Chapter 2:

Eight Years Later

And after that first glance when the two were merely babies, the two mother arranged play date after play date, sealing the two as friends. Well, they saw each other often enough to be considered friends.

One day, eight years after the official first meeting, Tina sat on her bed in her room, brushing the hair of one of her Barbie dolls. She was humming a mindless and random tune that had just popped into her head while the commercials played on the television that was on in front of her.

Suddenly, her mother opened the door, causing Tina to stop humming.

"Tina," her mother began, stepping into the doorway, "change out of your pajamas and into some clothes."

"But, why?" Tina whined, crossing her arms. She scrunched up her face in a look of distaste. "I want to stay home and watch TV."

Joyce groaned at her stubborn daughter, and then pleaded, "Come on, Tina… please?"

"No!" came Tina's simple reply, shaking her head and sticking out her lower lip.

"But we're going over to Mike's house," her mother explained. "Don't you want to go play with Mike?"

Tina unfolded her arms and considered for a second. "Well… maybe-"

"That's the spirit!" Joyce exclaimed. "Now, hurry. We're leaving in thirty minutes, okay, Tina?"

"Alright," Tina said in defeat.

Once her mother had left the room, she moved toward her dresser, still not fascinated at the fact that she had to leave the warm and familiar sanctuary of her house. But still… she did want to see Mike. The two hadn't seen each other in nearly a month.

After she was done getting dressed, and after her mother brushed her hair, they headed off to the Chang residence in their family van.

Tina smiled, feeling better when they pulled into the driveway. Suddenly the day was starting to look brighter for her.

She nearly leaped out of the car once her dad had stopped it completely and put it in park. Tina scurried up the stairs in front of the house and rang the doorbell, her parents trailing behind her.

Mrs. Chang came to the door, smiling at Tina and her parents.

"Hi, Tina!" she exclaimed, giving the small girl in a loving hug. "Look at you! Pretty soon you'll be all grown up!"

Tina laughed and responded, "Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Chang."

The woman grinned and let Tina skip past her and head inside the house she had seen so many times before. She turned to her parents instead.

"I'm so glad you guys could come," she said, escorting them in.

Meanwhile, Tina looked around the house, mindlessly wandering… waiting to crash into Mike or find him sitting in the living room.

She walked all around, shouting, "Mike! Mike! Mike? Mike?"

Tina sighed and continued looking around, knowing Mike was around there somewhere.

"Mike? Mi-?"

In the middle of calling his name, Tina felt something go over her head and cover her eyes, leaving her unable to see. It felt like a piece of cloth.

Tina cried out in surprise and fear, but her cry was silenced by a hand suddenly covering her mouth.

"Shh…," was the only thing the person behind her said, not even giving away their identity.

Then, just as Tina was ready to lick her attacker's hand, she felt herself leaving the ground as the mystery person behind her picked her up off of the ground.

She screamed, which was muffled by the hand, and kicked as she was taken a short distance away from where she had been before. And then, Tina heard a laugh from behind her.

The hand over her mouth was removed and wrapped around her waist with the other hand, and a cry came from her back, "Surprise!"

"Mike!" Tina yelled, kicking around harder as she hung still suspended off the ground, still unable to see anything but black.

"How do you like my surprise?" He laughed harder and lifted Tina up higher, enjoying the anger he was causing her.

Tina scrunched up her face in fury and responded, "I hate it! Put me down! This isn't funny!"

That only made Mike laugh harder. "Yeah, it is!"

"Ahhh!"

Mike sighed in defeat, the sweet taste of his victory wearing off. "Fine, I'll untie the blindfold and set you down.

"Thank you," Tina said, relieved.

He set her down, removed his hands from where they were wrapped around her waist, and began to untie the small and loose knot that held the cloth over her eyes.

Tina sighed in complete relief, her adrenaline rush subsiding.

Mike stepped in front of her and smiled. "Well, you're finally here!"

Tina took and deep breath and smiled. "Yeah…," she began. "And now I'm going to get you!"

Mike's smiled disappeared as he quickly ran to the left to dodge an angry and revenge seeking Tina that had just lunged at him.

As Mike ran from Tina, dodging into the backyard and running around in circles in attempt to confuse her, Tina smiled an evil smiled and pumped forward. She grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him onto the ground.

Once Mike had landed on the ground, groaning in pain, Tina grinned in conquest and happily sat on his ribs.

"Ow!" Mike yelled in pain, trying to slap her off of his stomach. "Get… off… Tina!" he screamed, his breath leaving his lungs slowly.

"No!" she said, laughing and poking stomach.

"Stop!" he managed to say. "This… is… so uncool!"

"I don't care! Since when do I care about cool or uncool?" Tina exclaimed.

Mike squirmed and kicked, not having the breath or energy left to scream at Tina.

Tina found his struggle amusing, and laughed, bouncing up and down on his stomach.

After a little bit of torture, Mike caught Tina off guard and threw her off of him.

While both of them lay there on the ground, Mike trying to restore his lungs with the breath he was sure had left him for good, both of their mothers walked into the backyard and looked at them strangely.

"What are you guys doing?" Joyce asked as Katherine laughed at the two.

But instead of responding, both kids just laughed their heads off, rolling around on the ground with hilarity. They didn't really know what they were laughing at, but it seemed as if the yard had suddenly been invaded by laughing gas, making them chuckle about their childish joking.

Once both mothers receded back into the house and their laughter faded into giggles, Mike was the first to regain his composure completely and stand up. Tina followed his lead, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her shorts.

Mike smiled and said, "Race you up to the tree house?"

Tina looked up at the old tree house in the tree that stood tall nearly in the very back of the yard. She grinned at him.

"You're on!"