Romellura
"That sucks, man. Let me know if there's anything I can do." Her friends had said. That's what they all said. But none of them meant it. Romelle kicked a box angrily. Then she kicked it again. She just kept kicking and kicking until her foot hurt, and then she kicked some more.
"Be quiet, Romelle. I'm trying to read." Bandor said from his side of the room.
"You should be unpacking, Bandor."
"Into what? None of our furniture is here. It's not like I can just throw my clothes on your mattress."
"At least do something!"
"Dear god. What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know." Romelle said angrily.
"Then stop yelling at me to do things!"

Bandor and Romelle has been fighting a lot lately. They were very close most of the time, but moving across the country took its toll on everyone. Bandor liked reading and sitting in the garden. He was happy to move away from the city. Romelle, however, quite enjoyed the hustle and bustle that city life had to offer. The county side was boring. It was nothing. The city was odd hipster restaurants and perfectly placed trees. The country was fire ants and sweaty hands. The city was smiling babies eating paleo bagels. The country was the taste of a paleo bagel.

The move had also been difficult for Romelle's parents. They were fighting often, just as Bandor and Romelle were. It had made Romelle lose hope in ever finding love that was true.

________________________________

Allura tapped her foot as she drew. It was a habit of hers. She simply couldn't help it. It was normal to her, as other habits were normal to others. Allura enjoyed drawing very much. She could capture a moment in the movement of a pen.

Today she was drawing birds. Her favorite was a little green bird in the corner. It reminded her of her friend Pidge, who was also very small and very green. Pidge was green in every sense. She died her hair green, she had bright green eyes, and she recycled everything she could. Pidge would be mad if she found out Allura had compared her to a bird.
"I'm not that short!" Pidge would complain.

Allura put away her pens and walked outside, breathing in the fresh country air. She had always wondered what it would be like to leave this small town and be a part of something bigger. In this town, she felt so alone. Yes, she had Pidge, and she had her mother and father, and her Uncle Coran, but she felt.... incomplete? No, that wasn't the word. She was happy with herself. She was confident that she was the best version of herself. She was internally joyful. She was craving something external.

Unhappy? Perhaps. But her life was good, and she didn't want to seem ungrateful, so unhappy wasn't the perfect term. The truth was, there was not a perfect term to describe how Allura was feeling.

"Father! I'm going to the shops."
"All right, Allura. Be home before dark." Alfor shouted back. Allura walked the long walk to the nearby shops. There was a bakery, a gas station, two thrift shops, a restaurant, a doctors' office, and a small grocery store. It was a very tiny town. Allura knew everyone here. She waved at her childhood friends and nodded politely at her kindergarten teacher, who was also her first grade teacher, and teacher for many years after that. She walked into a thrift shop and said hello to the shopkeeper, who didn't say hello back. Miss Marigold was a bit cold in the morning. And in the afternoon. And at night. Allura would be honest with you, Miss Marigold was not too pleasant a person, no matter what time it was.

Allura looked around the thrift shop and saw someone she hadn't seen before. In a town of 200 people, everyone knew everyone. Meeting someone new was unheard of. The girl wore pink and blue clothes and had flowy blonde hair. She was fiddling with a children's toy. "Hello. Who are you?" Allura asked.
Romelle looked up from the toy and glanced around the shop before pointing to herself in a 'who? Me?' sort of way.
"Yes, you. I haven't seen you before. Did you just move here?"
"Oh! Um, yes, I did. I'm named Romelle."
"I'm Allura. Would you like for me to show you around town? Since you're new here, and all."
Romelle smiled. Maybe the country wasn't so bad after all.