Step Two: Eleanora and Cove! With Derek and Leandra cameos!
I feel like this game is slowly healing my inner child. Who needs therapy? Just play Our Life: Beginnings and Always. It's free! Except for the DLC. But even that's worth it.
Also, I discovered you can name Cove's fish "Jeremy" and you get special dialogue for it, and it's delightful. Give me all of the build up to Jeremy becoming the reluctant bestie who pretends he hates you but will show up to your wedding like ten or so years later because you invited him and he is in fact your friend now. Please. It's so good. I'm so invested in this funky lil' friendship.
Also, Eleanora calls Noelani and Pamela "'Lani" and "Pam" when she's eight, still not comfortable with calling them her mothers, until Step Two where they are officially "Ma" and "Mom".
Eleanora puts on a very tough front in school since she still isn't used to showing her emotions, despite having been learning to open up and voice more opinions since befriending Cove, and is very insecure. She finds it difficult not to let bullies' comments get to her. That said, she doesn't let it show except for around Leandra, who she trusts greatly, and the only way to get a visible rise out of her is to insult Cove- which... often leads to her trying to "scare" the bully off.
She has a hard time opening up about her more negative feelings until Cove confirms once more she's his best friend and that he could care less about how "loud" she is, as he enjoys their time together and would spend more time together if he could. She cries, lol.
I guess this would take place during "Summerwork" sometime during her panic attack? Probably directly after Cove tries to give her his homework assignment since she lost hers, and she refuses before asking why and just breaking down further. Which... leads to that conversation, and Cove reiterating that Eleanora is very important to him.
