Yarn in the yard (MrMista)

People filed by and eventually disappeared, leaving Bea alone in the yard for a few minutes. She enjoyed the fresh air and the relative quiet, and worked away on the little pig cheerfully. She was aware that someone was watching, but paid her no heed at first - she was used to people giving her weird looks. She would go away, eventually
Except she didn't. After a few minutes, Bea looked up, and noticed the younger girl. She greeted her with a bright smile on her face; there was no need to assume someone would be a bully until she'd proven herself one. Bea waved with one hand holding the yarn. 
"Hello! I'm Bea. Do you like crafts? I'm crocheting a pig. Wanna take a look?" 

The girl looked a little hesitant as she walked towards Bea. Bea was not sure why - she did not generally think of herself as an intimidating person, and people approached her with curiosity, kindness, or - in the worst case - mild annoyance, like her brothers. But she had never seen anyone who felt the reason to be timid around her... 
"I'm Ester," she finally said, her voice quiet, barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry I stared for so long. You're so good with your yarn. I just couldn't look away."
Bea smiled and scooted over to allow a seat on the bench for the girl
"Hi Esther! I'm Bea. It's okay, I don't mind you looking." she held up the half-made pig and the yarn "It's actually a lot easier than it looks! I can teach you... I can do some other animals too, but pigs are easier because they are just fat and round..."  

“You would teach me?... I would love to learn, but… I can’t ask you to do that for me. I can’t give you anything in return, and that would make me nothing but a taker. I think… it’s better if I just watch you work. What other animals can you make?”

Bea blinked, and then scooted over t offer Esther a place to sit. The girl was a little strange, and maybe a little shy, but Bea didn't mind. Strange was okay, and shy would go away once they made friends. Bea was good at making friends.


"You don't have to give me anything" she assured her cheerfully "It is just a lot more fun to make things together with someone else, you know? I don't mind the quiet, but it is nicer to talk."

Her fingers kept working as she spoke, looping the yarn around the crochet hook and making new rows around the pig's fat belly. 


"I can make simple things. I can make a pig, and a hedgehog. I can also make a lizard. It can also be a dragon, but the wings are a bit tricky. And I can make an armadillo, but I am not sure how accurate it looks, because I have never seen a real one. Have you?"

>>“You’re too kind... And simple? You’re way too modest. You’re definitely a pro. I bet you could even make yourself some money selling your creations if they’re all as perfect as this pig. And don’t worry, I don’t think anyone around here has seen an armadillo.”

Bea beamed brightly at thr compliment, and scooted over to make enough space for Esther on the bench. She seemed like a nice girl, and Bea was truly touched by her compliments on her work. Sell them?... She had never thought about selling the little animals, she usually just handed them out to her friends or family - making them was its own reward, and it kept her busy during school breaks and whenever she did not have something better to do. But still, it was a nice idea. Perhaps she could sell some to make money for sewing supplies, so she would not have to ask Mom and ruin the surprise...

She chuckled at the comment about the armadillo. 

"That is probably true... They are supposed to be able to curl up, into a bowl, so I only stuff them halfway, and you can roll them up in their shell." 

To prove her point, she fished another toy out of her bag, this one a little alrged than the pig, and covered in a shell made of a different colored yarn. Bea rested the half-done pig on her knees to show Esther how the armadillo was supposed to curl up.

"See?" 

She now hand a hand-sized yarn ball in her palms, which she soon handed over to Esther with a chuckle so that she could try for herself, and returned to woring on the pig.

"Besides, I am sure you are good at things too. If you want to trade, i could teach you how to make these, and you could teach me something I am not good at? I like learning things." 

In Bea's world, everybody was good at something.

(328 words)

“Well, I’m nowhere near as good at sewing as you are at this, but maybe I can teach you a bit about it. I bet you’ll be a natural.” 

Bea's eyes lit up at the offer. It was not just from the excitement of a new friendship, the promise of time spent together, and the potential of new things to learn; it was also a genuine glimmer of interest, something Esther just happened on by accident, but something that seemed as a rare gift to the girl none the less.

Bea had been taking secret sewing lessons with Bobby for a little while now; he taught her the basics of setting up and using a machine. She hoped that she would learn well enough that she could sew surprises for her brothers and parents. The problem was, as much as she liked working with Bobby and learning from him, that he had limited time next to his job, and also limited access to the machine they had been using. Bea could pick up the basics on the scraps and things she salvaged, but her practice was sporadic, and left a lot to be desired. Esther's suggestion offered a glimmer of hope that she could have another way of practicing and learning...

"That sounds great!... I mean, really. Great. I have been learning to sew, a little, but... it is harder than yarn work, and needs more... learning. But I want to, because I am interested in... making clothes. And things."

As open as Bea was with people, she guarded her hopes of fashion design closely. She knew that when it came to making it, even just within the District, as a designer of any sort, she herself was seen at best as an unlikely candidate...

"I mean, if you don't mind, and you have the time... I'd be happy to trade. Hm?"

Bea beamed at Esther. She hoped the other girl would take the deal. Combining yarn work with sewing was an interesting prospect. Especially if one also got to make a friend.

(314 words)

“Yes... I’d love to. I’m free any time in the afternoon... If you’d like we can meet up right after school. You choose where you want us to practice... Well, as long as you’re free then.”

 
Bea beamed at her brand new friend; the only thing better than making brand new friends, at least in her book, was getting to spend time with said friends. Bea was generally pretty free in her free time; having three older brothers who were working age meant that there were not many chores left for her, unless Mom wanted help with something that was specifically "women's work." Having three brothers also meant that Bea was quite spoiled.

She nodded enthusiastically at Esther's offer, before she even stopped to think about the details. Bea was generally good at keeping track of her duties and plans, and if she even had anything planned for this afternoon, it was the kind of hobby work that could be cancelled.  

"Yes, I am free... I mean I'll have to go home and get my things, and tell Mom I'll be off, but I'm free. But... I don't have a sewing machine or anything. I have been practicing with a friend, but his machine is not his own... I also need to learn to hand-sew, though..."

(180 words)