Ender Girl

Chapter Two - Endermen

Chapter Two - Endermen

If you've heard of me, you've most likely heard of James and Toby.

James and Toby Fallon, my infamous twin troublemaker brothers. Blockheads, in my opinion. The village thinks they're hilarious. Ah. Not if they're pranking YOU.

Over the years, I've come to know when it's likely I'll be the victim of some attack designed to trip me, knock me out, make me look like an idiot, etc. Like this morning with the apple-dispenser and the tripwire. That's normal here. Trust me, once one of the villagers had all their underwear taken out of their chest, and enchanted so that the undergarments would attack the wearer. The villager got a black eye and several blue bruises all over his body. James and Toby got a time-out for two hours. Literally. Like, they got their little wooden rocking chairs, got put in two separate corners of the house, and stared at the wall for two hours, thinking. Meanwhile I went swimming. Which was much more fun.

They do okay at school, but it's mainly that they don't want to do okay at school. They don't try as hard as they could. And that's normal for ten-year-olds, I guess. I wasn't super focused on school when I was ten. I was focused on having fun, on agility training and my new puppy. I went right back to school after, though. James and Toby do not. It's just something they don't do.

Piper Beaumont runs the farm. She's a seventeen-year-old girl with long brown hair that she keeps in a ponytail, deep swirling brown eyes and a huge love of animals. She has a pet kitten called Kirsten, who is pale yellow with brown spots. Ash and Kirsten are best friends; they love each other! It's actually quite astonishing.

"Hi Piper," I say, breathing heavily. Piper, in her muddy overalls and boots, grins at me.

"Tired?" she asks.

"No," I say, regaining my balance as Piper scratches Ash on the head and Kirsten purrs contentedly.

Piper's smile widens. She's always happy, because she's Piper. She's not concerned with being cool like the average teenager, but she can't stop her nice looks. Piper is a very, very pretty girl. And she cannot help that. Though I'm pretty sure she would try. She doesn't like drawing attention to herself.

"So, what am I doing?"

Piper hands me a bucket. "Please do me a favor and milk the cows."

"Okay," I say, taking the bucket.

"Stop by the farmhouse and put on your proper clothes!" she reminds me.

"I will!" I cry over my shoulder. "Come, Ash!"

I pull open the wooden door of the brick farmhouse. It's just a simple triangular design, with a wooden roof and a loft upstairs. I open the chest with the sign marked "TÉA" above it, and pull out my overalls and my rubber boots. The chests each contain special things for each employee. Sadly, it's also my job to check James and Toby's chests for pranks, because they have been known to do that. I won't go into detail, because you've already heard the underwear story. Thankfully, they haven't seemed to have hidden anything in there. There's just some fruit, two pairs of overalls and two pairs of boots. I shrug and pull my clothes on. Then I tie my long hair back out of my face and set out.

I milk the cows one at a time while Ash has fun chasing the sheep in the next cage over.

"Okay, Ash!" I call when I have three full buckets of the white stuff. "Come on!"

I swing open the gate for him to run out and close it again before any of the sheep can follow suit.

"Good boy," I say.

We bring the milk back to the farmhouse and put it on the table which has an Enderpearl on it already, and a note. I frown and pick it up, dropping the buckets on the tabletop as it slips through my fingers.

Dear Piper, it reads, One of the Endermen turned hostile and attacked me. The only logical thing to do was fight back, otherwise the farm wouldn't exist anymore. I'm sorry. Signed, Selena.

I drop the note. Oh no. Yanking open the door, I run down the cobblestone path as quickly as I can, towards the mob section. The trip takes six minutes, walking slowly. For me, running as fast as my legs will take me, only three, maybe two and a half. I skid to a stop next to the Enderman cage.

"What happened?!" I exclaim. Selena and two other young employees are standing there calming the Endermen.

"Téa," says Selena, almost with relief. "Thank Notch!"

"Don't thank Notch," I interrupt.

"Oh right - sorry," says Selena quietly. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"What happened?" I repeat.

Selena focuses her stare on the weapons bucket. "I accidentally brushed against an Enderman while I was passing through. And he - well, he attacked me. And I didn't know what to do, so I just grabbed the diamond sword over there, avoided his eyes, and stuck it through his chest! I'm so sorry!"

She wipes her eyes. Selena is the Enderman Keeper, so no doubt she would be upset if an Enderman was killed, especially if she herself killed an Enderman.

Speaking of which, the Endermen in the cage are making strange retching noises.

"Stop singing!" I say irritably. "You'll never be in a play!"

To my amazement, he shuts up. I have a sudden urge to look him in the eye. And I slowly turn towards him until we lock stares and I feel myself slipping away.