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1. Lamina
Lamina felt quite happy with herself.
She had a great day at school because all her classes she had today were shared with Brandy. Brandy who distracted her in class, which Lamina didn’t minded, Brandy who whispered comments in her ear about the teacher or their classmates, they got almost send out of the classroom because they were laughing so hard, Brandy who shot her smiles whenever they met each other’s eyes.
Yeah, it was a great day.
At lunch she had sat down with her friends, Brandy right next to her and Lucy Gray on her other side. As Lamina chatted with the girl, she tried to ignore how Brandy was leaning against her shoulder, laughing at something Lucy Gray had said, it sounded like music to her ears.
Lamina was now walking home from school. Lucy Gray had walked with her for most of the way but had split up later to go to her own home.
Now Lamina was walking on her own on the sidewalk with her phone in hand as she was typing something on her phone.
The group chat was texting on full force. Treech had said something particularly dumb, which had set Brandy off and whenever Lamina thought that the argument would come to an end, Tanner would say something to keep the fire going. In between the argument Coral just texted, pretending there wasn’t even an argument to begin with.
She was complaining about how her little brother was always late when she came to pick him up from school, always getting sidetracked in talking to his best friend.
Lamina had never, in the two years that she had known Coral, met Coral’s little brother, that goes for the others too. In her opinion it was kind of crazy. Coral talked about her little brother every day, even if it was just a passing comment, pointing something out that she was sure he would like or just a full on story about what he did the other day. It was always accomponied with a small smile and an affectionate eye roll.
Lamina rolled her eyes and swiped away from the groupchat and texted Brandy private.
You
You know Tanner’s just saying that to keep this going, right??
Brandyyyyy <3
Yea i know
I’ll get him later.
Lamina cracked a smile and was about to respond when something crashed right into her side. She was sent tumbling with a yelp onto the grass that was next to the sidewalk. Her bag and phone landing with a tud beside her.
Lamina lifted her head and was surprised to see a small kid laying opposite her. The kid was rubbing his head as he had probably hit the ground, his hat lay next to him on the grass.
His brown hair was messy, pieces of grass stuck in his hair. His pants were stained with green from the grass, he was rubbing at the stains and muttered something under his breath when it didn’t help anything besides making it worse before he looked up, his brown eyes landed on her and they immediately widened when he saw her.
“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I should’ve been more careful, my sister always tells me to-“ the kid immediately rambled as he hurriedly got to his feet.
Lamina didn’t even process all his words as he grabbed her hand and was pulling her up as well, still talking a mile a minute about how his sister has told him multiple times to watch out where he was going, about how he was late for something because he got caught up with a friend and how his sister always threatened to leave him behind so he could make his own way back home.
He picked up her bag and phone from the ground and handed them to her and was quick to grab his own stuff, he swung his bag on his shoulder and dusted his hat off before he pulled it back on his head.
“Which is so unfair, because I don’t even take that long and-” He continued, he adjusted his hat to fit comfortably on his head and hoisted his bag better on his shoulder.
Lamina was listening but at the same time wondering how this kid could talk so much without taking a breath for so long. The kid was talking about all kinds of things and to Lamina it seemed like he didn't even breathed in between his words.
It reminded her strangely of Coral when she went on some of her rants about someone new she hated, wanting to get all her reasons and comments out of her system as they all sat at their usual table in the cafeteria.
And before Lamina even knew it, the kid was gone, he barely had said a quick goodbye as he was already running further down the sidewalk. She blinked and after a moment watched as the boy got further and further. She briefly wondered if this exchange was just her imagining it but it was quickly dismissed as she found a paper laying before her on the ground.
It probably had fallen out of the kid’s bag and she crouched down with a careful hand so she could pick it up. On the paper were two starfishes, one was red and the other a smaller blue one. Lamina found herself admiring the details and decided to take it with her. In one of the corners of the paper was written something. The only words she could make out were ‘ for ’ and ‘ from ’. Lamina guessed the kid made it for someone but she couldn’t make out the names.
She wanted to give it back to the boy if she ever saw him again, so she carefully folded it and put it in her pocket.
The boy with the messy hair and who rambled without taking a breath was sure a strange one, Lamina thought absentmindedly as she straightened up and went on her way again.
And in between all the words that he spoke, Lamina had not caught his name, even if he had, she had missed it.
2. Tanner
Tanner was not happy.
His day had just started out great, he’s being sarcastic, because apparently the universe had it out for him.
It started this morning, sleeping through his alarm, missing the last bus that would take him to school and having to walk to school while missing most of his first period. When he finally arrived, there was only one seat left and that was at the front and even though the day had just started, Tanner already wanted to go home again.
Coral, Treech, Lamina and Brandy all didn’t share this class with him and the only people he talked to in here were Marcus and Otto, but Otto was sick and Marcus was sat in the back, Tanner would’ve sat there with him if he was on time.
The day proceeded with nothing wrong, much to Tanner’s relief. At lunch, he saw his friends. Coral was sitting with a scowl on her face at the table, talking to Treech and Lucy Gray about how her little brother was upset because he had lost something that he made and was planning on giving it to her. So because he was upset, Coral was upset, it seemed.
Lucy Gray has been relatively new in their friendgroup. She’s been Coral’s girlfriend for about two months now and Tanner quite liked her.
He sat down next to Brandy and listened in with the conversation. He tuned them out and focused on his lunch.
The day flew by quickly after that and before he knew it, Tanner was already at home. He was inside his room for a minute to drop his bag off before he was outside again. He wanted to see Daisy after that stupid shit that happened in the morning.
Tanner was walking down the road to the meadow where all the cows stood. Not lifting his head up from where he was repeatedly kicking a rock away with his foot, so he was a bit startled to hear another voice talking.
At that, he looked up and was surprised to find a kid standing by the fence that held the cows inside the meadow, the kid couldn’t be older than thirteen with his dark blue hat. The boy stood on one of the railings on the fence to make himself taller. He was talking, but not to Tanner, no, he was talking to the cows.
A small group had gathered around the fence, standing in front of the kid as he talked animatedly, his hands making wild gestures, Tanner didn’t know what the kid was talking about but it must be something interesting as the cows were all looking at the kid intently, bowing down from time to time to eat the grass.
Tanner watched as the kid reached out to one of the cows, which happened to be his favorite named Daisy, and he stroked the fluffy fur that sat in front of her eyes, the cow just licked his hand and Tanner heard the kid let out a small giggle before he began chatting again.
Tanner took a hesitant step forward, and then another. He walked towards the fence, making sure to make his footsteps loud so the kid could hear him.
The boy turned his head to the side and looked at Tanner for a moment. Tanner thought the kid was analysing his every move or something but the boy gave him a friendly smile and turned back to the cows again.
Tanner stood next to him, a good distance between them. He smiled when Daisy came to him and he reached out to pet her.
“What’s their name?” The kid asked.
Tanner looked up at the boy, his brown eyes were settled on Daisy but he met Tanner’s eyes a second later, his eyes shining with curiosity.
When Tanner didn’t immediately answered, to busy with asking himself why this kid was talking to him, not in a bad way though, the boy smiled and tilted his head to the side in expectation.
Tanner hesitantly returned the smile and looked back at the cow in front of him. “This is Daisy.” He finally answered.
“Is she your favorite?” The boy asked, he jumped of the fence and stepped closer to Tanner, the kid reached out to Daisy and patted her head.
“She is,” Tanner smiled.
The boy looked out over the meadow and he waved a hand at the cows that were eating or staring at them. “Do they all have a name?”
“Not all, but most of them.” Tanner answered after a moment as he looked at all the cows, he hadn’t thought of that before, not all the cows have names.
An idea popped into his head as he studied the kid next to him. He certainly seemed to like animals, what with talking to the cows and a big starfish that was embroidered on his pant leg.
‘Why not.’ Tanner thought, he shrugged to himself but the kid didn’t seem to notice. Something told him that he could trust this kid for this.
“You can name one if you want.” Tanner offered and he turned back to Daisy again.
The boy whipped his head towards him so fast, Tanner thought he might get whiplash. “Really?” The boy looked shocked at him, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open a bit.
“Why not.” Tanner said, a smile tugging at his lips as he looked at the disbelieving face of the kid. The boy stepped on the fence again and looked at all the cows.
“Do they have a name?” The boy pointed at a cow that was standing a far bit away from them and the rest of the cows.
Tanner looked at the cow who the kid was refering to and winced slightly. The cow was a bit of a troublemaker, she tried multiple times to bite Tanner’s fingers when he fed the cows, but she didn’t have a name.
“No, she doesn’t,” Tanner looked at the kid as he leaned his arms on the fence.
“Can I name her?” The boy asked excitedly.
“Sure,” Tanner watched as the kid began to wave at the cow and Tanner was about to tell him that she wasn’t going to come when the cow surprisingly began to walk towards them, lazily chewing on some grass.
Tanner heard the kid next to him gasp in surprise while Tanner took a small step back from the fence and tucked his hands inside his pockets, sue him for not wanting his fingers to be bitten.
The cow stopped at arm’s length away from the boy. Tanner thought that cows couldn’t look bored but this was a perfect example, the cow was looking rather bored at the boy.
The boy placed his arms on the fence and leaned forward. “Hello.” He beamed at the cow that stood in front of him.
“I’m going to give you a name now, is that alright with you?” The boy asked as if the cow could talk back. The cow just bowed down and ate from a patch of grass.
“Now what to name you?” The boy mumbled, he tilted his head at the cow and made a humming noise.
Tanner watched amusedly at the boy, his eyes flickering between the kid and the cow. The cow was just looking at the kid as she chewed on the grass as the kid was looking at her too, studying her to come up with a name that suited her.
“I got it!” The boy called after a moment. “I’m gonna name you Coral!” The kid decided, and he reached out and patted the side of the cow’s head.
Tanner tried and failed to suppress a snort, he clamped his hand down on his mouth to prevent him from breaking into uncontrollable laughter. ‘Coral!’ Tanner thought hysterically. ‘Oh just wait until I tell her a random kid named an animal after her.’
This didn’t go unnoticed by the kid as he looked at Tanner. He raised an eyebrow, “Got any objections?”
“No,” Tanner’s voice cracked as he tried to get his smile to disappear, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Nope, no objections.” His face now schooled in a neutral expression.
The kid huffed out a laugh and turned back to the cow. “What about you? Any objections?”
Although the kid got no response from Coral, she did look less bored, to which the kid looked delighted.
The boy looked away from the cow and turned his eyes to the sky. The sun was beginning to set, leaving an orange and pink sky behind. He returned his gaze back to the cow and gave her a final pat on the head and jumped from the fence.
“I need to go, my sister wants me home before it’s dark.” The boy explained to Tanner.
Tanner nodded in response, he stepped back towards the fence and rested his arms on it.
The kid brushed his pants off and straightened again, the boy looked at Tanner and smiled. “Thank you for letting me name a cow.” The boy said and it sounded a bit absurd to Tanner, because this had never happened to him before, so he laughed and waved a hand at the boy.
“No problem. Now get out of here.” The kid laughed at him and walked away.
‘What a weird kid,’ Tanner thought as he watched the boy walk away until he thought back to what the kid had named the cow and he laughed loudly, not noticing all the other cows staring at him.
3. Brandy
“Are you alright?”
Brandy startled from where she was standing against the wall smoking. She didn’t expect to see a random kid standing next to her. But well, she didn’t expect to punch a guy in the face, who was a year older than her, and successfully knocking him out for saying some crude shit about Lamina.
Oh Lamina.
Lamina who was watching with a shocked and hurt expression at Brandy. She watched as Lamina was about to say something but Brandy made a run for it before her lips could even form the words, in fear of what she would say. She also didn’t want to get in trouble with school, mind you, but she just knew already that one of the guy’s friends would snitch on her.
Getting irritated, Brandy took a drag from her cigarette and looked back at the kid, who was staring at her intently. “I’m fine.” She answered.
She wondered how her friends would react. Coral would definitely be proud for how Brandy punched the guy, as she had showed her how to throw a punch correctly one slow evening last summer. Lucy Gray would sent her a wink and a thumbs up. Treech would say to her that she shouldn’t have punched him but he would secretly approve and Tanner would just give her a smirk and say that she did the right thing.
Brandy doubted that Lamina would agree with that statement.
“Did you punch him for that girl?” The kid asked, he was looking at her split knuckles, he met her eyes a second later.
Brandy looked at him, there was absolutely no judgement in his eyes, just plain curiosity. She got a distinct feeling that she could say anything to this kid and he wouldn’t judge her and would tell no one.
It was the same feeling she got when she told Coral about her crush on Lamina, no judgement or disgusted looks. Just a comforting hand on her shoulder as she looked with slight watery eyes at Coral, the girl had told her it was okay and had knocked their shoulders together with a small smile. Coral’s words had been so sincere, Brandy could have cried.
“I did,” Brandy answered, she dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped her shoe on it before she folded her arms over her chest.
She fixed the kid with a glare but he didn’t seem faced. “What do you want?”
“I saw you running off and wanted to know if you were okay. I got some bandages for your hand, if you want.” The kid began rummaging in his bag and pulled out a little blue box. He sat down on the ground and began to open the box, he looked up to see her still standing there, looking down at him with furrowed brows.
“Sit down,” the kid said, not unkindly, and he motioned for the spot opposite him.
Brandy didn’t know who this kid was and even looked around herself to see if she saw someone who was looking for this random child but she saw nobody. So with that, she sat down on the ground, sitting cross legged in front of him as she fiddled with her hands in her lap.
The kid looked expectingly at her, and Brandy realised he had asked her something. “What?”
“Do you want to do it yourself or can I do it?” The kid asked, concern laced his voice as he looked at her.
Brandy just gave her hand to him, she didn’t know how to do this anyway.
“You just carry this around in your bag?” She asked as an attempt to make conversation.
The kid didn’t look up at her as he opened the small bottle of disinfectant. “Yeah, my sister says that I should be prepared if I or someone else gets hurt and she can’t be there.” He explained. Brandy watched the boy work in silence.
“I heard what the guy said to your friend by the way, I don’t blame you for punching him,” The boy said absentmindedly as he disinfected her hand.
Brandy barely felt the sting when the disinfectant hit her knuckles as she wondered why this kid’s opinion mattered to her, it shouldn’t because she didn’t know him but it did. It was weird.
Brandy didn’t answer, she didn’t have to as the kid abruptly looked up at her and stared at her for a long moment.
A bit startled, although she didn’t show it, Brandy met his stare full on. The kid was searching for something but she didn’t know what, she guessed he eventually found it, because a wide grin spread across his face a second later and Brandy felt like he had just discovered her deepest, darkest secret.
“You like her?!” He gasped.
Brandy’s jaw dropped.
What. The. Fuck.
‘Deny! Deny! Deny! Deny!’ Her mind was screaming at her.
“How the fuck do you know that?!” Brandy replied instead, her eyes wide as she looked at the kid who looked ecstatic.
Brandy didn’t feel ecstatic.
“You punched him for her ! Of course you could have just done that because she’s your friend but I saw you looking at her the moment you realised what you’ve done.” The kid explained. “You like her! Oh my god, you two would be so cute together!” The kid gushed.
Brandy wanted to scream, wanted to walk away and not look back, wanted to tell this kid that he was wrong and didn’t know shit, wanted to deny everything what just came out of his mouth.
Instead she asked, “You really think so?”
The kid beamed at her. “I know so.”
Brandy sighed. “Well, it’s nice that you think that but it’s not going to happen in a million years.”
The kid frowned at her. “What do you mean?” He asked as he now bandaged her hand carefully.
“She doesn’t like me,” Brandy confessed, he saw the kid’s hands go still and she felt his eyes on her. She didn’t want to look at him so she stubbornly looked at her own hands.
“How do you know?” He asked her.
“I just know,” she shrugged defeated.
“Well, you’re wrong,” the kid stated, he rolled the bandages a couple times around her hand.
Brandy’s head snapped up to look at him. “I’m not.”
“You. Are. Wrong.” The kid insisted. “You didn’t saw how she looked at you when you ran off.”
Brandy was silent for a moment, the kid was looking at her, a frown on his face and looking five seconds away from grabbing her shoulders and shake her until she saw some sense.
“How did she looked at me?” Brandy’s voice came out quiet and uncertain and she wanted to punch herself for it as she looked down again.
“With shock and anger,” the kid replied, he had stopped bandaging and was looking at her. “But I saw the adoration in her eyes as clear as day.”
Brandy didn’t know what to say to that.
“Okay, let’s make a deal.” The kid said, he clapped his hands together and sat up straighter. Brandy lifted her head and looked at him wearily.
“A deal?” She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Yes. A deal.” He confirmed. “If you confess soon to your friend, then I will perform a song with my best friend.” He said.
“Why would you do that?” Brandy questioned.
“You’re afraid, right? That she won’t like you back?” The kid asked, Brandy didn’t say anything because she knew that he already knew that.
“My best friend has been nagging me about performing with her for weeks, but I’m afraid to stand on a stage before a lot of people.” The kid explained. “If you do something that you’re afraid of, then I will do something that I’m afraid of too.”
The kid extended his hand out to her, “Deal?”
“So, If I confess to her, you will perform with your best friend?” Brandy concluded as she looked with disbelief at him.
“That’s right.” The kid nodded with a smile.
Brandy considered it for a moment and before she knew it, she had gripped the kid’s hand in hers and gave it a firm shake.
The kid grinned widely at her and she returned it with a small smile of her own.
She can’t believe she just agreed to that. Yesterday she would have thought she would never confess to Lamina, that she would probably live the rest of her life in misery as Lamina would find someone else that wasn’t her.
But now.
This kid came out of nowhere and instantly saw through her. Discovering under five minutes her secret that she had hidden so well. Brandy didn’t even know this kid and here she was, watching the kid finish bandaging her hand after they made a deal to get over their fears. Her eyes began to burn and she blinked hard.
Brandy sniffled and looked away from him, she instead looked at her hand. The bandages on her hand were now secured with a blue bandaid, it had tiny, colorful starfishes all over it and she huffed out a laugh.
“That’s a nice bandaid you put there,” Brandy commented, she lifted her hand up to her face for closer inspection.
Brandy didn’t know if the thirteen-year-old before her knew what she was doing. If he did, he didn’t show it, instead he let her change the subject.
“Starfishes are my favorite animals.” The kid said as he put all the stuff back in the blue box.
“I like highland cows.” Brandy hummed.
“Really? They are so cute. I saw them earlier this week and this guy let me name one of them. I named one Coral.” The kid stuffed the box in his bag and smiled at her.
Brandy barked out a laugh. “You named the cow Coral? You really do love sea related things, don’t you?” She said as she got to her feet.
The kid laughed as he did the same. His laughter died down a moment later though, leaving a serious expression behind as they stood opposite each other.
“You will try right? We made a deal.” The kid said.
Brandy looked at him. His brown eyes were practically boring into her soul and she knew he was only saying this so she could be happy, so she wouldn’t bottle her feelings up. It was still scary though. They had given each other a chance to get over their fears and Brandy would be stupid to pass this, she would also help him so that was a bonus, she supposes.
“I will,” she promised.
“Swear it.” The boy shot back.
Brandy rolled her eyes but there was a small smile on her lips. “I swear on this starfish bandaid that I will confess to her soon.”
The kid looked at her intently with narrowed eyes, Brandy assumed he was just making sure she wasn’t lying. Finally, the kid gave her a nod.
Brandy returned the nod and stepped back. “I’ll see you around, alright?”
The boy gave her a toothy grin, “Yeah okay.” He swung his bag over his shoulder.
“Thank you,” Brandy said before he could walk away.
The kid smiled, “Any time.” With that, the kid walked away. Brandy turned around too but turned back when she heard the boy calling.
“Don’t forget our deal!” The kid yelled at her. Brandy was about to yell something back but the boy had already turned around and was disappearing around the corner.
Brandy laughed and shook her head. It was not until later when she finally collapsed on her bed in her room that she realised she never got his name.
She struck a deal with this kid and she never got his name. How weird.
4. Treech
Treech was making his way to the market. Every Sunday he would go with his grandmother to the market and spend some quality time with her.
He had to cancel the last two weeks, because he was busy with school, so Treech was feeling extra excited to see her again.
Treech was walking to the entrance, his eyes searching for his grandma. He frowned when he didn’t saw her standing at their usual meeting spot. Treech walked further, maybe she was already walking past all the stalls already.
Treech walked through the mass of people, looking left and right to see if he could find her.
His eyes finally settled on the tiny woman by one of her favorite stalls, the stall was small but had beautiful fabrics of all kinds of colors. His grandmother loves to make her own clothes, she even tried to teach Treech when he was younger, but the needles stung his fingers more than he’d liked, so that idea was out the window. She instead taught him sign language, because she was deaf and Treech had asked her to teach him.
He wanted to communicate with her in a way that was the most easiest and comfortable for her.
He was surprised to find a young boy standing next to her. Treech stopped a decent distance away from them to not be noticed yet but still be able to see them.
His grandmother was smiling at the boy as he made gestures with his hand. In return she did the same. Treech realised the kid knew sign language and was communicating with his grandmother.
The boy signed something which Treech couldn’t see very good from where he stood, but it had his grandmother throwing her head back and laughing loudly, the boy grinned next to her as she patted his arm.
Treech finally walked over to his grandmother. The boy spotted him first and tapped the woman on her shoulder and pointed at him. His grandmother smiled widely in greeting and gave him a tight hug.
“There you are, sweetheart. It’s been ages since I have seen you.” She signed at him.
Treech felt his own smile break out on his face. “Oh come on, grandma. It’s only been two weeks.” He signed back.
“Two weeks to much, darling.” She pinched his cheek. The kid laughed next to her.
Treech looked at him as the other boy smiled politely at him. “Who’s this, grandma?” Treech signed to her.
The woman looked back at the kid. “Oh, this sweet boy helped me to cross the road. I got nearly trampled over.” The woman signed. “Honestly, the people nowadays have no respect for their elders.” A frown took over her features.
Treech nodded, and he shot the kid a grateful smile. The kid smiled back but was quickly distracted by the hand that reached out towards his dark blue hat.
Treech’s grandmother tutted at the boy as she inspected the small tear at the side of his hat.
“Let me fix that for you, sweetheart.” She signed but the kid quickly shook his head.
“You don’t have to,” The boy signed back, trying to decline.
“Nonsense, dear, I can do it.” She signed back. The boy smiled gratefully as he took of his hat and gave it to the woman. Treech’s grandmother put it carefully in her bag and smiled gently at the boy in front of her.
Suddenly the boy got his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen, his eyes widened and he hurriedly put it back in his pocket.
“I have to go, my sister is waiting for me down the market.” The boy signed hurriedly. “It was really nice meeting you.”
“Of course, dear. Go on.” The woman made a shooing motion at him which made the boy laugh. “Go to the park tomorrow and I’ll have my grandson to give it back to you.”
Treech watched the interaction, not really paying attention, only snapping back when his grandmother signed ‘my grandson’ and he realised he had to bring this kid’s hat back. Before he could say anything to that, the boy was already signing a quick thank you and goodbye before he took off.
“Do I have to bring it to him?” Treech signed after the kid was out of sight.
“Yes.” That was the only sign he got from his grandmother and he sighed dramatically, getting an amused smile out of the older woman and he offered his arm to her, she took it and Treech led her further past the stalls.
~
The next day, Treech stood at the entrance outside the local park, leaning against the wall as he shifted the kid’s hat around in his hand.
His grandmother had done a great job at fixing the tear on the hat, making it look like it was never even there. She had embroidered a tiny starfish at the inside of the hat. She had signed to Treech that she had seen the big starfish on the boy’s pants and wanted to give him a small surprise for helping her the day before when he’d asked her about it.
Treech sighed and looked at his phone to see the time. He thought that middle school would have ended by now but the kid still hadn’t shown up. He was about to walk away, going back to his grandmother’s house and return the hat so she could bring it the next day, when he heard a commotion down the street.
Treech looked up and saw a kid running his way, two boys hot on his heels. The kid’s face was laced with panic and slight anger. The other two boys just looked angry. It took Treech a moment to recognize that it was the boy that he met at the market yesterday that was running towards him.
Treech watched as his eyes landed on him and a hint of relief passed across his face. The boy ran right at him and when Treech was in arm’s reach, he latched onto the back of the older boy’s jacket. Treech stumbled backwards but regained his footing before he could fall. He lifted his arm to look behind him but he only caught a glimpse of the kid.
Treech heard the kid behind him trying to catch his breath as the other two boys came to an halt before them.
“Move.” One boy said.
Treech raised his eyebrows in surprise. Okay, who the fuck raised this child? Treech now agreed immensely with Lamina when she had said that the children these days were absolute brats .
“Excuse me?”
“He said move.” The second boy said. Treech wanted to laugh in his face as this boy was clearly trying to act cool.
“I’m not going to do that.” Treech folded his arms over his chest and looked down at them.
“We just need to talk to him,” the first boy said innocently.
Treech rolled his eyes. “Yeah, no. Why don’t you run along.” Treech made the same shooing motion as his grandmother did yesterday at the kid who stood now behind him. Only this was not done fondly, as there wasn’t a hint of a smile on Treech’s face, just plain annoyance.
The second boy huffed, his eyebrows furrowing in anger and was about to say something when the first boy grabbed his arm. “Let’s just go, we’ll get him later.”
Treech heard the kid behind him scoff, and looked behind him. “I would like to see you try.” The bite in the boy’s tone had Treech briefly thinking of Coral, but the thought quickly dismissed itself out of his mind.
The two boys glowered at him but the kid didn’t even flinch, Treech assumes he must be used to this. The boys eventually walked away.
Not until the two boys were a good distance away, released the kid Treech’s jacket and breathed out. Treech turned around to face the boy. “What the fuck was that about?”
“Oh that? It was nothing.” The kid shrugged, clearly dancing around the problem, pretending like nothing had happened.
This time it was Treech who scoffed and the kid’s face turned annoyed. “So they were just chasing you for fun, is that what that was?”
“Yes.”
“Nice try, what’d you do?” Treech fixed the kid with a look, which just made the boy look more annoyed as he looked away from Treech.
The boy muttered something under his breath.
Treech was not impressed. “I’m sorry, what was that?” He cupped his hand around his ear just to be dramatic and the kid looked even more annoyed if that was possible.
“I heard them making fun of my best friend for having an accent and I couldn’t let that slide.” The kid admitted, he met Treech’s gaze and Treech didn’t even saw an ounce of regret on the boy’s face.
Well, Treech really couldn’t say anything about that as Brandy had done the same thing for Lamina and he had given her a nod of approval. It would make him a hypocrite.
So Treech just sighed and awkwardly placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. A look of surprise came over the kid’s face, he clearly hadn’t expected that.
“Good job,” Treech cringed from himself and he rolled his eyes again as the kid’s face changed from surprised to smug.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, bad influence, blah, blah, blah. Don’t do it again.” Treech pointed a warning finger at the kid.
“I would so do it again.” The boy muttered, Treech pretended he didn’t hear him.
The kid got distracted as he saw his hat in Treech’s hand and he gasped. “She fixed it?” He looked expectantly at Treech.
“Look for yourself,” Treech handed the hat to the boy, he watched as the kid inspected every inch of the hat and eventually looked inside the hat.
Treech felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards when the kid gasped and looked at him with wide eyes before he looked at the hat again.
“That’s a starfish!” The kid exclaimed as he swiped his thumb carefully over the tiny, embroidered starfish.
“Oh my god, please thank your grandmother for me.” The boy told him as he pulled the hat on his head, his hand reaching behind his head to secure the hat on his head.
“I will.” Treech said.
The boy smiled widely and began to walk away.
“Hey!” Treech called after him. The kid looked back at him again.
“Is it safe for you to walk home right now? Won’t those boys come back again?” Treech didn’t know why he felt concerned for this kid, but something in his mind told him he should.
“Oh no. They’ll try another time.” The kid answered.
“Are you sure?“ Treech asked wearily.
“Yes, it’s okay. Thank you, though. I’ll be fine.” The boy gave him a reassuring smile.
“Alright,” Treech nodded at him, although a bit reluctantly.
“Bye!” The kid waved at him and dashed off, his hat securely on his head.
5. Lucy Gray
Lucy Gray was standing at the kitchen counter making herself and Maude Ivory a cup of tea while the other girl was chatting up a storm behind her at the table.
Maude Ivory had told her weeks ago that her best friend had a great voice and she wanted him to perform with her at The Hob. The Covey performed there on weekends and she has been trying for weeks to get him to perform with her. This week Maude Ivory had finally convinced him.
Lucy Gray listened attentively as Maude Ivory recounted her story about what happened at school.
“It came out of nowhere, Lucy Gray. Maybe he was finally done with my naggin’ because he plopped down in the seat next to me in art class and immediately said that he would perform with me tomorrow. I hadn’t even said anythin’!” Maude Ivory exclaimed, a big smile on her face and Lucy Gray laughed.
“Well, it sounds to me that you finally succeeded on your mission, darlin’.” Lucy Gray walked over and sat the cup in front of her, telling the younger girl a quick warning for the still hot tea before she took a seat opposite her.
“Is he nervous?” Lucy Gray asked.
“He so is,” she answered. “I think that was the reason why he didn’t want to go at first.“ Maude Ivory added thoughtfully.
Lucy Gray smiled into her cup of tea when she took a careful sip. Maude Ivory began to chatter about what they had made in art class and about the drama that was happening between two of her classmates in her class when the doorbell went.
“Oh!” Maude Ivory exclaimed. “He’s here.” And the girl scrambled to the hall that led to the door. Lucy Gray, who watched her cousin go amusedly, followed behind her.
“Should I open the door?” She asked Maude Ivory as she watched the girl struggle with putting her shoes on.
“Yeah, go on,” she said. Lucy Gray opened the door to a brown haired boy standing in front of it.
“Hi.” The boy said simply as he smiled at her. Lucy Gray smiled warmly back at him. “Hi. Maude Ivory is almost done.”
Just then, Maude Ivory appeared from behind her and Lucy Gray watched as the boy’s face lit up and he grinned at the girl.
“Let’s go!” Maude Ivory practically fled down the steps of the porch, dragging the boy with her by the arm, the poor boy almost tripped but caught himself and Lucy Gray heard him laugh.
“Be back by six!” Lucy Gray called after them. The only thing she got in return was Maude Ivory giving her a big wave before she raced further down the street with her friend.
Lucy Gray shut the door and walked through the hall, into the kitchen again. She went to grab her cup of tea, Maude Ivory’s cup stood untouched opposite her, when her phone rang. She picked it up and smiled when she saw who it was.
“Hi darlin’,” Lucy Gray said in greeting.
“Hey,” Coral answered on the other side of the line.
“What’s up?” Lucy Gray picked up her cup of tea and drank from it.
“I just wanted to quickly ask you if you would like to meet my little brother tomorrow night at The Hob after your show. Tanner, Treech, Lamina and Brandy are going to be there too.” Coral asked her.
“Really?!” Lucy Gray exclaimed. “I would love to.” She had been wanting to meet the boy for ages. She had been dating Coral for like two months now, but hadn’t had the time to meet him. There were times when the boy or Coral didn’t have time so she hadn’t met him yet.
But now she would tomorrow and Lucy Gray felt excited. “Okay, I’ll tell him that later.” Coral replied, Lucy Gray could practically see the smile on her face.
“By the way,” Coral continued. “Have you heard that Brandy and Lamina got together?”
“Oh finally ,” Lucy Gray laughed. “If it had continued like that any longer, I would’ve done somethin’ about it.”
Lucy Gray heard Coral laugh and she smiled delightedly.
What was meant to be a quick call according to Coral, Lucy Gray hung up the phone a good two hours later. They had talked about Brandy and Lamina’s new relationship, Lucy Gray laughed so hard that tears sprung to her eyes when Coral told her about Brandy calling her in the middle of the night, practically screaming at her that she had confessed to Lamina and that they had kissed and were now dating.
Lucy Gray would normally be excited to meet new people but she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. This was Coral’s little brother they were talking about. What if he doesn’t like her and Coral will stop dating her because of that? She knew Coral adored her little brother and would do anything for him. It would be the absolute worst if Coral’s favorite person didn’t like her.
Lucy Gray had voiced her concerns to Coral, the other girl had immediately assured her that he wasn’t like that and that he would love her. Lucy Gray believed her.
~
The Hob was packed as Lucy Gray sung on the stage. Maude Ivory was backstage with her friend. Lucy Gray spotted her friends at the table in the back. Coral was watching her and Lucy Gray sent her a wink, which had the girl quickly grabbing her drink to distract herself with, she saw Tanner laughing at her as he had watched their exchange, Coral just scowled at him and slapped his arm.
Lucy Gray saw Lamina talking to Brandy, the girl looked absolutely besotted at the red head. Lucy Gray thought Lamina didn’t notice it, but the small smile on her face and the blush that lightly dusted her cheeks told her a different story.
Lucy Gray smiled to herself as she sung the last words of the song. Her smile remained on her face when the crowd clapped and cheered and she gave a bow and said a quick thank you in the microphone.
Lucy Gray stepped of the stage and went through the door backstage, the rest of the Covey getting something to drink before they performed Maude Ivory’s song.
She walked through the door and was met with the boy sitting on the couch that stood there, Maude Ivory nowhere to be found, although her drum was laying next to the boy.
The boy looked up, he smiled at her before he looked down at his hands. His hat was in his hand and Lucy Gray watched as he traced the outline of a tiny starfish that was on the inside of his hat with his thumb.
She sat down next to him, and studied him for a moment. The boy probably felt her eyes on him because he lifted his head again and looked at her again.
“Are you nervous?” Lucy Gray asked.
“Yeah,” the boy admitted.
Lucy Gray grinned, “It’s goin’ to be great.”
“How do you know?” The boy asked her, genuinely curious.
“I have a feelin’.” She said. “I am never wrong with that.” She shot him an encouraging smile.
“But what if I’m bad?” He asked her, Lucy Gray could already see the thoughts about backing out forming in his head and was quick to shut it down.
“Hey, none of that. I have a feelin’, remember? When I say you’ll do great, you’ll do great.” The boy didn’t say anything back but he shot her a small smile and it fell quiet between them again.
Lucy Gray realised suddenly she didn’t even know the boy’s name and was about to ask him when the door opened and Maude Ivory stepped inside.
“We’re good to go,” she said excitedly.
“That’s my cue to leave.” Lucy Gray stood up from the couch and turned to the boy. “You’ll do great.” She said again and this time the kid looked like he actually believed her this time.
She walked past Maude Ivory and said a quick good luck on her way out. Lucy Gray walked into the room where all the people were and began to weave her way through the crowd to the table where her friends were.
Lamina saw her first and she waved at her, Lucy Gray waved back with a smile and watched as Coral’s face brightened when she saw her.
“Hello!” She greeted them all, immediately rounding the table to get to Coral and giving her a long kiss. Lucy Gray heard Brandy and Treech make disgusted noises and she pulled back just as she heard Tanner mutter, “Get a room.”
“Funny,” Coral deadpanned.
“So, where’s your little brother?” Brandy asked Coral.
Coral looked at her. “He said he’s performing tonight with his best friend, so he’s coming later.” Coral picked up her drink and took a sip. “Is Maude Ivory performing tonight?” Coral asked Lucy Gray.
“She is,” she said. “Maude finally convinced her friend to join her with one of her performances. So she’s extra excited tonight.” Just as she finished her sentence, the music started and they all turned their attention towards the stage.
Lucy Gray smiled when she saw Maude Ivory standing on the stage, her friend next to her, both occupying a microphone. She watched Maude Ivory give a quick nod behind her before she counted down.
“One, two, three, four.” And the music started.
Lucy Gray looked away from them to look at Coral when she heard the other girl laugh. “What?” Lucy Gray asked her, a smile on her lips.
Coral pointed at a person on the stage, “There he is.”
The smile dropped of Lucy Gray’s face in a second. “What?” She asked shocked. And she looked back at the stage as Maude Ivory and the boy were singing her chorus. The kid seemed more relaxed now, that might be because he had Maude Ivory on the stage with him.
Lucy Gray would find it sweet and smile right now if she wasn’t distracted by the words her girlfriend just said.
It seems like her words also didn’t go unnoticed by their other friends, as they were all staring at her in shock.
1+ Meeting Mizzen
“That’s you’re little brother?” Treech asked her, his eyes wide.
“Yeah?” Coral looked confused at them all, her brows furrowing and she narrowed her eyes. “What about it?”
Before Treech could answer, Brandy cut him off as she groaned loudly. “Oh my god, I should’ve known.”
She set her drink with a tud on the table and stood up from her seat, cupped her hands around her mouth and whooped loudly. Coral watched as Mizzen looked around the room before his eyes found Brandy and he waved at her.
“You know him?!” Coral asked Brandy.
“I made a deal with him!” Brandy replied excitedly.
Coral looked shocked and a bit angry, “A deal?!”
“Yeah! He found me after I punched that guy,” Brandy shot Lamina an apologetic look before she continued. “And we made a deal. If I confessed to Lamina, he would perform with his best friend.”
“You guys know him too?” Coral turned to the rest of them.
“I met him yesterday and saw him backstage just now,” Lucy Gray replied.
“I let him name a cow,” Tanner shrugged, Coral raised an judgmental eyebrow at him and looked at Treech.
“I just gave him his hat back after my grandmother fixed it for him,” Treech held his hands up.
Coral narrowed her eyes again and looked at Lamina. “He ran into me on the streets.” The girl explained.
Coral frowned as she watched Lamina pull something from her pocket and handed it to her. Coral suspiciously accepted it and folded the paper open.
Lamina watched as Coral’s frown melted of her face and her face softened. Lucy Gray looked over Coral’s shoulder and smiled. “Ahh, that’s sweet.” She cooed.
Coral folded the paper and put it in her own pocket before she pinned them all in place with a glare. “Why did no one tell me?”
“He never said his name.” Treech answered, the others nodding around him. They were interrupted as Brandy cheered again and they realised the song was over.
Coral watched as Mizzen held Maude Ivory’s hand as they bowed down in sync. She watched as she saw him say something in the girl’s ear and jumped of the stage. Their eyes met and Mizzen grinned from ear to ear and Coral felt herself grinning too as he made his way towards her.
Knowing what was about to happen, Coral stood up and opened her arms just as Mizzen jumped at her. She hugged him tightly, Mizzen doing the same.
“Did you saw me, Coral?!” He asked her excitedly. “I did it!”
“Yes, I saw you.” Coral released him and grabbed his shoulders. “You did great, starfish!”
Mizzen beamed up at her, Coral was grinning at him. “I would like you to meet a few friends of mine.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him towards their table.
Coral watched Mizzen’s face carefully as she saw recognition bloom on his face as his eyes landed first on Lamina, then on Brandy, then on Treech and Tanner and finally on Lucy Gray.
Mizzen looked confused and pointed at them. “I know them.”
“Yeah, I thought so.” Coral sighed and removed her arm from around his shoulders to sit next to Lucy Gray as she watched Mizzen smile and instantly go to Brandy and Lamina’s side.
Coral watched as Mizzen asked Brandy something excitedly, Brandy answering just as excitedly back with a grin on her face as she held hers and Lamina’s interlaced hands in the air. The girl laughed as Mizzen gasped and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her lightly. Lamina looked confused but Brandy was quick to fill her in on the story and soon she was smiling fondly at Brandy.
Mizzen turned to Tanner and Treech next. Tanner was laughing as he told Mizzen something, Coral could hear the word ‘ cows ’ being passed around a couple times and watched as Mizzen broke into a fit of laughter. Mizzen looked at Treech next, Treech was saying something and Mizzen rolled his eyes at him with a smile. Coral heard some bits and pieces there, something about not getting into more trouble? Whatever that meant.
And finally, Mizzen bounded over to them. Coral watched as he stood in front of Lucy Gray and held his hand out in front of him.
Lucy Gray smiled and took his hand. “I’m Mizzen.” He introduced himself to her.
“I’m Lucy Gray.” She looked delighted as she shook his hand and Coral’s heart swelled with adoration for the girl.
“I told you it would go great,” Lucy Gray said to him. Mizzen laughed, “Yeah, you did.”
Coral watched Mizzen talk with Lucy Gray, content with just watching them as she sipped from her drink. She smiled as Lucy Gray said something and Mizzen laughed loudly.
Coral watched as Mizzen bounced from one of her friends to the other, talking and laughing as he did.
Mizzen was now talking with Lamina and Coral saw Tanner coming over to her to stand next to her out of the corner of her eye. She watched Mizzen but got distracted as Tanner said something in her ear.
“Did you know he named a cow after you?”