the three boys around the pair looked a little confused. to be fair, amara was too. not by his words, but herself. what even was right anymore?
albert, who had been sitting next to race this entire time, look off his hat and slapped race in the shoulder. "stop pressurin' her. she's injured. leave 'er alone," he sassed, red hair falling everywhere as he shook his head a little.
amara gave him a grateful smile, and let her head fall back on the wall. her eyes fell closed as she calmed down, only for the peace to be interrupted by a reasonably loud voice. "amara!" it shouted, and the figure came running up to the bed.
"jojo?" she opened her eyes, quirking an eyebrow at the boy who was kneeling at the side on the bed.
"the one and only," he grinned, but tilted his head as he realised how stiff her posture was. "is yous okay?"
"just peachy," a smile tugged at amara's lips as she looked down at the boy, ruffling his hair up a little.
jojo didn't look convinced, but grinned anyway.
jack glanced between the pair, nudging albert in the shoulder as he looked around at the other boys. "we's gonna leave you two in peace," he said, expecting the other boys to follow. most of them nodded, and got up, but one blonde boy didn't move. "race?"
he shook out of his trance, looking up. "oh," he mumbled quietly, standing up. he paused before he left, giving amara a look before jogging off.
once jack had left, jojo raised an eyebrow. "what's up wit' him?" he asked, confused.
amara shrugged. she wasn't sure.
the boy sighed, flopping on the bed. "i'm bored," he grumbled, eyes staring up at the top of the bunk.
"i's could tell 'ya a story," amara offered, not really being serious, but she didn't have much else to do either.
jojo's eyes lit up. "really?" he asked, tilting his head.
"really," amara confirmed, laughing softly under her breath.
the boy sat up, letting his head fall into his hands. "i's would like that."
"okay, but yous gotta be quiet, don't interrupt. otherwise i's won't be able 'ta get through it before mornin'. deal?" she asked, lowering her voice. jojo nodded quickly, and amara began the story.
"once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl named ella. she and her family lived in a dainty little cottage in the woods. they were a very happy family, though her father traveled alot for his work.
one day, ella's mother fell very ill, and her father was out for work. she didn't have anyone to care for her, so she had to do all the housework and the cooking and look after her mother all by herself. as you can imagine, her mother did not recover from the illness, and it was not until her father came home that he found out."
"what's goin' on?" a boy came up to the pair, sitting on the end of the bed.
jojo, who was now lying on his stomach as he listened, groaned. "amara's tellin' a story, specs. now shush."
the boy obeyed, and amara continued.
"not too long later, the father decided to remarry. the woman he was ought to marry also had two daughters, which the father insisted that ella get along with. ella was not too keen on the idea, but she knew better than to argue with her father. when the carriage that the woman and her children were to arrive in pulled up at their house, ella rushed out to meet them, hoping that they would be nice, kind people like her mother. they, however, were quite the contrast, and ella did not quite like them at all.
