Troubled Child

Taking A Beating

Holly was backed up against the lockers with Emily standing in front of her. The blonde had her hand tightly clenched in a fist as a bunch of kid's from their class gathered around them waiting for the action to start.

"Ready for your pounding?"

Holly gulped. "I only have one question before you beat me up."

Emily scoffed. "What?"

"If I survive, could we be friends?"

Emily gasped at the girl in shock and lowered her fist. "What?.. Why?"

Holly shrugged. "I would like to be friends and I think you would like a friend. I could be a good friend."

Emily shook her head. "I'm about to beat your face into the lockers, why would you want to be friends?"

Holly stared into Emily's eyes innocently. "Because you don't seem to have any and I don't have any, not here anyway, and I think we could be good friends if we gave it a try." She whispered so the other kids wouldn't hear what she was saying to her.

"You really want to be friends?"

Holly smiled a little and nodded. "Yes, but don't worry, I won't ruin your reputation. You can beat me up first, but if you let me live I hope we can try to be friends. I'll go back to cowering in fear now. You should probably grab my shirt and pin me against the lockers behind me. Then maybe you could come over after school?"

"You're a strange little girl." Emily whispered, then smiled. "I like that."

"You gonna beat her up or what?!" Some kid shouted from the crowd.

"Hey! Emily! That's enough! There will be no beating anyone up!" Lucas yelled making his way through the crowd of students. "Put down your fist and step away from my niece."

"It's okay, Uncle Lucas. I can handle myself. I'm gonna get beat up and then we're gonna be friends."

Lucas gave Holly a weird look. "Sweets, that's not a smart plan." He looked over at Emily with a stern look on his face. "It won't help you."

"What?" She blinked slowly releasing her fist. "What are you talking about?"

Lucas sighed. "Having a reputation. It won't help you make friends and when you do make friends they won't be good ones. They won't like you for you, they'll like you because they'll be able to use you, use your fists. I know, I used to talk with my fists when I was younger." He let a smile take over his face. "Then I met a group of true friends and I learned to talk with words instead. Talk to me, Emily."

Emily pouted. She looked up at him with big blue eyes full of hurt. She clenched her fist again, but instead of trying to threaten with it she rubbed at her eye that was watering.

Lucas noticed that the girl was trying not to cry and grabbed her arm. "Alright! Show's over! You're coming to the principal's office!" He shouted.

Holly looked up and him with her big blue eyes and he sighed. He was always a sucker for big blue eyes.

"You too!" He said taking her arm. "I don't know who started this, but there will be no fighting. Niece or not, let's go!" He said tugging the two young girls to walk with him down the hall.

Emily gulped when they reached the chairs outside the principal's office.

"Mr. Friar, problem?"

Lucas smiled at the older man. "I'm just sitting these two here until I finish up in my class then we're going to Riley's house." He sent the girls a wink. "Keep an eye on em, John?"