Riddle Middle

Chapter 32: Blizzard

Phil (1st person)

Around five, Smiley called me. She said she went to Starbucks with Joy, and she was being a jerk again. After telling her that I felt bad, I asked if she wanted to come to my house again. She gladly accepted my offer. She got to my house around five. Bagel seemed excited to see her. "Did you name him Bagel or did one of your siblings?" She asked. "Nope, that was all me," I said. "Why'd you choose that name?" She asked. "He looks like a Bagel when he sleeps," I said. "That's cute!" she said, laughing a bit. She came inside, and we went upstairs. My brothers didn't seem to be around. I had to use the bathroom, so I told Smiley to either wait outside or go to my room.

Smiley (1st person)

I'm not sure why, but I decided to see if Lila could help me. I knocked on her door, and she answered. "Oh, hello," she said. "Hey, uh... What do I do if someone attempted to murder me?" I asked. "Normally I'd say call the police, but I'd like to know what happened," she said. We went into her room. "I was watching the sunset with Phil, then my cousin, Joy, appeared behind us. She asked if I could swim, I said no, then she shoved me into the river. She claims she knew I'd be fine, but I wouldn't be if Phil hadn't saved me," I said. "I wouldn't call that an attempted murder. I'm guessing she just didn't think about what she was doing," she said. "Is she the one that's bullying you?" She asked. "Yeah, and I don't know what to do," I said. "I'm assuming you've tried reporting her," she said. "Yeah, it didn't work," I said. "Well, why is she bullying you?" She asked. "I... I actually don't know..." I said.

"Do you thinks she's insecure?" She said. "No," I said. "Okay. Do you act weird in school or anything?" She asked. I shrugged. "I wouldn't really know, but I don't think so," I said. "Is she jealous of you?" She asked. "No, I don't think so," I said. "Is she doing it for her own pleasure?" She asked. "Yeah, that sounds right," I said. "Okay. Do you give her a big reaction?" She asked. "Well, she makes me do her homework and some of her class work..." I said. "Ah," she said. "So, what do I do?" I asked. "Does she bully your friends?" Lila asked. "She shoved Pico in his locker, or she tricked 5 into doing it, she embarrassed Zack, and she's pretty rude to Phil," I said. "What about Phred?" She asked. "I haven't seen her do much with him... I mean, I'm pretty sure she pushed him, but that's it," I said. "And how did he react?" Lila asked. "He didn't react when she did it, but he reported her later. She got suspended, but she's still a jerk. The only reason the principal listened to him is because he's a safety patrol," I said. "Okay, your best bet would be to ignore her," she said. "Oh, okay... I'll try that. Thanks," I said. "You're welcome. I'm guessing Phil's waiting for you," Lila said. I assumed that was her asking me to leave, so I did. I went back to Phil's room. I knocked on his door. He slowly opened it. "Oh, there you are!" He said. "Sorry, I was talking to Lila," I said. "Oh. What were you talking about?" He asked. "She gave me some advice on how to handle Joy," I said. "Oh, alright," Phil said.

Phil (1st person)

I had come out of the bathroom less than five minutes later, and I couldn't find Smiley anywhere. The first place I checked was my room. Then I checked the downstairs bathroom, the kitchen, living room, and closets for some reason. The last place I would've checked is Lila's room. I went back to my room, and I was about to call her and ask if she went home. Right after I took out my phone, she knocked on my door. She said she'd been talking to Lila, who gave her advice about Joy. That's good, because I was completely out of ideas. We snuggled together and watched our... my anime again. "So, what did Lila say?" I asked. Smiley didn't respond. I looked down at her. She snored gently. She rolled off of me and lay flat on the floor. She continued twisting around on the floor. She didn't seem to be able to get comfortable. She eventually seemed to give up, and she lay face down on the floor. As carefully and gently as I could, I lifted her onto my bed. She was a bit heavy, but I managed. I lay a blanket over here. I was a bit cold, but I ignored that.

A half hour later, I decided that I should wake her. It was around six thirty. I carefully shook her. She yawned and stretched. "Smiley?" I said. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She looked a bit confused. "What time is it?" she asked. "It's six thirty-seven," I said. "Oh. Why am I in your bed?" she asked. "I put you on my bed because you didn't seem to be able to get comfortable," I said. "Ah. I wasn't snoring, was I?" she said. "You were, but that doesn't matter," I said. "Okay... Well, thanks. I should probably go home. Sorry I fell asleep," she said. "Oh, that's fine. Do you want me to walk you home?" I asked. "That'd be nice," she said. We went out of my room, out of the house, and into the street. The sky looked beautiful because of the sunset. It was an orangish-purplish color, if that makes any sense. It had gotten a lot colder, and I could see my breath. Smiley hadn't brought a jacket with her, and she was shivering a bit. I took off my jacket. She turned. "Here," I said, holding it out to her. "Hm? Oh, no, you wear it," she said. "You look like you're freezing," I said. "Yeah, but at least I have a long-sleeved shirt. I'll be fine," she said. I sighed. Smiley could be a bit too nice. Despite what she had said, I slipped it onto her. She didn't take it off or anything. Now I was freezing in my short-sleeved shirt, but Smiley seemed okay.

I was wondering if it would end up snowing. Just as I thought that, it began snowing. At first it was a few white specks in the sky, but it turned into a blizzard pretty fast. We were almost to Smiley's house, but it was extremely windy, and I didn't know how far I could go without a jacket. Smiley put the hood on my jacket up and pressed against my side. I was starting to feel a bit numb, but I forced myself to keep walking. We got to Smiley's house, and she went over to her window. She said something, but I couldn't hear her over the howling wind. She opened her window, then she grabbed me and pulled me in with her. She slammed her window and looked down at me. "Phil, are you okay?" she asked. I tried to tell her I was fine, but my teeth were chattering too much to talk clearly. She took my jacket off and wrapped it around me. "Stay here, I'll be right back," she said. She soon came back with an extremely large and fluffy coat. She wrapped it around me. It was incredibly warm, and I stopped shivering pretty soon. "Thank you, Smiley," I said. "You're-" before she could finish, there was a knock at her door. Smiley pulled me up, then she went over to her closet. She looked at me urgently. I went into the closet. I listened to the conversation outside.

"Smiley, why're you covered in snow?" someone, presumably her mom, said. "I was on a walk and got caught in the blizzard," Smiley said. "Oh. You weren't with that boy, were you?" she asked. "Phil? No, I wasn't," Smiley said. "Good. You're not still with him, are you?" she asked. "Uh... N-No..." Smiley said. "You're lying," she said. "Does it matter? Joy has a boyfriend," Smiley said. "Well, you're no Joy," she said. I heard the door close. Smiley came back and opened the closet. "Phil, I'm so sorry..." she said. "Why?" I asked. "I said we weren't together anymore; I didn't mean that..." she said. "Oh, it's fine. I know your mom doesn't like me," I said. "The blizzards not any better. You could stay here for the night if you want," Smiley said. I called my mom and told her what happened, except for me sneaking into Smiley's house rather than just going in. She said I could spend the night. Now I just have to stay here for the night without Smiley's mom finding out...