1 Spinning Slash, Chapter 1: Posie
At first glance, one would not think much of the tiny figure, slumped in the corner. It was about a foot tall at full length, little more. It wore a very tiny green shirt, with a shiny miniature leather belt and a smooth, emerald skirt. It was deathly still, in the corner of the pastel yellow-painted walls. Little more than a doll.
Suddenly, the doll lifted its head. It was no doll.
The tiny girl's wide, terror-stricken eyes looked around, seeing only the backside of her living barrier. Each strand of her flossy blonde hair seemed to quiver, and the light in her baby blue eyes flickered with some emotion, something between ultimate terror… and deepest fury. She tried to lift her miniscule hands to protest the oncoming wave of catcalls, jeers and mockery, but it only fell to her side. Reluctantly, she smoothed out her green skirt and bent down again, covering her head with her hands and tucking her semi-long hair down the back of her shirt.
She knew it would not be much longer until they broke her guard and got to her.
"Back off, jerks! What did she do to you? What did she ever do to you? Nothing, that's what! Why can't you nitwits just get off her case?"
"Because," taunted Tony raucously, "she's an easy target. Get off it, freckle girl!"
With one forceful shove, he forced Elaine aside.
She feel backward to the ground beside the tiny girl, and shook her head. Her short, brownish-red hair flung in the small girl's face, but the girl did not complain. Instead, she gave Elaine a small shove, sending her back up to her feet.
"Thanks, Posie. Don't worry, I'll stop those idiots." Grumbling, she brushed off the front of her embroidered white dress.
"It's ok." replied Posie, speaking at last. Her voice was a little high-pitched, but had a sort of liquid quality to it, like she was speaking through a mouthful of maple syrup. "I'm used to it, thanks…"
"What? Posie, if you let those idiots get to you, it'll only get worse. They'll keep teasing you and teasing you, and by the time you're ten years old everybody in all of Hyrule will be after you! What would some big high and mighty person you admire, like Princess Zelda for example, think if they knew how you let your self succumb to lowlifes like them? What would the Glowballs think? Good Goddesses, what would your mom and dad think?"
"They don't have a clue, remember? And you promised me you wouldn't tell them. You haven't broken your promise, have you?"
"Posie, I'm your best—well, OK, so technically only—friend. I wouldn't dare betray you. And I haven't told them about…"
Posie flung up her hand to prevent her from saying more.
"Got it. Now, for the Jerk Patrol…"
Elaine flung herself around… and found herself face-to-face with a red haired boy with a large nose, black eyes, and freckles, wearing a long sleeved shirt under a pair of denim overalls. This was the image of Tony, the resident bully in Kakariko Village's only kindergarten. His teeth were bared, and his heavy eyebrows were pointing downward. He already had a particular grudge against Posie and her friend Elaine—and he looked even less happy with them than usual.
Elaine gave a trying gulp, and choked out her words: "H-h-hi, T-T- Tony."
"Well, well, well, if it isn't freckle girl and her sidekick the midget. Who you callin' the Jerk Patrol, midget friend? I wouldn't be talking if I were you, seein' as you're part of our personal two-girl freak show."
"Posie and I are not freaks! For your information, that large brown spot on my back is a birthmark. And so what if Posie is only, like, what, a foot tall? Some people are just small, and she's one of them."
"Oh yeah. And tell me the spinout is just another fluke, huh?"
"DON'T MAKE FUN OF THAT!" came a cry from behind Elaine. The cold, enraged voice could have come from a giant, it was so loud, and yet it was high pitched but sort of liquid, like someone talking through a mouthful of maple syrup.
Posie, the small girl barely a foot tall, strode from behind Elaine and stood, trembling not from fear but from rage this time, in front of her. Her lips were pursed, and there was a fiery twinkle in her baby blue eyes. She looked up at Tony and his gang of followers, and opened her mouth to speak.
"You laugh when I get angry. You laugh when I perform the stunt, and when I fall down with getting it done successfully. Well, let me tell you something. You don't even know what I'm doing! You don't know if I'm trying to do that! You don't know how to measure the success of what I'm doing, because you have never seen it done the right way before, and if you have, then you don't know that I'm trying the same thing. You are clueless! So unless you know what you're seeing like the back of your hand, I wouldn't make any sudden judgements."
She gave herself a wry smile. She remembered what her father had told her about dealing with people who constantly downgraded her, and how to change things: "Don't give in to them, because if you let them tease you, then eventually you'll start believing them, and thinking that your are worthless, that you are lower than life. Don't be afraid to speak up against them. Let them know how you feel about how they treat you, but don't rub it in their faces like 'You shouldn't be making fun of me, because I'm better than you are, so there', more like 'Hey, I don't like what you're doing, because I'm just the same as you are and I deserve a little respect.' And don't be afraid to tell me if you're getting harassed. You can tell me anything that's wrong."
With these seemingly confidence-building thoughts, her face fell. Anything… if she could tell him anything, then why did he still not know about how they teased her? She sighed. Why? Was it on accord of her own cowardice, or… something else? Some strange logic, perhaps on account of the fact he…
SLAM! A large(for her size) hand smacked her upside her face, sending her toppling down to the floor. She skidded down back to the corner across the pink carpet. She braced herself back on her tiny arms, looking up at the bully who had just hit her. Rage flashed in her eyes. She rose to her feet, glaring at her attacker. One word was written across her face:
Revenge.
She bent down and picked up a stick that had fallen from the nearby table that she had skidded into earlier. Earlier, when they were playing the game of tag that had started this whole ordeal. Fumbling, she held it out to her side.
All eyes in the room shifted to her.
A flutter of chuckles flooded the room. They knew what was coming next. Tony was on the verge of breaking into pieces because of his laughter. Krissi, a little girl who always wore bright yellow dresses, a little girl who was Tony's best friend and right-hand bully, was turning purple in the face because of trying to hold back her a laughter.
"No, wait, Posie, don't…"
SWISH! Posie began to spin around wildly, like a person stuck in a tornado. Children gave a few choppy steps backward to avoid the spinning stick. She became a greenish-tan blur, then fell to the ground like a lead weight. The stick flew out of her hand, and Tony winced as it grazed across his cheek. But there was no reason for him to cry; it barely hurt him.
He wasn't about to let anybody else believe that, though.
"AAAGGHHH!" he howled as he held his hand over his cheek. "YOU LITTLE TWERP! YOU HIT ME!"
Her turned around and fled towards a room near the front of the kindergarten.
"MISS CLAIRE! MISS CLAIRE!" he cried for the teacher of the small school. He reached up for the doorknob handle of her office and ran inside. The others could hear his whiny sniveling.
"Oh, sure, Tony." sighed Elaine. "Milk it for all it's worth. You realize, you're gonna get in massive trouble for this one, Posie."
"Yeah, I know." Posie sighed. "Oh well."
"But… what if she tells your parents?"
"She won't if I beg… I don't think."
"But if she ignores your pleas?"
"Then pray to Din, Nayru, and Farore that I don't get in too much trouble."
"Think they'd listen?"
Elaine's philosophical musing was cut short, however, because at that moment, Tony, crying huge false tears, ran over, holding the hand of a young woman, in her mid-twenties, with large brown curls that hung over her shoulders and huge green eyes that had a soft, motherly look in them. She wore a simple white dress with a long, tight blue skirt. She looked down at Posie and Elaine, shaking her head.
"Posie, Tony says you hit him. Is this true?" Although most kids would fib, Miss Claire knew she could trust the little girl to tell the truth. However, even with her truthfulness, Miss Claire knew as well that Posie wouldn't tell the whole truth; leave something out, in an effort to save herself.
"But… but… I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I swear! Honest!"
Miss Claire knelt down on the floor to look into Posie's face, and gave her a stern, but soft, look.
"Well, Posie, accidents will happen, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't apologize."
"He didn't let me! He didn't give me enough time!"
"Well, you should have been quicker."
"But… but…"
"No buts, Posie. And also tells me you were doing the… well, that little spinout trick you do whenever you tend to get mad. Which happens far to often, if you ask me. You need to learn a thing or two about keeping your temper under control. Hmm? What's your side of the story?"
"But… he was making fun of me and Elaine!"
"Well, you should have come and gotten me, then."
"But… but… Oh, yes, Miss Claire." sighed Posie humbly, in the reprimanded monotone most kids took on when scolded.
"Mmm? Are we forgetting something, young lady?"
Posie sighed and turned to Tony. "Sorry, Tony." But she growled under her breath at him just the same.
"Better." replied Miss Claire. "But I'm afraid I can't let you go off easy this time. You're doing that trick more and more often, and that's the third time this week. And what's worse, you went and hit somebody this time, even if it's just an accident. I'm afraid… no matter how much you beg and plead for me not to… I'm going to have to tell your parents."
"What?!?! No! You… you can't! You just can't!"
"Posie, you hurt somebody. I can't let it go unnoticed. As much as I trust you, well… who knows what letting you get away with this will do to your conscience. I have to let them know."
"But… but…"
"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I won't speak to them right away. It can wait until… well, you'll find out soon enough."
And with that, she picked herself up off the floor and returned to her office, leaving Posie only to wonder about her fate.
***********************
Elaine sighed and stared down at her friend, who was now crying her heart out. She looked around outside the small clubhouse to make sure no one was listening. No one was, of course—they were the only ones who used the wooden playhouse, and if it wasn't for one of their strange games, it was for a private conversation like the one they were about to have. She stuck her head back in from the window, and turned back to Posie.
Little did she know that this time, the potential eavesdroppers were behind the playhouse.
Tony and Krissi were innocently playing just behind the house, because there was enough shade there to keep out the noonday sun, when the large tree was already crowded. But their ears hooked on like magnets when a snippet of temptingly delicious conversation wafted out their way.
"Well, I screwed it up again. I really screwed it up again."
"Hey," replied Elaine consolingly, "you remember what your dad said. It isn't an easy thing to do."
"But he said it's something everybody in our family should be able to…"
"Yeah, but he also said that it took some people longer than others to get. Wasn't he, like, ten or something before he understood it?"
"He never got his hands on a… you know… till then, remember? Once he did, he got it right away."
"Look, I think your problem is that you're expecting instant success when it's obvious that you aren't gonna get it."
"I AM NOT!" Posie protested. "AND BESIDES, YOU KNOW THE TRUTH AND YOU JUST AREN'T GONNA ADMIT IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA HURT MY FEELINGS! IT'S BECAUSE I'M A RUNT!" A loud THUD and a rush of sobs followed.
"Your size and strength have nothing to do with it. It's just a matter of your concentration and determination."
"BUT I'M CONCENTRATED! I'M DETERMINED!"
"Determined, yes. Concentrated, I'm not so sure. You remember what you dad said…"
"About the…?"
"Yes, partially. But also about listening to what those jerks say. You really are starting to believe them."
"I know, I know." More sobs.
"Besides, we all know—me, you, your parents, my dad, even the Glowballs—that you're worth a lot more than that."
"But still… what am I doing wrong?"
"Well, didn't your dad say something about knowing when you had it right?"
"Yes. He said… you had to concentrate all of your power, your heart and soul… on it. Nothing else. It should practically leap out of your hands with life force. But you couldn't let go, or else it would ruin it."
"That's part of where you messed up this morning." said Elaine wryly.
"Then, the instant you stopped focusing, it would sort of take you over. You would move not of your own will, but of it's. And you would feel the energy being released from inside you, like a tsunami of force. At least, that's what he said."
At that, the two spies didn't listen to any more. They instantly turned and faced each other.
"Woah! Those two are crazier than I thought!"
"Yeah!" replied Krissi. "And hey, you know how she's always talking about her dad… well, now we know that he's just a crazy, no matter how much she tries to say he's the coolest!" She did have a point—Posie did often brag about her father, but only in the sense that he was coolest in the world to her. She didn't care about what the other kids though much, and if they retaliated, she would just reply, "Well, it's just my opinion, feel free to have your own."
"Mmmfff!" mumbled Tony, trying not to laugh too loud. "This is just great! We gotta—just gotta—tell the others about this!"
"Not yet! Wait—just wait—till lunch ends in a few. Miss Claire said she had a special surprise for us during Announcements, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, if it's good enough to be called a 'surprise', then I bet it's really cool! Anyway, we'll wait until she gets all hyped up over whatever it is, then tell everybody! Boy, will that spoil her fun!"
"Too true, Krissi! Once again, you are a genius."
"Only half the genius you are!" Krissi gave the typical reply to Tony's statement.
CLING-A-CLONG! CLING-A-CLONG! The deep, brass sound of a cowbell echoed across the playground. All heads turned, to see Miss Claire waiting in the doorway ringing the bell that signaled the end of the lunch. A pounding of feet, a clamoring of voices, and all of a sudden, all 27 of the small school's students were rushing back into the room, and seating themselves on the floor for the end-of-the-day Announcements.
Miss Claire sidestepped from the door and slid back in front of the chalkboard, the remnants of the day's doodles still lingering here and there. She waved her hands about motioning for the rowdy hoard of children to calm down.
"Class, class, please be quiet now, class! It is time for your surprise!"
The children instantly stopped talking and began to listen intently.
"Now, class, I have a very, very special announcement to make. Two weeks from now, on Friday, we will be having a very special day. It will be our yearly, or annual, Parent's Day festival! Each of you will bring one of your parents—both, if you like—to school with you for a day! They will get to see the school and I will get to meet each one of them. Then, we will have contest, with kids and their parents facing off against other kids and their parents in a variety of games for a trophy!"
"Cool!" came cries from most of the class.
"Oh no." came Posie's desolate cry.
Tony and Krissi turned, with vindictive looks on their faces, towards Posie.
This is just too good to be true, thought Tony to himself.
"Posie, oh, Posie, did you hear that?" said Tony with mock curiosity.
"I-I-I did." replied Posie, earnest but terrified.
"Each of us can bring one of our parents to school week after next. And wouldn't you know it, why, we've all heard so much about your father, we're just dying to meet him! And isn't this just a perfect opportunity?"
"Um…"
"Well, waddia say, midget? Why not bring your dad to school and prove how supposedly cool he is, huh?"
"Um… H-h-he's t-t-too busy t-t-to come." Posie stammered.
"Now, not if he's the coolest, no. Why, he'd come if Gannon suddenly reared up out of the Sacred Realm and started attacking people!"
"Hmmf." mumbled Posie under her breath. "That'd really be saying something for my daddy…"
"WELL?" Krissi caught Posie's mumblings short. "What do you say, HUH? Will you prove it to us?"
"Well, you see, I uh, gulp…"
"Make sure he's here, on this very spot, in two week's time." said Tony, walking up in front of Posie and pointing his finger at the ground. "That is, if he truly is as cool as you say he is."
Seeing Posie struggle, Miss Claire caught the opportune time. She picked up her cow bell, and began to jingle it idly—
"Class Dismissed. See you all tomorrow."
At first glance, one would not think much of the tiny figure, slumped in the corner. It was about a foot tall at full length, little more. It wore a very tiny green shirt, with a shiny miniature leather belt and a smooth, emerald skirt. It was deathly still, in the corner of the pastel yellow-painted walls. Little more than a doll.
Suddenly, the doll lifted its head. It was no doll.
The tiny girl's wide, terror-stricken eyes looked around, seeing only the backside of her living barrier. Each strand of her flossy blonde hair seemed to quiver, and the light in her baby blue eyes flickered with some emotion, something between ultimate terror… and deepest fury. She tried to lift her miniscule hands to protest the oncoming wave of catcalls, jeers and mockery, but it only fell to her side. Reluctantly, she smoothed out her green skirt and bent down again, covering her head with her hands and tucking her semi-long hair down the back of her shirt.
She knew it would not be much longer until they broke her guard and got to her.
"Back off, jerks! What did she do to you? What did she ever do to you? Nothing, that's what! Why can't you nitwits just get off her case?"
"Because," taunted Tony raucously, "she's an easy target. Get off it, freckle girl!"
With one forceful shove, he forced Elaine aside.
She feel backward to the ground beside the tiny girl, and shook her head. Her short, brownish-red hair flung in the small girl's face, but the girl did not complain. Instead, she gave Elaine a small shove, sending her back up to her feet.
"Thanks, Posie. Don't worry, I'll stop those idiots." Grumbling, she brushed off the front of her embroidered white dress.
"It's ok." replied Posie, speaking at last. Her voice was a little high-pitched, but had a sort of liquid quality to it, like she was speaking through a mouthful of maple syrup. "I'm used to it, thanks…"
"What? Posie, if you let those idiots get to you, it'll only get worse. They'll keep teasing you and teasing you, and by the time you're ten years old everybody in all of Hyrule will be after you! What would some big high and mighty person you admire, like Princess Zelda for example, think if they knew how you let your self succumb to lowlifes like them? What would the Glowballs think? Good Goddesses, what would your mom and dad think?"
"They don't have a clue, remember? And you promised me you wouldn't tell them. You haven't broken your promise, have you?"
"Posie, I'm your best—well, OK, so technically only—friend. I wouldn't dare betray you. And I haven't told them about…"
Posie flung up her hand to prevent her from saying more.
"Got it. Now, for the Jerk Patrol…"
Elaine flung herself around… and found herself face-to-face with a red haired boy with a large nose, black eyes, and freckles, wearing a long sleeved shirt under a pair of denim overalls. This was the image of Tony, the resident bully in Kakariko Village's only kindergarten. His teeth were bared, and his heavy eyebrows were pointing downward. He already had a particular grudge against Posie and her friend Elaine—and he looked even less happy with them than usual.
Elaine gave a trying gulp, and choked out her words: "H-h-hi, T-T- Tony."
"Well, well, well, if it isn't freckle girl and her sidekick the midget. Who you callin' the Jerk Patrol, midget friend? I wouldn't be talking if I were you, seein' as you're part of our personal two-girl freak show."
"Posie and I are not freaks! For your information, that large brown spot on my back is a birthmark. And so what if Posie is only, like, what, a foot tall? Some people are just small, and she's one of them."
"Oh yeah. And tell me the spinout is just another fluke, huh?"
"DON'T MAKE FUN OF THAT!" came a cry from behind Elaine. The cold, enraged voice could have come from a giant, it was so loud, and yet it was high pitched but sort of liquid, like someone talking through a mouthful of maple syrup.
Posie, the small girl barely a foot tall, strode from behind Elaine and stood, trembling not from fear but from rage this time, in front of her. Her lips were pursed, and there was a fiery twinkle in her baby blue eyes. She looked up at Tony and his gang of followers, and opened her mouth to speak.
"You laugh when I get angry. You laugh when I perform the stunt, and when I fall down with getting it done successfully. Well, let me tell you something. You don't even know what I'm doing! You don't know if I'm trying to do that! You don't know how to measure the success of what I'm doing, because you have never seen it done the right way before, and if you have, then you don't know that I'm trying the same thing. You are clueless! So unless you know what you're seeing like the back of your hand, I wouldn't make any sudden judgements."
She gave herself a wry smile. She remembered what her father had told her about dealing with people who constantly downgraded her, and how to change things: "Don't give in to them, because if you let them tease you, then eventually you'll start believing them, and thinking that your are worthless, that you are lower than life. Don't be afraid to speak up against them. Let them know how you feel about how they treat you, but don't rub it in their faces like 'You shouldn't be making fun of me, because I'm better than you are, so there', more like 'Hey, I don't like what you're doing, because I'm just the same as you are and I deserve a little respect.' And don't be afraid to tell me if you're getting harassed. You can tell me anything that's wrong."
With these seemingly confidence-building thoughts, her face fell. Anything… if she could tell him anything, then why did he still not know about how they teased her? She sighed. Why? Was it on accord of her own cowardice, or… something else? Some strange logic, perhaps on account of the fact he…
SLAM! A large(for her size) hand smacked her upside her face, sending her toppling down to the floor. She skidded down back to the corner across the pink carpet. She braced herself back on her tiny arms, looking up at the bully who had just hit her. Rage flashed in her eyes. She rose to her feet, glaring at her attacker. One word was written across her face:
Revenge.
She bent down and picked up a stick that had fallen from the nearby table that she had skidded into earlier. Earlier, when they were playing the game of tag that had started this whole ordeal. Fumbling, she held it out to her side.
All eyes in the room shifted to her.
A flutter of chuckles flooded the room. They knew what was coming next. Tony was on the verge of breaking into pieces because of his laughter. Krissi, a little girl who always wore bright yellow dresses, a little girl who was Tony's best friend and right-hand bully, was turning purple in the face because of trying to hold back her a laughter.
"No, wait, Posie, don't…"
SWISH! Posie began to spin around wildly, like a person stuck in a tornado. Children gave a few choppy steps backward to avoid the spinning stick. She became a greenish-tan blur, then fell to the ground like a lead weight. The stick flew out of her hand, and Tony winced as it grazed across his cheek. But there was no reason for him to cry; it barely hurt him.
He wasn't about to let anybody else believe that, though.
"AAAGGHHH!" he howled as he held his hand over his cheek. "YOU LITTLE TWERP! YOU HIT ME!"
Her turned around and fled towards a room near the front of the kindergarten.
"MISS CLAIRE! MISS CLAIRE!" he cried for the teacher of the small school. He reached up for the doorknob handle of her office and ran inside. The others could hear his whiny sniveling.
"Oh, sure, Tony." sighed Elaine. "Milk it for all it's worth. You realize, you're gonna get in massive trouble for this one, Posie."
"Yeah, I know." Posie sighed. "Oh well."
"But… what if she tells your parents?"
"She won't if I beg… I don't think."
"But if she ignores your pleas?"
"Then pray to Din, Nayru, and Farore that I don't get in too much trouble."
"Think they'd listen?"
Elaine's philosophical musing was cut short, however, because at that moment, Tony, crying huge false tears, ran over, holding the hand of a young woman, in her mid-twenties, with large brown curls that hung over her shoulders and huge green eyes that had a soft, motherly look in them. She wore a simple white dress with a long, tight blue skirt. She looked down at Posie and Elaine, shaking her head.
"Posie, Tony says you hit him. Is this true?" Although most kids would fib, Miss Claire knew she could trust the little girl to tell the truth. However, even with her truthfulness, Miss Claire knew as well that Posie wouldn't tell the whole truth; leave something out, in an effort to save herself.
"But… but… I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I swear! Honest!"
Miss Claire knelt down on the floor to look into Posie's face, and gave her a stern, but soft, look.
"Well, Posie, accidents will happen, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't apologize."
"He didn't let me! He didn't give me enough time!"
"Well, you should have been quicker."
"But… but…"
"No buts, Posie. And also tells me you were doing the… well, that little spinout trick you do whenever you tend to get mad. Which happens far to often, if you ask me. You need to learn a thing or two about keeping your temper under control. Hmm? What's your side of the story?"
"But… he was making fun of me and Elaine!"
"Well, you should have come and gotten me, then."
"But… but… Oh, yes, Miss Claire." sighed Posie humbly, in the reprimanded monotone most kids took on when scolded.
"Mmm? Are we forgetting something, young lady?"
Posie sighed and turned to Tony. "Sorry, Tony." But she growled under her breath at him just the same.
"Better." replied Miss Claire. "But I'm afraid I can't let you go off easy this time. You're doing that trick more and more often, and that's the third time this week. And what's worse, you went and hit somebody this time, even if it's just an accident. I'm afraid… no matter how much you beg and plead for me not to… I'm going to have to tell your parents."
"What?!?! No! You… you can't! You just can't!"
"Posie, you hurt somebody. I can't let it go unnoticed. As much as I trust you, well… who knows what letting you get away with this will do to your conscience. I have to let them know."
"But… but…"
"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I won't speak to them right away. It can wait until… well, you'll find out soon enough."
And with that, she picked herself up off the floor and returned to her office, leaving Posie only to wonder about her fate.
***********************
Elaine sighed and stared down at her friend, who was now crying her heart out. She looked around outside the small clubhouse to make sure no one was listening. No one was, of course—they were the only ones who used the wooden playhouse, and if it wasn't for one of their strange games, it was for a private conversation like the one they were about to have. She stuck her head back in from the window, and turned back to Posie.
Little did she know that this time, the potential eavesdroppers were behind the playhouse.
Tony and Krissi were innocently playing just behind the house, because there was enough shade there to keep out the noonday sun, when the large tree was already crowded. But their ears hooked on like magnets when a snippet of temptingly delicious conversation wafted out their way.
"Well, I screwed it up again. I really screwed it up again."
"Hey," replied Elaine consolingly, "you remember what your dad said. It isn't an easy thing to do."
"But he said it's something everybody in our family should be able to…"
"Yeah, but he also said that it took some people longer than others to get. Wasn't he, like, ten or something before he understood it?"
"He never got his hands on a… you know… till then, remember? Once he did, he got it right away."
"Look, I think your problem is that you're expecting instant success when it's obvious that you aren't gonna get it."
"I AM NOT!" Posie protested. "AND BESIDES, YOU KNOW THE TRUTH AND YOU JUST AREN'T GONNA ADMIT IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA HURT MY FEELINGS! IT'S BECAUSE I'M A RUNT!" A loud THUD and a rush of sobs followed.
"Your size and strength have nothing to do with it. It's just a matter of your concentration and determination."
"BUT I'M CONCENTRATED! I'M DETERMINED!"
"Determined, yes. Concentrated, I'm not so sure. You remember what you dad said…"
"About the…?"
"Yes, partially. But also about listening to what those jerks say. You really are starting to believe them."
"I know, I know." More sobs.
"Besides, we all know—me, you, your parents, my dad, even the Glowballs—that you're worth a lot more than that."
"But still… what am I doing wrong?"
"Well, didn't your dad say something about knowing when you had it right?"
"Yes. He said… you had to concentrate all of your power, your heart and soul… on it. Nothing else. It should practically leap out of your hands with life force. But you couldn't let go, or else it would ruin it."
"That's part of where you messed up this morning." said Elaine wryly.
"Then, the instant you stopped focusing, it would sort of take you over. You would move not of your own will, but of it's. And you would feel the energy being released from inside you, like a tsunami of force. At least, that's what he said."
At that, the two spies didn't listen to any more. They instantly turned and faced each other.
"Woah! Those two are crazier than I thought!"
"Yeah!" replied Krissi. "And hey, you know how she's always talking about her dad… well, now we know that he's just a crazy, no matter how much she tries to say he's the coolest!" She did have a point—Posie did often brag about her father, but only in the sense that he was coolest in the world to her. She didn't care about what the other kids though much, and if they retaliated, she would just reply, "Well, it's just my opinion, feel free to have your own."
"Mmmfff!" mumbled Tony, trying not to laugh too loud. "This is just great! We gotta—just gotta—tell the others about this!"
"Not yet! Wait—just wait—till lunch ends in a few. Miss Claire said she had a special surprise for us during Announcements, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, if it's good enough to be called a 'surprise', then I bet it's really cool! Anyway, we'll wait until she gets all hyped up over whatever it is, then tell everybody! Boy, will that spoil her fun!"
"Too true, Krissi! Once again, you are a genius."
"Only half the genius you are!" Krissi gave the typical reply to Tony's statement.
CLING-A-CLONG! CLING-A-CLONG! The deep, brass sound of a cowbell echoed across the playground. All heads turned, to see Miss Claire waiting in the doorway ringing the bell that signaled the end of the lunch. A pounding of feet, a clamoring of voices, and all of a sudden, all 27 of the small school's students were rushing back into the room, and seating themselves on the floor for the end-of-the-day Announcements.
Miss Claire sidestepped from the door and slid back in front of the chalkboard, the remnants of the day's doodles still lingering here and there. She waved her hands about motioning for the rowdy hoard of children to calm down.
"Class, class, please be quiet now, class! It is time for your surprise!"
The children instantly stopped talking and began to listen intently.
"Now, class, I have a very, very special announcement to make. Two weeks from now, on Friday, we will be having a very special day. It will be our yearly, or annual, Parent's Day festival! Each of you will bring one of your parents—both, if you like—to school with you for a day! They will get to see the school and I will get to meet each one of them. Then, we will have contest, with kids and their parents facing off against other kids and their parents in a variety of games for a trophy!"
"Cool!" came cries from most of the class.
"Oh no." came Posie's desolate cry.
Tony and Krissi turned, with vindictive looks on their faces, towards Posie.
This is just too good to be true, thought Tony to himself.
"Posie, oh, Posie, did you hear that?" said Tony with mock curiosity.
"I-I-I did." replied Posie, earnest but terrified.
"Each of us can bring one of our parents to school week after next. And wouldn't you know it, why, we've all heard so much about your father, we're just dying to meet him! And isn't this just a perfect opportunity?"
"Um…"
"Well, waddia say, midget? Why not bring your dad to school and prove how supposedly cool he is, huh?"
"Um… H-h-he's t-t-too busy t-t-to come." Posie stammered.
"Now, not if he's the coolest, no. Why, he'd come if Gannon suddenly reared up out of the Sacred Realm and started attacking people!"
"Hmmf." mumbled Posie under her breath. "That'd really be saying something for my daddy…"
"WELL?" Krissi caught Posie's mumblings short. "What do you say, HUH? Will you prove it to us?"
"Well, you see, I uh, gulp…"
"Make sure he's here, on this very spot, in two week's time." said Tony, walking up in front of Posie and pointing his finger at the ground. "That is, if he truly is as cool as you say he is."
Seeing Posie struggle, Miss Claire caught the opportune time. She picked up her cow bell, and began to jingle it idly—
"Class Dismissed. See you all tomorrow."
