Ok, stop me if you've heard this one…
Hehe! Ha ha ha… Oh, oh, wait…
Ya, so, there was this cell in a lunatic asylum, and most people had forgotten about the person inside, you see, because people don't like to think about things that they might not understand. Anywho, there was this cell…
BANG.
The impact hit like a colourful, spiky sound effect from an old comic. She could almost see the white capital letters amid the exploding colours as the back of her head made contact with the concrete floor. There was some warm liquid filling her mouth. It might have been blood. It tasted like blood.
The figure jumped back in an instant and, before losing momentum, propelled herself at the most solid surface in the room: the metal edge around the door. She put all she had into that punch, and there was a satisfying little cracking noise somewhere down in her wrist as her knuckles made contact.
She stumbled backwards, ready to launch an attack on a different part of the room, but the pain suddenly intensified and shot up her arm to her elbow. She covered her mouth with her other hand, (when had that blood got all over her fingers?) attempting to muffle the scream that almost instantly turned into insane giggling.
There were a lot more colours popping in front of her eyes now. Too bad she couldn't enjoy them, what with the dizziness and all.
No one would come up yet, the guards responded painfully slowly to any commotion on this floor, there was still time. She flattened her back against the wall, then pushed off as hard as she could, aiming a jump at the wall opposite. The funny thing about the padding in this cell was that it ended a few inches below the ceiling, and there was a little ridge where it ended. As the cell's resident had found out, it was just possible to jump up, grab the top of the padding with the sides of your hands, then pull yourself towards the ceiling. It got easier with practise. All it took was the right momentum.
Of course, she mused as she ran the short distance in long strides, no one had bothered to install a surveillance camera in this room, so no one would ever know that she could jump high enough to reach the ledge. Not unless they watched though the window in the door, and that was something no one liked to do.
She was just about to do some kind of unprofessional high-impact flip off the ceiling, when everything went black. It was the kind of blackness that not only blocks your vision, but seems to spread into your mind, cutting off all thought pathways. The annoying kind.
As the unconscious figure lay sprawled on the floor, crimson pools of blood began to spread out, first fast, then slower and slower. Before it soaked through her hair, it created an almost festive effect, the green strands floating over the small red puddles of blood.
:)
It was quite the occasion. Balloons, ribbons and creased paper streamers were tied to every available space, so as they were always rubbing against guests and getting caught in hair and buttons. The 20-or-so children ran around the backyard while parents sat or stood in the living room, mostly chatting. There was a large cake on a table out on the deck, with eight unlit candles and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDEN!" written across it with green icing.
There was a sort of tent set up in the yard; more of a canvas supported by four poles, really. Under it stood a nervous girl with her hands in her pockets. She was a teenager, almost done of high school. Her skin was a dark tan, and she had long black hair tied into low-hanging pigtails. In the pockets of her oversized chequered overalls, she fiddled with rubber juggling balls.
"Ok kids! Time for the magician!"
Thank god that's not me, the girl thought as the sugar-high children ran expectantly towards the tent, I could never handle this many people by myself.
She stood by as the magician entertained the kids with tricks and jokes, sometimes acting as his assistant when he needed a table moved or a prop held. The kids thought him hilarious, with his long blue jacket and funny top hat, and they became increasingly energetic until-
"And now kids, would you like to see my assistant perform her amazing juggling trick?"
There were scattered cheers.
The magician side-stepped away as the girl stepped up. Some parents in the back clapped encouragingly. She took a deep breath.
First three balls came out of her pockets, then four. She pulled a fifth then sixth out with one hand as she juggled the first four with the other hand. To make it a little more interesting, she walked around a bit, continuously keeping her eyes on the balls. She did a couple of tricks, then, to finish it off, threw all the balls up into the air. As they fell, she caught one on the top of her foot, two in each hand, and one balanced precariously on the top of her head. As she bowed awkwardly, however, the one on her head fell to the ground and rolled a distance away through the grass.
A few children laughed, then they all broke out into applause. She bowed again, grinning sheepishly.
"Let's give her a hand!"
But she had already pocketed the runaway ball and was leaving the party.
Four teenagers sat alone at the bus stop. Three were smoking, the other watched people walk by. Soon, he reached over and tapped his friend on the shoulder.
"There she is."
"Who now?"
"That chick," He pointed out the Asian girl hurrying along the street. A bit of chequered clothe stuck out of the bag she carried over her shoulder. "The one that owes us."
One of the guys leaned over to get a better view. "Her? Huh… What's she in such a rush for?"
"Her parents probably don't want her out, ya know. They must have heard from someone that there's some guys around who'd like a piece of her."
At that moment, the girl happened to look across the street at the bus stop. Seeing the four guys, she paused for half a second, then started running. She turned down an alleyway, still running at top speed.
"Should we go after her?"
"Naw." One of the guys who hadn't spoken yet took the cigarette out of his mouth and said, "We'll get other chances. Better chances. Someone could interfere, out on the street during the day like this. We've got to make a point; let everyone know what happens to people who cross us."
The others nodded, pretending they understood what he was implying. Then they went back to their silent smoking, watching as the people walked by.
:)