A love story

Seven

Even far into the future Allie would consider her third grade teacher, Ms. Sally, the best teacher she had ever had. Only a few weeks into that first year at AAA things changed quickly. Riley quickly abandoned her for the girl with short black hair, Cassie was her name. She had become fast friends with a boy that she had not even taken notice of on the first day. His name was Stefan and he had a mess of red curls and the goofiest smile she had ever seen. She wasn't quite sure how she had managed it, but one day she was offering him animal crackers, and the next he was her best friend. Allie also found herself gaining a quick friendship with the two blonde boys she had seen on the first day. She had been minding her own business one day at recess when the boy with the bowl cut had run up to her. "Hi my names Josh," he said quickly, "What's yours?" He was practically bouncing up and down. "Allie," Allie said. "Cool. You're new this year right?" Josh asked. "Yeah I am have you gone here long?" Allie asked. Josh nodded vigorously, "Yep, since kindergarten". Allie grinned at his enthusiasm. He acted like he had just downed 5 energy drinks and was about ready to run a marathon. This was going to be fun.

Josh quickly introduced Allie to the other blonde boy he had came in with. "Allie, this is my cousin Isaac. Isaac this is Allie". "Nice to meet you," the two said simultaneously. Isaac definitely operated more at Allie's pace, and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. The type of company she liked to keep tended to vary from day to day. Still, even though she wasn't as immediately drawn in by Isaac as she was by Josh, the two still got along fine. Very quickly Allie tried to start up an old club she had back at Lakeview. She had called it the Pirate Gang though it was often mistaken for the Pirate Game or the Pirate club. She would always insist that it must be called the pirate gang. Most people had ignored the club at Lakeview, but it seemed to gather a lot more traction at AAA. Josh was immediately interested and Isacc decided to come along as well. Stefan was also quite enthusiastic about the idea. So, the four decided to head over to the smaller playground to begin practicing. Allie's oldest brother Alvin had taught her a few very basic fighting moves over the summer. He taught her how to punch and kick without having her leg caught. Allie also decided to come up with some on her own. "I call it the dodge," she told Stefan one day. The two of them had sat down for lunch as Allie explained her plan for the "training session" that day. "Basically you just run forward, and at the last second you roll to the side and come back up on your feet". Stefan frowned, "I'm not sure if I can do that yet, Allie". Allie smiled, "Of course you can, Stefan. You're the best one in the gang". Stefan beamed at the compliment.

Back at the small playground Allie was teaching Josh and Isaac how to do the dodge. "See just run, roll, and swing yourself back up". Josh nodded and started full sprint towards the rubber chips. He flung himself forward and went into a roll. He rolled slightly left and didn't quite stick the landing, ending up on his knees rather than his feet. "That was a great attempt, Josh," Allie said beaming, "Practice a little more and you'll get the hang of it". "What's going on here?" a voice said from behind Allie. Allie turned to face the boy with the long dark hair she had noticed on the first day. He leaned against the fence to the smaller playground watching the group with a raised eyebrow. "Oh we're just practicing the dodge," Allie said confidently. "The dodge?" the boy asked. "Yeah, here let me show you," Allie replied. She looked down at the rubber underneath the smaller playground and breathed deeply. She then ran full speed ahead and threw herself into the dive. Rolling into a kneeling position and then onto her feet in less than 10 seconds. The black haired boy grinned, "Looks fun, mind if I join". Allie shrugged, "Sure, I don't see why not". The boy introduced himself as Beck and all of the sudden there was a new member of the Pirate Gang.

Beck and Allie weren't as fast of friends and Josh and Allie but at least they got on better than Allie and Isaac. The more time that Allie spent around Beck, however, the more nervous she seemed to get. She grew more serious in "official meetings of the pirate gang" as Stefan called them. She tried to ignore how stuttery Beck made her, if that was even the right word. She tried to convince herself that she was simply nervous because she was a new leader and didn't exactly know what she was doing. She wasn't even entirely sure what she was doing with the club, All she knew was that it was both a "bully stopping gang" and a "friendship gang" as Josh and Beck had described it. Still there didn't seem to be as many bullies to "stop" at AAA as there had been at Lakeview. It was honestly a bit of a relief to be free of all that for a while. Soon the five friends became more like 2 and 4. Allie would spend time at lunch with all four of the boys but then would only spend Recess with either Stefan or the other three. She wasn't sure why but Beck, Josh, and Isaac didn't seem to like Stefan very much. So the pirate gang became to separate groups, and soon turned into two other separate groups. Best friends Allie and Stefan and the midgets. In hindsight Allie thought the term wasn't perhaps the best for them to have used but it was Josh who had came up with it, and apparently he had something happen at birth that made him naturally shorter than everyone else. Allie never did find out what happened, but it justified the name in her mind. She and Isaac would be called the Tallies and would be chased around by Beck and Josh as they tucked their knees into their shorts and hopped on the ground. Allie would always think of that first year fondly. Most of the friends she made then she would never see again, after all.