Time

"Do you have the time?" he asked lightly, holding up a rubber chicken. Rythmi was grinning next to him, her face insisting that Kate nod and run off with them. The girl shook her head, and closed the door. It was nine in the morning, winter break from the school. She wasn't sure how her friends had managed to track her down. She was sure that her mother had been the one to let them in, probably gushing about Katherine's new friends. It didn't change the fact that she had homework, and she was not responsible because her mother had made a mistake. They were her mother's guests, not hers, and she could ignore them if she wanted.

Rythmi kicked the door, playfully calling, "That's not a very nice friend! A good friend always has the time, Kate! By the way, your mom calls you Katie-Cub. She called you Katherine, but we thought that nickname was a little too embarrassing. We'll call you Katie-Cub in school though, if you don't mind. I'm sure you won't. You're not really the embarrassed type. You know, that could be Keith's pet name for you! Katie-Cub! I'm sure it would catch on really fast, the latest trend! Your name and the name of an animal after it! What would I be, Keith?"

"Rythmi-Ranger."

"That's a terrible name," Rhythmi said, trying to keep her voice straight but losing to her giggles. "It's a terrible name, Keithie-Kat!"

The two burst out laughing, and though Kate desperately tried to focus on the paper before her, she could feel her cheeks turning a hot red. As if eyes were on her, she sunk down in her chair, soon hiding under the desk as the giggles got louder. She'd never been teased before, not by anyone except by the girls who would laugh at her old school, and they were just plain mean, in Kate's mind. She understand why they mocked her, but her friends? Was this what friends did?

There was a rattling of the lock, and Rythmi swung the door open, proudly holding up a credit card and giving a triumphant "ha!" before, Keith squeezed her shoulder as a warning, and pointed to Kate hiding, blushing under the desk, chair pulled close in front of her. Being discovered in such a way didn't help much, her blush deepening and her trying to hide by pressing further into the wall, not that it helped any. They were by her side in a flash, pulling away the chair.

"Kate," he said in surprised, touching her arm gently. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped bitterly. "Why don't you just get out and make fun of me some more? Everybody's families are a little strange!"

"We were only kidding," Rythmi said weakly. "We didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything."

"I'm not hurt," she said firmly. "I'm mad! Get out! I don't want to talk to you and I don't want any friends! Not if this is the way friends are supposed to act! I'll just play with the pokémon."

Keith crawled under the desk as best he could, hugging her close with a pitying sound. "Aw, Kate. You dork. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and you are too hurt about it, or else you wouldn't care and you wouldn't ne angry. We really care about you, and we're not trying to insult you: we're only joking. If you don't want us joking, you just have to say so. And if anyone does call you Katie-Cub and you don't want them to, we'll deck 'em in the face for ya. That's what friends are for."

She felt her lips twitch up. "I don't think that's the general moral of the Aesop fable."

"Prob'ly not, but it's true."

"What else do friends do?"

Rythmi frowned playfully. "Well, for one, when the handsome male assistant appears with a rubber chicken, they join in the prank."

Keither pulled away, dragging her out from the desk along with him and inquiring pleasantly, holding up the chicken once more, "Do you have the time?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I got the time."