Ad Hominem

2: "We're doomed."

"Yeah, I'm not going there."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun. Plus, you get to work out a little, you know, flex those muscles or something? You need to lose some, sister."

She glared at Elise, an evil smirk playing on her lips as if she was mentally stabbing her best friend in the eye with a pitchfork.

"You know, insulting won't get you any gift when it's your turn," she threatened Elise.

"Oh, sure. I've been waiting my whole life for a cheesy teddy and scented candles. What were you thinking I'd do, cuddle with the teddy for when the monsters under my bed start laughing menacingly, or do myself in the bathroom with those candles?"

Her eyes widened, still registering what her best friend had been thinking of her loving present for the past two months.

"That's why you got the candles, Anne?" Jo asked, disbelief hinting off of her tone. "And I thought you were the most innocent of us three. I'm disappointed, Anne." She shook her head in disapproval, placing her hand on her chest to mock hurt.

"She's not innocent. She's just too much of a wimp to try something for fun." Elise narrowed her eyes at Anne, while Anne continued to glance between her two best friends with shock, "I feel betrayed."

"Wait, no," Elise snapped her fingers, her index pointing at Anne with an accusatory look. "You're just a chicken. Bawk, bawk! Bawk, bawk, baw-kak!"

Folding her arms from her elbows and grabbing her hips, she flapped her hands, imitating a chicken, and walked about the school corridor making chicken noises. Jo broke into a fit of laughter, clutching her stomach and leaning back and forth as her face turned red. Some students' attentions were caught while they were gossiping amongst each other, eating something or the other during the lunch hour.

Jo laughed, so uncontrollably that her guffaw transformed into dry coughs. Anne stared at her best friends with bewilderment. While one was coughing hectically, looking around for a bottle of water, the other was doing chicken dances throughout the corridor, earning virulent or disgusted glances from their fellow classmates.

"I must've done something terrible in my past life and karma is just paying me a visit," Anne muttered looking up at the ceiling.

"Nope. You're too mingy and cheap for Karma to want to pay you a second visit, my friend," said Elise, stopping in her objectionable imitating skills after noticing Jo struggling. She rushed inside the classroom and returned with Jo's backpack and water bottle, carrying hers on her back as well, hiding them by leaning against the wall. She didn't want the students to know of their intentions.

The two huddled around Jo, covering her so as to prevent others from seeing their best friend panting miserably.

"Here, drink some," Elise told Jo, her gaze softening as she and Anne patted Jo on the back for comfort.

"There, there. You're okay. Damn, if I knew my chicken dance would almost get you to faint and breathe so hard, I would've gone for the gorilla dance," Elise scrunches her face in deep contemplation, picturing what would've happened if she did indeed go for the gorilla dance.

Jo shot her a dagger, her eyes bloodshot, while Anne thwacked her hand, eyeing her with a scowl.

"Ow! Just saying."

"I am a monkey-I-I mean, gorilla-and I scratch my armpits, going ooh-ooh aah-aah, hogging a banana... Hey, that rhymed! I should probably write it down before I forget it"- Elise wondered, a content smile lingering on her face as she nodded, pleased with her brilliance, while Jo and Anne kept staring at her with narrow eyes.