(Extra)ordinary

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

My thoughts drifted back to the first time we met as kids in kindergarten.

"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!" I yelled with all my might.

Dakota stuck out his tongue and doubled over, laughing. "It's mine now!"

He held the pencil up and started waving it in the air like a wand.

"See? Now I'm a princess!" He exclaimed, mimicking my voice.

My eyes burned with tears as he made fun of me. I hastily wiped stray tears from my cheeks and rubbed my eyes.

"I'm going to tell my mommy!" I screamed.

Horror flashed across his boyish features. "No! If your mommy tells my mommy, she'll take away my new toys!"

I choked back my tears and giggled, happy that the tables have turned.

Dakota returned me my pencil with a mischievous smirk plastered on his childish face. "I'll get you back, Anna. My ambition is to be a prankster!"

I raised an eyebrow. "That hardly isn't a prank."

"As my mommy always says, everything starts small. Just like me and you. One day, I'm going to be so big and tall and muscular, and the biggest prankster in the universe!" He exclaimed in one breath.

I shrugged. "Good luck with that."

I've better things to do than sit there to hear him ranting. Even though I was only five, I was pretty mature for my age.

Dakota grinned, showing his set of teeth. There was a blank space where one of his front teeth stood. "See you around."

He hopped off from the chair and scrambled off. I returned to drawing, with my favourite pencil that was away from my reach a while ago.

I heard footsteps and turned around to see who it was. Dakota was dashing back towards me. "Anna! I forgot to give you something!"

"What?" I asked, hoping it was food or a present.

Instead, he pulled one of my curly locks of pigtails.

"Oww!" I yelled in pain.

"See ya!" He called and scuttled off quickly, afraid that I may catch up with him. To be honest, chasing after Dakota would be the last on my list.

I massaged the sore spot on my head while I fumed. That was the day that I vowed to hate Dakota Evans.

I choked on my tears as I laughed. We were so full of ourselves. We were young, free and mischievous in our own ways. In my mind, I painted a picture of myself in my kindergarten clothes. I always wore a dress and pink sandals. It was practically like a uniform to me. My mom would do my hair into two sections, and tie them into two pigtails. I used to have smooth and curly brown hair, which somehow changed after puberty found me. Mom would clip my stray hairs with bobby pins, and added a diamond-effect on the top of my hair band, making me feel like a 'princess'.

That was 12 years ago, though. I'm already sixteen, going on seventeen in two week's time.

My thoughts drifted again, as I leant on the oak tree in the park, holding on to my precious memories.

"Adam! Can I sit with you?" I asked shamelessly on the first day of my fourth year in middle school.

Adam looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, carefully deliberating. After about ten seconds, he finally replied, "Sure."