Seven Stories

Chapter 1: Stormy Weather - Winner

The red-haired girl dodged her friend's pat on the back. He looked at her with wide eyes, then snarked :

"No need to be so jumpy, Larmy, the fight is over".

Larmilai bit her lip. "Sorry" she grunted.

"No need to be sorry either, warrior" he replied. "You saved our honor".

She allowed a timid smile to conquer her lips. "Don't you think I was too harsh on him ?"

"Larmilai that guy was six feet tall, when you're what, three ? Four ? He basically slaughtered everybody. But you. Trust me, you were not too harsh on him."

"His nose did bleed a little."

"Yeah, that was fun."

"Eric !"

"Sorry. I mean he brought it upon himself, he was quite er... unnerved."

"He's a brute" Larmilai agreed, undoing her messily braided hair, and pulling it back up into a ponytail. They were in the girls' locker room, but Larmy was always the only one here, and the coach knew it was okay for Eric to be there. Larmy and him were practically brother and sister. Moreover, Larmy did not want to change here, she never did. It was just her way of retreating from the attention. The vivats of the jury and of the families whose sons had seen their bottoms kicked by Trevor Hale had been making her uneasy.

She could not, however, escape from her own parents. Dan and Laura Jinxes entered the room with wild grins spread across both of their faces. Larmilai's mother practically tried to smother her child as she pretended to hug her. Dan ruffled her hair, making the improvised ponytail go loose.

Larmy heard Eric coughing to conceal his laughter, and decided she had had enough affection for the moment. She gently pushed her mother away.

"We are so proud of you, Larmilai !" her mother said before Larmy had the chance to tell her it was really nothing special.

"That was well done, sweetheart" her father said, putting his soft hand on her shoulder.

Larmy manage to push a smile through her will to flee and go hide underneath her covers.

"How do you wish to celebrate, baby?"

"I don't" she answered promptly. "Look, mom, dad" she added, taking in their perplexed expressions "I'm really glad I won, really, but I only compete because I like karate. Let's avoid making a big deal out of it."

She swiftly put her casual clothes and her bottle of water in her bag, and led the way to the door, her eyes pleading her family to follow and stop speaking nonsense about celebrating.

Dan and Laura looked at each other. Dan shrugged, and followed the young girl, who led the way through the door and the corridors of the gymnasium. She was walking fast, but her legs were small, and Eric had soon caught up with her, while her parents stayed behind talking about things she was not interested in.

"Hey, karate princess, don't leave me behind" he smiled.

Larmy looked up at him. She was biting her lip.

"I would never do that."

She opened the entrance doors to the gymnasium, and stepped into the cold afternoon. The sky was as grey as it had been in the morning, and the puddles on the parking, between the cars, made it impossible to ignore how much rain had poured down onto the city. When they were a few years younger, Eric and Larmy used to gladly jump into these kind of puddles, splashing water with the tip of their boots. At age fourteen, however, they were both thankful for the trainers they were wearing.

As soon as her parents' car, an old vehicle painted a vanishing shade of blue, was unlocked, Larmy stepped into the backseat, and moved to make room for Eric. Laura and Dan took place too, and Dan turned around just long enough to ask Eric if he wanted to be dropped at home, even though they both knew the question was just politeness.

A five-minute drive later, the car parked in front of the Jinxes house with the sound of disturbed gravel. Larmy got out first, waited only for Eric before hurrying to the front door, which she opened with her key.

And then stood still, as a huge cheer greeted her from inside the house. Eric, standing right beside her, smiled when her eyes widened to lemur shape.

"What the..."

Eric laughed and pulled her close, hugging her gently.

"Happy birthday, dummy."