d5 . olivia saw

She’s five, standing at the edge of the sandpit, hands on her hips. A few minutes ago, she’d declared herself queen of this small patch of land, and anyone she didn’t like wasn’t allowed in it. The suns shining above her head and her mothers stopped watching now, too busy talking to one of the other mothers. But that doesn’t bother her, it means she can get away with kicking sand and stomping on Tyler’s castle. He’d called one of the other kids a poopy head yesterday in class and Olivia Saw hated meanies.

It doesn’t take long for her to find herself beside another girl. They looked the same age. She was a girl; Olivia was a girl. She had cute ponytails and was really pretty. Olivia had stared at her, screwing up her nose as she thought. Yeah, she decided, this one.

After a long moment, she had sat herself down beside the girl, huffing as her butt smacked into the sand harder than she had anticipated.

“You and me,” she said, tapping the other girl on the shoulder, “we’re gonna be friends, kay?”

The girl had looked at her, a smile stretching across her lips. “Okay!” She’d exclaimed, no argument or refute, just simple agreement. That was it, all it had taken to create a friendship that would last a lifetime. Olivia had stayed by her side, playing with her until her mother dragged her away. She’d walked away pouting, before yanking free from her mother’s grasp and running as quickly as she could back to her new friend.

Olivia had tripped at the edge of the sandpit, landing face-first in the dirt right in front of the other girl. Looking up, she’d grinned, dirt smeared across cheeks that were rosy and filled with excitement.

“I’m Olivia,” she’d said, stumbling to her feet.

“Y-you… have dirt on your f-face.”

Olivia’s mouth had dropped, the girl sounded different, she didn’t talk the same way as she did or how her mum did. She sounded way cooler. The girl reached forwards wiping the dirt off her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Olivia giggled, the feeling tickling her cheeks.

“I’m B-b-bambi.”

“Like the deer-“ Her mother yanked her off the ground and Olivia let out a loud yelp as she was dragged away. “Bye Bambi!!” She yelled, spinning in her mother’s grasp to wave at her new friend.

“I’ll see ya tomorrow!”

❀ ❀ ❀

She hated school, it was boring and a waste of her time. She already knew what she was going to do as soon as she graduated. Her brown eyes flickered to the clock, another ten minutes before the class would end and she could go and find Bambi. It was annoying that they were a year apart and stuck in different grades. She’d been tempted to fail the year and get held back so that she could be in the same classes as Bambi, but her mum would have none of that nonsense.

Her mum just didn’t get it. Didn’t understand what it was like to have a best friend. They did everything together. As soon as they got out of this school, they were going to open their own business together!

Bambi was the creative one, designing and making dresses and shirts and skirts and all sorts of things. It blew Olivia’s mind, she was more analytical, not the sharpest tool in the shed, but like a little brighter than Bambi. Maybe not brighter, but not quite so naïve. She wasn’t that smart, BUT she had come up with a really cool plan on where to open up their boutique.

She glanced down at her bag, papers stacked neatly inside, ready to give her presentation to Bambi. They were walking home together tonight, and Olivia had planned it all out, the exact route so they’d walk past the vacant block. She had pictures she’d drawn (not very well) of a shop nestled in between the buildings on either side. The pros -and only pros- of opening their cute little shop there together.

The bell finally rang and Olivia jumped from her chair, swinging her bag onto her back before charging out of the class. Gripping the doorframe, she swung herself around, sprinting down the hall as quickly as she could. She knew exactly what class Bambi had right now and knew that she would leave towards the end. She was always one of the last people to leave and if she times it just right-

“BAMBIIIIIIIIIII!!” She yelled, leaping into the air as she jumped on top of her best friend. The two landed in a heap on the ground and Olivia laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around Bambi to the annoyance of their classmates all around them.

“Missed yah, girl. Let’s get out of here,” she stood up, a smile stretching to her eyes as she offered her hand to Bambi. She knew that this time she had it right, this block of land would be the one. They would be a step closer to achieving Bambi's dream.