Scrambled

Chapter 1

 Walking down the road at dusk is quite beautiful, in my opinion. I gave an audible sigh of satisfaction, enough for Alice to give me a playful grin. I smiled back and shoved my hands in my pockets. I can't ever imagine my life without her. Alice.... Alice Heckers. 

 We met in fifth grade, though we were never classmates. I was hiding in the air vent, Little Miss Me a.k.a Shadowgirl. Nobody notices me so the air vents are a perfect place for a shadow like me. I was spending a leisurely long time in the air vent, not caring for my classes which teach me nothing, when along came a red-headed child who was practically stumbling across the hallway. She disappeared and in a few seconds, was up in the vent next to me. Dumbstruck, I just sat there next to the red-headed kid whose hair looked dyed because it was the most unnatural looking thing I had seen. I spent a few awkward moments looking at the sobbing child.  When she finally sensed she wasn't alone, she looked up, looking very well surprised.

"Who are you?" she said.

I finally found my tongue and replied rather cynically, "Well, who are you?"

She  laughed for some reason unknown to me and introduced herself.

"I'm Alice Heckers."

"Heckers??" I said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess that's why I'm here,"she said in a sad voice. I waited a few seconds before she began again.

"I'm always bullied and my mother went to Europe to live with her boyfriend. She left me with my father who is now a workaholic to get his mind off her." She now looked gloomier than ever.

"Why would you tell me that?" I said, blinking.

She looked up with curiosity and her lips curved into a smile.

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, we hardly know each other and you just happen to tell me the story of your life?!"

She laughed at that and said with a suppressed giggle, "Well, why are you here?"

This took me off guard and all I could say was, "Well..."

"Mmm?" she said with her lips curving upwards.

I sighed and gave in.

"My name is Violet Flowers."

"Flowers??"

"Yeah... I'm up here because I have no parents and my adoptive father is surely going to go to prison anytime soon for selling drugs, leaving me to another orphanage. I hate everyone and everything and I do not expect anyone to understand me."

"Not anymore." chimed Alice.

"Huh?"

"I'm here. And you're here." she said, jabbing her finger into my sternum, which I probably thought was the nearest area to my heart.

"I suppose so.", I mumbled, rubbing my chest.

I looked up and noticed there was a blob of pink gum, which was probably the reason she was crying. She noticed what I was looking at and tried to smile and stroke her hair but in vain, for the pink gum was mercilessly clinging to her hair. I dragged my bag out in front of me and took at a bottle of alcohol and some cotton. I gently rubbed it on the gum and tugged it out. I got out a Ziplock bag and  put the gum and hair concoction into it.

"I'm keeping this.' I said, "It's not often you find someone gives you some gum."

We both snickered. And we soon became the best of friends.

Now, walking together years later, felt so magical. I rolled my head to turn to her and she sensed it and looked as well. I saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye and got on like a lion in search of its prey. She made a quick dash for the next alley and I gave chase. Turning into every crook and cranny, we finally jumped onto the green dumpster and took the final turning. But as fate would have it, we landed in a neighborhood nobody wanted to be in. Skratchers Skontellers. The weird name complimented the weird people who lived there. Wait, it wasn't just a peculiar name it was quite something over weirdness. And of course, the people lived up to it. The very same people who were ganging up on us right now.