the drawing in awe.
It was a simple landscape of a calm sea before the arrival of a storm. Kaelin’s attention to detail was astounding and the elegant coloring brought the image to life. She always had a talent for visual art and often sketched or doodled in her spare time. Landscapes were her specialty, especially when the sea was involved.
Ignoring the enraptured Azura, Kaelin made her way into the house and greeted Azura’s mother before heading towards Azura’s room. The younger girl, still lost in the landscape, followed Kaelin down the hallway. She was so lost in the picture that she didn’t notice the closed door in front of her.
“That was smooth,” commented Kaelin, who had stood off to the side and watched the scene happen right in front of her.
“Thanks for the warning,” the younger girl whined, rubbing her slightly flattened nose.
“No problem.” Sea green eyes glanced about the room in amusement. “I see that you’ve cleaned.”
“It’s clean to me.”
Kaelin poked at a pile of clothes with her foot. “You couldn’t find Atlantis buried under here if you tried.”
“Just for that, you’re not getting the drawing back.” She clung onto the book tightly and stuck her tongue out.
“Go ahead. It was for you anyways.”
Caught off guard by the kind gesture, Azura could only blink in surprise. “Really?”
“Why not?” she shrugged, her face still showing no emotion. Despite her indifferent, almost cold, demeanor, Azura knew that Kaelin was perhaps one of the most generous and caring people she knew.
A shout came from the kitchen, breaking the contented silence between the two friends. “Dinner’s ready, you two!”
Before leaving the room, Azura gave Kaelin a quick hug despite the fact that the older girl would normally shy away from any form of physical contact. This time, though, she took to gesture without complaint. Even though she retained her indifferent façade, she was smiling on the inside. However, being unable to leave the moment hanging on a warm note, Kaelin made sure to trip Azura on the way out.
Some things never do change.
