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Getting up again
Chapter 6 -
That night, after the tiring day of school, Lena entered her room, yawning widely. Stopping in her tracks at the door, she surveyed Ice, who was grumbling to herself while rummaging through a box.
"Hey, Ice. Whatcha doing?"
Ice stiffened and turned to Lena, face blank. "Oh, nothing. Just looking for some stuff."
Shaking her head, Lena gazed over Ice's shoulder and into the box. "This is full of all the stuff you use to collect. Pokemon cards, Yu-Gi-Oh cards..."
"What of it?" huffed Alexandra as she brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes.
"You said you'd keep this until the end of time. Like me."
"I'm just going through them..." was the muttered reply.
Lena tried to catch Ice's eye but couldn't as her best friend avoided her gaze. "Alright. Well, I'm going to bed. It's been a lo-on-ng day," Lena yawned widely before strolling over to her bed and flopping down on the mattress.
She's hiding something... thought Lena. Wonder what it is...
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The sun streaming through the paned glass woke Lena the next morning. Grumbling, she sat up and stretched, hands grazing the top bunk. Standing, she glanced at her friend's bed only to find it empty. Wonder where she is... Shrugging it off, she went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. It seems their mothers had come home the night before and ate a small meal, what with the tell-tale dishes laying in the sink.
A note pinned to the refrigerator caught Lena's attention as she went to open its door in search of the bacon and eggs. It read;
Dear Lena,
Thought I'd leave this to make sure you didn't worry about me not being home when you woke up. Anyway, I'm fine. I'll meet you at school, k?
Love, Ice
"What is she doing this early in the morning... and before school?" mussed Lena out loud as she took out some eggs.
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Tala stretched, hands high above his head, sighing happily. "Gotta love this weather," he breathed happily as he gazed at the cloudless sky.
Kai snorted. "Whatever."
The redhead glanced at his friend. "Ah, come on. It is a nice day, y'know. No need to be all grumpy."
"Whatever. Why did you come to my house, wake me up an hour before I usually do, and somehow talk me into walking to school instead of driving?" demanded Kai with a small glare.
"Well..." began Tala, a bit hesitantly. "I just... thought, y'know, we could go check up on Lena and Ice. They weren't really... uh... themselves yesterday... and... yeah"
The blunette rolled his eyes. "Oh, right."
Grinning, Tala looked ahead, at the girls' house to see Ice leave with a small bag in her hand and backpack over her shoulder. "She's leaving a bit early. There's still a good hour before school starts..." commented Tala with a frown.
"You're right... Follow her?"
"You bet!" grinned Tala as they followed Ice at a respectable distance, not wanting her to find out she was being stalked.
They watched her enter a pond shop a few minutes later. Ten minutes passed as they watched her discuss something with the owner, then show him the contents of the small bag she had been carrying. The man nodded and smiled warmly at Ice as he gently took the bag and replaced it with some bills. The platinum haired girl nodded her thanks and gave a small smile before exiting the shop.
Scared of getting caught, both Tala and Kai, who had been watching from an alleyway next door, dove into a dumpster with a small thunk and clang.
Lucky for them, the girl they were stalking hadn't noticed or heard them and continued on her way down the street.
Grumbling, Kai removed himself from the dumpster, trying wipe off his baggy black pants of filth from the garbage. Tala followed his example. "Man, we're gonna be smelling ripe today," sighed Tala as he removed a banana peel from his red hair.
"Ripe is an understatement," muttered Kai.
"We can use the showers at school..."
"Yeah, but what about our clothes?"
"There's always the washing machines the sports teams use."
"You want to stand around in your boxers waiting for your clothes to wash and dry?" asked Kai, eyebrow arched.
"Better than smelling like garbage all day."
"..."
Both shook their heads before peeking out of the alleyway, trying to spot their target. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. "Dammit," cursed Tala under his breath before stepping onto the sidewalk.
"Come on, she can't of gotten far. Split up and look. If one of us finds her, call on the cell, alright?"
"Good idea," nodded Tala who then jogged off across the street.
Twenty minutes passed of fruitless searching before Kai caught a glimpse of platinum hair fade around the next corner. Rapidly, he dashed and peeked around the curb to spot Ice looking into an alley, muttering something under her breath with a cross expression on her face. He caught the words, "Oh come on... not here... where...?" But it made no sense to him.
Opening his flip phone with a flick of his wrist, he rapidly punched in Tala's cellphone number and told him where Ice was. Five minutes later, the redhead appeared by the blunette's side, panting slightly. "Where -huff- is she? -puff-"
Kai raised his hand and pointed to Ice, who was leaning against a brick wall, sipping something from a steaming styrofoam cup. "She's been there ever since you called me?"
The blunette nodded. "Yeah, she bought her drink and has been standing there for the last five minutes. Wonder what she's doing..."
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Where the hell am I suppose to look? thought Ice stubbornly as she finished her hot drink and threw the cup in a nearby garbage can. Without a glance behind her, which would of shown her Tala and Kai, she continued on with only twenty five minutes or so before first bell.
Grumbling under her breath, she trotted down a deserted alley, hoping to find what she'd been looking for. Sighing in aggravation, she kicked a nearby garbage can, denting it and sending it rolling across the ground, scattering bits of garbage before bumping unceremoniously into a cardboard box. A muffled yelp was heard from within the cardboard shelter as a dirty head peeked out, starring at Ice in fear. "I di'n steal nothin' from ya, miss, I swear! Ya got it ba'k 'fore I could sell it!" he stuttered as he tried to squirm back into his box.
"Hey, don't worry," Ice immediately assured as the man finished his sentence. "I'm not here for that," she continued in a kind voice. "Look, I'm sorry for freaking out on you yesterday. I came looking for you so I could apologize."
The man blinked then ran a hand through his dirty and greasy hair, unsure. "Oh. Well, ya di'n hafta come a lookin' for meh. I mean, I'm just some poor street slob."
Ice's eyes seemed to darken slightly. "You aren't a street slob," she stated in an icy voice which then soften once she noticed his scared expression. "At least, not to me. You're just one of the... more unfortunate people."
"Ya'r strange, y'know tha?"
Laughing, Ice sat down on the garbage stern ground. "Yeah, I know."
"So ya just came to apol'gize to meh?"
"Oh, I almost forgot..." grinned Ice as she rummaged through her pocket and took out the money she had gotten from trading in her stuff at the pond shop. "Here. You were gonna pon-off my beyblade so you must need some cash. So, I went through some of my old things and traded them in at the same shop. The dealer recognized me from yesterday so he gave me a bit more then what I asked, guessing what I was probably gonna do. So here."
The man stared at the offered money in shock. "But... there mus' be at least..."
"Three hundred dollars," finished Ice. "It should buy you some warmer clothes for the winter and a few meals to boot."
"Ya ca't jus' come an' 'xpect meh ta take yer money, y'know," he frowned, expecting her to take back her offer.
"Why not? It wouldn't be stealing, and what I traded I had no use for. It's my money and I can do what I want with it. And I want you to have it. It's my way of saying sorry for getting mad at you," smiled the platinum haired youth.
The man could only blink in surprise. "But..." he began, unsure of how to refuse, while also itching to take the offered money.
"No ifs, ands, or buts," stated Ice in a final voice. "Take it."
A bit hesitantly, the poor man slowly, gently, took the money from her hands, running a finger over the bills in admiration. "Thank ya, miss."
"The name's Ice."
"Then thank ya, Ice."
The teenager grinned in reply as she stood up. "Spend it wisely, okay? Don't use it all in one place."
"I wo't," assured the man, who returned Ice's smile. "Yer a real angel, Miss Ice."
Ice waved a hand, dismissing his comment. "I'm no angel," was all she said before turning and walking out of the alley, only to bump into Kai and Tala.
"Oh, hey Ice. Fancy meeting you here..." began Tala, a bit nervous.
Giving both of them questioning looks, and ignoring an orange peel nearly hidden in Kai's hair, the platinum haired girl walked off with a curt nod. Did they see... or hear what I just did? Hope not... I can't have anyone thinking I'm soft.
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"Did she just..." began Tala once Ice was out of hearing range.
"Give three hundred dollars to the beggar? Yup," finished Kai with a small nod. "Surprising?"
"Understatement."
"Come on. Let's get to school. We need to wash these clothes..."
"Or, we could... run back to my house and change, then drive to school..."
"Let's go then!"
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Lena scanned the crowd outside the school building, hoping to spot Ice's platinum grey hair, but to no avail. Sighing, the platinum blonde entered the school and made her way to the locker she called her own. Once there, she expertly spun in the combo and opened the door.
"Hey! Lena!"
Turning her head, she caught sight of Ice dashing towards her. "Hey! Sorry about this morning," panted Ice as she stopped by Lena's side. "I had some errands to run."
"I'm just glad you got back in time for first class. Cutting it close, aren't you?" inquired Lena as they began walking to class.
"I know, I know. I'll see you at break, alright?"
"'kay."
With that, Ice dashed off as not to be late for first period.
Watching her go, Lena then felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. Spinning around, expecting to find Bryan there, she was relieved to find Kai. "Oh, hey Kai..."
"Hey, do you know where Ice went this morning?" he asked a bit offhandedly.
"Huh? How did you know?" demanded Lena, eyes slowly going into slits.
"Oh, Tala and I were... we were walking by your house and spotted Ice out, so we thought we'd check on her and make sure everything was alright, so..."
"You followed her?"
Kai nodded, a bit ashamed.
"Where did she go?"
The blunette blinked, confused. "You don't know?"
Lena shook her head. "No, she didn't tell me."
"Well..." he began before telling her everything he and Tala had seen.
Speaking of Tala, the redhead came to Kai's side halfway through the story and gave his side of the tale as well.
Ice... You just showed them you have a heart. If you knew, you'd be so ashamed... thought Lena to herself once the boys had finished retelling the tale. "Thanks, guys." she smiled. "I really appreciate you telling me that."
"No problem," replied Kai with a curt nod.
"Hey! Lena! Come on! We'll be late for class!" cried Max as he dashed to her side.
"Oh, shit! You're right! Let's go!" Grabbing Max's wrist, both flew down the hall as the first bell rang.
"Crap! We're late for class!" moaned Tala as he too, ran off, closely followed by Kai.
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There you go! A faster update! Woo! Go me. Now, please leave a review... it'll mean the world to us...