Team8s and Counting

134. When Worlds Collide

"No way. You became friends with a fourth grader?" Flare asked Thread at lunch time, with a huge grin on her face.

Thread was surprised to see Flare so excited. If anything, she thought that Flare would be jealous that she had another friend. "Yeah, her name is Bookmark. I met her in group with Dr. Horn."

"That's awesome!" Flare exclaimed. "My moms told me that it's considered 'cool' to be friends with older kids, and that I should strive to become popular."

"Oh." Thread said quietly. "I didn't know it was important to become popular."

Flare's eyes widened, "My moms said it's very important. Otherwise, you'll get excluded as you get older."

Thread's expression softened as she listened to Flare talk about her moms' advice. She didn't know much about popularity or fitting in, but the idea of being excluded made her stomach churn. She had always been different, ever since her accident, and finding friends who didn't mind her wheelchair was already hard enough. Now, hearing Flare talk about popularity made her wonder if things were going to get harder as they got older.

"I guess I never really thought about that," Thread said slowly, glancing down at her lap. "Why does it matter so much?"

Flare shrugged, "That's just what my moms told me." Flare decided that she'd had enough talking about popularity. "So when do I get to meet this Bookmark girl?"

"We have the same recess as her today," Thread remembered. "Maybe I can introduce her to you!"

Flare's eyes widened, "Really? Cool!"

Thread took another bite of her food, "I do have to warn you. Bookmark...she can be a bit shy at first. But once you get to know her she's awesome!"

"That's fine with me," Flare said with a confident grin. "I'll get her to open up. I'm pretty good at that."

Thread smiled at Flare's enthusiasm, feeling a little more at ease about the idea of her two friends meeting. She wasn't sure how things would go, but at least Flare seemed excited, which was a good sign.

When recess finally came around, Thread wheeled herself over to the usual spot where Bookmark liked to hang out—by the swings, where she'd often sit quietly, watching the other kids play. Sure enough, there she was, sitting on the edge of the sandbox, her eyes focused on the ground as she absentmindedly drew little patterns in the sand with her finger.

"Hey, Bookmark!" Thread called out, waving as she approached.

Bookmark looked up, her eyes lighting up when she saw Thread. "Hey, Thread!" she said softly, smiling as she pushed herself up to a standing position.

Flare, bouncing on her heels, waved excitedly. "Hi, I'm Flare! Thread's friend."

Bookmark was unsure what to think of this Flare girl. She seemed very...out there, the polar opposite of Bookmark, but surely, if she's a friend of Thread's, she should be nice. "Um...hi." She said shyly.

Thread could tell that Bookmark was a little uncertain of Flare, so she tried to bridge the gap between the two. "Don't worry, Flare is very nice, Bookmark. She just has a lot of energy, but once you get to know her, she's really fun," Thread reassured her, giving Bookmark an encouraging smile.

Flare felt bad that she was scaring Bookmark, so she knelt down to her level and tried to connect with her better. "I'm sorry if I'm too loud. I just really want to be friends with you too! Thread's told me so much about you!"

Bookmark blinked in surprise, feeling a little more at ease now that Flare had toned down her energy. She glanced at Thread, who nodded encouragingly, and then back at Flare. "Really? What did she say?"

Thread chuckled, leaning forward slightly in her wheelchair. "I told her about how nice you were to me once we got to know each other in group with Dr. Horn. I also told her about how crafty you were; just look at this friendship bracelet you made for me!" Thread held out her wrist, proudly showing off the friendship bracelet Bookmark made for her.

Bookmark's face softened as she saw Thread showing off the bracelet. "Oh, yeah, we made those at my house last week!"

"Wait, you two hang out outside of school?" Flare asked. "We should totally hang out sometime, all three of us!"

Bookmark smiled. "I'll have to ask my mom and mimi, but I'm sure they'll say yes!"

Flare tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry...What's...a mimi?"

Bookmark answered her question. "Oh right, I forget that not everyone has a mimi. Their my other parent, like a mom or a dad but...different. They're nonbinary."

"Oh yeah, my moms told me about that before!" Flare said. "That's so cool!"

Bookmark felt a wave of relief wash over her as Flare responded so positively. She had been worried about how Flare might react to her family situation, but now she saw that it wasn't a big deal at all.

"Thanks," Bookmark said softly, feeling more comfortable. "They're awesome. I think you'd really like them."

Flare grinned widely. "I bet I would! It's so cool that we're all getting to know each other. We should definitely plan a hangout day!"

Thread, happy to see her friends getting along, nodded. "We can figure something out soon! I'll ask my parents if you two can come over soon!"

Bookmark smiled, feeling a growing excitement at the thought of spending more time with her new friends. "That sounds great! We can do crafts or play games at my house. My mom and Mimi always have cool stuff for us to do."

Flare clapped her hands together, her excitement overflowing. "Yes! I love games, and I've always wanted to learn how to make friendship bracelets. I'll ask my moms tonight too!"

Thread nodded eagerly, feeling proud of how well this introduction had gone. She had been nervous about bringing her two friends together, but seeing them bond made her feel like everything was falling into place. "It's going to be so fun. I'm really glad we're all becoming friends."

As the kids were all gathered by their teachers at the end of recess, Bookmark, looking between Thread and Flare, felt a warmth inside her that she hadn't expected. Making new friends was always hard, but with Thread and now Flare, she felt like maybe, just maybe, she could belong.

.....................................................

Not the most exciting chapter, but definitely an important one. Of course I never forgot about Flare, I don't know why everyone though that lol.  I'm really excited for you to get to see more of these three in the future!

Also, I've been thinking about doing something like a Team8s and Counting discord server (or some other chat thing). I really want to interact with this amazing fanbase that this book has, let me know if it's something you're interested in!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

- Sunny