Flower Girl

Forty-Seven

As the days went on, whether it was dusk or dawn, Poire could not stop thinking of the future. She had already asked her sister about how she'd come to terms with her final choice, but Annabelle only apologized and said, "I knew long before they handed those out. Why not check out the library for a guide on career paths?"

So that was what Poire did: she marched between two bookshelves and grabbed three large tomes containing the knowledge she sought.

Poire spent the weekend going through page over page containing lists and things they called fun facts that weren't actually all that fun, and were, in truth, more stressful than anything else. Her mother suggested becoming a nun; however, even if Poire wasn't sure of her choices, she knew for one that they would not include becoming a nun.

Before Poire could count the fingers on her hands, three weeks had already passed, and she would have to turn in her answers by the end of the next day.

As she was eating her pear-flavored pie at recess, alone, Poire noticed something was amiss with one of the two girls she'd been introduced to at the beginning of this term. The girl was surrounded by a couple other of their classmates, however the scene was not one of friendly banter and camaraderie; no—it was one Poire unfortunately had known all too well.

Poire ran.

She dropped her lunchbox and ran.

"Hey!" Poire shouted. "You shouldn't be doing tha—"

The girls shrieked. "Crap," they said, "it's Poire! Let's scram!"

And just like that, they were gone, tripping over their own two feet as they headed back to a spot which wasn't hidden from the eyes of a teacher.

The new student looked absolutely petrified upon seeing Poire heading her way. Her eyes went wide. "P-please," she begged, her voice in shambles and shakes, "d-don't hurt me." The girl covered her face with her arms crossed in front of her. "I'll give you all my lunch money!" she said, "Just please, don't—"

Poire paused. She rested her hands against her hips and squinted. "What are you talking about?" she asked the new girl. "Why would I hurt you?"

"I-I...I heard rumors," the girl said, "that you're really strong, and that people shouldn't mess with you. I'm really sorry if I did something to upset you. I didn't mean to—"

"You didn't," Poire said as she picked up the girl's emerald lunchbox, which had been abandoned to the floor, and returned it back to her. "I was just trying to help," she said. "I'm Poire." She held out her hand to the new girl. "What's your name?"

"M-Madison." Madison took Poire's hand and gave it a weak shake. It was as if she was still afraid that Poire would betray her.

Poire knew it was inappropriate, so she held back from laughing, even though she really wanted to. She didn't mean to make a mockery of Madison, of course, but rather, the irony of the situation was not lost on her. How Poire had ended up here, on the other side, where she was the one doing the scaring instead of trembling out of fear—it was a mystery to her, if not an actual miracle.

"Do you want to eat lunch together?" Poire asked Madison. "They probably won't bother you if you stick with me."

Madison twiddled her thumbs together. She glanced to her shoes. "Would that really be okay?" she muttered. "S-someone like me—"

"Of course!" Poire looked at the girl's ash-blond pigtails, how she held onto the hems of her dark blue dress, and the way she shifted on her feet and rearranged her rectangular glasses from time to time. "Look," Poire told Madison, "I don't really know what you heard about me, but I'm going to take a guess and say it's not really the most accurate version of who I really am. So, if you're willing to give me a chance, I promise I won't let you down."

Upon saying these words, and as she watched Madison's face light up, Poire felt a strange shift happen within her. It was like her chest felt lighter somehow, both from the surprise at how at ease she was with speaking such confident words without Bianca there to back her up in case things went wrong, or the lemur to look over her shoulder for hidden monsters.

Perhaps, one could even say it was pride.

Madison nodded. "Thanks." She smiled. "I'll gladly take you up on that offer."