Two updates today because I feel bad for my inconsistency :)
It felt as though the organized line of 1 through 4's had walked into a tornado. The moment they passed through the threshold of the cafeteria, the littlest of the littles were seemingly swallowed up by the nearly-hundred "older" littles that shared the lunch space.
While her classmates treated this as normal, Evie was overwhelmed immediately, wishing she was back in the peaceful safety of her classroom. Or, better yet, with her Mama and Mommy. Within seconds she had lost sight of Shay and Vera, feeling completely alone in the sea of little bodies that surrounded her. It didn't take long for the tears to come as she stood unmoving in the onslaught.
That is, until she heard a familiar voice followed by a hand grabbing hers.
"Evie!" Bella exclaimed excitedly. "Come on, you can sit with my friends and I!"
With tears having just started streaming down her face, Evie blindly followed her older "cousin" as she guided them to one of the several long cafeteria tables.
"My friends are coming too, you can meet them!" Bella said as they sat, oblivious to the fact that Evie was wiping the tear stains off of her face.
Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her cousin's older friends, Evie was quick to compose herself, trying to act a bit older than she felt so that she could fit in.
"Ew, this pizza looks fucking gross." Said a disgruntled voice to no one in particular coming from a girl who sat next to Evie. Another pair of girls sat across the table. These must be Bella's friends. It seemed like they didn't even notice her sitting there.
Bella cut through their curseword-ridden conversation, "Guys, this is my cousin I was telling you about, Evie. Evie, this is Lucy and Julien," she introduced, pointing to the girls across from her, "And that's Phoebe next to you."
The trio of older girls stared at her vaguely.
"The little little cousin?" Asked Lucy in a tone that didn't make Evie feel all that welcome at the lunch table.
Bella nodded, not noticing the hostility towards her cousin as she bit into her slice of pizza.
"Why's she sitting with us?" Asked Phoebe harshly, "Shouldn't she be with the babies?"
Her question earned mean snickers from Julien and Lucy across the table.
"She's my cousin and it's her first day. Cut her some slack, you guys," Bella said, finally coming to her cousin's aid.
"Whatever," said Phoebe dismissively, "As long as she doesn't cry around us."
Evie felt hurt by the degrading words of Bella's friends. She wished she hadn't lost Shay and Vera in the crowd, and wondered if they were looking for her in the crowd of littles.
Bella and her friends conversed throughout the lunch period in complete disregard that Evie was even sitting there. They went so far as to make fun of Evie's class right in front of her, calling them "the baby class" and "the diaper wetters."
Evie began to feel sad, angry, and lonely at the same time. Eventually muttering to herself, "I don't even wear diapers."
"What was that?" Phoebe asked unkindly, even though she had heard clearly what the younger girl had said.
Feeling fed up about her situation, Evie refused to back down. "I said I don't wear diapers." She answered with an angry huff.
"Ohhh, we have a big girl on our hands, huh?" Said Phoebe sarcastically.
YOU ARE READING
A Big Kind of Little Love
RomanceEvie Jacobs always found it difficult to exist in the human world. Well into her twenties, she was struggling to fit in as an adult. Failing to find jobs, unable to form meaningful relationships, and having an all-around hard time enjoying her life...
