KISTISHI ISLAND

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

            The following morning at ten, Serena gathered her things from the main office.  The secretary frowned, her lips pursed, and passed Serena a stack of text books and packets.  As Serena left the room, Roxanne slipped a note into her messenger bag. 

“Thanks for getting me suspended again.”  Roxanne snorted, walking without looking back.  “My parents are going to sue.” 

            Sue Aunt Nikki?  The school?  Her?  “Crap.”  Serena fished the note from her bag, biting back a snippier retort.  If she said Roxanne had started it, Roxanne would probably attack again. 

            “Meet me in the park tonight,” Krieg read over Serena’s shoulder.  “Ooh, a threat.” 

            “Be quiet,” Serena muttered.  Her mind refused to focus on one thought.  Roxanne couldn’t leave her alone.  She had to make everything worse, a spiral of violence Roxanne refused to relinquish. 

Serena hurried through the school’s lobby and out the main entrance.  Her other invisible friends waited outside as she left the building, strolling toward her, but her classmates ignored her while they laughed with each other.

            “So this weekend, we’re going to my dad’s new camp.”  A boy’s voice drifted to her ears.

Serena started for home, but lingered near the playground.  If Aunt Nikki discovered the note in her things, she would lecture Serena again about making friends.

            “If you had more people to play with, then you wouldn’t have this bully issue,” Aunt Nikki would say.  Serena hated the word “play.”  Kindergarteners played during recess.  Teenagers hung out at the mall.  Roxanne pushed until Serena fought back, then had her parents sue. 

            At least Aunt Nikki had agreed to allow Serena to walk home. 

            “I need to cool down,” Serena insisted.  Aunt Nikki hadn’t wanted to miss her appointments with the anger management directors Doctor Adam had recommended. 

            “If I find a suitable location, you’re going back with me to sign up,” Aunt Nikki had warned. 

            The classes might help her get back into high school, but Serena chewed her lower lip, wondering if she even wanted to return. 

Krieg waved her hands at a black crow as it picked at a discarded sandwich, dislodging the top slice of molding wheat bread.  The bird’s small, dark eyes pivoted toward Serena when she kicked an empty soda can. 

If I had a crow for a friend, other people could at least see it.  Serena sighed.  Aunt Nikki loathed pets.

            The chain-link fence around the playground bit into Serena’s shoulder blades as she leaned against it.  Serena ignored the pain while she stared at the crumpled sheet of Roxanne’s notebook paper in her hands, the torn edges rustling as the breeze picked up.  The smell of someone’s barbeque tickled her nose.

            “Fighting is never the answer to anything,” Frieden said.  “It’ll only lead to more fighting, wounds, and hurt feelings.” 

            “You belong on one of those kid shows like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood,” Serena muttered. 

            Krieg plucked the paper from her hands.  “I know you can take ‘em on.  I’ve taught you everything I know.”