Chapter 67 Boat (2)
Alina walked slowly around the circle, fixing any lopsided folds with a gentle tap of her finger. She couldn’t help it — each time she saw a paper boat take shape in those small hands, her eyes shone brighter.
When the last little sail popped up, she clapped her hands together, the sound light and full of pride. "Look at these! Every single one of you did so well!" she said, her voice warm as sunshine. "I think you are the smartest, cleverest class I’ve ever seen."
At once, the tiny monsters puffed up with pride. Drake’s tail wagged so hard it thumped the chair behind him. Vlad Jr. cleared his throat and crossed his arms like a little noble but the tips of his ears turned pink from the praise. Luna gave a tiny huff, her pigtails bouncing, but her eyes sparkled fiercely. Even shy Rocky hugged his boat to his chest, his stony face trying and failing to hide the tiniest shy smile.
And Kelpie... oh, sweet Kelpie held his boat so delicately, like it was made of starlight and sea foam. He leaned forward to show it to Sable, who nodded once in quiet approval. which, for him, was the highest praise of all.
After every boat was folded neat (well, almost neat — Boo’s was upside down at first, but he pretended it was "special design") Alina clapped her hands once more, drawing all their shiny eyes back to her.
"Now! It’s time to colour your boats," she said, her voice like sunshine spilling across their desks. "I want to see your best colours — the ones that make you happy. Alright?"
Nine tiny heads bobbed up and down.
She turned back to her desk, took nine small crayon boxes from the basket she’d gotten from the cabinet, and moved slowly around the circle, setting one box on each desk.
"Here you go, Kelpie... here you go, Luna... Boo, yours too — please don’t eat it this time!" she teased lightly, and Boo stuck out his tongue at her, hugging his box close.
As soon as every baby had their crayons, the room filled with soft scratchy sounds and the occasional happy giggle.
Kelpie’s watery blue eyes sparkled as he opened his box — pulling out the brightest blue crayon first. He started carefully filling his paper boat with rippling waves, tiny dots like raindrops. His whole little face glowed like a pond in sunlight.
Next to him, Sable opened his crayon box so slowly, like he was worried it might bite him. He peeked inside, found the black crayon immediately, and clutched it tight. He dragged careful shadows across his boat, every line neat but shy. Alina’s heart squeezed at how tiny his fingers were — so gentle yet so serious.
Luna, meanwhile, ripped her box open like a tiny wolf tearing into prey. Her yellow crayon was a blur as she scribbled thick sunny lines all over her sail — her pigtails bouncing wildly with each stroke. She even growled once when Boo peeked too close, and Boo floated away giggling.