Potential (The Lazarus Children Book Two)

  Charlie pulled the metal lock and swung the plastic window open. The boys stood there watching. Jimmy the ringleader, stood in front. 

“What do you want?” Charlie asked coldly. 

  She hadn’t forgiven him for getting her dress dirty. Her mother made her wear it for a friends wedding. It was very expensive and very white. But while her parents were trying to fit Charlie’s whole family in the car, Jimmy made fun of her and threw a dirty football. It hit her stomach, leaving a patch of brown mud on her perfectly white dress. Jimmy regretted doing it moments later when she had him in a headlock, but the process got her dress even muddier and her mother went ballistic. Today was the first day in two weeks she had been allowed outside.

“No more pretty little dresses?” the boy to the right of Jimmy said in a baby voice. The three boys laughed at each other.

“I said, what do you want?” Charlie said louder. 

“We want you to come outside,” Jimmy said smiling. 

Charlie noticed he had his hands behind his back. She knew he was looking for revenge for showing him up to his mates the other week. She didn’t trust him at all.

“Why?” Charlie asked.

“Because we do. We want to show you something,” Jimmy said, keeping a straight face. 

“It’s really good,” squeaky voice said. He elbowed Jimmy as they smiled slightly to each other at their private joke. 

 Charlie gave the boys a hard look and looked back to Jake. He was still sat on the chair but the book and the strawberry lace was gone. Instead he gave Charlie a small smile and Charlie nodded. Smiling evilly, she got up and opened the door. What ever the boys had planned they needed her outside, in the open. Charlie walked outside the door and on to the small balcony just outside the window. 

“Jakey! How did we know you were going to be here as well?” Jimmy said in mock shock. The other two boys sniggered as they looked up at Charlie and Jake. 

“Hello, Jimmy,” Jake said passively as he stood next to Charlie. 

  In front of them was a plastic outdoor storage box Charlie’s father put there for toys to be kept safe. But that’s not what was in there today. 

“Don’t you want to see what you have for you?” Squeaky voice said.

“Not really,” Charlie replied. “We kind of want to show you something instead.”

  The three boys lost their smiles slightly and looked confused at each other. Charlie and Jake quickly opened the container. Taking one of the water balloons out of the storage chest, Charlie took aim and threw it at Jimmy. He didn’t even see it coming as the balloon exploded and hit him square in the face. The balloons were full of muddy rainwater they collected from puddles in the forest. Mud sediment and leaf bits smeared down Jimmy’s shocked face. Jake began throwing his balloons while the three boys dropped their handfuls of mud in surprise. All three boys tried to hide but the muddy water got them all and they ran off in defeat. Charlie and Jake jeered after them and cheered when they couldn’t see them anymore. 

“I knew they would try something,” Charlie said happily as she hugged Jake.  Letting go, she closed the lid of their temporary arsenal. 

“He said he would after telling everyone at school,” Jake said, using his long jumper sleeve to wipe the rainwater off the balcony’s guardrail. 

“I don’t know why he’s like that. I mean, I know I might have embarrassed him a little before, but why is he always picking on me?” Charlie said as she and Jake both sat on the railing. It was still slightly wet but she didn’t care. She was sitting on victory.