Woah, guys. Sorry about the long, long, LOOOOONG wait. I really meant to
update sooner, but this chapter just wouldn't fall into place. But I guess
it doesn't matter at all that I didn't get this up for a long time, cuz
nobody's reading it anyway.
Disclaimer: I now own nothing except a ruined set of BDUs and note from my sergeant telling my how to wash my BDUs.
Chapter 2 A Couple of Laughs
Roxie ran up to her room, trying to make as much noise as possible. When she got to her room, she headed toward her closet, flung open the doors, and stepped inside, closing the doors after her. There was a stairway in the closet, and she crept up them, now making a little noise as possible. Two small wooden doors with brass handles were standing in front of her at the top of the stairs. Roxie grabbed the handles on both doors, and pulled. They glided open with a whisper, not squeaking the tiniest bit. She slipped through them, and let them close gently behind her.
She was now standing outside on a little cement landing. There was a pointed, wooden roof above her, and a stonewall two feet high all around. Without pausing to look at the view - she'd been there many times before - Roxie turned to her left, and walked to edge. A hole big enough for a man to crawl down had been made in the cement at Roxie's feet. She bent down and lowered herself in. She looked up at the sky with its fluffy white clouds for a moment, then let her fingertips slip.
She was sliding down a steep metal tube, her feet thunking dully against the sides, the cool metal whooshing past her. Roxie smiled slightly, and then closed her eyes - the ride would take a while.
Five minutes later, Roxie felt the tube level out. She slid along for a little bit, slowing down all the time, then was deposited on the grass some three feet below her as the tube ended. She sat, blinking in the sunlight; she was in a lush meadow. All around there was knee-high grass, waving in the wind as if to greet the newcomer. Flowers of purple, yellow, blue, orange, pink, and red were dotted in the midst of the waving grass.
Roxie stood up and made her way through the colorful arrangement. At the edge of the meadow was a large tree from which a thick rope hung about three feet off the ground. Roxie ran, grabbed the rope with her hands, and leapt up to sit on a large knot tied at the end of the rope, sending the rope swaying back and forth in large, sweeping swings.
This was the place that Roxie came to relax, and think about her problems. It was in the heart of a forest, and only Roxie and her best friend knew about it. There were about five other secret passage ways in Roxie's house, but the one she had just came out of was her favorite.
Roxie sat on the knot, enjoying the swinging motion, and letting the wind blow her hair in her eyes. Swinging was one of Roxie's favorite things to do, and had she rigged this rope swing up herself. The very first day that her friend and Roxie had found where the stairs in Roxie's cupboard went, they had gone running back to Roxie's house, and begged her mom for some rope. Finally, she consented, and gave them the rope, but she never found out what it had been used for.
"Roxie!" Someone shouted. Roxie jumped, and almost fell of the knot. Her best friend, Katie, had just shot out of the tube, and was heading toward Roxie.
Sometimes people would wonder how Roxie and Katie could be friends; they were about as different as a pumpkin and cat. Katie was short, with a stocky build. She wasn't plump; she just had a sturdy make. Her hair was the color of a cedar tree's bark, and cascaded down to the middle of her back. It was smooth and silky, and Katie usually wore it in a ponytail. Her eyes were deep pools of brown, from which laughter usually danced. She was the top in their grade, and loved to read. She was also the prettiest girl in sixth grade.
Roxie, on the other hand, was tall, and gangling; a runner's build with the muscles to show for it. Her hair was ebony, and chopped to her shoulders. It didn't flow like Katie's; it just flopped. Roxie brushed it in the morning - though she thought it was a waste of her time: it would never look any better - and then just left it for the rest of the day. Her eyes were a soft blue, which sparkled with pride, determination, laughter, and mischief. Unlike Katie, Roxie was satisfied with her usual B, and an occasional B+. She thought that school was just something grownups did to kids to make them feel stupid.
"Roxie, it's six o' five! We need to go!" Katie said, catching the end of the knot to stop Roxie from swinging any more.
"Oh, shoot!" Roxie exclaimed, jumping off the knot. Together, the two best friends raced to the tube. Katie switched a lever down on the side of the tube, and small pieces of metal that had been fit smoothly in with the rest of the tube, flipped out inside the tube. Roxie dashed inside, and started scrambling up the tube, using the metal flaps like a ladder when the tube started going up.
The climb up was tiring, and took a lot longer then the ride down. By the time they had reached the top, both girls were panting with the effort it took to climb the tube. Roxie pulled herself up the last step, and her head burst into sunlight. She heaved herself the rest of the way out of the tube, then turned around to help Katie.
Then the two girls disappeared through the big wooden doors, and clattered down the stairs. They burst into Roxie's closet, ran through her room, and slid down the railing to the floor below.
There, Lorraine, Katie's mom was waiting, talking to Roxie's mom. "Well, here are the girls. I'd best be going then." Katie's mom finished, and beckoned the two girls to the doorway.
"Bye Mom!" Roxie called over her shoulder. "See ya tonight, have fun at the meeting!"
"You too, honey!" Her mom shouted after her.
It was Thursday, the night that Roxie's mom went to a book club. Ever since Roxie could remember, she'd been going over to Katie's house on Thursday nights. Unlike Roxie, Katie had two siblings, an older brother, who was gone on Thursday nights, and an older sister, who played with Katie and Roxie.
Katie opened the back door of her mom's Ford Explorer, and slid onto the seat on the other side of the car. Roxie tried to swing herself into the car gracefully like Katie had done, but smashed the side of her head against the roof. She plopped into her seat, laughing, and swung the door shut.
"Ouch!" Katie said as her mom started up the car. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Roxie giggled. She wasn't sure what was so funny, but she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Oka-ay." Katie said, rolling her eyes teasingly, which made Roxie pretend to punch her. Soon the two best friends had burst into fits of giggles, and lay slumped over each other, laughing till their sides hurt.
Perdy perdy perdy pleaze leave a review? (
Disclaimer: I now own nothing except a ruined set of BDUs and note from my sergeant telling my how to wash my BDUs.
Chapter 2 A Couple of Laughs
Roxie ran up to her room, trying to make as much noise as possible. When she got to her room, she headed toward her closet, flung open the doors, and stepped inside, closing the doors after her. There was a stairway in the closet, and she crept up them, now making a little noise as possible. Two small wooden doors with brass handles were standing in front of her at the top of the stairs. Roxie grabbed the handles on both doors, and pulled. They glided open with a whisper, not squeaking the tiniest bit. She slipped through them, and let them close gently behind her.
She was now standing outside on a little cement landing. There was a pointed, wooden roof above her, and a stonewall two feet high all around. Without pausing to look at the view - she'd been there many times before - Roxie turned to her left, and walked to edge. A hole big enough for a man to crawl down had been made in the cement at Roxie's feet. She bent down and lowered herself in. She looked up at the sky with its fluffy white clouds for a moment, then let her fingertips slip.
She was sliding down a steep metal tube, her feet thunking dully against the sides, the cool metal whooshing past her. Roxie smiled slightly, and then closed her eyes - the ride would take a while.
Five minutes later, Roxie felt the tube level out. She slid along for a little bit, slowing down all the time, then was deposited on the grass some three feet below her as the tube ended. She sat, blinking in the sunlight; she was in a lush meadow. All around there was knee-high grass, waving in the wind as if to greet the newcomer. Flowers of purple, yellow, blue, orange, pink, and red were dotted in the midst of the waving grass.
Roxie stood up and made her way through the colorful arrangement. At the edge of the meadow was a large tree from which a thick rope hung about three feet off the ground. Roxie ran, grabbed the rope with her hands, and leapt up to sit on a large knot tied at the end of the rope, sending the rope swaying back and forth in large, sweeping swings.
This was the place that Roxie came to relax, and think about her problems. It was in the heart of a forest, and only Roxie and her best friend knew about it. There were about five other secret passage ways in Roxie's house, but the one she had just came out of was her favorite.
Roxie sat on the knot, enjoying the swinging motion, and letting the wind blow her hair in her eyes. Swinging was one of Roxie's favorite things to do, and had she rigged this rope swing up herself. The very first day that her friend and Roxie had found where the stairs in Roxie's cupboard went, they had gone running back to Roxie's house, and begged her mom for some rope. Finally, she consented, and gave them the rope, but she never found out what it had been used for.
"Roxie!" Someone shouted. Roxie jumped, and almost fell of the knot. Her best friend, Katie, had just shot out of the tube, and was heading toward Roxie.
Sometimes people would wonder how Roxie and Katie could be friends; they were about as different as a pumpkin and cat. Katie was short, with a stocky build. She wasn't plump; she just had a sturdy make. Her hair was the color of a cedar tree's bark, and cascaded down to the middle of her back. It was smooth and silky, and Katie usually wore it in a ponytail. Her eyes were deep pools of brown, from which laughter usually danced. She was the top in their grade, and loved to read. She was also the prettiest girl in sixth grade.
Roxie, on the other hand, was tall, and gangling; a runner's build with the muscles to show for it. Her hair was ebony, and chopped to her shoulders. It didn't flow like Katie's; it just flopped. Roxie brushed it in the morning - though she thought it was a waste of her time: it would never look any better - and then just left it for the rest of the day. Her eyes were a soft blue, which sparkled with pride, determination, laughter, and mischief. Unlike Katie, Roxie was satisfied with her usual B, and an occasional B+. She thought that school was just something grownups did to kids to make them feel stupid.
"Roxie, it's six o' five! We need to go!" Katie said, catching the end of the knot to stop Roxie from swinging any more.
"Oh, shoot!" Roxie exclaimed, jumping off the knot. Together, the two best friends raced to the tube. Katie switched a lever down on the side of the tube, and small pieces of metal that had been fit smoothly in with the rest of the tube, flipped out inside the tube. Roxie dashed inside, and started scrambling up the tube, using the metal flaps like a ladder when the tube started going up.
The climb up was tiring, and took a lot longer then the ride down. By the time they had reached the top, both girls were panting with the effort it took to climb the tube. Roxie pulled herself up the last step, and her head burst into sunlight. She heaved herself the rest of the way out of the tube, then turned around to help Katie.
Then the two girls disappeared through the big wooden doors, and clattered down the stairs. They burst into Roxie's closet, ran through her room, and slid down the railing to the floor below.
There, Lorraine, Katie's mom was waiting, talking to Roxie's mom. "Well, here are the girls. I'd best be going then." Katie's mom finished, and beckoned the two girls to the doorway.
"Bye Mom!" Roxie called over her shoulder. "See ya tonight, have fun at the meeting!"
"You too, honey!" Her mom shouted after her.
It was Thursday, the night that Roxie's mom went to a book club. Ever since Roxie could remember, she'd been going over to Katie's house on Thursday nights. Unlike Roxie, Katie had two siblings, an older brother, who was gone on Thursday nights, and an older sister, who played with Katie and Roxie.
Katie opened the back door of her mom's Ford Explorer, and slid onto the seat on the other side of the car. Roxie tried to swing herself into the car gracefully like Katie had done, but smashed the side of her head against the roof. She plopped into her seat, laughing, and swung the door shut.
"Ouch!" Katie said as her mom started up the car. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Roxie giggled. She wasn't sure what was so funny, but she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Oka-ay." Katie said, rolling her eyes teasingly, which made Roxie pretend to punch her. Soon the two best friends had burst into fits of giggles, and lay slumped over each other, laughing till their sides hurt.
Perdy perdy perdy pleaze leave a review? (