Seifer nearly toppled over as I jumped onto his back, my long brown hair swinging around and my sleeves riding up, revealing my pale skin. "Get off me, lamer!" he yelled, trying to push me off. I can't blame him, really. People don't tend to suddenly jump onto each other in the Sandlot.
"Don't yell at me, Seifer!" I complained as I slid off. "This day's been bad enough as it is!"
His rage faded away as he turned around and realized who had jumped on him. "Raxmi, give me word of warning next time, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled sadly, looking down at the ground.
"Hey, stop pouting," he said cheerfully, and punched my shoulder lightly. "You're too old for that now, miss sixteen-year-old. By the way, happy birthday!"
"Sad?" Fuu said as she joined Seifer.
"You should be out celebrating, not moping, ya know?" Rai agreed.
"Party," Fuu added.
I smiled as Seifer let me jump on his back again. "I would, if I could afford to do anything! I can't do anything fun, all I can do is hang out with you guys!"
"And that's not fun?" Seifer gasped, pretending to be offended. That made me laugh. Seifer always acts so tough around everyone, except with me. It's like he's not afraid to show emotion when I'm around.
I suppose that's because we've been close friends ever since he stopped another kid from beating me up when I was ten. I'm practically a magnet for bullies - poor, smart, and unable to fight back. The perfect target, right? But luckily Seifer always chased them off before things got too bad.
He's always been like a brother to me, which is great, because living alone with a dad who does nothing but drink and watch TV, only working when he feels like it, can get really lonely. I had to drop out of school when I was fourteen because I couldn't afford it, my dad wouldn't pay, and I couldn't get a scholarship. So Seifer takes down notes in class, explains stuff he learned to me as best as he can (which isn't that well), and lets me do his homework for him. And occasionally he and Rai and Fuu loan me munny. But since they're pretty stingy and I feel uncomfortable taking other people's charity, that doesn't happen very often.
But lately things have gotten worse. My dad, who only earns just enough to pay the mortgage, told me last week that I need to starts paying for rent and food, or he'll kick me out. And how can I do that when I can't even find a job? No one else know about that, though. I haven't told my friends yet. 'It's so unfair,' I thought to myself. 'Just because I used to be bad, no one trusts me enough to give me a job! That, and those kids in Hayner's gang ALWAYS snag them first! I don't steal stuff anymore! Well, kinda...'
"Don't be so down! We can help you out, ya know?" Rai said.
"Problem?" Fuu asked.
I decided I might as well tell them. "I need a job, or my dad will kick me out. But most -"
"WHAT?" Seifer and Rai said. Fuu just looked shocked. "When did he say that?" Seifer asked.
"A little more than a week ago," I replied, absently mindedly noticing how the leaf blowing along the ground matched my green eyes perfectly. I was tempted to scoop it up and fix it in my hair. "But most people won't hire me just because I used to steal stuff when I was younger -"
"Screw them, Raxmi! They don't know who you really are now!" Seifer said.
"There's that, and the people who would give me a chance don't give me the job, because Hayner's gang always gets to them first!"
"WHAT?" Seifer yelled again, letting go of me, which made me fall to the ground with a thud. "Careful!" I moaned.
"Those lamers have been getting in your way? Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.
"I knew you'd get angry, then you'd want to go and fight them, and then people would get hurt!" I explained.
He growled and started storming away, with Rai and Fuu following behind. "Seifer, where are you going?" I asked warningly.
"Teaching them a lesson!" Seifer and Rai said simultaneously.
"Payback," Fuu added, without turning around.
I ran up to them and held Seifer back by the collar. "Oh, no you don't!"
"Raxmi! Let go!" he commanded. "I'm head of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee - if people are standing in the way of another person's well-being, it's my job to deal with them! I can't slack off!"
"Well, it's nice to know you're going after them just for me," I said dryly.
He shook me off easily and ran down the street. "You've got the grip of a girl, Raxmi!"
"I AM a girl!"
A/N: Yay! Finally posted it! :D Yes, it's short, BUT I'd written quite a bit more. I've decided to split it into two chapters, so Chapter 2 will be up soon!