𝙨𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙮 | fushiguro m.

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You checked your watch. It's only 4:10pm. "Sooo... 5:10 pm?" she nods at that with a soft smile, then you gave her a kiss on the cheek before running towards the playground.

"Be careful! An hour, alright?" you gave her a thumbs up and ran to the swing set. That's enough time for you to look for a friend. The other seat was preoccupied by a girl with pigtails, wearing a strawberry pink dress. She looks like a real life Disney princess. You wave at her, and you were surprised when she waved back, smiling.

"Hi. Are you new here?" she asks with curious eyes. She looks older than you.

You shake your head. "No. My house is not that far from here. Are you allergic to peanuts?"

She raises an eyebrow at your random question. "Hmm. I'm not, why do you ask?" you shrug, pouting. "Nothing. It'll suck if you can't eat peanuts. My aunt makes tasty peanut butter fingers. It's so good that you're going to forget your name." you grin at her.

Instead of getting weirded out, she smiles. "Cool. I'd love to try that sometime. Wanna play?"

For half an hour, you played with her, playing tags with other kids, and even rode the seesaw with her. You found out she's a year older than you, and is planning to transfer to the school you're going. She's a Grade five student, and she seems picky when it comes to playing with other kids. You wonder why she stayed with you, though. But you didn't complain. You like her.

You've never had so many friends until now that you're ten years old, since you always get called names like 'weirdo' or 'hyper kid'. Being a weirdo meant bad to them, but to you, it wasn't. It sounded cool.

Yeah, it's cool to be different, to be odd, but sometimes... you wanted to be like them. Normal. Boring. Quiet. So kids would play with you.

However, with Keysha, your new friend, it wasn't the same sad scenario. Instead, she was smiling, holding your hand, pulling you to the big slide with her. The one you've wanted to see ever since you saw a new park near your house was being built. Hoping you'd find a friend that would accept you for who you are, and you did. Her curly afro black hair that was tied in pigtails bounced as she climbed the ladder up to the slide.

You peered up at her, "Come on up, Y/N!" she motioned for you to follow her. A smile makes its way to your lips, eager to follow her. She offered her hand for you to grab, which you gladly took. Your eyes wandered around the playground set made of wood, then darted to the kids who were screaming and pushing each other. Keysha held your hand, pulling you with her as you cross the mini bridge.

Some kid bumped into you without even saying sorry, but it didn't matter. What matters at the moment was that you have a friend by your side, who didn't mind when you talk too much or say the most random things. There were other kids in line for the long slide, and both of you went behind a kid who has braces. You can see her spit flying while she talks, so you scrunch your nose, backing up a bit.

Keysha noticed that and laughed. You laughed with her, holding your stomach. It didn't take long when it's finally your turn. You turn to her, "I want you to go first, but I'd be lying, and I don't want to lie, or my Aunt will hide Lily, my elephant plushie. I want to go first." you tell your friend in a straight face. She giggles, rolling her eyes playfully. "Yeah, I know. Wait for me, okay?" 

I nodded. "Of course!" then you turn your head to your front. Your smile fell at the sigh before you. Your hands became clammy, and realized, it sure is scary from up here even if it ain't that high. The slide that wasn't even that scary got scarier as you imagine yourself falling, which sent shivers down your spine.