Playground

Cezille07

So they grew up apart. So they had different lives, despite what happened before. However, destiny might prove that, while some things easily leave us, some things we can never forget.

Chapter 6. What Grown-Up Minds Never Forget.

Suddenly, he heard a noise at the door. It was like some poor creature had been jammed into the doggy door. And he was right. A healthy fur ball of a cat was rammed halfway through. And there seemed to be something or someone still forcing him in.

He reached for his mask and opened the door.

"AHHHH!"

The girl stopped screaming for a moment, and looked about to begin another bout of horribly surprised yelling.

"Oh, sorry about the mask, it's just that I'm allergic to cat hair," he explained as he removed it. "Speaking of which, this must be yours."

She looked at him, exhaled, and chuckled nervously. "Oh, how on Earth did he get in there? Sorry about that. Purrcy must've gotten stuck in there while he was playing with your cat and—"

"No problem. Bye."

He shut the door, thinking, No, there is a problem.... when the girl began speaking again, "Um, my name's Elena! I'm your new neighbor! He's really cute, your bald cat. Maybe we could let the two of them play together some time! They get along so well!"

Purrcy made a whining noise, but Elena disregarded it. "You've got a pretty house—"

Zick gulped. She just had to mention 'play' and 'getting along'. "Thanks," he said, trying to sound polite. "But now if you don't mind, I have to close the door. The wind blows in a lot of dust...and I'm allergic to dust."

A certain moment of his life replayed in his mind. Certain questions were still zipping through his head: About the 'Bombo' at the playground. The girl. How she 'saw' it. Or if she was pretending for his sake. Why she would do so anyway. Or if it was possible that his memory as a five-year-old was as unclear as Snyakutz Bu's fake French accent.

"Wait, Zick, I wanted...I wanted to give you something!" Elena went on, as she fished for an item in her pocket and handed it to him. "It's a...um, a friendship snack! I'm taking them around to all our new neighbours, and I thought that you—"

"That's nice of you, really, um...Elena," and he meant it. Something heavy weighed in his chest. "But I'm allergic to vanilla icing too!"

While he had the chance, he finally closed the door.

He sighed. Timothy was saying something about the girl being a snoop, and a few reasons to why she knew his name. He guessed Patty and Mattie had something to do with it, as always. But it was beside the question.

No one had ever tried so hard to meet him.

He walked past the receiving area and headed straight for his room. He could hear her thoughts. He was 'different' after all, so it might as well be useful.

"That little twerp's allergic to everything!" she exclaimed in thought.

His lips curved into a smile.

He knew he had something else to worry about for now—the End of Summer Party at school. If she lived here, that would mean he'd meet her again, right?

He came right in time to see Elena and...oh, no...David about to start beating each other up.

"David!" he yelled. His voice echoed around the hallway. The rest of the students looked at him. "Cut it out! Now! Leave her alone!"

That familiar mushroom-head character glanced at him and froze. "Stay out of this, Zick! This is b-between her and u-us!" he stuttered.

Zick heaved a sigh. "Do I have to look at you with the demon eyes again, De-David?" He managed a half-smile when he recalled what that meant. That was the first time he ever 'won' against David. Though he never quite knew why the concept scared the school bully like such.

"N-no, Z-zick! W-w-we were just k-kidding around!" Now it was David who was sweating uneasily.

"Alright, just...don't let it happen again!" Zick went forward, picked up Elena and led her away from the crowd, whose eyes, he felt, were following them.

"Gee, thanks Zick!" she said.

She was trying to read his expression, but he looked away. There was just something in her voice, in her eyes. Something innocent, and alive. Something he never quite had.

"So, why was he afraid of you? What was that stuff about the demon eyes?" pressed Elena.

A hint of a smile crossed his face. "I'm not bothering you with anything. But you won't stop asking me questions."

"Huh? Well, you won't answer any of them." She laughed. "Do I bother you?"

It was then they passed by an old block.

There it was. The highlight of every child's imagination: the swings, the seesaw, the slide...the entire playground in its vibrant colors, and the thrilled cries of its welcome inhabitants.

There it was. The cradle of all prejudice and all his nightmares. That day he realized that the playground was not a good place for children. That day he realized...he was an outcast, and that it would never change.

"Ooh, I never noticed that this morning when I went to school!" Elena declared excitedly, with this aliveness radiating from her that it managed enough to make him grin. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

She tugged at his sleeve, and he couldn't resist. A playmate. A schoolmate. Real, and not a shadow of a friend.

The rest of the afternoon found them talking by the swings....

Perhaps both of them were thinking of the same thing when they sat there, trying to numb out the first day's tragedies....

And somewhere hidden was a Bombo who remembered them from the fateful day they first met....

**END**