Simple Beginings

The cool summer breeze caressed the soft blue green fields with a gentle touch.  Small chattering birds flew past each other in what seemed like a fun game of tag.  Tiny rodents scattered away from the soft padding of feet meeting with gravel.  How much she wanted to join them, wherever  they were wondering to, anything but to go back to school.  The summer had ended much too quickly for the youngest of the three children walking down a very familiar path.  Not that she wasn’t looking forward to seeing her schoolmates, she just didn’t want the lazy days to end.  That and her brother’s warning that it was going to get tougher in her next grade level didn‘t exactly encourage her either.  The littlest of the family of Len didn’t mind the work, but that didn’t mean that she would actively look for it.

“Hey, come on!  Lets skip school!”  She suggested the fifth time since they left the house, “We can go to the park!  It‘ll be much more fun that sitting in class all day!”

The oldest of the siblings rolled her eyes and muttered something about little children.  She chose to ignore the statement as she had done the previous times and continued to walk to the main road.

Her brother chuckled behind her, “Rai, don’t be a goof!  It’s just the first day.  First days are always easy.  Besides,  this year they check out what kind of energies you can play around with.  Don’t you want to know what you can do?”

“Nah,” Rai said without missing a beat, “I’d rather go swimming…you know we can do that instead of going to the park?!”  The young girl began to skip in excitement, “Can’t we go to the lake, Deo?  Please?!  Pretty please?”

“Rai…”  he warned as rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Her sister stopped in her tracks and turned around to watch the impetuous girl.  Her features slowly turned into a scowl and she began to tap her foot against the soft path.  She waited for her younger sister to skip near her and she grabbed her arm to get her attention.  Rai made a small squeak sound and fought to retain her balance.  Her older sister put out her other arm and held the girl until she was able to balance properly.

“Stop suggesting silly things Rai, we’re all going to school and that’s that.”  She said with a tone that held no room for argument, leading Rai towards the gate, “Mother trust us to do the right thing, and I’m going to make sure you don’t disappoint her.  Understood?  Besides, I‘d be in so much hot water if mom ever found out that you skipped school.  I refuse to get in trouble because of your lame-brain ideas, understood?”

“Aww, come on Hia, let go!”  Rai said as she struggled against her sister’s grip, “I’ll go to school already, geez!”

Hia let go of her sister’s arm with a huff and opened the gate to the main road.  Following the gate’s path and held it open for her younger siblings to walk through.  With a frown, Rai walked out of their property with her brother in tow.  After Deo walked out, Hia let the gate close on it’s own and continued to walk with them after she heard the definite click of the locking mechanism.  They continued to walk down the road in a stuffy silence to the pickup point.  As the hooded structure came into view, Rai begun to run towards it, hoping to get a seat.  All of the kids in the area had one pick up point and it didn’t have enough seats for all.  It was just one lonely bench with a roof.  So she ignored her brother’s call and continued down to the bench.

“I’m going to beat you all to it!!!!!”  The girl yelled behind her with a silver laughter, which was quickly cut off  with an “oof” when she inadvertently bumped into something soft.  Loosing her footing she quickly fell to the ground butt first, dropping her bag.  “Oww…that hurt!”

She opened her eyes and was shocked to find a boy about the same age let out a small grunt in front of her.  ‘Well don’t he look friendly,’ sarcasm spewed in her thoughts as he scowled at her direction.  Her shock turned into a frown, ‘Is he new?  I’ve never seen him around here before.”

“Watch were your going, Rai!”  Hia hissed as she lifted the girl up from the ground and proceeded to brush off the dust, “Incorrigible tomboy…what am I suppose to do with you?!  Apologize for being such a ditz!  Understand?!”

“I’m not a ditz!  Whatever that is…”

“Oh never mind!  Just apologize!”

Rai glared at her sister, ‘Its embarrassing enough that I fall flat on my butt in front of someone I don‘t know!  I don’t need her to tell me what to do!  Hia needs to learn that she’s not mom!’  She thought with a growl.  Hia let out an exasperated sigh, walked away from the girl and sat down on the wooden bench.  Rai watched her go before turning around to find her brother picking up the bags from the ground and handing the boy his bag.  ‘Why is he helping him and I got stuck with Hia?’  She thought as her checks burned, ‘I think I don’t like this kid at all…’

“You OK man?”

“Yeah…I’m fine.”  The boy calmly said taking his school bag from Deo.

Rai grunted as she slung her bag over her shoulders, “You shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the road you weirdo!  I wouldn’t have bumped into you if you watched where you’re going!  What were you doing in the way anyhow!?”

Deo stared at his younger sister, “Rai~!  Apologize righ-”

“I wasn’t standing  in the middle of the road.  I was walking to the pick up point just like everybody else!  Excuse me, I meant to say just as the normal kids do around here.  I guess that makes you the weirdo, huh?”  Lime green eyes glared accusingly, “Anyway, shouldn’t you watch where you’re running, you klutz?”

“I not a klutz!  You should have gotten out of my way!”

“Hey wait a minute-!”

“Oh?  Why?  Are you  ‘special’ or something?”  The boy taunted, wiggling his fingers in the air, “Then I’m sorry!  I didn’t know you’re special~.  I’ll be more careful from now on…so you don’t hurt your  klutzy weirdo special self!”

“That’s it!”  Rai yelled as she threw herself at the youth with all the force she could muster.  The world became a blur as she began  punch and bite her verbal assailant.  From somewhere she could hear her brother shouting at the both of them to stop with an occasional tug and a group of kids chanting them on.  She hardly felt the blows that she received as she continued to claw at his face somewhat aware that she was on the ground now.  ‘I’m not going to let this DWEEB think he can get away with what he‘s said,’ she thought as  she head butted  his nose.  She ignored the howl, blood and focused on kicking him off.  The tone of the crowd changed but Rai didn’t put too much into the matter, for she was too busy trying flip him to get above for a couple of hits.  The next thing she knew, she was fighting to shrug off the forceful set of hands separating her from the other boy.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!”  

Everyone froze on the spot.  The adult  swiftly yanked Rai out of her brother’s grasp and proceeded to do the same thing to the other child, “You two will be coming with me!  Everyone else gather around the transport circle and NO pushing!”

The group walked up to the transport circle without much fuss.  Guided by her arm, Rai and the boy went with the grown up to the center while he activated the circle.

“Well, I’m not surprised that you’re up to mischief young lady but you young man have made a very bad first impression.  Could either of you at least have waited for sometime after the first day of school?”

Rai hung her head in shame as the soft light drifted them to the complex.