Threats of Fate

Looking for classmates to form a group with, Akio approached Auron:

Akio: "Hi, Sauron, do you want to join my group?"

Auron: "I'm not Sauron, I'm Auron!"

Akio: "It sounds the same!"

Auron: "See? I don't like it when you get my name wrong."

Akio: "Do you want to join my group?"

Auron: "You don't even have a group."

Akio: "If you join, then I'll have one."

Auron: "Why should I?"

Akio: "Because I'm asking: do you want to join my group?"

Auron: "I'll join if you say my name right."

Akio: "Will you join my group… Auron?"

Auron: "What? You said it right?"

Akio: "Auron! Auron! Auron!"

Auron: "You tricked me!"

Akio: "So, are you joining my group?"

Auron: "No!"

Akio: "But you promised!"

While the two continued arguing, the other groups had already formed. The only ones left were Akio, Auron, and two girls, Lirien and Sophie. The girls didn't want to form a duo, so they decided to join Akio and Auron instead.

Auron: "What do you want?"

Sophie: "The other boys are weird."

Lirien: "That wasn't nice."

Sophie: "You didn't have to listen."

Lirien: "My ears are always on!"

Sophie: "Then turn them off."

Lirien: "How?"

Sophie: "They're your ears!"

Sophie and Lirien's bickering escalated until their fathers stepped in to calm them down. The commotion was so loud that even Akio and Auron stopped arguing. Eventually, the four of them ended up forming a group. Despite the rocky start, they managed to leave the classroom peacefully.

Akio: "Are we friends now?"

Auron: "Is it that easy?"

Lirien: "Friends do things together, and we're in a group together."

Sophie: "You should feel lucky to be with me."

Akio: "So, we're friends?"

Auron: "I don't like you, but maybe."

Auron: "If she's not lying, then yes. But I still don't like you."

Akio: "But we're still friends."

Lirien: "I don't think that's how it works."

Sophie: "Exactly. I just have to allow it."

Lirien: "No one asked you."

Sophie: "But we're a group now, so you're my friend too, whether you like it or not."

Lirien: "YES! I don't like it."

Sophie: "That doesn't matter."

Akio: "Are you a goat?"

Auron: "He means brat."

Sophie: "No, I'm a princess."

Lirien: "…spoiled like one…"

Sophie: "What did you say?"

Lirien: "Nothing important."

Sophie: "Don't lie to me!"

Akio: "Yeah, lying is bad!"

Auron: "Nobody asked you."

Sophie: "Nobody's talking about you, dark eyes!"

Akio: "Who's dark eyes?"

Sophie: "YOU!"

Akio: "Who's you?"

Auron: "You!"

Akio: "HUH?"

Lirien: "Great, now the dumb boy is confused!"

Akio: "I'm not dumb!"

Mrs. Wirsing observed the conversation but decided not to intervene. The children needed to learn how to talk things out reasonably on their own. This exchange was calmer than the earlier one in the classroom, and Frau Wirsing was pleased with their progress. The children still had much to learn, but it was a start. They were beginning to understand the importance of how they treated each other. These were their first real interactions outside their homes, and they still had a long way to go to learn what it truly meant to be friends.