The Encounter

Chapter 2

     " You dummy, now Caleb is gonna think I like him," a shrill voice stammered, cracks in the voice revealing the anger behind the statement. A young girl stood her mouth pinched and her foot stomping, her shoulders raised with tension.

               "Well, I thought you did like him," a sullen young boy retaliated, looking at his feet while fiddling with his hands. He had a stuffy nose which was evident in the nasal tone of his voice. His face was tinged pink with guilt, cyan eyes watching as he scuffed his shoes on a point on the ground and his body sagged towards the ground. The little girl tackled him, and his disrupted balance sending them careening toward the ground. She landed on her side eyes watering as her body quivered. She had never confessed to her cousin that she liked Caleb, she detested the boy's presence for goodness sake!

            Caleb was always pulling on her ponytail with his eyes squinted as a vindictive smile stretched across his face. His face resembled that of a pug's with how it was scrunched up. That smile of his attested to the fact that he had attitude problems.

            "Victoria please don't hurt me, I really didn't know," Charlie blubbered with wide blue eyes as his face paled considerably.

            "Hey, are you guys alright?" a subdued voice called from by the swing set. The voice belonged to a young girl whose poofy dress was practically swallowing her. Her hair was white and draped around her round face until coming to a stop at her shoulders. Her arms were hugged around her stomach, hands twitching and messing with the frayed bows found there. She was standing there with her heart in her throat as her palms grew clammy. Victoria and Charlie turned to her with narrowed eyes, and she was considering crawling into a hole. She really shouldn't have confronted them, she thought in her racing mind.

             "What's your name poof ball?" Victoria demanded eyes sizing her up. The girl seemed to cave in on herself and Victoria wondered how uncomfortable the position must be.

            "My name is Lila," The white haired girl croaked. Her words were breathless and almost inaudible. Victoria moved to stand in front of Lila who only hunched her shoulders more and stared resolutely at the ground. A hand was thrust in Lila's face causing her to flinch backwards, eyes squinting.

            "Names Victoria and you're going to be my new best friend," Victoria announced hand still hanging in the air between them. Lila tentatively grabbed hold of Victoria's hand and gave it a gentle shake. Her face lighting up with a shaky smile. Though it was quickly lost from Lila's face as she gasped while Victoria pulled her into a bear hug. She felt slightly reluctant to being close to Victoria after witnessing the other's fiery temper. Charlie was standing off to one side of them as he scratched his head, his face scrunched up with a helpless look.

             Lila had to agree with him there because she had no idea what was going on anymore after Victoria had been hostile but turned friendly. She found herself being released only seconds later and could only stare as Victoria's cheerful face crumbled into a fierce scowl.

            "Well, well, well. If it isn't my little 'secret admirer' hm," A sultry tone called out. Lila looked behind herself as her heart started to hammer in her chest. She hadn't even noticed the boy's presence behind her until he had spoken. In front of her stood a boy who was slightly taller than her, his eyes a cold black and mouth in a tight lipped to the point of being strained. Lila visibly bristled from her place in front of him, even though she knew he wasn't paying attention to her. She could recognize the mocking tone with which he had addressed Victoria, and she stepped closer. He crossed the final line while Lila glared evenly at him as he snarled at Charlie.

            "Stay out of this Charles, I'm teaching this little vixen a lesson," Caleb announced. Lila barely knew her companions, but felt a sense of protectiveness for them. She was tired of this little boy thinking he could step all over her new friends. She moved slowly to not alert Caleb of her change in position until she could crouch behind the boy. Her body was taunt waiting for the opportunity to teach Caleb a lesson of his own. Only seconds later she saw her chance as Caleb leaned forward to throw up a rude gesture to Victoria.

            Lila pounced onto Caleb feeling a sharp pain as he managed to snag her side in a punch. She saw red as she snarled and grabbed Caleb by his hair, ripping out quite a few strands. She slammed his face into the ground repeating the action until his body fell limp in her hold. Her hair was everywhere and matted to her forehead by sweat caused by the exertion of the fight as her breath hissed through her tightly clenched teeth.

            Lila could hear whispers about anger issues circling through the children that had gathered, drawn by the argument. She glared at all of them as she rushed into standing from her perch. She could hear the sound of the running feet of what she assumed were teachers. She stumbled on her way up as a rush of dizziness hit her, but felt two pairs of hands grab onto her arms. They were dragging her away from the scene. Lila managed to catch a glimpse at Victoria's face, soothed by the beaming smile she found there. She could feel her neck and ears starting to flush from the realization of what she had just done, but couldn't bring herself to regret what she had done. Caleb had deserved it.