Chapters

Chapter 1: Sunniva Elsher

Chapter 2: School

Chapter 3: Inara Hansley

Chapter 4: Adults

Chapter 5: Definition of a Friend

Chapter 6: Friends and Fights

Chapter 7: Alone in School

Chapter 8: Mom Talk

Chapter 9: Try Again

Chapter 10: Back Together

Chapters

Chapter 1: Sunniva Elsher

     I never knew what friendship was. I thought I didn’t need friends, but maybe all that might change. I might become a friend, probably even a good one. Let’s put a pause on that; I’m Sunniva Elsher. I love the color orange, and I especially love Thai food. I’m Turkish, and I am now going to Nelspontriqua Middle School. 

    I’m starting 6th grade tomorrow, and I wonder what classes I could have now. My mother is named Arianna Elsher, and my father is Lucas Elsher. I was born on April 19th, 2013. I love playing soccer, and I’m the best at it, in my opinion. I want to become a doctor and a scientist when I get older. “Sunniva cut it with the long intros!” Sorry about that, that's just my inner voice asking me to be precise.

    “Sunniva, time for dinner,” called out Mami. “I want you to rest up and have a fresh start for your sixth-grade school year!”

Hold on a second, “Mami, I’ll come down soon,” I responded. (Yawn) It is getting late. I want to tell you more and chat more during dinner. 

Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud (Me coming down the stairs) 

“Ooh, is it rice and beans for dinner?” I asked. “Yes, honey, I wanted to make something special because today is the last day of summer break,” Mami responded. “Oh, and please get your makeup off soon. You put too much.” “Thank you so much, Mami, and yes, I will. Is Papi going to join us?” I asked. “I’m so sorry, honey, but Papi has an important meeting at which he is presenting.” Mami sounded serious. 

“It’s okay, Mami, let us just eat dinner,” I said. Mami nodded to show that she was in unison with my idea. I ate my dinner with great happiness and was ready for school the next day. “Honey, did you pack all the materials for school like your red backpack, water bottle, lunch box, books, binders, etc?” Mami asked.

"Yes, mami, I was just about to put my Math, Science, English, and Social Studies binders and books in my orange bag,” I responded with delight. Mami respectfully nodded, and I went upstairs, ready for the new school year. I took the 4th-grade school picture out, rolled it up, and put it in my closet, then adjusted the joke poster. 

I cleaned my face and brushed my teeth. I put on my pajamas and slipped into bed, bringing my favorite book, Inspiring People. After three pages, the book talks about another person who did something inspiring in the world. 

I read the book for about thirty minutes, then drifted off to sleep on my comfy, soft, and colorful bed. BEEP BEEP BEEP! My alarm rang, so I turned it off. It’s always set for 7:00 am. Good morning, or shall I say “HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!”

I am super excited, okay, I need to get ready. I took a shower, combed my hair, put on my dark blue long-sleeved t-shirt, belt, light blue jeans, light blue socks, and slipped on my sparkly shoes and ran to my mami. It’s very cold now in California. 

“I’m ready, Mami. I just need to eat breakfast and then bike to school.” Mami said, “Okay, honey, it is now 7:30, you’ll be ready for school by 8:00. I love how you're planning this.” “Oh, thanks, Mami,” I responded. I put the bread in the toaster, which came out in a few minutes. I ate as fast as I could but tried not to choke myself. I finished eating at 7:50 and wiped my mouth as my mother put my lunch (Tomato Salad) in my bag. I kissed Mami goodbye and wondered where Papi was. Then I remembered he had a very long meeting last night and came home late. He is probably sleeping in. I sat on my bike and rode to school.

Chapter 2: School

“La la la la la la la la la la la la la la,” I sang the song , "Cupid", while I rode my bike. I heard that when you get to 6th grade, you get your desk with no one near you. That’s so good, because once I tried to talk to Isla Jones when we were seated together; I said, “I like your dress today. Often you don’t dress well.” Isla Jones got so mad at me and has ignored me ever since. Like, seriously, what did I do? I just gave a compliment. 

I arrived at school on time. I got the desk, which was in the very back. Great! Off to a good start. I had one whole locker for myself, sweet. My teacher for 6th grade was so thoughtful! Her name was Mrs. Clara Brown. She said she was 22 and had two years of teaching experience. She went to IIT Madras in Chennai, India. She received the largest classroom and won the Best Teacher Award - three consecutive times! 

After introductions and some fun games, Ms. Brown taught us about a very important person, not Albert Einstein, but rather Alberto Frankenstein. Then we summarized what we learned about him by writing a paragraph. I almost started sleeping because of all the stuff about Alberto Frankenstein—I mean, you know who. 

I got my binder out and started writing about him when everyone else did. There are 1, 2, 3, 20 kids! If I needed help with grammar, I looked at my English book.  The time to finish that paragraph was about 30 minutes. After that, we did Science. We conducted an experiment to learn how the Sun transfers energy to any living thing.

Then we wrote about the experience in our science binder and looked for more information in our science book. 

After that, it was snack time. Mami packed me strawberries, which are very sweet and juicy. I sat outside on the bench with no one on it and read a bit on my schedule. 

First, we did the humanities and English, and then had a snack. Then, science, after that, math, then social studies, then lunch, and then two blocks of homework time. After that, it is afternoon break. Lastly, we have a silent reading time at the end of the day, and then we go home. We have an exact schedule every day, but sometimes we have extra classes, such as P.E., Art, Music, and Computer Science, which cut into some of our time with Mrs. Brown. Then my Mami picks me up after school. Monday is our only day with Mrs. Clara Brown.

Chapter 3: Inara Hansley

Suddenly, I saw someone standing on the bench right next to me. “Who are you?”

I asked the stranger next to me. “Oh, sorry, my name is Inara Hansley. I see you're looking at my hair. Oh yeah! It is real. Anyhow, I am new to Nelspontiriqua Elementary School. I come from Italy, where there is yummy pizza and pasta. I’m also half American. I also love the color pink. I was super bored, not to mention alone. I saw you and thought we could hang out together. I know the bell is going to…” — DING A DING A DING A DING!!! 

“Aufasta Marley, quit it out of the sandbox! Jameson Rom, stop playing soccer! Oliva Lua, pay attention to the bell!” Coach Sinister (as it was written on her name tag) yelled extremely loudly. Those kids ran fast to their line. Coach Sinister glared at them while they passed. Inara continued, “...ring soon so we can’t chat any longer, but I thought I could introduce myself."

"I also have a question: Did you also immigrate to California from another country? What is your name?” Asked Inara super fast. 

“Oh, nice! My name is Sunniva Elsher, and is your name Inara Hansley? That is the only thing I got from you. Sorry, there’s too much noise. The bell just rang, so we can’t chat any longer, but we could chat later, when I’m free. So bye-bye!” I told Inara. Inara shrugged and walked to the line behind me. 

Mrs. Clara Brown led the line to the classroom, and we all followed her. Inara is actually in the same grade as me, but I didn’t even notice her. She has blond hair with a streak of pink and green eyes. She wears white diamond earrings and a cute white necklace. Her dress was pink and she wore jazzy white pants. 

She had cute pink flowers in her hair, and she wore gray shoes.

Anyway, I need to focus on math because it is one of my most complicated subjects. “1-2-3- eyes on me!” Mrs. Clara Brown announced. Everyone screamed, “1-2 EYES ON YOU!!!” 

“Love the energy class, but do you mind toning it down?” Mrs. Clara Brown asked politely. “Sorry, Mrs. Brown.” Everyone apologized heartily. “It’s okay, class, I’m only saying this for your well-being,” Mrs. Clara Brown said kindly. “Okay, so you all learnt adding and subtracting decimals, isn’t that right?” “Yes, Mrs. Brown, we all learnt that math, well, I did,” Inara responded. 

Then Inara looked at me in my eyes and had a smile on her face. I needed to focus, so I looked away. Then the other kids looked at me, so I just blocked that out by ignoring them. Then Mrs. Clara Brown said, “Great, Inara honey, let me note that down…so we’re going to learn about ratios! Ratios compare the amounts of different groups, and then there is a colon in between." 

"Now I want you to write that down in your math notebook.” There was a 2-minute pause, then Mrs. Clara Brown spoke again, “Now here is an example of a ratio… 6:9. There are six pencils to 9 books. That is how a ratio works. Now… uh… Sunniva!  Give me a ratio word problem to write on the whiteboard for everyone to answer.” My ears opened. I fumbled when speaking, “Guh…Guh…Grapes! There are 11 grapes in my lunch box, then uhh…uhh…Inara took 8…what is the ratio now?”

“Excellent, Sunniva! Everyone writes the problem and solves it. 

Inara tapped me on my left shoulder and whispered, “Hi, Saunnvi! Thank you for saying my name in the problem…uh…er… any…er…ways…I am curious to know your mother's phone number so that we can contact each other. Here’s mine. You can give me yours when I come to your house today.” I so badly wanted to say it’s ‘Sunniva! Soon-eva… SUNNIVA!’ 

But I just ignored her and took the sticky note. In messy handwriting, it was written, +1 (663)-(215)- (9845). I stuck it on my backpack and continued working. She continued working too. School went on, and on, and eventually, it was time to go home. I was getting late because of finishing this certain paper, an extra assignment Mrs. Clara Brown wanted me to complete. 

So, as soon as I got home and opened the door, I saw a woman who looked like Inara and my Mami talking at the table. My mom said, “So AI is what helps people with many things, right?” “Yes, Arianna. It helped me figure out Google was hiring. AI was extremely useful in helping me edit my resume, and enabling me to make targeted changes. Google noticed me, accepted my resume in 2017, and put me in the Google Search role.

Chapter 4: Adults 

“Sì, mamma, Grazie!” Inara responded with an Italian accent, too. Inara was in her school dress. What? Inara’s mom and Inara were both fluent in Italian. Shock Wave! Inara’s mom wore a long brown coat with a white top inside. She wore gray sports pants. She had short hair and a green tattoo below her neck that said: Angela with a heart. On her arm, there was a tattoo that said love in Italian, I think. 

“Mami, why is Inara here!?” I whispered silently. “Sunniva, just relax! Her mother called me and then asked if she could come and get to know me, so her daughter, Inara, would make more friends. "Soon, I climbed up and up and became a COO. I moved here to continue my path of leading. We found Inara a school and decided California was the best place for us. Non è vero, Inara?” Inara’s mom continued with an Italian accent.

"How could I say no? So I gave them tea and my signature biscuits.” Mami whispered. 

“Hi Saunnvi, do you want to play tag, bake cupcakes, read books, or play with your dolls if you have any?” Inara asked me. “See Mami, she doesn't even know my name!” I whispered. Mami nudged me forward, giving me a cue to answer back. 

“"Okay, sure, maybe, but my name is not Saunnvi. It is Sunniva. We could bake something, maybe!" Inara’s mother, Angela Hansley, suggested, “Darling, why don’t we all go on a walk. We can learn more about this neighborhood since we’re moving to this street. Sunniva’s mother told me the neighborhood is pretty beautiful.” “Oh my god, that is a splendid idea, Mamma.” said Inara.

Inara hugged her with happiness for that specific idea. In my mind, I didn’t want to go, because I had just come back from a long day of school. I signaled to Mami. I said, Blink Blink Blink Snap: “Mother, no way, it’s boring.”  Mami said, Snap Snap Stomp Stomp: “Honey, they are nice.”  “

Then it’s settled. We’ll join you right now.” Mami told Inara’s mother. Angela said, “Great, Inara, why don’t you start putting your coat and boots on?” Inara nodded and put on her pink and sparkly coat.  “Sunniva dear, you should join Inara,” Mami told me. I responded with a raised eyebrow: Fine. Inara’s mother wondered what that language was, even if it was a language at all. She thought it might be a rhythm we are creating. I put on my coat.

Chapter 5: Definition of a Friend

“So Sunniva, do you want to help me with my assignment?" I can help you with yours,” said Inara. “Mrs. Brown loves it when people help each other; she even said it.” Inara was super happy. “Fine, let’s do the walk first,” I responded sluggishly. “Absolutely!” Inara answered me, super excited. I sighed and waited for the mothers to put on their coats outside. So we all took our first step into the streets.

The mothers were right behind us on our walk. They encouraged us to talk and have a good time. I thought I would not say anything, but Inara asked me, “So, do you not like ants?” Mother wanted me to respond, so I asked her, “What makes you say that?” 

Inara told me, “You just stepped on one right before I asked that question.” I was so grossed out, so I whispered, “ Wow, you’re so observant, but anyways, couldn’t you have told me sooner?” Luckily, Inara didn’t hear anything.  Eventually, after walking for hours, we arrived at the closest beach. Inara kept on yapping and yapping. 

Trust me, I didn’t hear a single word. I always responded with, “Yep, that makes sense!” One thing I heard right now was, “A BEACH! Do you want to build a sand castle?” “Fine, just don’t throw sand at me,”  I said.

Inara laughed and ran towards the sand and found a large red bucket. She filled the large bucket with piles of wet sand and started building it. She giggled at how bad it looked initially, but never gave up. 

She asked me to join her, and I couldn’t believe that I had so much fun when I built sand castles with Inara. She threw sand at my feet and my face, so I threw so much sand at her. It was so fun. Eventually, I excused myself from the sand-throwing party and asked my Mami to look up something on her violet phone. Mami searched for the exact thing I wanted, but wrote “Kids definition.” She looked up, “Definition of a friend.” What Google had written, and she simplified it for me. She said, “People, you can have fun with.” 

I just realized that Inara is my friend. I joined the building of the sand castle and didn’t care about my friendship problem. It was so much fun. We managed to find a pink flag and a shovel, so we tried our best to make use of those limited items. I collected the sand while Inara took a shovel and patted the sides of what she built. Occasionally, I helped make the castle if Inara’s hands were hurting or if I was bored doing my job.

In the end, I was so tired, and so was Inara. We looked at each other, so happy about the creation. 

The castle looked large, and it had many tiny buildings that had a little, curvy, spiky line on top. We put the flag on top, and it looked really cool. Just as we were about to leave with our mothers, who were on the sand talking about their jobs or their hopes for the future, a man stopped us with his words, “You two made this castle? You are so young. Spectacular and stunning. I would love for you both to compete in the competition I’m hosting tomorrow. At first, I was confused about whether it was us that he was talking to, but when he addressed us again, we knew it was us. We were so happy that we asked our own mothers if we could compete, and they said simultaneously, “Yes, a wonderful opportunity to show your talents.” 

“When is the competition?” Inara asked respectfully. “5:00-7:00, tomorrow on this beach, and I’ll be one of the judges. First place is a trophy, second place is a medal, and lastly, third place is a certificate. You’re surely going to win if you keep the hard work up.” 

The mysterious man told us. I asked, “What is your name?” “My name is George Carter. Here is my business card.” The man said. He gave us a small, thick card with numerous blue elements on it and a logo featuring a smiley face. Cute! The man went, and Inara and I looked at each other. It seemed like one of the best opportunities to play with a friend and participate in a fun contest. We walked back, and Inara slept at my house. It was a sleepover! Yay! I was a new person. Good night. (Snoring) 

I woke up and changed into a ragged, black, and red sweater. I wore a white t-shirt inside and dark jeans on the bottom. I wore my socks as I headed downstairs with Inara. Inara wore a dress with one sleeve and a dusty sweater with grey socks. So modern! Well, she grew up in Italy, so duh! She didn’t bother to comb her hair properly; she just let it go. It was so short. We begged my Mami if we could skip school because we had a competition and we needed to practice. That is not a very good reason, so I was convinced Mami would just tell me you have time in the evening. 

Mami responded, saying, “I can say yes, if that means you’ll bond with each other, oh, and also NO devices.” Inara said, “Yes, Sunniva’s mom, we will follow your rules. 

Let’s bake a cake with frosting, sprinkles, and so on.” Mami giggled and showed me a thumbs up as Inara pulled me away to the kitchen counter to bake the cake. I saw Mami text my teacher that Inara and I were not attending school. We were excited, and we eventually decided to make a chocolate cake. 

We took the ingredients from the various drawers and cupboards and started baking. Inara bakes a lot of snacks, so she knew how to make the cake. We were too lazy to blend with our hands, so we planned to use a blending machine but…BLEUGH! You don’t want to know what happened once we did that. She first told me to put the flour into the large bowl. I took the flour and dumped it on her head. “Well, that’s literally what I heard: 'Dump the flour’,” I told Inara. Inara laughed and threw chocolate chips at me, and I started eating the chocolate chips while we were baking. The kitchen was a mess, with everything happening. Mom came in just in time for us to duck behind the counter. “Girls!!! Where are you? You’re cleaning this baking disaster!" said Mami. 

"Burada mülkiyete saygı yok! Ne düşünüyordum Sunniva! Aman Tanrım, bu çok fazla iş olacak!” She was speaking in Turkish, and I could understand. Inara couldn’t stop giggling. We laughed as soon as Mami left. I told Inara that Mami said, “There is no respect for property here! What was I thinking, Sunniva? Oh my goodness, this is going to be a lot of work!”.  We cleaned up, and we also played for a long time. 

The entire baking experience took the entire morning and half of the afternoon. We started at 8:00 and finished at 2:00. We seriously needed to start practicing. We saw how the cake looked and started laughing at how wonky and hideous the cake looked.

Mami asked, “Can I eat the cake?” We gave Mami a little, started getting ready by reading books about building sand castles, and encouraged and motivated each other to win. Eventually, we both felt ready and started getting ready by wearing our best clothes.

Inara got some clothes yesterday before she came to my house. She always likes preparing. I wore a T-shirt that said, “Be Brave!” and the colors of it were red and yellow, and I also wore dark blue jeans. Inara wore a blue T-shirt and light blue jeans. Inara’s mother would join us there. Mami and Inara’s mother were the only people watching. You don’t need tickets because everyone will come to the beach. We all got our coats and left with a positive spirit. We were determined to win.

"..In a few minutes, we’ll be there" said Mami. 

Chapter 6: Friends and Fights

We met Inara’s mother, and we all went to the competition area. There were a lot of chairs and everyone was almost ready. All the contestants started building as soon as the referee gave the signal. 

Inara and I used our materials wisely. The materials were a shovel, a flag, and a metal thing. I really wanted to do more of the building, so I started doing the opposite of what Inara asked me to do. None of us used the metal thing, a bucket, by the way. 

Inara got mad because everything started falling, and the base of the castle was ruined and smashed. Inara became so angry that it seemed like she was one of the over-competitive people. She told me politely, “Sunniva, I was the reason we even got that proposal. So let me do what I do best. Okay?” Okay, maybe not that politely. I wanted to build something and not just collect the sand. So I started building another castle and thought I would connect it to Inara’s 1-player castle. Inara just started destroying my castle from under. 

She only wanted one castle and would be the one doing the best work. I couldn’t do this, so I just got up for a second even though the competition was going on, and I told Mami secretly, “Mami, you want to know what Inara did? She is not letting me do most stuff in our sand castle.” 

“Honey, she probably is also excited to do the building of the sand castle; after all, this is only a competition!” Mami told me. “Only a competition” was constantly repeating in my mind. It’s not only a competition, it's a rare chance to do something other than homework and reading. It is a rare chance to do something fun with a friend. “Even when I tried to help, I destroyed much of it. So I just built another one next to hers, planning to connect it.” I whispered to Mami. “Okay, sweety, you both need to collaborate well, like you did the previous day. That’s why you even got to participate in this competition today. I want you to be friends. Good friends. Do something that will bring you both tons of joy.” Mami gave me a pep talk. 

“Oh, I know what you want Inara and I to do. We could destroy both of our sand castles together. Bye! Thank you for the pep-talk.” I ran away, excited to destroy both of our sand castles together. I told Inara, “I’m so sorry for what I did, but let's–” “Oh, that is fine–” Inara interrupted. “Thank you, but let's DESTROY!” I said with pleasure. I destroyed Inara’s sand castle, and I was about to destroy mine when I asked Inara, “Why are you not destroying our sand castles? I'll save mine for you to destroy.”

I have no idea why, but tears filled Inara’s eyes. She got so mad. She ran away crying right before telling me, “We’ll never be friends. I don’t know why I chose to be your friend, but I’ll never be needy again.” 

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel hurt or know what was wrong. Did I do something? I just blanked out for a moment. “10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-all competitors, this is the end of the competition, please take your hands off. We’ll be announcing the winners.” George Carter told the large crowd. I was excited but also sad that Inara wasn’t here. Inara’s mother left just a few minutes ago, and Mami looked at me with confusion and anger. I just shrugged and looked at George Carter to announce the winners.

Instead, he just walked around with a notepad in his pale hands. He took notes on each sand castle. We might get one of the places; thankfully, mine is not destroyed, thankfully. 

George looked at mine and gave a thumbs up and a bewildered look. He scanned everyone else's castles and announced,“ So, for our 3rd place, we have Chloe Siana and Bhamini Drishya. For 2nd place, the judges all decided to give Kiara Dhenyala and Yasmin Leia the prize. For our first place, the judges proudly give Sunniva Elsher and Inara Hansley the prize.” I was super happy and ran to the line to collect the prize. As I was in line, I saw how everyone’s castles looked. Marvelous, I thought. When the judges gave me the prize, I took a photo. Mami couldn’t help but smile at me winning the prize, even though she was angry. George Carter whispered to me, “I knew you would win.” I was so happy and ran to Mami with my trophy. It had a sand castle in gold color, standing on top of a brick in gold color. On the bottom it said, “First prize.”  

Mami asked me, “Why did Inara go home?” “I prefer not to talk about it.”  I told Mami. I was thinking about how much fun we had together. I chose not to focus on Inara getting angry. We walked home just as the moon shone its brightest. I went to sleep in an okay mood.

Chapter 7: Alone In School

I finally realized what Inara meant when I got to school the next day. I was all by myself until the bell rang. I went inside, sat at my desk, and looked sorrowful at the teacher for her instructions. I knew what it's like to be a young kid with no friends. It’s sort of sad to see that I had no friends and was just alone this entire time, TK-5th grade. Everyone started with English as always, but something peculiar happened. Mrs. Clara Brown called Inara and me to talk separately. I thought the teacher would get mad at us, but she said, “Inara and Sunniva, yesterday you were not here."

    So I have a packet that has everything we learned yesterday. You both were the only ones who were absent. I guess everyone was excited for the second day. I would like you to complete it individually, but you may ask each other for help. I prefer that you both sit inside the Corner House. It’ll have a large whiteboard with markers and a few chairs and desks. Okay?” I said, “Okay, I’ll ensure I finish the packet.” Inara said sadly, “Okay.” We both went into the Corner House. It was in the left corner of the room. 

    The room was so clean as if no one had ever used it. It was also not that large. The room was exactly how Mrs. Clara Brown described it: “Large whiteboard with markers and a couple of chairs and desks.” I sat down at one of the desks while Inara sat down at a desk that was very far from mine.

 I started working on the packet right after I wrote my long name, S-U-N-N-I-V-A. Oh, and the date, August 21, 2025. The first question, which was English, was pretty easy. I kept on answering all the questions until I got stumped. Then I would write it on the board and use my skills to help me. I knew that Inara wasn’t going to talk to me FOREVER! I think I need to get prepared for my new life. Why! Inara looked like she was struggling. I wanted to help her. But every time I tried to say something, something pushed me back. I just wanted my friend, Inara, back. Please! I finished quicker than Inara, went to the classroom, and tried to follow what the teacher was saying. 

Chapter 8: Mom Talk

I missed Inara. I needed to get back to my friend. But how? I could see how I would have hurt her. I wanted to tell her that I won first prize in the sandcastle competition. I continued attending school until it finally ended. It felt long—all those sad hours without Inara. I returned to my house on my bike, and then my Mami prepared some of her signature biscuits, just for me. I sat down on the closest chair and started eating my biscuits. Mami saw me and sat next to me and told me, “Let’s talk.” “Sweety, this doesn’t seem right. You and Inara were very close recently, and now you’re not? I want you to narrate everything that has been happening to you. I’m going to make sure you become friends with Inara again. She’s the right friend for you. Now, begin your friendship again.”

 I didn’t know where to begin; I was so grateful that Mami was helping me. I needed someone to guide me on the right path. Mami was the one. So I started narrating, “Okay, Mami, I don’t have many friends, and I thought being alone was great. Then one day, I met Isla Jones and wanted to be friends with her. I told her, “I like your dress today. Often you don’t dress well.” “She got so offended by that and just walked away and never talked to me again. So ever since that happened, I thought I shouldn’t have friends.” Mami looked at me, confused, and started bursting out laughing. I ignored the laughter and continued narrating, 

“Then I met Inara and found her super annoying. I didn’t like her because she kept on acting too–” I was thinking about Inara’s face when she was mad.“Needy. Needy means someone who acts like a high-maintenance person, wants your attention all the time, and does everything they can to maintain a friendship. She kept yapping. Pretty annoying.” 

“That’s why I wanted you to become friends with her. After you become friends with her, I thought she’d become less needy, and you’ll have a lovely time and learn to make new friends. I knew you didn’t have friends, and I wanted you to try making a new friend in Inara.” Mami explained to me. I nodded in unison and started speaking again.

“Needy. Yes, so I started acting not too nice. Then I realized I should be kinder and make more friends. Then I became friends with her and realized what true friendship is. Then the sand competition came up, and we had a large fight and decided not to become friends again. I didn’t do anything! I just told her that we should destroy our castles together." I said.

I destroyed hers, and I was waiting for her to destroy mine so that we could rebuild again, but she just left crying!” I told Mami.

“Ever since that happened, we haven’t talked or done anything together. Then I just returned home today to have your signature biscuits!” I told Mami.  “Okay, Mami, I never thought…” Mami interrupted, “Okay, honey, that is enough. I think I know what the problem is. I want to tell you what you could improve on. You and Inara were arguing. That’s what friends have to do all the time." 

"Aunt Christina and I always argue and sometimes disagree about silly things, like what movie to watch, what ice cream flavor is better, and many other things. What is important is that you don’t dwell on those arguments or disagreements and figure out how to move forward. Don’t keep on remembering what that person did to you or what you did to them. Try to communicate better. You can be the mature one, you know?"