kind of melts internally

Also can I just add that I'm not a huge fan of the new cover? So it'll be changing AGAIN soon.

[unedited]

Walking back to her room, Natasha wondered if, well, perhaps it'd just be better...

No, Natasha told herself. It would destroy everything you've worked for. Everything she'd spent years stressing over. But it was hard to convince herself. Amethyst--she looked so free. So happy. And if Natasha...

Natasha tried to push the thought out of her head. Even Amethyst was focusing on homework now. She should too. But then again, art extracurriculars did look great on resumes. And, well, Natasha had always liked--

"Natasha?"

Natasha jumped and turned. Her mother was standing behind her, glaring.

"Why aren't you studying?" her mother demanded.

"I--I--I just had to--" Natasha fumbled for an excuse, but "I had to apologise to our guest after she blamed me for reading too many murder mysteries" didn't seem like the right thing to say, so she simply settled on, "Sorry."

"And so you should be."

Mrs. Summerville's eyes narrowed and she pulled a piece of paper out from behind her back. Natasha's heart sank as she realized what it was. Her creative writing assignment.

The red B on the page shone like a lighthouse for Mrs. Summerville and her daughter. Natasha bit her lip as she remembered the last time she'd gotten a B. It had most certainly not been a happy day.

"Do you want to explain this?" Mrs. Summerville prompted. Natasha's eyes darted around the hall.

"Sorry?" she tried.

"This is because of Amethyst, isn't it?" Mrs. Summerville snapped.

"N-no," Natasha sputtered, shocked. "Why would it be--"

"I knew she was a bad influence." Mrs. Summerville's eyes narrowed as she tossed the test paper to Natasha. "Go to your principal tomorrow morning and tell him that you're not willing to host Amethyst anymore."

Natasha gasped. "What?"

"You heard me."

Mrs. Summerville glanced at her reflection in the window, then motioned for Natasha to go back to her room before heading off in the other direction.

Natasha stood, open-mouthed, in the hallway before shaking it off and hurrying into her room. She closed the door quietly behind her and sat down on her bed, staring at the B on the paper in her hands.

Her mother wanted to get rid of Amethyst? Amethyst was a bad influence? Well, on one hand, Natasha was annoyed by Amethyst, but she could only imagine how Amethyst would feel if she was told she had to leave. And then...there was the fact that Natasha might've been starting to bond with Amethyst.

Do you think Natasha will actually do it? Will this break Natasha's and Amethyst's "bond"? Are they starting to become friends?

~ writesthetic