The next day came, and Blaze went through school quickly, as it was a half day. Immediately after coming home on her bike, she went into the garage to put her cruiser away, and to see if the JB Weld on the beginning of her pincers cured yet. She tested the sheets of metal to see if they were sturdy, and they were. After that, she went inside her house to say hello to her grandfather and to change out of her sweaty gym clothes.
"Hi," Blaze greeted briefly as she went upstairs to her room to cool off.
"Hi," He said back.
She went in her room and closed the door, then she changed into a purple tank top and a pair of Bermuda shorts. After sitting in her room for a few minutes, she decided to check to see how her Etsy shop was doing.
Blaze clicked on the inbox button, and there was a notification that said:
1:59 PM, on May 21, 2032: Congratulations! RoomsLeScientist has purchased one "Custom stamped with your names recycled ecofriendly metal heart best friends pendant."
Notes To The Seller: "Hi! I would like 'Rest' on the left, and 'Rooms' on the right. Okai bai."
"Well... Okay then... 'Restrooms.'" Blaze grinned.
She scrolled down to see that another person bought one 'Alphabet stamped adjustable bracelet with rhinestone size large.' She looked at the username of the person; it read, 'DolphinLove112.'
Blaze walked over to her nightstand and pulled open a drawer, revealing all of her pre-made jewelry blanks. She found an adjustable bracelet with the alphabet engraved into it, and a heart pendent without a hole in it. She then found her heavy-duty scissors and cut the heart in half. She used her metal punch to poke a tiny hole through each half of the heart. After that, Blaze opened two silver jump rings, slipped them through the holes, then closed them to make them solid circles again. She found her stamps, and hammered "Rest" and "Rooms" into the halves. Then she cut off two long pieces of cord, fed them through the jump rings, and tied them off at the ends.
Blaze walked back over to her computer desk, jewelry in hand, and grabbed two padded envelopes. She put the bracelet in one, and the friendship necklaces in another.
Blaze licked the glue on the envelopes and smarted at the taste of it, attempting to wipe the taste off of her tongue on the roof of her mouth. She then sealed both of them and set them aside, making sure that the one with the bracelet in it was to the right of the other, so as not to confuse them. She scrolled down to see where she would need them to be sent to. After finding the addresses and zip codes, she proceeded to write the information on the packages with a black sharpie marker. She put the cap on her marker, and closed her laptop.
Blaze bent down to check on the squirrel to see how he was doing; he was sitting, slightly hunched over. He looked up at Blaze and sniffed the air.
"Hello lil' guy!" She opened another drawer of her nightstand, and retrieved a bag of mixed nuts, "Do you want some food?"
She opened the bag, then picked up a Brazil nut in between her fingers, and put it through the bars of the cage. The squirrel stood, alert, and stalked, slowly zigzagging up to the treat. He hesitantly sniffed it.
"It's okay," Blaze coaxed, "I'm not gonna hurt you."
The fuzzy creature took another step, and grasped the nut with his teeth. Then he streaked to the other side of the cage and started nomming on his food, rotating it in his tiny hands as he chipped away at it.
She fed him four more nuts - Three pecans, and another Brazil nut. Then he decided that he was done eating, and retreated to the back of the cage.
She wiped her hands on her shorts, retrieved the packages, and jogged down the stairs.
"Papa," Blaze announced, "I'm going to the post office. Do you need me to get anything while I'm out?"
"No thanks," He replied, "Be careful."
She nodded, "I will be. Bye!"
"Bye!"
Blaze went out the door, opened the garage, and mounted her bike...
About fifteen minutes later, she stopped at an intersection and waited to cross with her right foot resting on the ground. As she was looking ahead at the pedestrians crossing sign, she heard some commotion behind her:
"... Or should we play connect the dots instead?" A pubescent male voice jeered.
Blaze twisted at the waist to see what was happening.
A taller brown-haired teenage boy shoved the smaller blonde one (who had terrible acne) to the ground as his friends cheered and laughed (about a few meters behind her).
Blaze's cheeks turned a bright red, her lips pursed tightly. She dismounted her cruiser and put the kickstand on. She turned and walked
One of them, a scrawny redhead threatened to kick the victim.
"P-please... Don't hurt me."
They kicked him once, and the blonde boy doubled over on the ground.
"HEY!" Blaze shouted, "Do you idiots have anything better to do?!"
All of them turned and looked at her, startled.
Blaze gave all of them dirty looks as she walked right up to the biggest, brown-haired one, and stared at him with her unwavering, harsh eyes.
The brown-haired boy looked down at Blaze and laughed, "What are you gonna do about it, shorty?"
Blaze took another step towards him, and said with severe conviction in her voice, "Touch him again, and see what happens."
He looked back to his friends, and walked away with a false swagger.
Once they walked away, Blaze bent down to the victim, who was still lying on the ground, and put a hand on his shoulder, "Are alright?"
He nodded as Blaze helped him up.
"I can walk you to your house if you like, so that those guys won't bother you on the way back," Blaze offered as she pushed the kickstand back with her foot.
His soft green eyes looked at Blaze, "Thanks."
"Just show me the way," She said warmly, wheeling the bike over to the light where he had walked to. Then she asked, "By the way, what's your name? Mine's Blaze."
"Sawyer," He replied quietly.
"Cool name."
"Thanks."
They waited silently for the light to change. Once it did, the Blaze guided her cruiser with her hand as they crossed the street. They walked, exchanging small talk with each other on the way to Sawyer's home.
"We're here," Sawyer said.
"You don't live too far away from me," She commented, "I'm just two blocks away on Crane Street if you ever wanna hang out with my papa and I sometime."
He nodded, "I might."
Blaze mounted her bike again, "Bye."
Sawyer waved in response, grateful for her help.
YOU ARE READING
Mantid #1: Origins
ActionBlaze is your average high schooler - She hangs out with her friends, has an Etsy shop, and is on the track team. But what you wouldn't guess about her is that she has aspirations of becoming a masked hero. And yes, I drew the cover. :) Update: I c...
