Riddle Middle

Chapter 29: Forgiveness

Smiley (1st person)

I was mad at Phil, even if I didn't want to be. He didn't mean to almost get me killed, and he saved me, but none of this would've happened if he had just left me alone. Really, it was Joy's fault, but I was too distressed to think normally. I flopped into my bedroom. I was still freezing and muddy. It was 10:00 P.M., but my mom didn't seem to be looking for me. My dad works on a night shift, so he wasn't even in the house. I got clean clothes and went into the bathroom. I took a shower, and the warm water felt amazing. I felt much better when I was done. My dog, Delta, was waiting patiently for me outside of the bathroom. She's a Husky-Burmese Mountain dog mix. She comes up to just above my waist. She's aggressive towards everyone, except me, for some reason. Her tail wagged wildly, and she opened her mouth as if to smile. I gently patted her head, but nothing else. I went back to my room and flopped onto my bed. Delta followed. Her tail drooped and her excitement faded. She leapt onto my bed and lay her head in my hand. I sat up and gently stroked her. She rolled over, exposing her belly. I continued stroking her. With her warmth, I fell asleep pretty quickly.

The next morning, I walked to school with my friends like I always do. "Are you... Do you forgive me?" Phil asked. "Yeah..." I muttered. "Okay..." he said, sighing. "What happened?" Zack asked. I looked to Phil. "We were... Walking together... And Joy pushed Smiley into a river. I went in after Smiley. We washed onto a bank, and I had trouble finding her. I eventually did, and I took her home. Does that sound right, Smiley?" he asked. I nodded. "Okay, then what do you mean forgive?" he asked. "Smiley wouldn't talk to me. Or maybe she couldn't. I'm not sure," Phil said. I just shrugged. Zack stopped talking to me. Phil stopped talking to me. Phred and Pico wouldn't talk to me. They still talked to each other, and I just stood to the side like an idiot. We got to school, and I got my stuff out of my locker. For the first three periods, they wouldn't talk to me. Well, it's not like I was trying to talk to them. I sat alone at lunch like a loser, and Joy called me out for that. I was used to that, so it didn't bother me that much. I still missed my friends. The rest of the day wasn't as enjoyable as it normally was.

After school, I walked home alone. My mom didn't bother asking me how my day was. My dad was getting the few hours of sleep that he could. Delta stood by the door, wagging her tail. I put my backpack down and put Delta's leash on. "I'm gonna take Delta for a walk!" I called. No response. I sighed and walked out of the door. My plan was to take her down to the forest by school and back. That would mean walking by Phil's house, and I hoped he'd talk to me. I walked Delta, and every time a car passed, she'd strain on the leash to chase it until I told her to stop. I came to Zack's house, which was a few houses away from Phil's. It was also on the other side of the road. Zack was outside, rummaging through his mailbox. Delta growled. "Oh, hey Smiley," he said. "Hey, uh... You're not mad at me, are you?" I asked. "Not necessarily. I don't understand why you're mad at Phil, and you don't seem to want to talk about it," he said. "I was just scared, I didn't mean to come across as mad," I said. That wasn't really true. "Well, I suggest you tell him that," he said. Delta lunged forward towards Zack. She clamped her jaw onto his butt.

"AH! What the heck?!" He yelled. He didn't say heck. He turned, but Delta wouldn't let go. "Delta!" I yelled. Her ears were back, and she was still growling. "DELTA!" I yelled louder. She bit down a bit harder, and Zack squeaked. She then let go and returned to my side. "I'm really sorry about that..." I said. He looked unamused. "Yeah, you should be," he said. "You're not bleeding or anything, are you?" I asked. "I don't think so, but it still hurts," he said. He went back to his house with his mail. I continued walking. I crossed the street to get to Phil's house. He was in his front yard, holding a frisbee. There was a little Corgi in front of him. The Corgi backed up and wagged it's tail. "Ready?" Phil said. The Corgi barked. Phil prepared to throw the frisbee. "Hey Phil," I said. Phil turned. "Oh, hi..." he said. "Listen, I'm really sorry, there was no reason for me to be mad at you," I said. "I'm just glad you're talking to me again," Phil said. His Corgi approached Delta, who was straining on her leash. "Your dog's pretty big..." Phil said. "Yeah," I said. I yanked her leash so she wouldn't hurt the Corgi. "What's their name?" Phil asked. "Her name's Delta," I said. Phil laughed. "What?" I said. "Sorry, but hearing how cool other dogs names sound makes mine seem even more ridiculous," he said. "What's your dog's name?" I asked. "This is Bagel," he said. Grabbing his dog and holding it under his arms. "Aww, that's cute!" I said. Bagel launched out of Phil's arms and over to Delta. He stretched into a play bow and barked at Delta. Delta's tail wagged and she barked playfully. Bagel began running, and Delta tried to chase him. I wouldn't let go of her leash. She seemed to like Bagel, but I wasn't 100% sure. "So, do you forgive me?" Phil asked. "Of course, though I wasn't really mad at you," I said. Phil inched closer to me. "I should probably go inside now," Phil said. "Oh... Alright," I said. Phil looked hesitant.

Phil (1st person)

I wanted to invite Smiley inside, but I wasn't sure if that would be the right thing to do. My brothers aren't the nicest, and I didn't want Smiley to get hurt. My sister's alright. I have four siblings. Apparently there's a one in fifty-seven million chance that my mom would have quintuplets. We're all different ages though, so I guess that makes it less rare. "Uh... Y-You can come inside if you want to," I said. "Okay! But what about Delta?" she said. "You can bring your dog with you," I said. I opened the front door and walked into my living room. I set Bagel down, and he trotted up the stairs. "Hey Phil," my mom said. "Hello," I said. "How was school?" She asked. She hadn't turned around, so she hadn't noticed Smiley. "Meh, fine I guess," I said. She turned. "Oh, who's this?" She asked, looking to Smiley. "This is my..." I said. I wanted to say 'girlfriend', but I didn't know if Smiley was okay with that. She nodded. "...Girlfriend," I said. "Oh... How long have you been with her?" She asked. "A few months," I said. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asked. I shrugged. My mom didn't say much to Smiley, other than asking for her name. "C'mon, let's go upstairs," I said. My dad was at work. I led Smiley upstairs. Charlie, my one-year-old brother, was seemingly asleep. Lila, my sister, is the same age as me. She's homeschooled. I think she's the favorite child. Jack, one of my older brothers, is in eighth grade. James, my other older brother, is a sophomore in high school. "Oh, uh, Phil? James is sick, don't get too close to him!" My mom called. "Okay!" I called.

Smiley (1st person)

Someone came out of a room down the hall. They essentially looked like an emo version of Phil. Rather than a green jacket, they had a black jacket, along with black pants and shoes. He also looked slightly agitated. He saw Phil and ran over to him. Delta growled. He shoved Phil against the wall. Phil look disappointed. "What's going on? Why's there some girl here?" He asked. "T-That's my girlfriend, now leave me alone!" Phil said. His voice was squeaky. "Girlfriend? How much did you pay her?" He said with laughter in his voice. I loosened my grip on Delta's leash. She barked and launched forward. She sunk her teeth into his leg. He yelled, then he kicked Delta away. Delta stood and bit him again. Emo Phil shoved Delta away again, then he backed up a bit. He let Phil go. "Does that dog have rabies or something?!" He said. Delta stood protectively in front of me and Phil. "You know what, I don't even care..." he said. He retreated back to his room. Phil stood. "Sorry, that was Jack," Phil said.

He led me down the hallway. There was groaning coming from the bathroom. "I'm assuming that's James," Phil said. "Don't you have a sister?" I asked. "Yeah, her room's here," he said. He gently knocked on the door. A girl with long black hair and a blue jacket answered. She was a few inches shorter than Phil. "Oh, hello," she said. "Can I... Or... can we come in?" Phil asked. "You can, but who's she?" She asked. "She's my girlfriend," Phil said. "Wow, that's surprising," she said. There wasn't much emotion in her voice. "What's your name?" She asked. "I'm Smiley," I said. "Smiley? That's a strange name," she said. I wasn't sure if that was an insult. Phil glared at her. "Err... Not that it's bad or anything..." she said. "Uh... You can both come in," she said. I couldn't help but think she was a bit awkward. Her room did look pretty cool. She had blue LED lights lining the walls, an expensive looking P.C., and one of those gaming chairs. I had a feeling that she liked blue. Phil began to look slightly uncomfortable. "So... If you had to choose one word to describe yourself, what would it be?" She asked me. "Oh, also my name's Lila," she said. "Okay... Uh... Ambitious?" I said. "Ah, you're a teacher's pet. I'm assuming you're bullied. You also probably don't have a close relationship to your family," she said. "That's strangely accurate," I said. Delta was scratching on her door. She opened it. "Smiley, is this your dog?" She asked. "Yeah, her name's Delta," I said. "That means third in command. Do you have another dog? Do you put yourself above your dog?" She said. "Oh, no... I just liked the name," I said. "Oh. Phil, do you want this?" She asked, holding out a small container with a piece of cake in it. "Okay! Wait, where is it from?" Phil asked. "Mom gave it to me, but I don't want it," she said. Phil happily took the container. He thanked her, and we left her room. Phil opened his bedroom door. Before I could see anything, he ran in front of me and blocked my vision. "Sorry, one second!" He yelled. He ran inside and slammed the door.

There were some tearing sounds, then he opened the door again. "Okay," he said. His room was much smaller than Lila's, but it looked nice. There were some lighter colored patches on the wall. I saw some large papers in his trash can. "Did you have posters or something?" I asked. "Yeah... Uh, do you like anime?" Phil asked. "I haven't watched much, but I don't have anything against it," I said. "Would you like to watch some?" He asked. "Sure!" I said. He got his computer and put it on the floor. We sat in front of it, pressing against each other. Delta sat in the corner, watching us ominously. Bagel came inside and sat next to Delta. After a while, I had to go, since I'd been 'walking my dog' for over and hour. I didn't want to leave, and I don't think Phil wanted me to either.