Pinapple 12, Pomegranate 30 & FOTD
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Pre-NIEE
Challenges: FOTD (aureate: Characterized by an ornate style of writing or speaking.), Pineapple 12 (are you going to eat that?), Pomegranate 30 (insanity)
Toppings & Extras: Butterscotch, Cookies Crumbs ( Third pocky), Gummy Bunnies (Origfic Bingo: different cultures)
Word Count: 982
Rating: PG
Summary: A friendship is made between two very different lives.
Notes: More of the Healing crowd, but canon this time, although before the story proper! The FOTD was perfect for Kenz and her hatred of contractions.
“Hey, look, it’s that street rat again.”
As one, the dozen or so kids inside the small gated playground turned to stare.
Resh straightened and stared back defiantly. Those kids had nothing but the best and they would never understand.
“Hey, pipsqueak, go back to the gutter where you belong!”
Laughter echoed among the kids as Resh’s fists clenched.
“Here,” the boy added, riffling through his bag, “if I give you a piece of moldy bread, will you leave? That’s all your kind want anyway, right?”
At the fresh outbreak of laughter, the eleven-year-old bowed his head and began to turn away, bits of that statement ringing a bit too true as his stomach rumbled, reminding him it had been who knew how long since he had last eaten.
“Markus Collins, you leave him alone.” The small, slender girl who pushed her way to the front of the pack aimed a surprisingly powerful glare at the taunting boy. “He has done nothing to you and it is not polite of you to be so mean to him. I am going to tell Miss Rachel.”
“Leave off, Mackenzie. Just cuz he’s from your part of town doesn’t mean you should defend him.”
“Miss Rachel always says that you should be polite to everyone. That includes him,” she said, lifting her chin and ignoring the slight on her neighborhood.
Resh blinked, not sure what to think of his new defender, feeling guilty that a girl half a foot shorter than him had to be the one to do it.
“Aw, Kenz, c’mon, the kid’s like, what, eight? Probably doesn’t even understand us. My mother says that guttersnipes can’t do anything we can.”
Resh drew himself up to full height at that. He was absolutely not eight. He’d already been nine before…well, either way, he was certain he had to be about eleven. It had to have been at least two years since…he forced his attention back to the girl.
“He is still a human being, just like you and me, Markus. Miss Rachel will want to know about this. I would suggest you do not leave before she talks to you,” the girl, Kenz, said, and then stalked off back into the school.
The remaining children shifted anxiously and huddled around Markus, whispering and casting suspicious glances in Resh’s direction. They seemed more afraid of his proximity to the gate than Kenz’s threat. Within a couple of minutes, the young teacher, who Resh had seen the couple of times he’d visited previously, swooped out of the classroom, snatched up Markus by the ear (which made Resh grin despite himself) and dragged him (protesting) back into the schoolhouse.
Then, to his everlasting shock, the girl who had spoken in his defense, marched right out of the gate and up to him, thrusting out a hand. “I am Kenz and I am ten and I do not think you are only eight.”
“’m eleven, I think,” Resh said, cautiously accepting the outstretched hand. “’m not a guttersnipe neither,” he added, more hotly than he had intended.
“I did not think so. My classmates do not know what they are talking about. I am sorry.”
“S’not your fault,” he said awkwardly.
“What is your name?”
“Oh, uh, Resh. Resh, um, Cobble.”
“That is a very interesting name, Resh. I am officially Mackenzie Midden, but I prefer just Kenz.”
“O-okay.”
“There are a lot of people who are down on their luck in my neighborhood, so I like to think I do understand, at least a little. Would you like to walk me home? I know you have followed me before.”
Resh flushed. “Only twice,” he muttered, and then realized that probably didn’t make it any better. He tried to remember what he had learned about manners when younger but all he could remember was that following people was definitely not polite.
“Would you like to walk me home today?”
Now he frowned. “Why would you want that?”
“It seems like it would be more fun than you following me and me having to pretend that I do not know.”
“But ‘m no better than a guttersnipe,” he said, scowling past her at the kids still gawking.
“I do not care,” she said with such a note of finality he couldn’t help but believe her. “I will not say that I think we are alike, but I do think that you will not hurt me and that there is a difference between a person down on their luck and someone who deserves it. It is clear which category you fall into.”
“’re you sayin’ you want to be my friend?” he asked, squinting at her.
“If that is amicable to you.”
“Amia, what?”
“If that is okay with you,” she said.
“I don’t…’m not…reliable.” His gaze shifted to the kids and then back to her.
Kenz looked merely curious. “Well, I am often busy, so that should be okay.”
“No, I mean, I…” he lowered his voice, “you don’t wanna be friends with me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m…” He bit his lip and then went for it. “’m not right in the head.”
She tilted her head, regarding him. “You mean, like insane? You seem very with it to me.”
Resh looked away. “Sometimes I…sometimes lose myself.”
She was silent for so long that he risked a glance up at her. “Well, as long as you find yourself again each time, then that is okay and we can still be friends.”
He stared before feeling himself smile again (twice in one day was a recent record). “I do,” he said earnestly.
“Good. Then I would like it if you walked me home. Then we can have a snack, because your stomach has rumbled at least three times in this conversation.”
He flushed, even as his stomach betrayed him freshly. “Okay, I will,” he said and that was that.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Pre-NIEE
Challenges: FOTD (aureate: Characterized by an ornate style of writing or speaking.), Pineapple 12 (are you going to eat that?), Pomegranate 30 (insanity)
Toppings & Extras: Butterscotch, Cookies Crumbs ( Third pocky), Gummy Bunnies (Origfic Bingo: different cultures)
Word Count: 982
Rating: PG
Summary: A friendship is made between two very different lives.
Notes: More of the Healing crowd, but canon this time, although before the story proper! The FOTD was perfect for Kenz and her hatred of contractions.
“Hey, look, it’s that street rat again.”
As one, the dozen or so kids inside the small gated playground turned to stare.
Resh straightened and stared back defiantly. Those kids had nothing but the best and they would never understand.
“Hey, pipsqueak, go back to the gutter where you belong!”
Laughter echoed among the kids as Resh’s fists clenched.
“Here,” the boy added, riffling through his bag, “if I give you a piece of moldy bread, will you leave? That’s all your kind want anyway, right?”
At the fresh outbreak of laughter, the eleven-year-old bowed his head and began to turn away, bits of that statement ringing a bit too true as his stomach rumbled, reminding him it had been who knew how long since he had last eaten.
“Markus Collins, you leave him alone.” The small, slender girl who pushed her way to the front of the pack aimed a surprisingly powerful glare at the taunting boy. “He has done nothing to you and it is not polite of you to be so mean to him. I am going to tell Miss Rachel.”
“Leave off, Mackenzie. Just cuz he’s from your part of town doesn’t mean you should defend him.”
“Miss Rachel always says that you should be polite to everyone. That includes him,” she said, lifting her chin and ignoring the slight on her neighborhood.
Resh blinked, not sure what to think of his new defender, feeling guilty that a girl half a foot shorter than him had to be the one to do it.
“Aw, Kenz, c’mon, the kid’s like, what, eight? Probably doesn’t even understand us. My mother says that guttersnipes can’t do anything we can.”
Resh drew himself up to full height at that. He was absolutely not eight. He’d already been nine before…well, either way, he was certain he had to be about eleven. It had to have been at least two years since…he forced his attention back to the girl.
“He is still a human being, just like you and me, Markus. Miss Rachel will want to know about this. I would suggest you do not leave before she talks to you,” the girl, Kenz, said, and then stalked off back into the school.
The remaining children shifted anxiously and huddled around Markus, whispering and casting suspicious glances in Resh’s direction. They seemed more afraid of his proximity to the gate than Kenz’s threat. Within a couple of minutes, the young teacher, who Resh had seen the couple of times he’d visited previously, swooped out of the classroom, snatched up Markus by the ear (which made Resh grin despite himself) and dragged him (protesting) back into the schoolhouse.
Then, to his everlasting shock, the girl who had spoken in his defense, marched right out of the gate and up to him, thrusting out a hand. “I am Kenz and I am ten and I do not think you are only eight.”
“’m eleven, I think,” Resh said, cautiously accepting the outstretched hand. “’m not a guttersnipe neither,” he added, more hotly than he had intended.
“I did not think so. My classmates do not know what they are talking about. I am sorry.”
“S’not your fault,” he said awkwardly.
“What is your name?”
“Oh, uh, Resh. Resh, um, Cobble.”
“That is a very interesting name, Resh. I am officially Mackenzie Midden, but I prefer just Kenz.”
“O-okay.”
“There are a lot of people who are down on their luck in my neighborhood, so I like to think I do understand, at least a little. Would you like to walk me home? I know you have followed me before.”
Resh flushed. “Only twice,” he muttered, and then realized that probably didn’t make it any better. He tried to remember what he had learned about manners when younger but all he could remember was that following people was definitely not polite.
“Would you like to walk me home today?”
Now he frowned. “Why would you want that?”
“It seems like it would be more fun than you following me and me having to pretend that I do not know.”
“But ‘m no better than a guttersnipe,” he said, scowling past her at the kids still gawking.
“I do not care,” she said with such a note of finality he couldn’t help but believe her. “I will not say that I think we are alike, but I do think that you will not hurt me and that there is a difference between a person down on their luck and someone who deserves it. It is clear which category you fall into.”
“’re you sayin’ you want to be my friend?” he asked, squinting at her.
“If that is amicable to you.”
“Amia, what?”
“If that is okay with you,” she said.
“I don’t…’m not…reliable.” His gaze shifted to the kids and then back to her.
Kenz looked merely curious. “Well, I am often busy, so that should be okay.”
“No, I mean, I…” he lowered his voice, “you don’t wanna be friends with me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m…” He bit his lip and then went for it. “’m not right in the head.”
She tilted her head, regarding him. “You mean, like insane? You seem very with it to me.”
Resh looked away. “Sometimes I…sometimes lose myself.”
She was silent for so long that he risked a glance up at her. “Well, as long as you find yourself again each time, then that is okay and we can still be friends.”
He stared before feeling himself smile again (twice in one day was a recent record). “I do,” he said earnestly.
“Good. Then I would like it if you walked me home. Then we can have a snack, because your stomach has rumbled at least three times in this conversation.”
He flushed, even as his stomach betrayed him freshly. “Okay, I will,” he said and that was that.