“Alright class!” Miss Sunny Meadows clapped her hands to gain the attention of her roomful of kindergarteners. Once most eyes were focused on her and not on their worksheets, she gestured to the low tables on the far side of the room. “It’s snack time.”
A cheer rang out as the twenty-two five year olds bolted for the cubby holes where their backpacks were hung, their precious snacks from home tucked securely within. Prizes secure in tiny hands, they grabbed seats alongside the friends they’d already made on this most momentous of days; their first day of school. They chattered and laughed through mouthfuls of graham crackers and sliced fruit, informing one another on the most miniscule elements of their day to day routines.
One small girl, her blonde hair done up in a pair of pigtails, chose to sit by herself. She looked around furtively, her crumpled brown paper bag clutched tight against her plain blue overalls. Once she was absolutely sure the coast was clear, that none of her classmates were paying her the slightest bit of attention, she exhaled the breath she’d been holding and reached into the sack for…
“Is anyone sitting here?”
The girl with the pigtails looked up sharply as another girl sat across from her without waiting for an answer. She watched as the new arrival (resplendent in a clearly brand new blue dress, her purple hair done up in a picture perfect bun) sat a small box on the table and opened the lid. Nestled inside were a number of strawberries lightly dusted with candied sugar and a small selection of various cheeses, along with a stack of crackers. A nearby thermos of indeterminate liquid completed the ensemble. The pigtailed girl marveled at the spread, but the pale girl across from her seemed anything but pleased. “Oh no! I told Mommy I couldn’t eat the cheese and the strawberries.” She pouted for a moment, then spotted her tablemate’s bag and smiled. “Wanna trade?”
The pigtailed girl flinched. “Uh… I’m okay. Thanks.”
The girl with the purple bun smiled wider. “I like your accent.”
The increasingly flustered orange girl chose not to remark on her new companion’s own strange affectation, delicate and carefully worded. It reminded her of her wealthy cousins off in Manehatten.
Apparently not to be deterred, nor to be one to take a hint, the purple haired girl focused on the paper sack. “Pleeeeeeease?” Stretching the word out with practiced ease. “Don’t you like cheese?”
The orange girl actually quite enjoyed cheese, but she knew that her getting a piece of her new companion’s was a complete impossibility. Even at age five, the sacred rules of childhood were already burned into her brain. Food could not just be given freely. For proper sharing to occur, a trade had to take place.
Did her new friend not understand that?
Finally, she sighed as she reached into the bag. “I can’t trade with ya. I only have this.” And she pulled out a shiny red apple.
The purple-haired girl raised an eyebrow. “Is that all you have? Don’t you have a drink?”
The orange girl just nodded her head at the classroom’s water fountain.
The purple-haired girl’s confusion was not abated. “And why a whole apple? Why didn’t your mommy at least cut it up for you?”
The orange girl frowned and started to turn away. “My mama’s got more important stuff to do on the farm than cut up my apples. ‘Sides, I ain’t no baby. I don’t need my apples cut up.”
The purple-haired girl, sensing she’d hit a sore spot, scrambled to recover. “Well, the fact remains that I can’t eat all this cheese. You can just have some.”
“Don’t want any.”
The pale girl’s mouth tightened. No one in all her life had talked to her this way. “But I’m offering to share.”
“I ain’t got nothin’ to share back.” The girl in the overalls sighed and turned back. Clearly this poor girl needed education beyond what Miss Sunny Meadows could provide. “Look; my big brother told me that in school, you can’t just take somethin’ for nothin.’ He said that’s charity and we don’t need no charity.”
“Rarity.”
The orange girl rolled her eyes. “No, he definitely said charity.”
“No. Rarity. It’s my name.” The pale girl stuck out her hand like she’d been taught. “What’s yours?”
The orange girl observed the offered hand for a moment before grasping it with her own. She noted how soft and smooth it felt against her own. “Applejack.”
They shook once, twice, then let go. The polite greeting taught by their elders was completed.
Believing the matter settled, Applejack grasped her fruit, rubbed the skin along denim, and leaned in to take a bite.
“Um…”
Applejack paused and looked over at the girl who seemed so dead-set on interrupting her snack time. “Yeah?”
Rarity looked back at her box shyly. “Can I… can I have a bite? Please?” When Applejack didn’t respond, she continued. “And then you can have a piece of cheese. I’m really not going to eat it all.”
Applejack looked from the girl, to the apple, and then back to the girl again. “Why do ya want to trade so bad? Do ya hate cheese that much?”
Rarity quickly shook her head and flashed her biggest smile. “I just… I just really like apples. That’s all.”
Applejack considered for a few moments before making a decision. “I don’t want the cheese.”
Rarity’s face fell.
“But I’ll share my apple with ya if we can share those strawberries.”
Rarity grinned and pushed the box so that it was perfectly between them.
The unwanted cheese sat forgotten as the two new friends happily split the bounty of fruit. After swallowing a particularly sweet strawberry, Applejack made to get up to get a sip of water. Rarity grabbed her before she could leave and offered her open thermos. Applejack took it gratefully and took a swig, smiling at the taste.
It was apple juice.