Run Rabbit Run

Run Rabbit Run 2

Chelsea sailed down the hallway. Her entourage giggling behind her. If Lara could have she would have sunk into the floor in a puddle of shame. Ivy was going to hate her now. If she hadn't intervened on Lara's behalf, she'd never have made an enemy of the most popular girl in school. She waited for Ivy to turn on her, but Ivy rolled her eyes.

"And I thought there was P.M.S. at my old school." She grabbed Lara's arm. "Hey, screw the Princess Bitch, you wanna grab something to eat after school?"

Lara froze. "I'm not sure."

"C'mon. I saw there's a new place that opened in your mall, Mug Shots, looks like fun."

"I can't." Lara rubbed her legs together, biting her lip. "I promised my mom I'd come straight home."

"Do you always do what your mommy tells you to?" Ivy jeered. Lara's mind was suddenly filled with a different version of the past. One where Ivy rejected her and chose Chelsea. Still she hesitated, she had never broken a promise before.

Ivy sensed she was weakening. "C'mon," she urged. "We can get the caffeine we need and you can let me copy the pages from Trig. You'll be doing me a favor."

A favor? Compared to what Ivy had just done? Sacrificed her whole social future for a mistake like her.

"Maybe just for a little while."

"Great, we'll take your car. I don't have one anymore."

No need to tell Ivy she'd borrowed the car from her mom that day. "Umm sure, that's fine," she said.

As they headed towards the parking lot, they passed the usual crowds, including a line of cars picking up their kids. Out of the corner of her eye, Lara saw movement. She jumped backwards but was a shade too late. The SUV door swung open wide, clipping her on the arm. She fell to the ground, her backpack tumbling on the concrete.

"I see her, mommy." A little girl bounced up and down on the sidewalk clutching her doll, ignoring the teenager sprawled at her feet. "There she is. There's Chelsea!"

"Yes, yes, I see her too." Her mother hastened to her daughter's side. "But look what you just did, Annie. You hit someone. You have to be more careful." Seeing who her daughter had hurt, her voice cooled. "Oh it's you, is it Lara. Are you alright?" She leaned over to Lara, but didn't offer a hand. "Annie takes after her sister I'm afraid, pretty and capable. Who would have imagined she'd figure out how to get out of her car-seat at her age?" She shrugged. "Oh well at least there was no harm."

Lara ignored the throbbing scrape on her arm. "Yes, Mrs. Hawthorne. I'm fine." She turned to Ivy, offering a weak grin.

"What about you, any bones broken?"

But Ivy had turned dead pale. Her hands were shaking. Her eyes focused straight at Annie, seemed to drill through her. She couldn't stop staring, her face twisted with fear and something that looked like longing? Maybe Ivy had been hit worse than she had thought. Lara pulled on Ivy's arm, trying to shake her away.

Annie was oblivious to it all, bouncing up and down like a four year old rubber yo-yo as she tried to peer past Lara.

"Ivy, hey ,Ivy, you ok?" Lara repeated. But Ivy stood stock still, that strange, paralyzed look on her face. Then she blinked and ran.

"Hey!" Lara called after her, "What about that snack? Hey wait!" but Ivy darted between people with a speed and grace Lara could never match. Confused, Lara suddenly remembered that Annie had been looking for her big sister, Chelsea. Sure enough, Miss Teen-Queen was headed straight for them. Lara tried to get off the sidewalk in a hurry, but Chelsea's mother was frowning at her.