Strange Atmosphere | Aris Jones [1]

5 || Picking Fights

A couple of days later, Harriet, Sonya, and the other Keepers had a Meeting to talk about what job I would be doing for the rest of my time in the Glen. It was ironic that a Bagger was the job that I liked the most. The more I was working with Emily and Lillie, the more comfortable I felt being in the Deadheads.

"Congratulations, Piper," Emily said to me after the Meeting, a smile on her face. "You're officially a Bagger."

I smiled back at her, then locked my eyes on Lillie, who was just as happy as I was.

*******

I knew that Beth didn't care for me as much ever since I accidentally slapped her, and she did a good job of letting me know that.

One morning, as I made my way towards the Homebase, Beth stuck her foot out in front of me, causing me to trip.

"You should watch where you're going, Newbie," she said, smirking at me, then continued walking.

I thought we were supposed to be nice to each other. I rolled my eyes as I stood up and kept walking.

Later that morning, after breakfast, she made a comment to me as I came back from the Deadheads.

"Worst Bagger ever. You should've been a Slugger."

I sighed, looking down at the ground. I remembered the bonfire the Glen threw for me when I arrived. It was that night I was pushed into the Fight Circle and went up against Beth.

"Oh, come on! You sticks are so weak!" Beth shouted after a girl groaned as she walked away from her. "Where's the Newbie at?"

I was pushed into the Fight Circle. With everyone surrounding us, I knew there wasn't a way out of this.

"The rules are simple, Newbie," Beth stated. "I try to push you out of the Fight Circle and you try to stay in for more than five seconds."

The girls laughed, causing Beth to smirk at me. I looked at Beth, waiting for her to make her first move.

"Come on, Newbie," she said. "Let's see what you can do."

I stood there, letting my heart beat faster and faster by the second. I didn't want to fight Beth. I had no reason to fight her. Why did I have to be the one to do this?

Before I knew it, I ran towards Beth. I placed my hands out in front of me, attempting to push her to the ground. But Beth took her hands and placed them over mine, trying to push me as well. My feet were getting deeper into the sand as I was sliding backwards. I finally let go of her and fell on the ground, landing on my stomach. I heard the other girls cheer on Beth.

"Is that all you got, Newbie?" Beth asked. "You really are a stick."

Everyone laughed again. I huffed a sigh and stood up, brushing the sand off my shirt and pants. Without a warning, I charged at Beth for a second time. However, she jumped out of the way and pushed me, making me land on the ground once more.

She walked towards me and looked down, letting out a chuckle. "It's sad that you can slap me, Newbie, but you can't stand up long enough to fight me?" Beth spat out, adding a scoff and a smirk. "Pathetic."

Now I was mad. Instead of getting up, I stayed on the ground. As she began to walk away, I grabbed her foot and yanked it from under her, resulting in Beth landing on her stomach like I did.

It wasn't long before everyone began to cheer for me. I stood up and looked around at everyone chanting my name. I couldn't help but smile.

"Not bad for a stick, huh, Beth?" a girl with black hair said, smirking at Beth.