"Hey! Wait for me" The small girl yelled as she struggled to keep up with the two older boys in front of her. The three were running through the streets of Radiant Garden dodging people and vendor's carts. Today was the first day of summer vacation and the streets were more crowded than they had been but this would be the new norm for the next few months. It felt like the whole town was outside.
"Not a chance. We don't want to play with icky girls!" The redheaded boy called back to the girl as he quickened his pace.
"Whoa!" The redhead exclaimed as the other boy grabbed his shoulder and jerked him back just in time to miss the Sea Salt Ice-cream stand in front of him.
"Pay attention, Lea." The other boy said to the redhead releasing his grip on his shoulder.
"Lighten up, Isa. That's why I keep you around, so you can do all the paying attention for me." Lea said with a hearty laugh.
"Come on we are almost there" Isa replied as he took off running again.
The girl willed her legs to carry her faster hearing Lea's comment about her being an icky girl. She watched them come to a stop ahead of her as the redhead almost ran into an ice-cream cart, it wouldn't have been the first time that happened she thought to herself. Just as she was about to catch them the boys took off running again.
They were nearing the outskirts of the town when the two boys looked back and didn't see Rae following them.
Rae was only eight years old when Lea met her the year before. She was so quiet and shy then. He saw her sitting on a stone bench on the edge of the courtyard watching the other kids play. He and Isa had finished sparing and were on their way to get their Sea Salt Ice-cream and head out to their favorite spot.
Lea sat down on the bench next to her while Isa leaned along the back wall with his arms crossed.
"You must be new." Lea said to her.
"Uh huh" she said never looking up and squirming rather uncomfortably.
"So whatcha doin' ?" Lea asked.
"N-nothing" Rae responded in almost a whisper.
"She doesn't want to talk, Lea. Lets just go." Isa responded coldly.
Lea shot his friend a look. A look Isa was used to getting form him. Isa rolled his eyes. Lea always told him he was too cold and he needed to learn to lighten up and make more friends. Lea was obsessed with making new friends he said he wanted everyone he met to remember him.
"I mean maybe she wants to talk another day" Isa said in a halfhearted attempt to be nicer.
"That's Isa. He's not always a jerk just most of the time" Lea said with a large sheepish grin.
"My name's Lea. Get it memorized." He said tapping two fingers to the temple of his head.
"What's your name?" Lea asked her still trying to draw her out of her shell.
"Rae" she responded more confidently than she had before.
"Well Rae, it's nice to meet you. Maybe next time you watch us spar I won't go so easy on Isa." The redhead said as he stood from the bench and walked away with his Blue haired friend.
Lea lead Isa down an alley just passed a fountain to wait for Rae.
"If she can't keep up it's not our fault. Why do we always have to wait on her?" Isa said rather annoyed.
"'Cause she's our friend" The redhead said with a matter of fact tone.
The two boys leaned on the sides of the buildings in the alley catching their breath. Both of them had hair stuck to their sweat covered faces. The first day of summer vacation always felt the warmest. It carried with it promises of the fun the three of them would have the rest of the summer.
When they heard Rae getting close they came out of the alley and waited for her. When she was in sight they began again this time walking. They were headed one more street up to the last ice-cream vendor in town.
When Rae caught up to them she was huffing and puffing loudly trying to catch her breath. Her entire head of brown hair was glued to her.
"You almost caught us that time. You keep getting faster and faster." Lea said to her as the three of them walked up to the vendor's cart.
"One day I'm going to out run you guys!" she said still breathing heavy but not like she first had been.
"Not if we keep getting faster too" Isa said with a laugh.
Rae having no comeback stuck her tongue out at him and made a face that had all three of them and the ice-cream vendor laughing.
Isa paid for the ice cream and the three walked on to their usual spot.
Their spot was just passed the edge of town. No one really came out that far because there was nothing to see just fields of wild flowers that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Most children weren't allowed that far by their parents because the fields were also lined with cliffs that dropped off into nothingness. They didn't have to worry about parents though they didn't have any. Well, not any more. They lived in the orphanage in the heart of Radiant Garden. Each had their own reasons for ending up there never really discussing it with the others. They were more focused on the days ahead, days filled with laughter, ice cream, and friendship.
The three of them sat on the edge of one of the cliffs eating their ice-cream watching the sun set.
"Hey, I bet you guys don't know why the sun sets red." Lea said finishing the last of his ice-cream just before it started to drip all over himself.
" The sunset is made up of many colors but red is the color that travels the farthest." He said.
"You're such a know it all" Isa said hitting the side of his arm. "I bet you just made that up because it's your favorite color."
All three of them laughed.
"Anyone have a stick that says winner on it?" Rae asked as she looked at her own.
"Nope." Lea said.
"I don't think it exists." Isa said throwing his stick off the cliff.
They stayed until the last ray of light faded away.