THIS ODD & PECULIAR ASSORTMENT

Spring • 1 • 3 Being Chased

Josie gulped as the surprised faces of the group turned to her.

"What do you want?" Danny, the boy on the bench, barked, and stopped his exertions.

"I just wondered what you're doing. You guys are very loud." Josie responded.

"Ugh, get lost, weirdo," came Danny's harsh retort, his hair a mess of blonde spikes. His body, although muscular, was a bit too lean and gangly; his overall physique suggesting an impending fit of rapid growth, typical for many boys his age. He was also, of course, already a fair bit taller than Josie, much as his friends. His face was flushed from jumping, making his angry blue eyes behind the glasses appear even more piercing.

"Maybe I can help." Josie offered, reluctant to leave while her thoughts were in such a jumble and a sense of urgency churned in her stomach.

Danny rolled his eyes at this. "Oh yeah, Tiny? You think you can do something we can't?" The words dripped with condescension.

"I don't know, what are you doing?" the girl said, ignoring his tone.

One of the older boys, still kneeling on the ground, answered her. "There's a stray cat under the bench. Ugly thing. It took Danny's sandwich," he said while shrugging his shoulders. He seemed more perplexed than angry.

"And it's not the first time the scruff has stolen from us. We wanted to teach it a lesson," the third boy grumbled.

Josie despised it when people banded together against a lone individual. Even more so if the individual was smaller than the adversaries.

"So? If it's a stray, it's always hungry. Why didn't you just share a bite?" She shrugged her narrow shoulders, which made the fabric of her parka rustle and swish.

"Not that it's any of your business, but it's not on us to feed filthy strays." Danny growled.

"Sure, if you say so. Maybe you should just find another spot to meet then. Must be a real monster cat if the three of you have to take it on all at once." Josie stated with much more confidence than she was feeling. Her heart thumped a wild beat in her little chest.

The boy's faces turned red at this, and their demeanour changed, their postures shifting away from the bench and more towards Josie. Danny's hands tightened into fists, his knuckles turning almost white under the pressure. He hopped down from the bench, and his companions rose from the ground. When they slowly started to approach her, Josie's stomach sank to her knees.

"I didn't mean to be rude," Josie explained. "I just told you what I was thinking." Raising her hands in an appeasing gesture, she tried to calm the boys down without success, very aware that her words came out all wrong.

"Nobody asked, you nutcase!" Danny shouted and took another step towards her, his friends at his sides and fury in his eyes. This was not going well, Josie thought to herself. "Get lost, now - or we'll make you!" the boy added, and she was sorely tempted to retreat.

"What's going on here?" someone asked behind her.

As she glanced over her shoulder, not daring to turn her back on the others, she saw Caleb marching through the trees towards them. He was Danny's best friend, as far as Josie knew, and was also in their grade. That meant even more reinforcements for the boys. Great. She sighed and ground her teeth. Josie was out of her depth. Even though they knew each other, they hadn't ever talked - and least of all were they friends. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to leave the cat with these four. She didn't even want to imagine what the animal must have been feeling. Retreat was sometimes advisable, but this time, Josie wouldn't back down.

"Your friends are trying to catch a stray cat. It's under the bench," she told Caleb with reluctance.

"The one that's always stealing food?" He enquired with a frown and ran a hand through his dark blonde hair while his grey eyes took in the scene.

"That is what they said," the girl stated and studied the boy's expression.

He wasn't as agitated as the other three but seemed rather resigned and somewhat exasperated. As expected, he wouldn't put a stop to their shenanigans, and Josie was pretty sure that he wouldn't take her side.

"Danny, let's just go. My Dad will be here soon, so we got to go to the car park," Caleb told his friend, forced patience straining his words.

The boys still glared at Josie but had halted in their tracks. She had been somewhat surprised by Caleb's words; he seemed inclined to just leave the cat be. Still, she had to make sure nothing happened to it. Her guts told her to. The sky was overcast with steel-coloured clouds, and light was fading, which made Josie worry even more. Time was passing way too fast, and she didn't want to miss her bus. Nan would be cross with her if she did. The next bus home would go in over an hour, when it was dark. She couldn't see under the bench and worried that the boys would hurt the cat if they resumed poking the branch at it if she left them to their own devices. The animal's screams had sounded desperate, and her heart squeezed in her chest. Josie needed to lure them away, so the cat could get out from under there now.

Abruptly cutting off her racing thoughts, the girl decided to put an end to things. Josie picked up the backpack she assumed to belong to Danny; she had a faint memory of seeing him with it. Caleb frowned at her, puzzled, but she decided to ignore him.

"Danny, is this yours?" Josie asked, and all the boys fixed their stares at her.

"Yes, put it down!"

"I don't think so." Josie chuckled, turned on her heel, and exploded into motion.

Running back towards the bus stop, she could hear the boys' shouts, scrambling to follow her. Glancing behind herself, she saw a white and red shape shooting out from under the park bench. Free at last, the small fur ball sped over the lawn. Relieved, Josie decided to focus on her own escape now.

"RUN, RUN, RUN!" she heard from somewhere indistinguishable and took it as good advice.

She raced over the street and silently cursed her cumbersome boots. The wind in her ears almost drowned out the angry shouts of the group chasing her. The harsh staccato of their feet on the asphalt behind her spurred Josie on to dash even faster. The usual joy that running brought her had been replaced by the urgency of flight, because she didn't intend to find out what the boys would do if they caught her. Despite the furious pace of her heart and her burning lungs, she mustered every ounce of strength she was capable of and put it into getting away. As Josie turned the corner of the school yard's red brick wall, she saw her bus just slowing down on the street to turn onto the curb, trailing big plumes of diesel exhaust. The girl let go of Danny's backpack, leaving it behind on the ground without ever slowing down. When she arrived at the bench she had been sitting on earlier, Josie grabbed her things off it. Without missing a beat, she turned and jumped into the bus, whose doors had just opened.

"Hello," she greeted the surprised driver with a huff.

She was breathless, yet almost giggled with relief over his disapproving head shake. Composing herself, Josie walked to the back of the vehicle at a brisk pace. Picking the side that wasn't facing the frantic group of boys arguing on the curb, she put her luggage down in an empty row, relieved to get rid of the weight. Sliding down beside them, the girl made herself as small as possible, but Josie needn't have worried because none of the boys followed her onto the bus. She tried to relax as the driver pulled out, the tension in her body slowly easing up. Breath returned to her while she looked out the windows.

Josie was on her way home.