"You what?!" Amy shouted. Lina had a history of misbehaving, but this was the first time she had ever stolen something outright. "What's the matter with you?"
"Relax, if he gave that thing to you for free, he probably would have let this slide too." Lina held up the brass ring, allowing its ruby setting to catch a glint off the sun. "I'll take it back later if it means that much to you. I'll just wait 'till he's asleep again."
"Whatever, you do what you want with it," Amy grumbled, very annoyed at her friend. She was so annoyed, her voice even had a couple of cracks in it. She tried to let off some steam by playing the panpipes she had bought, droning on the low notes and not making eye contact with Lina as they walked home.
They got to Lina's house, where the two normally hung out in the afternoons. Amy said hello to Lina's mother and followed Lina into her bedroom.
"You sound pretty good on those," Lina said honestly, trying to put the matter of the stolen ring behind them. "Though I would have washed them out before putting my lips to them. Hey...," she leaned closer to Amy, narrowing her eyes.
Amy stopped playing for a second. "What?" she asked defensively.
"Something weird about you all of a sudden," Lina said as she examined her friend.
As Lina stared at her, Amy stared back, noticing something different about Lina as well. It took her a minute, but she managed to figure it out. It was a subtle change, but quite weird nonetheless...