spiffypenguin
He dumped the little tin out on the counter, spilling out a mountain of change, most of which was pennies. "Umm, is this ten dollars?"
As tired as I was, I almost gave a snappy response--but one look at his sincere yet flustered face had me managing a smile. "Well, let's see."
I flattened out the pile with my hand and began to count out the coins.
It was hard yet supple, and impossible to chew, with a texture that gave my tongue a couple splinters; Maggie must've been a beaver if she gnawed on this stuff all day. Finally, I was able to swallow. There was no way I was ingesting anymore. Tossing the piece of bark on the forest floor, I pulled myself up. Sure, so some of the berries around here were poisonous--but it was better than eating tree flesh any day.
I forced myself to turn and look at the desk. It looked so melancholy sitting there in the shadow of the closed curtain, almost foreboding. The fact that Harrison would never sit there again was slowly sinking in by the minute, making me more and more restless. But there wasn't any chance that I could get a hold of him now. He would have arrived, and would never know that it was me who'd done everything--me who'd been the cause of all his trouble. I reached out and touched the desk, which I hadn't even realized I'd approached. A chill went up my arm; the surface was cold. Cold as my heart.
She looked back at them in the stands and caught their eyes. Her dad gave a thumbs up and mouthed, "Go get 'em." and her mother stood up and started yelling and cheering.
"That's my girl! Woohooo! Go Mai!"
Parents. Mai rolled her eyes and quickly continued to the table, not daring to look back again.
She squealed, her face practically pressed against the mirror. "A breakout?! No, no...not the night before the premiere!"
I chuckled softly and leaned on the wall. "It's no big deal, Del. You'll be wearing so much makeup nobody will even notice..."
She rounded on me, a sharp, bony finger poised to poke my eye out. "Why...! I've never heard such insensitivity in my life! You get out of my dressing room if you know what's good for you!"
She made a sweeping motion with her hands, to which I casually obliged, heading slowly for the door at her cries of, "Out! Out!"
"Break a leg," I called before slipping through the door.
Standing in the hallway with the door closed, I heard Delaney call in a reedy voice, barely audible, "Thanks, Erin."
I smiled at the tarnished star on the door and exited down the hallway.
We sipped our smoothies and let our eyes wander around the diner, neither of us really sure what to say. Finally, Hailee looked up with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Bet I can finish my smoothie before you can."
I raised my eyebrows. "Is that a challenge? Because you know I..."
"Are too wimpy to take me up on it, I know..." she shrugged and continued to sip her smoothie lackadaisically.
I set my hand firmly on the table. "That's it. You are done calling me wimpy. Let's do this."
Hailee grinned. "Ready, set, go!"
We both leaned over and sipped with all our might.
Scooping up the cat into her arms, Emily dashed for cover, crashing down between the bushes and the porch. She watched, breathing tensely, as Clarence came onto the scene, swinging his rifle. "Someone's stolen my cat," he declared in a sing-song voice. "Ohh Trixie!"
The fat tabby squirmed in Emily's arms, but she held tight to its middle, praying it would keep quiet. Praying this would all be over soon, and the monsters would disappear.
Mimi was still holding the phone up to her face, taking pictures of her pouty face and totally ignoring me. I was trying to do the same, but for some reason the fake camera shutter sound would not allow me to concentrate. Suddenly, she looked up smiling--but it wasn't a regular kind of smile. There was something a bit devious behind it. "Hey Koushiro." She must've noticed I had been staring right at her, but didn't say anything to that effect. Instead, she bridged the gap between our couches and sat right next to me.
I clenched my teeth and stared down at my laptop, my fingers hovering over the keys. "Yes, Mimi?"
She pulled out her phone. "Let's take a selfie together!" Before her sentence was even finished, the click of the camera sounded and she was giggling like mad. I groaned and tried to get back to my research.
I watched the boys out in the yard, screwing up their fists and releasing punches onto each other. No matter how many times one would hit the other, even if he fell down, he always sprung right back up again with a flying fist. The boxing itself was pointless, utterly stupid, but it got me thinking about the contest. Maybe I wasn't down and out just yet.
I crossed my arms and stared at the people at the Other table. They were always huddled together, murmuring and looking skeptical and afraid. The idea had been to integrate them into our society, but it didn't seem like that was ever going to happen. Nobody had ever tried to befriend them before....and yet, the red-head girl was always catching my eye. I had almost talked to her yesterday. What would happen if I did? I turned away when I realized my staring had become gawking, and tried to think about something besides the Others.
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writing since 2014 · 32 entries · 32 days shown up
each square is a day—lit means spiffypenguin showed up.
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the words spiffypenguin reaches for
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