Trapped
The red head tripped over her own sandals. She had run from very far away, and she was very much alone in the world. Searching for the boy she had loved years before was becoming rather painstaking, and the girl felt dirt mingle with tears on her wet face.
"Where is he?" she thought aloud. Her green eyes welled up with fresh tears, making her sob uncontrollably. No one noticed the girl on the sodden ground near a desolate junkyard.
"Almond doesn't even know where she is," the girl smiled.
Almond, the girl thought. That's my name.
Thinking about the cute name that her mother had given to her made Almond start crying again. She fell on her knees and hid behind a giant purple van adorned with red-orange flame decals. Almond brushed a red strand of hair out of her face.
A large crash rattled the van.
"Oh! Oh! Can we visit Mount Rushmore?" said a dumb-sounding voice.
Almond got up off her knees, and rubbed some tears from her eyes. She dared a peek into the window, and saw three boys.
One was tall, with a green jacket, a red-and-white striped shirt, and blue jeans. He was the one that wanted to see Mount Rushmore. There was a second boy, with a black hat, an orange short-sleeved shirt, purple shorts, and red socks. He looked very fidgety and nervous. The third boy was shorter than the others, with a yellow shirt that had a purple collar, baggy light-blue jeans, a wallet chain, and a huge smirk on his face.
"Didja get a load of those suckers, Double D?" the short boy laughed. He was counting a handful of silver coins. Almond looked questioningly at the money.
"Eddy, that was despicable," the black-hat boy replied. This was apparently Double D. That made the short boy Eddy, Almond reasoned. "They were bricks! We painted bricks and sold them as…"
"Fly me to the moon," the Mount Rushmore kid smiled. Eddy punched him.
"Shut up, Ed!" Eddy bellowed. Almond quickly turned away from the car window. She was somewhat confused by the three guys' antics. One eagerly fondled his money, one was stupider than a sheet of flypaper, and the other was appalled by Eddy's actions.
Almond snuck away from the van and ran through the junkyard. She passed tires, lawn chairs, many things that she found foreign, and even when Almond felt a cramp in her side, she didn't stop.
Almond suddenly felt something hit her in the head, and darkness consumed the dim light of the sun.
Almond opened her eyes immediately. She couldn't see anything except for a gorgeous woman, with silky black hair and piercing blue eyes.
That was the kind of girl Almond wished she were. She felt like a simple girl, too plain for anyone to really appreciate.
"Almond is your name, is it not?" the pretty woman asked. Almond stood up and dusted herself off. She looked down at her purple plaid skirt and her white long-sleeved shirt. She looked a bit out of place in the red-hot room, filled with orange and red décor that complemented the woman.
"Yes," Almond replied shakily. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation. She plucked nervously at her shirt collar, as she was steaming.
"Well, you just got beaned by a slingshot… a girl named Lee Kanker, I believe…" the woman looked up from a paper on her desk. Almond froze. "But I know what you've been thinking."
Almond narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What is the meaning of this?"
The woman shook her head. "Forgive me… maybe I should introduce myself. Elizabeth Applegate. You've probably heard of me."
"Actually, I haven't," Almond responded bluntly. Elizabeth shook her head again.
"Oh, believe me, you have," Elizabeth smirked. "I took over for my father… certainly you know about Mr. Applegate."
"I'm very confused," Almond answered. "Can I just go back to where I came from?"
"Not yet." Elizabeth was still smirking. "You want to see him again, don't you? You want to see him, talk to him, hold him, feel his lips against your skin…"
Almond stepped backwards. "How do you know?"
"I know a lot of things," Elizabeth replied. "And I bet you would do anything for the opportunity to have him, right?"
"Right," Almond said, unsure of if she should have spoken the truth.
Elizabeth stood up, revealing the slinky red dress she was wearing. "I have the power to help you. I'll help you with your goal… all you have to do is sell your soul to me."
"How can I sell my soul?" Almond asked warily. She heard the soft tap of Elizabeth's red heels on the black tile flooring.
"Almond, Almond, Almond…" Elizabeth took Almond's chin in her delicate hand. "One does not usually question the devil."
Almond's eyes widened. "I guess you aren't lying, then…"
Elizabeth smiled. "I knew you'd see it my way. Now then, you want this man. I will not alter too much of your appearance, but I can definitely make you a more mature person… I can get rid of your strange drawl… the chest, obviously… and I can do other things, which you don't need to know about. You're still a kid."
"I'm fifteen," Almond corrected.
Elizabeth smirked. "When you wake up, you will feel no different, but believe me, you will be different. Trust me."
---
"What'd you do to her, Lee?" a voice said.
"I dunno," a gravely voice replied. This was probably Lee, Almond reasoned…
Almond realized that she had her consciousness back. She opened her eyes and saw three girls standing over her. One was blonde and wore a gray tee with red shorts, one was a blue-haired girl with cargo pants and a black tank top, and the last girl had red hair that covered her eyes completely and wore a polka-dot shirt with jeans.
"Where am I?" Almond immediately asked. Suddenly she realized her voice was different. It didn't have the accent of her homeland infused in it.
"Oh, we're the Kanker sisters," the red head said in a gravely voice. She was Lee, then, Almond inferred. "The blonde is May Kanker, the blue-haired girl is Marie, and I'm Lee."
Almond sat up. She was lying on a couch.
"Sorry," Lee smiled. "I didn't mean to hit ya with that slingshot. It was meant for a chicken."
"A chicken?" Almond immediately stood up. Lee raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
"Yeah. One of Rolf's. He's strange," Lee spat.
Almond felt her face redden. "Can you take me there?"
"Why?" May asked. "His chickens are trained to kill us!"
Almond felt a bit skeptical about that.
"Ah, whatever," Marie sighed. She was painting her nails a rustic red while sitting at a card table near the couch. "We just have to point her in the right direction, after all."
Lee shrugged. "All right, girl, follow me."
"My name's Almond," Almond pointed out. Lee swerved around.
"Almond? You're almost too pretty for that name." Lee looked Almond over. "I mean, look at you. The white shirt… the purple skirt… those Oxfords… you look great."
Almond smiled. "Thanks."
Lee grabbed Almond's arm. "Now, to Rolf's place."
---
Almond knew that nothing would get accomplished by leaning against Rolf's fence, watching him work or whatever, but Almond couldn't help it. She had no guts at all when it came to him. He was the best of the best – he was the only guy that Almond respected as more than an equal, even in the strange patriarchy that permeated her country's society.
Besides, Rolf wasn't wearing a shirt, leaving his chest exposed. Almond couldn't stop her mind from wandering.
"What are you doing, girl?" a voice called.
The three boys Almond had seen earlier, Ed, Double D, and Eddy, walked towards her and leaned against the fence with her.
"Watching Rolf work?" Eddy asked. Almond could instantaneously sense that Eddy liked her.
So this is what Elizabeth meant by other things.
"Yeah," Almond replied stupidly. Double D leaned closer to Eddy.
"Remember the bricks, Eddy?"
"Of course. That was the best scam ever!"
"Well, remember who we scammed, Eddy?"
"Ed-boys!" Rolf yelled from his perch. Almond sank down below the fence, hidden momentarily by a bush. Rolf, as Almond feared, was walking closer, and Almond could feel her heart being pushed out of her butt…
"Rolf remembers your treachery!" Rolf bellowed. Almond could see his face now. He still had the same blue hair and the same tan skin, but he was taller now, and… sexier.
"Run away!" Ed bellowed, and the other two wasted no time in following him. Rolf walked up to the fence and watched them run away for a second or so.
"Run away, will you?" Rolf snapped. "I will chase after you, Ed-boys!"
As Rolf was halfway over the fence, he suddenly looked over at Almond's hiding spot. Almond turned bright red.
"Ah!" Almond moaned. She had no idea what to say.
Thanks a lot, Elizabeth.
Rolf cocked his head in curiosity. "Almond?"
"Oh, hi, Rolf…" Almond breathed. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Why are you here?" Rolf climbed over the fence and kneeled down to Almond's level. Almond was a bit scared, and scooted away a few steps.
"Something happened back home, Rolf," Almond said. She was desperately trying to calm herself, but that would have been impossible – Rolf was standing before her, shirtless, asking her why she was near his house, hiding behind a bush.
"To you?" Rolf cocked his head again. Almond would have blanched if she weren't so red.
"Yes, to my family, and I came here by plane to find you and your family-"
Rolf gripped Almond's shoulders. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," Almond managed to utter. His hands felt soft against her shirt.
Rolf let go and smiled widely. "Then let's get you inside the house. You look a bit scared… you sound a bit different too…"
Rolf babbled on like this as he led Almond to the house. Almond was still red.
He asked me if I was okay… and he remembered my name…
Almond followed Rolf inside the house and closed the door behind her.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ed Edd n Eddy, but Almond is my character!