A-Plus Cassiopeia: I actually got the idea from my class playing soccer not too long ago.

Guest: A strawman is a character archetype used in fiction, who only exists to be proven wrong. Try and see who the 'strawman' in this story is.

BookMast3r: More than that.

"I hope Alexis doesn't have anything bad to say to Janet," David told Sam as they walked down the neighborhood with Isabella. Brenda had left for her own house by that point.

"Oh, come on, what does Alexis have to say to Janet?" Isabella asked, rolling her eyes. "Not that Janet would listen to her."

As the three were nearing their home, a rock was thrown against Sam's head. He turned around in surprise, and saw a group of girls in front of him. David turned around as well, and saw that they were the same girls Alexis had whispered to at school.

"Hey, what was that about?" Sam asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sam and Janet, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The girls mockingly chanted, and laughed. Sam stared at them in befuddlement.

"WHAT?!" He shouted in disbelief. "Me and Janet are brother and sister!"

"But you love each other," The girl who appeared to be the youngest said. "Your best friend is a girl, after all."

"That doesn't matter!" Sam shouted, irate, and he summoned a ball of ice. "Now, get lost, before I give you a brain freeze!"

The girls weren't planning to irritate Sam to that point. Quickly, they turned around and fled.

"What was that all about?" Isabella asked the two. Sam could only shrug, and David pouted.

"I bet it has something to do with Alexis," He guessed. "That girl was whispering something to them at school."

"Alexis is an idiot," Sam said. He scratched the back of his head, and then reassured, "I'll bet that by tomorrow, it'll all stop."

It didn't stop.

The very next day, Sam and Janet were playing jump-rope with each other when the same group of girls showed up.

"Aw, look that that," One of them said mockingly, pointing a finger at the two. "The boy is playing with his widdle best friend. Hey boy, can you teach MY sister how to play skipping rope next time."

The girls started laughing, and Sam stopped jumping and glared at them. He began to roll up his fists and was about to walk towards them when Janet grabbed onto his hand.

"Don't do it, Sam," She whispered to him. "They're just idiots. They aren't worth it, trust me."

Sam softened up a bit, but then one of the girls called out, "Yeah, listen to her, you brute!"

Immediately, Sam fired a blast of ice at the sidewalk, causing the girls to slip on the ice and fall down. Sam smirked at that, but it vanished when Alexis inexplicably showed up.

"Temper, temper Sam," She berated, mockingly patting him on the head. "You need to toughen up a bit."

Sam immediately started to feel guilty, especially since he'd just done overreacted in front of Janet. He didn't say anything, though. With a smirk, Alexis walked up towards Janet.

"Hey, we can talk, can't we?" She asked. "I did tell you to come see me, remember."

"Yeah, but, me and Sam were-" Janet started, but Alexis cut her off.

"Don't worry about him, he's fine," She said and started to pull Janet away. "I'll be your friend for today, instead of him."

Sam opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out. He only watched as Alexis dragged Janet down the sidewalk, away from him.

A half hour later, Alexis and Amanda were reading books together.

"So, how long have you known Sam?" Alexis asked in a dry tone.

"A few months," Janet said. "He's my brother, and my best friend..."

Alexis put down the book. "Really now?" She scoffed. "And how close as friends are you too?"

Janet stopped reading. "We'd do anything for each other," She said. "Whatever games Sam wants to play, I'd play it too."

"And what about the reverse?" Alexis mused, holding up her book. "Do you think Sam would play EVERY game that you would want to play. He'd have the draw the line at something."

Janet thought. "Well..."

Alexis walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I would never turn you down," She claimed. "I'll always be there for you. I'd like to see if Sam would do the same."

Janet opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She was at a loss for words this time.

Alexis smiled. Now, there was just one other thing to do.

After Janet and Alexis had left, Sam had wandered towards the lake, and was entertaining himself by tossing pebbles into the water. Soon enough, he would be going home.

Suddenly, he felt somebody shove him forward towards the lake. Fortunately, Sam could fly, so he flew into the air before he landed inside the lake. Spinning around in a fury, he was surprised to see it was Alexis.

"What are you doing here?!" He shouted angrily, and summoned a ball of ice. "Get out before-"

"Before you what?" Alexis asked, folding her arms and smirking. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, me and Janet are buddies now."

"So what?" Sam asked, folding his arms. "Who cares if you two are friends?"

"I care, because I want you to stop playing with her," Alexis snapped harshly. The sentence struck Sam harder then when Alexis had shoved him.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused. "Janet's... my friend."

"Not anymore, boy," Alexis sneered, and grabbed Sam by the leg and yanked him down. "Janet doesn't need some boy playing games with her. She should be sticking to people more similar to herself, and you, your own."

Sam stared at Alexis, stunned.

"But, Janet's my sister..." He started before getting cut off.

"No, she's not!" Alexis said. "You're adopted, so stop acting like Janet has any relations to you." With that, she turned and left, leaving Sam at a total loss for words.

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