Thorns

233

Tobi has come up with his first plan to help Ethan get a friend. The first step towards achieving friendship status is to engage in conversation. Lunch is the perfect place for Ethan to find someone to talk to. All the kids in the ninth grade eat at once.

Tobi whistles, looking away, as he nudges Ethan's apple off the table. Whoever sees this is going to start believing in ghosts, if not all ready. Ethan watches as his apple falls onto the floor.

"Great, now I can't eat it." he grumbles. He reaches down to pick it up but Tobi continues to roll it away to a nearby girl. Ethan waits for it to stop rolling. Tobi stops it in front of the girl who is talking to her friends. See where he's going with this? Ethan gets up to go get the fallen fruit but before he can, the girl steps on it causing her to fall badly. People gasp in horror.

"No no no! That's not what I meant to do." Tobi face palms. Ethan reflexively cringes, closing on eye. A shadow drifts over him. Painfully slowly, his eyes drifted to the side and up to see the daunting principal looming above. The large man did not look pleased.

Now Ethan's chances of getting a friend are reduced even more. His out of control apple just cost this girl three stitches on her chin.

Lesson learned: That's not how to get people to engage in conversation.
~
Water trickles and falls in an arch from the top of the statues to the pool of water below. Relaxing and bright just like the sky. Simon and JJ sit on the edge of the fountain in silence. They work individually on their assignments.

The fountain is a beautiful center piece behind the main school building, and in front of all the virtue dorms that circle around. Simon pauses in his writing and glances to the side. He spots his reflection in the water. The tiny waves distort his face. He smiles at himself. Suddenly, he hears distressed voices coming from not too far away.

Simon looks across from where he sits. A few people who were lying in the sun had gotten up, appearing upset. As if something had chased them away. The sun was still out directly above them, yet somehow they are standing in a shadow. The people glare at a tree next to them. That's when Simon spots Josh hiding behind the nearby tree. He must've cast a shadow over the group's resting spot. As the group tries to move away, the shadow chases them.

"He's so irritating." JJ grumbles from behind. Simon's head twists to the left. "Who would want to be friends with someone who practices those kinds of mean values on a day to day basis?"

"I do."

"I know you do, Simon. I just can't understand why." JJ sighs, still puzzled by his friends new obsession.

"He's not all that bad. He invited us on that walk with him in the forest." Simon reminds his doubtful friend.

"Simon, Josh would hurt you and never once feel bad about it." JJ stares at Simon with kind eyes. "Just let him be. He clearly doesn't like you."

"He does to." Simon looks back at Josh. JJ's lost hope in Simon's sanity.

"I think we've spent enough time in the sun. Let's head to my place." JJ packs up his stuff. Simon doesn't budge. He can be very stubborn sometimes. ". . .Don't do it."

"I'll be there in five minutes." Simon says, sternly staring off into the distance.

"Fine. But if you're not there in five minutes, Josh is getting it." He threatens. JJ slips his arms through the backpack straps and walks to the Sleep Virtue home.

Simon puts on his own backpack and skips over to little ol', Joshua. Josh has his back to Simon as he scours the area from behind a tree. Simon decides to sneak up on, Josh. Not the best idea as you can imagine. Simon reaches for Josh's hood. He's curious to see what the dark haired boy looks like without it. The moment Simon's hand touches the black cloth Josh whips around, his hand firmly grasping Simon's forearm before he knows who it is. Josh's grip tightens, Simon starts to feel a burning sensation.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go!" Simon panics. Josh realizes what he's doing and lets go.

"Oh my heavens!" He sees the red burn he's left on Simon's wrist that almost looks like a rash. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know who it was I-"

"It's okay," Simon stops him. He winces as he lightly touches the burn. "It doesn't hurt that much. As long as I don't touch it."

"Do I need to get you healed?" Josh questions, still feeling bad for hurting the fragile boy.

"No, I can have my mom fix me up." Simon knows JJ is waiting for him so he'll have to hurry. He also needs to come up with an excuse of why he was late. But JJ can't know what Josh has done to him. "It'll be a quick fix. Just some vine-wrapping and I'll be back to normal." He takes out his dimension-key to go to his mom's forest-like home. "Oh, and if JJ tries to kill you, this never happened. Deny any accusations."

"Got it." Josh gives a thumbs up. Simon exits through the tear in space. Josh remains in silence by himself. But it doesn't feel the same.

He finds himself alone with a feeling opposite to the happiness he normally experiences.