Edmund was walking by the corner of the street when he suddenly heard yelling.

Peter is at it again. He thought. His older brother gets into fights a whole lot more these days.

He ran to the alley. He found a bunch of boys fighting another guy about his age, wearing a cap and a white shirt to large for him. He tried to look for Peter in the catfight, but didn't find him there. Instead, he ran into the fight himself.

"Whoa, guys! Stop it! Give the dude a break!" he yelled, pushing a bit of space to separate the fighters.

A policeman suddenly came, blowing hard on his whistle. Apparently, a nearby security guard heard the rumble and called the police station up. People around that place suddenly stopped. Every window and door opened, faces appeared out of them, curious about the noise.

"What's the entire racket about?" a person somewhere yelled.

"Alright, alright. Nothing to see here. Back to your business." The policeman shouted. The people in the houses seemed to get lesser by second, forgetting the past minute.

"Now, if I catch you boys starting another rumble," the policeman said, turning to them, "I'll call up your parents and ask them to put you under lock and key. Understand?"

They all nodded. The man then turned and went back to his work. One of the boys suddenly said to the guy in the cap "We'll deal with you some other time. Let's go." And left with the circle of other boys around him.

"Dude, you okay?" Edmund asked, dusting off the dirt from his pants.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." The guy said, taking of the cap and letting go a ponytail of long, straight hair. The guy turned out to be a girl. Her eyes, when you looked deep into them, were hazel brown. She had lightly tanned skin, probably from going around town many times under the heat of the sun. She was slender, and was about his age.

Edmund was surprised. He is a she. He stared at her, confused.

"What? Is there blood on my face or something?" she asked.

"No, no ,no. Not at all." He replied, shaking his head. "It's just that...I..."

"What?" she asked, raising a brow, arms crossed. "Think that a girl can't get into a fight? Want to start one now?"

"No. It's nothing. Sorry." He replied. "I'm Edmund." He said, putting on his cap.

"I'm Ashley." She said, tying her hair into a half-ponytail. Edmund noticed a bruise on her arm.

"We should get some ice for that." He said, picking up his satchel.

"Oh, it's nothing. It doesn't hurt one bit. I'm used to it." She replied, covering up the bruise with her other hand. She noticed a scar on his face.

"Ooh..." she said, staring at his cheek.

"What?"

"You have a scar. Come on, let's get that patched up." She said, taking his hand.

"You sure?"

"It's the least I could do. After all, you helped me." She said with a smile. "Come on. My house is just around the corner."

He followed her through every winding street. After a few minutes, she walked up a few steps and signaled him to follow her. Ashley took out a bunch of keys from her pocket and opened the door.

"We're here. Come on in." she said, holding the door. Edmund went in, then she closed the door.

The house had green striped walls with wide doors. A staircase was at the end of the hallway, beside the backdoor.

"Ash? Is that you?" a voice asked, coming from somewhere in the house.

"It's me mom."

"Where's your sister?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen her since Hannah showed up at the park."

Ashley's mom came to them. Her mom was wearing a long, lavender skirt and a green turtle neck top. She was wiping her hands on an the apron when she went to her daughter. Then she noticed Edmund.

"Who's this?" she asked, looking at him.

"Oh. Mom, this is Edmund."

"Nice to meet you ma'am" he said, tipping his hat.

"And I, you." Her mom replied. Then she realized the scar on Edmund's cheek "Oooh...You have a scar. Ash, patch it up for me, please? I'm awfully busy."

"That's why we're here mom." she replied. There was a Isn't that obvious tone in her voice as she said it.

"Well, I have to get back to cooking. And if your sister arrives, can you tell her I need to talk to her?"

"Of course." Ashley said, taking Edmund to the living room.

"Your mom is really nice." Edmund said, sitting on the couch.

"Well, she's a mom. All moms are like that." She said, looking for something on a shelf too high for her.

"Let me help you."

"No, it's okay. I can handle it." She said on tiptoes. Apparently, she was tall enough to reach the first aid kit on the top shelf.

"Here we are. Now, where is that thing?" she said, rummaging through a first aid kit.

"You have a sister?" he asked, laughing.

"Yeah. Too bad she's a nuisance though." She replied, laughing. "Here we are."

Ashley took a cotton ball from the first aid kit, opened a bottle and dropped a few drops of whatever-it-is onto the cotton. She handed it to Edmund and said "Hold this for me for just a sec."

She started rummaging through the first aid kit again and produced a strip of band aid.

"Now, put it here," she said, getting the cotton ball and putting it on Edmund's cheek "and hold still."

"Ouch." Edmund mumbled, feeling the painful sting take its effect. Ashley opened the strip of band aid and set it on his cheek, just where the scar was.

"There. Does it hurt?" she asked, taking a cold-compress pack from the kit.

"A bit." He said, holding his cheek.

"I need to put ice into this. I'll be back in a bit." She said, and left the room.

Alone in the room, he stood up and walked around. There were many interesting things on the shelves; mostly books. He started to look at a few pictures.

"Do you like it?" a startling voice asked.

He turned around, relieved. It was Ashley.

"You nearly scared the life out of me." He said, holding his hand on his chest.

"Well, I like surprises; for me and for other people." She said, sitting on the couch.

"Can you help me with this?" she asked, holding the cold-compress pack on her bruised arm.

Edmund came to her. "Tie this tightly around my arm." Ashley said, handing him a long, thick cloth. He did as he was told. After doing so, they stood up. Ashley closed the kit and put it back on the top shelf.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked, her thumb pointing to the kitchen.

"No. I have to get home. My mom gets worried sick when I come home late." He said with humor.

"Well, that's what moms do. Come on, then." She said.

Edmund got his satchel, and Ashley walked him to the front door.

"Thanks." She said, a little embarrassed.

"For what?"

"For helping me with the guys earlier."

"Oh, that was nothing," he said. "I'm used to stopping fights, and getting into them. It's a long story though."

"That would be interesting. Can you tell me some other time?"

"Sure. That'd be great. Thanks for the patch up." He said. "Bye."

"Bye. And thanks again." She said, closing the door.