#i love the pic of rebecca and byron so much

[blueshistorysims]

Although they weren’t in the same class anymore, Byron and Reggie played outside together every single day. Byron didn’t mind that they couldn’t sit next to each in class—they would probably get in trouble for speaking while the teacher was. As long as he saw his best friend, the day would be a good one.

Reggie felt different. He wasn’t as smart as Byron. In fact, he struggled with arithmetic and reading, and his handwriting was atrocious. There were many afternoons where he had to behind during lunch practicing his penmanship. He didn’t like school one bit, and when he finished primary school, he didn’t plan to come. He was the only child of small, poor farmers. He was going to be a farmer. Why did farmers need to know about grammar rules and read books that weren’t the almanac or grocery list?

But that wasn’t why Reggie felt so different. He was envious of Byron. Byron who found academic tasks easy. Byron who had skipped three years of schooling and still had better grades than his siblings and classmates. The headmaster, Mr. Hall, clearly favored him over all of the students. All the teachers would fawn over him while he impressed everyone with his mastery of multiple languages. And Reggie would stand alone, watching everyone admire his friend. No one cared about a farmer’s son who could barely spell his own address.

“Are you alright, Reggie?” Byron asked one May afternoon, noticing his friend’s upset demeanor. “You have looked sullen a lot lately.”

“I’m surprised you noticed,” he muttered scornfully. 

Byron was taken aback by his friend’s angry tone. “Uh…”

The other boy scowled. “You’ve been ignoring me for weeks! All the attention is always around you, and I’m tired of following you around. Why would you want to be friends with me? My father is a farmer, and I’m dumb, and I can’t do arithmetic. Your father is a lawyer, and so was your grandfather and great-grandfather.” “...You don’t want to be my friend?”

“You clearly don’t need me, you toff.”

The brunette watched in shock as Reggie turned around and marched away. 

The events of the afternoon had seriously ruined Byron’s day, immediately going to his and Alexander’s room to sulk as soon as he arrived home. He thought it was the worst day of his life, and he was angry at Reggie for being so cruel. Why would he say such things? Friends didn’t do that. 

The door creaked open, and he saw his mother come in, shutting the door behind her. “Is everything alright, dear? Alexander said you’ve been upset since lunch.”

Byron frowned. “Reggie said I’ve been ignoring him, and I haven’t been a good friend because all the adults always talk to me. It’s not my fault they do that! …He called me a toff. What does that mean?”

She sighed, sitting on the bed next to him. “Oh, it’s just not a nice word to class someone who’s upper class.” Rebecca folded her hands into her lap. “Why do you think he said those words?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe he’s jealous?”

He looked up. “Jealous?”

“From what you’ve told me about Reggie, it sounds like he struggles with his schooling while you fly by so easily. Maybe you haven’t been paying attention to his feelings, and while you get much attention, he gets none.”

The boy swallowed. “...Perhaps you are right.”

She smiled and pulled him into a hug. “Tomorrow is a new day. Speak to Reggie. I’m sure everything will be alright.”

The next morning, Byron saw Reggie standing alone in the schoolyard, waiting for the bell to ring. They made eye contact, and he gulped. The shorter boy stared as Byron gathered the courage to march over, taking a deep breath.

“Can I talk to you?” Byron asked when he stopped in front of his friend. 

He nodded.

“You’re right. It’s not fair that I get all the attention. And I should haved realized that you were unhappy. Truthfully, I don’t like the attention. I’m sorry.”

Reggie swallowed. “I should be the one apologizing. I overreacted, and I hurt your feelings. I let my jealousy get the best of our friendship.”

“If you needed help on school work, you have just asked, you know.”

“I know.”

Byron smiled. “Shall we shake on it?”

“Promise to stay friends forever even if he’s a toff who spends most of his free time reading?” Reggie offered, holding his hand out. 

He laughed. “Promise to stay friends forever even if he’s stubborn and can’t read well?”

They both giggled as they shook each other’s hands. 

#the walshes #sims 4 #sims 4 decades #sims 4 decades challenge #sims 4 historical #ts4 story #sims 4 history challenge #ts4 decades challenge #ts4 historical #ts4 1900s #edwardian #1900s #the walsh legacy #sims 4 legacy #ts4 #sorry this was so long it was meant to be two posts but they were too short by themselves #i love the pic of rebecca and byron so much #woo that last shot is so grainy f #the sims 4 #byron walsh #rebecca walsh