Tulips and Daisies : Cait and Vi Meet as Teens

Fascination

Vi wondered why the girl holding onto her leg was staring at her with wonder. She suddenly felt like a shiny, working contraption found at a scrap yard. It was a good feeling. 

"I'm sorry." Caitly let go of the girl's leg, looking away. She took Violet's hand and placed it over the handkerchief on the scraped knee. "Hold it there a minute." Caitlyn tucked a strand of shiny navy hair behind an ear. She had a million questions she was dying to ask. 

The two spoke over one another. "So  you're from the undercity?" "So you're skipping school?" They smiled and looked at the grass.

"Yes. I'm from the undercity."

"What is it like?"

"Shitty. What do you think?" said Vi, before she could stop herself. The look on Caitlyn's face was less sadness and disappointment and more shock and denial. "We don't have parks like this. The air is thick with smog. Everything is gray." 

Caitlyn looked down, pensive and withdrawn. "Is it really as dreary as that?"

Violet recognized the opportunity. She leaned back, hands clasped at the back of her head, and, stretching her legs, stared at the sky through dark leaves waving in the wind. "It has it's charm. Undercity is much busier than your busiest streets. You never feel lonely because there are thousands of people walking everywhere. All kinds of people dressed all kinds of ways." She felt Caitlyn's body shift and lean against the tree. "The whole place is like a maze of adventure."

"Adventure." Caitlyn repeated the word, savoring it like rich chocolate she dreamed of devouring some day.

"Oh yeah. If you turn the wrong corner, you may be robbed by thugs. Or you might catch a street performer dancing or singing a tune. There are little shops everywhere and food stands on our sidewalks. Which are always cracked, by the way. But. I kind of like that."

"Cracked sidewalks?" chucked Cait.

"Yes. We don't have much in the way of gardens or flowers but. Daisies are stubborn, you know. They grow everywhere. I'll bet you could even find them among those fancy flowers over there." Cait smiled at herself looking at the colorful tulips trembling in the distance, thinking of the resilience it takes to grow in concrete. 

"My favorite thing about my city is the empty warehouses and stuff. There are abandoned buildings you can play in and explore."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. We have our own building all to ourselves. It's in pretty good shape, though most of the windows are broken. But we have electricity."

"Who is we?"

"My friends and I."

"What do you do there?"

"We have all kinds of machine games set up. At night, when it's dark, we turn on the black lights and everything glows neon. I'm particularly good at knockout. It's like this robot with multiple arms. Some have gloves or mitts that you have to dodge and punch. It's a fighting game. The harder you hit the targets, the higher your score on the leaderboard."

Caitlyn smiled to herself. She realized Violet was still very much a kid at heart. "And don't your parents mind you being out at night?" The look on Violet's face told Caitlyn she might have asked a difficult question.

"We know how to handle ourselves in the lanes. What about you? What do you do for fun, besides read in the park?"

"Well... I'm a good marksman."

"You're good at shooting?"

"Yes. I'm an excellent shot."

"I bet Powder could give you a run for your money. She's got the highest points in the shooting game we have."