So? What did you think of the first chapter? R&R!
"So, what do you want to—" Jasmine stopped as a sobbing boy ran up the trail in front of them.
"What's wrong?" Samantha asked the boy softly, putting a comforting arm around him, even though he was several inches taller than her.
"My––friends––are—meanies," the boy said between sobs.
"What friends?" Jasmine started to ask, when four boys came bursting through the trees.
"Oh. Let me guess. Those are your friends?" Jasmine asked.
Samantha and Jasmine stared at the boys that were bent over, trying to catch their breath.
"Am I dreaming? Or did four gorgeous guys just appear in front of us?" Jasmine whispered to Samantha. "Seriously, you gotta pinch me on this one. OW!"
"Only doing what you asked." Samantha smiled devilishly.
The girls rushed forward. Unfortunately, David was still leaning on their shoulders, so he pitched forward and fell flat on his face. He continued to cry.
"So, here's where the questions start," Jasmine said. "Who are you, where are you from, and why did you make that boy cry?" She paused for a minute. "Also, who is that boy?"
"We can answer all those questions. Have you ever thought about being a cop? 'Cause you really got that interrogation thing down," Blink said. He flashed his infamous smile. Samantha reddened. "But first," Blink continued. "What are your names?"
"I'm Jasmine O' Connor," Jasmine said. "This is my friend is Samantha Richardson."
"Anyway, about those questions. Yeah, we can answer them," Mush said. "That's David." He pointed to David, who was still sobbing on the ground. "My name's Mush, that's Jack, that there's Kid Blink, and holding the cane over there is Spot."
"What's with the weird names?" Jasmine asked.
"Nicknames," Spot muttered dismally. "Anyway, I live over there." He pointed to a rather plain house across the lake. "These guys just came to visit."
"I live just into town," Blink said.
"Really?" Spot asked. "You never told us!"
"Really?" Blink asked mockingly. He cracked a smile. "Nah, I wanted to surprise you guys!"
"Okay, whatever," Jack said. "I travel a lot; now I have to live with Spot for a while." He grimaced.
"Is it really that bad living with you?" Jasmine asked teasingly.
"Nah," Spot said. "Jack's just a crybaby."
"I am not!" Jack protested.
"Are too!" Spot retorted.
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Guys! Do ya mind?" Jasmine yelled. They stopped and looked at her. "Thank you," she said quieter. "So, speaking of crybabies-NOT saying you are one," she said sharply to Jack, who had opened his mouth to retort, "Why is David crying?"
"God knows!" Spot said exasperatedly. "All we did was tell him to shut up."
"That's it?" Jasmine asked. "Wow, he really is a crybaby."
"Well…." Mush looked uncomfortable.
"Davey has some….emotional issues…." Blink put carefully.
"Yeah, you got that right!" Jack laughed.
"Yo Davey!" Spot said. "Stop blubberin' and shut the hell up!" He smacked David across the face with his cane. Samantha gasped, and Jasmine looked shocked. Seeing their expressions, Spot explained. "Davey's mom decided that a change in scenery would be good for him. So she made us take him. We were [sort of] friends way back, so we had no choice. We gotta practically babysit, and it sucks real bad." He paused. "But it's better than being dead. His mom would slaughter us if anything happened to her little David."
"I still don't get why you have to hit him with the cane," Jasmine said, looking confused.
"See, David here is mentally unstable," Spot said. "He has these…[how should I put it?] crazy spells, like now for instance. We slap him to snap him out of it."
"Oh, that makes sense," Jasmine said.
"It does. Wait, it does?" Samantha asked.
"Yeah," Jasmine replied.
"Okay, wow. I just made that up. I mean, the whacking does absolutely nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada." Spot laughed. "But the mentally unstable crap, that's all true." He laughed again. The guys laughed with him.
"Wow, Jasmine. Normally you're smarter than that." Samantha smiled.
"Well, I knew it made sense," Jasmine said seriously. "My uncle has some emotional problems, and we had to strike him to get him back to reality." She looked so sincere for a moment, the boys stopped laughing and looked ashamed and embarrassed. Then Jasmine started to smile. "Wow, I am terrible at lying. I just couldn't keep a straight face." She and Samantha started cracking up. The boys stood dumbfounded for a minute, then they started laughing hysterically.
"You fell for your own joke!" Jasmine choked out, doubled over laughing.
They all continued laughing for a while, except David, who was still curled up on the ground bawling.
Once everyone had stopped laughing, Mush said, "Well, we should go. We have to go call Davey's mom to see if she wants him back." This brought on another course of laughter.
"No more, no more," Jasmine gasped, holding her sides. "This is physically painful."
"Well, Mush is right. I hope to God she'll take him back," Spot said. "The only thing I get outta him is the privilege to whack another human being without getting in trouble. When his mom's not around, anyway." He grinned, and Jasmine smiled back.
"Yeah, we gotta go," Blink said.
"Okay, bye," Samantha said shyly.
"Yeah, bye!" Jasmine said a little louder.
"Bye!" the guys said simultaneously.
"They are so great!" Jasmine gushed on the way back to the cabin. "I really like Spot."
"I like Blink," Samantha admitted quietly.
"Really?" Jasmine asked. "He doesn't seem like the type of guy you would like."
"Well, I do anyway." Samantha blushed again.
"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you!" Jasmine said. "My cousin Josie is coming tomorrow!"
"Oh, cool!" Samantha said. "Josie's really nice. We'll have a great time!"
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