A Little Bit Pyro

A/N: For those of you who are new to my story welcome! You don't need to read A Little Bit Ninja before you read this...although it would give you a head start to understanding the background story to this book, and the characters in it. But this book stands alone, if you don't want to read the other.

For those of you who have finished A Little Bit Ninja, welcome! *gives you a lei* This is the continuation of the story! The timelines overlap a little bit. This story begins on the morning before Ninja ends, so just be aware of that. And thanks for coming back. I ♥ My Readers!

 ·       Arson 1st degree: Felony, 5-30 years of imprisonment

·       Malicious Mischief to public or church property: Double the fine, or term of imprisonment

·       Manslaughter with culpable negligence: Felony, 2-20 years imprisonment

Chapter 1: I Have to Wash My Hair

“Ref! Hi!” Wendy’s breath comes in small gasps, like she’s been running.

But here she is, and she knows my name. She of the big, brown, almond shaped eyes, speaking to me. I’ve never noticed how short she is until now, maybe because I’ve never been in such close proximity to her. I gulp, suddenly thankful that I just got back from the dentist. My breath is guaranteed to be fresh. She shifts her feet and looks at the ground.

“Hey,” I return in a deep voice after too much silence.

The fluorescent light bouncing off her black hair is so bright that I can’t think straight.  Can that degree of luster be natural? Or do her hair products enhance its reflective capabilities?

“I heard you are going to Finch’s party tonight,” she pauses, looking up at me through her eyelashes, “Are you, um,” she pauses to tuck her hair behind an ear, “going with anyone?” 

The real question is: If a normal girl were to use the same shampoo as her, would their hair be as shiny as hers? Or does this particular hair have extra sheen written in the genetic makeup?

I run my hand through my short brown hair.

She pauses, again, waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t know what.  She looks down again and her cheeks begin to color into a flattering shade of pink. Normally I don’t really like pink, but it looks great on her, like one of my kid sister’s porcelain dolls. Her cheeks grow darker as the silence lengthens.

But my eyes and thoughts returned to the glossy black hair that reaches just below her chin. Ideally I would gather samples of both the shampoo, and her hair, plus the hair of other girls to test as variables, but my current hypothesis is that her hair is just made of special matter. It has a special shine because it’s her hair. Wendy’s hair.

By now it is apparent that she expects me to break my vow of silence, not that anybody besides Kenzie and Ajay know about it. And not that it’s a very strict code of silence. Plus, it is self imposed. I’m sure this one exception couldn’t do any damage.

I rack my brain for something to say.

“I wasn’t…” I begin, but she looks at me with a small smile that undoes any bit of brain function that her shiny hair left untouched, “maybe you could…get me a sample of your shampoo?”

I take a deep breath, glad the ordeal is over. That wasn’t what I expected to say, but at least I didn’t ask for a hair sample as well. That just screams stalker.

And then she furrows her eyebrows. Her lip begins to push outward in a quivering pout.

“Galileo Perez, come to the front office please. Galileo Perez, to the front office.”

I give her a half smile before booking it past, toward the summons.

By the time the principal seats me in his office, my knee jiggles up and down to the beat my middle finger taps on my thigh. If this were about skipping class, the truancy officer would have handled it. And if this were about my class schedule the counselor assigned to the H-P students would have handled it. And if this were about grades…well, let’s be honest. This can’t possibly be about grades.

“Have a seat Mr. Perez,” he indicates the metal torture device disguised as a chair, to the side of the padded seats directly in front of his desk.