H.I.C.C.

Chapter 2: Two Freaks

They were almost at the gates. L had ran so fast that they encountered no bullies on the way. Jen was relieved about that. She had felt a few cold stares, but that was all there was. She was curious why no one stopped them. But, who was she kidding? There they were. At the gates. Standing in a rather big group again. A few had their arms crossed, some were leaning against the outer wall. Jen recognised one of them instantly. Mark. She slowed down and L noticed it to do the same. She stopped with her and turned around. "'Sup?" Jen couldn't suppress her shivering. "Jen, what's wrong?" L looked her deeply in the eyes. Jen looked to the ground. "T-That's Mark." L turned around shortly. "The one in the middle?" Jen nodded. "What about him?" Jen shook her head. L grabbed her hand. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!" In a sudden move L started pulling Jen towards the gate. Mark took a step forward. "Now look what we've got here. Creepy eyes and Glove Dove." Jen looked at L. Then she realised the hand that was grabbing her really WAS gloved. "Morning boys. What's crackin'?" Mark's face darkened. "DON'T get cocky with me, bitch." L grinned. "Ouch, what foul language, were you not taught manners?" Now Mark SERIOUSLY looked pissed off. "CAREFUL now, Flink-Fingers. Watch what you're saying." He hissed. Jen's anxiety got stronger and stronger as a few of the guys closed in. L glanced at her quickly, than looked back at Mark. "Well, school's about to start, so if you'd be so kind as to get out of the fucking way?" Now one of the guys in the second row laughed. "Come on Mark, just punch the bitch." Mark nodded and suddenly charged at them.

I can't tell what happened. It was way too fast for my eyes. All I now see is a whining Mark, lying on the floor and a badly-pissed-off-looking L in a combat pose. "Any of you fuckers want to try next?" I stare at her. And I'm not the only one. A few of the boys take a step back. Suddenly L relaxes and grabs my wrist again. She turns to me and smiles. "Come on! Let's go!" I nod. When she pulls me towards the gate I almost step on Mark. I turn around and stare at him. "What did you do to him?" L giggles, and the boys in the vicinity take another step back. "I just punched a few nerves and kicked his groin, nothing major, really." I gulp. "That fast?" L doesn't reply. Instead we head straight for the entrance to the school. We quickly change shoes. L jumps up and down in hers a few times, then jogs past the lockers. "My lessons are that way. I'll see you during lunch break!" With that she storms off. I sigh. She didn't even give me a chance to answer. I walk up the stairs to my classroom. It's still early, the lesson will start in about ten minutes. I can hear a lot of chatting from the room, but as soon as I enter, all goes quiet. I go to my seat and put my bag on the table. Sophie is the first to speak: "Yo, Jennifer, I heard you have a found a fellow freak for yourself now." A few giggles go across the room. I sit down. "Come on Jen, don't ignore us." Marissa adds. Those two. Always together. Suddenly they both come to my desk, and Sophie even leans on it. "What kind of freak is she? Wouldn't surprise me if she had weird eyes too." I'm just glad it wasn't two boys that came over. I look at them. "No, she seems rather normal to me." They both gape at each other. "Jennifer, honey, no one normal would go with you." I sigh and pack out my stuff for the next lesson. "Oh, the silent treatment, like usually? Pff, have it your way." Sophie walks away. Marissa stays. She suddenly leans down to me and hisses: "You better watch out, JEN, I'm pretty sure whoever's tagging along with you is just doing it for fun, when do you think the bomb will go off?" I freeze. As Marissa leaves my Table, a very unpleasant feeling creeps up my stomach towards my brain. Sudden disbelief. Was L really who she claimed? WHO was she anyway? I've never heard of any other "freak" besides me. And a glove wearing martial arts master would be drawing a lot of attention, right? I start biting my nail. As Mrs. Arna comes in, I still haven't moved. I can't. Why? Why am I so anxious all of a sudden? I can't explain it. As Mrs. Arna gives us a lecture about the First World War, I can't focus. I try to gather my thoughts. What were the chances of L turning into a bully that wanted to build a small friendship before she dropped the hammer? I believed they were slim, I WANTED to believe they are slim. But I couldn't convince myself. She wanted to run with me today. Alone. I'd confront her then. First I'd have to focus on the lessons. THEN I could focus on my life outside of the lectures.

Lunch break came quicker than I thought. And quicker than I expected, I spot L sitting alone. I increase the strength of my grip around the handles of my tray. Then I approach her. I sit down. "Hi." L looks up and smiles. "Hey. What'd you get?" She stands up and skims over my tray. "Oooh, you got the steak?" I smile shyly. "Got that from my dad." L looks at me. "What's he working as? If he likes meat that much?" She asks while digging in to her food. I hesitate a moment. "He's First Officer on a Frigate." L's eyes widen. "Really?? Wow, that's so cool!!" I gape at her. "What?" L's eyes are flashing with excitement. Then she calms down a little. "Sorry, I am just fascinated with a few things that don't quite fit in the interests of girls." I smile. Then it clicks in my head. Gloves, Martial Arts, fascination for non-girl things. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" L looks at me. "That's not something a lot of people ask you in middle school." I eat a bit of my steak. "Normally no one knows what they want to do by then." L suddenly looks at me, dead serious. "I want to join the Police." My jaw drops. "The POLICE?" She nods happily. "Is that why you do so much sport?" She nods again, her blonde hair flipping with the ponytail. Now that I looked at her, her hair was rather short. Only a little longer than shoulder-length. We talk a little about our grades as we finish our food, then the bell rings. "See ya after school!" L says as she waves at me, running out of the cafeteria. I get a few cold stares, and quickly make my way to my class room. I don't think much about L for the rest of the day.

The bell rings again. The day was finally over. I pack my things and head to the lockers as fast as I can. Not fast enough. L's already waiting, jumping up and down in her usual manner. "Come OOOON!" She yells. "I'm on it, I'm on it!" I hiss back. I switch my shoes and we go out. I'm amazed as there is no group waiting for us. We are just let through. No one makes any attempt to stop us. We head home and quickly change into sport clothes. Then we meet outside my house. L's hopping up and down again. "Are you a bunny?" I ask. I didn't expect it, but L starts laughing very loudly. When she finally calms down, she pats me on the shoulder. "Haaa, that was a good laugh. No, I'm very much human, thanks!" She smiles. I smile back and she suddenly starts running. She goes slowly at first, but when she realises I can keep up she increases her pace. "I'm gonna get you a pulse watch with GPS." She suddenly says. I look at her. "Why?" She keeps looking forward as she replies: "So you can keep track of your pulse and how far we go." I nod.

I don't know how far we ran, but I start feeling a little exhausted as L suddenly stops. She points towards the west, and I suddenly see where she took me. It's a giant lake. A HUGE lake. "It...it's beautiful...." is all I can say. L smiles. Then the thoughts of the early morning come back to me. And what Marissa said. I gulp. "W...." I stop. "Hm?" L sits down in the grass and looks up to me. "Why are you hanging out with me? Even offering to buy me something?" L looks at the water. The reflection of the sun is dancing across the small waves. "Because it's the right thing to do. What kind of person would I be to join the police if I can't even help and protect one person, Jen?" She has a worried expression on her face and keeps staring at the water. "I don't know..." I grab my left elbow and look away. I start feeling bad for asking. "Why did you ask?" I cringe. "I..." Suddenly L gets up and looks at me. "Jen, trust is earned. I don't expect you to trust me from the first day on. Just don't let ANYONE who normally bullies you put anything in your ear." I start feeling extremely guilty. Suddenly L grabs my wrist. I look to her. She suddenly grins. "GUESS WHAT?" She suddenly yells. I flinch at the sudden noise. Now she starts sprinting. And I don't like the direction.

Jen opens the door. Her mother hurries down. "Is Elisabeth...with.......you? What on earth did you do?" The mother starts giggling. I frown. "L didn't tell me we were going for a swim." Her mother walks over and presses her lips on Jen's forehead. "Let me get you a towel, sweetie." She says laughing and goes upstairs.

And so, the first day of joined activity came to an end.