The walls rose.
The first bowl collapsed.
Sanaa laughed.
That sound surprised her.
She recycled the clay and started again.
By noon she had made two mediocre bowls and one good one.
Mercer arrived carrying coffee.
“Anything profound?”
Sanaa looked toward the wheel.
“No.”
“Thank God.”
They laughed.
The school tried to return to routine.
Mackenzie completed assignments from home.
Brenna remained in Advanced Ceramics.
Her relationship with Sanaa became awkward.
For several days, they barely spoke.
Then Brenna approached while Sanaa prepared glaze.
“I owe you an apology.”
Sanaa kept stirring.
“Probably.”
Brenna winced.
Fair.
She explained that she had joined the mocking because the conflict had become entertainment inside their friend group.
Mackenzie complained.
People laughed.
The next complaint came.
People laughed again.
By the time the clay incident happened, Brenna was reacting to the social role Sanaa had been assigned rather than the person standing in front of her.
“I didn’t think of myself as bullying you.”
Sanaa looked up.
“What did you think you were doing?”
Brenna struggled.
“Being on my friend’s side.”
“That is not an action.”
“I know.”
Sanaa waited.
Brenna finally said, “I was helping her make you feel outnumbered.”
That was more honest.
Sanaa appreciated it.
“Why did you point at my bowl?”
Brenna looked embarrassed.
“I wanted you to know we thought the hype around your work was stupid.”
“We?”
Brenna closed her eyes.
“Yeah.”
“Did you think that before Mackenzie lost the fellowship?”
Silence.
“Not really.”
Sanaa nodded.
That answered enough.
She accepted the apology without promising friendship.
They still shared a class.
Sometimes that was all reconciliation needed to accomplish.
The final bowl survived firing.
The relief patch remained intact.
Sanaa glazed it clear with a faint blue tint.
When it emerged from the kiln, one tiny crack ran beneath the base.
She stared at it.
Mercer looked over her shoulder.
“You can fill that.”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Sanaa turned the bowl in her hands.
“My mom said she wanted one I didn’t mess up.”
Mercer smiled.
“Technically the kiln messed that up.”
“Excellent legal argument.”
She wrapped the bowl for Vanessa anyway.
Her mother opened it at dinner.
She examined the crack.
“This one is broken.”
Sanaa stared.
“You are unbelievable.”
Vanessa laughed.
“I love it.”
She placed the bowl in the center of the dining table.
Naomi immediately tried to put car keys inside.