Prompt: Write a story focusing on the color red and/or pink.
I'm so sorry I forgot about this challenge XD
Everything belongs to S.D. Smith.

Maggie knew she wasn't supposed to hate the kids at her school. Twelve years was old enough to know that the snide comments hissed in the hallways should've meant nothing to her, but they hurt anyway. 'Teacher's Pet' was hardly an insult, yet it still made her angry enough to speak before she thought. Recess had become a perpetual torture chamber since school had started, so she'd found a spot in the high branches of the oak tree at the far end of the school yard. Every day, this was where she stayed until it was time to go back to class. She'd brought an interesting book with her today, about sea beasts and traitorous captains and adventurous little girls, and she buried herself in its pages, successfully blocking the sound of a grade-wide kickball game unfolding on the other end of the school yard. Usually, her cousin Jo would be with her to talk and laugh and keep her from going insane, but Jo was out of school for a young soldier's trip to Vandalia Citadel.
She envied him for being a buck.
Of course, wishing didn't do any good. It couldn't stop the flood of doubts from crashing in, or the swipe across her eyes with the back of her hand. She forced herself to go back to her book, immersing herself in a scene of flashing knives, agonized moaning from a ship's hull being squeezed to the breaking point by a creature too large to imagine, and shouts as the faithful crew of the Striker were tossed from side to side.

"Hi."

Maggie yelped, and pitched backward off the wide tree branch she'd been perched on with a shriek. Someone grabbed her arm just in time, and she found herself almost nose-to-nose with one Junder Owenson. "Hi," She muttered, and glanced down at her book, which was now lying cover-down on the ground a few feet below them.

"How do you do that?" Junder let go of her arm, satisfied she was no longer going to fall.

"Just close your ears like that."

"Gee, I dunno, I guess it just happens when I'm reading a really good book."

Junder looked a bit disappointed at this, but he perked up in a second. "I–Uh– I brought you these," He handed her a bouquet of pink and red poppies, vibrant, fragrant flowers with satin petals. "You looked kinda lonely up here, so I thought you might want some company."

"Thanks," If someone had told Maggie you could drink a potion to stop you blushing, she would've taken it without hesitation. But alas, nothing of the sort had been invented. "I guess I am kind of lonely." She trailed off, leaving an awkward silence to steep between the two of them.

"That's a good book," Junder nodded down at the book on the ground, which looked rather sad laying in the grass, its bright red cover standing out from the green. "Have you gotten to the part where Daniel gets eaten by the Beast–"

" – And comes out through its nose?" Maggie finished for him. "Yeah, that part was great. Disgusting–"

" –But great. I know." Junder picked a bit of moss off the side of the tree, and peered into a knothole. "So, I was wondering," He cleared his throat. "There's this big apple tree behind our house, and the apples are really ripe right now, so do you want to come over after school and pick some? We're going to make pie and cider and dumplings this weekend if you want to come help then, too."

Did he just ask me on a date? The question arose unwanted, but there anyway. Maggie shooed it out of her mind as though it were a fly. "Yeah, that sounds great."

The bell signaling the end of recess pierced the air, and Maggie sighed.

"So, I'll see you then?" Junder was already climbing down the tree, grinning.

"Yep." Maggie followed, picking her book up off the ground, and heading for the schoolhouse behind him. He definitely asked me on a date.