Harley had gotten away with just detention for a week. Tyler kept changing his story up, so Principal Schneider didn't believe a word. But, they were still fighting, so they still had to be punished. After 30 minutes of lecturing about the importance of being the bigger person and walking away, they were free to leave. And guess what? School was over. So now Harley was on her way to her pathetic little torn up trailer in the shadiest part of town.
She kept her head low, ignoring the creeps that stared at her or the people that were trying to talk to her. She hated this place, but what else was a family to do when they didn't have any money? They could barely even afford their trailer.
Harley didn't grow up in a very wealthy family. For as long as she could remember they saved the tiniest bit of change and never bought more than they needed to. It was just her way of living. It got annoying at times, but she was used to it by now. She took the shortcut through the alleyway where she always went. It just didn't have as many people. Less people meant less danger.
She kicked the empty bottles away from her feet so she wouldn't trip. She scared a cat away but ignored it.
Stupid strays, she thought. She could hear voices and stopped. Voices never meant anything good around here. They were growing closer and closer. Her breathing grew heavy. This was just about the only thing she was afraid of. When no one could see her to witness what happened. She could die here and no one would ever know. She backed up only to see four men walk to where she was, all talking and laughing. They stopped to look at her.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. A youngin all on her own," one of them said with an evil grin, showing off his disgusting yellow teeth.
"She's a pretty one ain't she?" Another one added. His beanie was covering his long, stringy hair. "I can see her blue eyes from here." Harley continued to back up.
"I just want to pass," she said, her voice strong and demanding. Just as it needed to be. Yellow Teeth pouted mockingly.
"Well we were just passing by. It seems you're the one who got in our way." Another man laughed. She could hear the raspiness in his voice. She guessed smoking from the smell in the air.
"I don't mean any harm. Just let me pass." They all laughed. Harley's fear was quickly fading away, replaced by anger.
"Now why would we do that?"
"Because unlike you three I actually have a life I need to continue," she blurted out before she could stop herself. The last man narrowed his eyes. He was just about as short as her, not very intimidating. She figured if it came down to it she would fight him to scare them off.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded.
"It means that you two have nothing better to do than mess with a 13 year old girl who's just trying to get home you idiot." She couldn't stop now. Anger was bubbling up inside of her, flooding out her mouth in her words. Yellow Teeth scowled.
"Think you're all big and bad huh? Well I got news for you." He made his way over to her quickly, getting in her face. He reeked of cigarettes and alcohol. "You're not." She stared right back at him.
"I know. But neither are you." She gagged. "By the way, do you know what a toothbrush is? Or maybe something called hygiene?" He clenched his jaw. Harley crossed her arms. "Growing mad now are we?" She knew she was being stupid. So why was she doing it? Well, she didn't exactly know. She might be book smart but sometimes she just didn't have any common sense.
"That's it kid. You're dead." He lunged at her but she dodged just in time. He fell to the ground hard, busting his lip on the pavement. He screamed out in anger and pain. Harley's eyes grew wide. It seemed to be just then that everything came crashing down: she was about to die. She tried to make a run for it but was stopped by his friend.
"No where to go now, pretty girl is there?" Beanie asked through a smirk. She looked around. They had her surrounded. Yellow Teeth looked like he was about to rip her head off. She looked to her left. Right beside her was a huge dumpster full of boxes. So she did the only thing she knew to do: catch them on fire.
Harley reached her hand out and touched them. They bursted into flames. The men jumped back and she took their moment of distraction as an opportunity to run. They all started shouting after her. That's when she caught sight of two boys. One with spiky blond hair and the other with black hair. She didn't have time to look at their faces.
Harley immediately panicked. They had seen her. They knew. But so did the men. She could pass that off as they were drunk though. What about two random kids t? What was she going to do? All she could do now was run. She sprinted to the trailer park. As she got there the men gave up, panting from exhaustion. She burst through her door, startling her mother and father.
"You good?" Her mom asked, a worried crease in her forehead. Harley nodded as she gasped for air.
"Just...raced...with...my friends," she lied. Her mother stared at her a moment longer but then turned her attention back to the tv. Harley walked through their mess of a house to her small bedroom in the back. It wasn't great, but at least she had a roof over her head and a bed to sleep in. She set her bag down on her completely clean floor. If there was going to be something nice here it was going to be her bedroom. It was perfectly organized with her bed in the corner, her books on her tiny bookshelf she had to build herself and the small desk together on the other side of the room. Her closet was color coordinated and looked like a rainbow. A couple of posters she was able to find in old magazines hung on her wall. She was ok with that.
She plopped down on her bed, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. Those boys. Would they tell someone? Would anyone believe them? They would have 6 witnesses of it. She blinked hard to avoid from crying. She was too strong for that. She reached up for the light switch that was by her bed and flipped it off before rolling over and closing her eyes.
She would have to figure it out in the morning.