a little bit of black with a little bit of pink

The Bike Thief

Little Jennie Kim grins as she bikes down the road. She hasn't crashed. She hasn't even come close to crashing.

Daddy was afraid for nothing, she thinks smugly. All the extra bike reflectors were totally unnecessary. And her bike helmet and kneepads and elbow pads were going to remain in their current shiny condition, just so she could prove to her dad how much he had overreacted.

He had been so against her learning how to ride a bike, but her mother had pushed and pushed for it when Jennie turned four years old. And he never could say no to her, let alone to both her and Jennie.

Even then, he hadn't let Jennie ride beyond their block. At least, not until there was a small incident involving the school bus and a pot hole in town. Then, he figured that, with enough protection, Jennie could make it to and from school on her bicycle, given her two years of experience.

And so the process of getting the bike up to spec began– adding two bike horns, in case one hand had better reflexes than the other, regularly oiling the brakes and re-inflating the tires, making sure every possible angle had a reflector on it, and adding a nice finish on top of the yellow paint so any scratches would be visible.

But in the end, it had been worth it. Now, tiny six-year-old Jennie Kim could enjoy riding her bike to and from school.

Jennie grins, thinking about the cupcake sitting comfortably in her Hello Kitty backpack, shaped like the cat's face. Her friend Nancy had given it to her during lunchtime.

Well, actually, Nancy had given her three of them, but the other two hadn't even made it to the end of the period.

Those cupcakes were good.

Jennie finds herself already salivating over the cupcake and it motivates her to pedal faster.

But her phone starts ringing and Jennie promptly slows to a stop— safety first– before hopping off her bike and answering the call.

"Hey, Somi," Jennie greets brightly.

"Jennie Kim," a small voice huffily squeaks out on the other end. "You took my coloring book!"

Jennie's eyes widen. "What? No, I didn't."

"But our cubbies are right next to each other," Somi says. "If you didn't take it, then who..."

Jennie decides not to point out the obvious as she leans her bike against the railing on the side of the road to adjust her backpack.

"...Oh..." Somi sighs. "Bobby. That little meanie buttface!"

Jennie giggles. "Do you want me to come with you to his house? I'm pretty sure his mom might not let you in after you gave him that purple nurple last time."

"No," Somi grumbles. "I'll just give him a wedgie tomorrow."

"Okay." Jennie chuckles again. "Talk to you when I get home?"

"Mmhmm. Sorry I blamed you, Jen."

"It's fine," Jennie replies sweetly. "Bye!"

She hangs up when a blur of movement passes in her peripheral.

Suddenly, Jennie finds herself lying on the ground and some other girl is taking off with her bike.

"Hey!" Jennie grunts, pushing herself up. "Come back with my bike!"

"Make me!" the bike thief taunts back.

Jennie pulls off her helmet and hurls it towards the hard-bitten criminal, but it falls short.