Friends...

It was Sunday, and Pippa, along with a few other kids, had to wash the blankets since they forgot to fix their beds.  I assumed that they would be done with the chore soon considering the fact that it was already two o’clock in the afternoon.  Plus, it was free time, and Pippa probably wanted to get done and follow me around. 

I walked around the courtyard of the group home, just minding my own business while the other kids minded their own.  The sun warmed up my skin in contrast to the chilled, fall air.  I aimlessly shuffled my feet through the grass, attempting to ignore the hollering kids and enjoy the nature instead.  Little birds played in the trees and chirped at one another in a language I wish I spoke.  I wandered closer to the group of trees and searched for the birds.  This was an impossible task, considering how the tree branches overlapped and grew in whichever direction they wanted to, but I tried nonetheless.  Eventually, I spotted a fat, little, brown bird hopping among the tiny branches.  I watched the bird flap and skip from one branch to another until the sun overhead blinded me.  My eyes squinted on instinct, and I was forced to look back at the ground.  I blinked a few times before glancing at my surroundings. 

I soon spotted two girls sitting on a bench, whispering to each other and glancing behind them toward a group of trees.  Usually, I assumed that they were checking out a boy they liked, but the look on their faces implied the scene was something disturbing.

I took a hesitant step forward, and then I started walking around the trees.  I passed between the two girls on the bench and whatever they stared at, allowing myself a quick peek.  I froze in my tracks.  It was Pippa on her knees and the four girls, all of them facing away from me.

 “I told you not to go and make friends, remember, Pippa?” Madelyn hummed, grabbing a chunk of Pippa’s curly, red hair. “Now, this is your punishment.”  The other three girls, Sydney, Alaska, and Jessica, snickered at Madelyn’s act.  Madelyn grinned a little at the others. “Do you understand, Pippa?” Madelyn asked, pulling out a pair of scissors.  She cut Pippa’s chunk of hair all the way up to her ears, letting the rest of the hair fall into the grass.  Pippa didn’t respond.  She held her breath, lips tight with tears rushing down her face.  Madelyn pulled on Pippa’s hair, jerking her head. “Hello?  Did you hear me?” she asked impatiently.

Pippa sobbed. “I understand,” she said.

“Good girl,” Madelyn smiled, snipping another chunk of hair.  The other three girls giggled again. 

I couldn’t take it.  I spun around and walked up to the girls.

Madelyn noticed me first.  “What do you want?” she asked, looking me up and down with a menacing glare.  The other girls regarded me with disgust.  Pippa’s eyes widened at me, a little hopeful but mostly shocked and scared.

“Let her go,” I hissed, and there it was again.  That smell. 

“What if I don’t?  What are you going to do?  Tattle tell to the parents?” Madelyn teased, ignoring me and cutting more of Pippa’s hair.

I stared at Pippa’s red hair on the grass.  It almost looked like blood, and that strange smell was growing stronger.  It was almost…delicious.

“Oh, what’s with the silence?  Too scared now?” Madelyn said.

“Go away, freak,” Sydney spat. 

“Yeah, you’re the reason she’s getting punished,” Alaska said.

I glanced at Pippa, who looked away.  So I was her friend, huh?  My eyelids lowered in annoyance.  I could tell that she felt guilty, and she wanted me to leave her here to suffer.  My hands rolled into fists.  Yeah right. “Madelyn, let Pip go,” I demanded.

“Huh?  What was that?  That didn’t sound very convincing to me,” Madelyn blabbered. 

I inspected Madelyn’s perfect face, that perfect face that I now wanted to rip up so badly…so badly my body was trembling.  I couldn’t stand the way she treated Pippa, but despite all of the anger churning inside of me, there was one thought penetrating my mind: I was hungry as hell.  

My body suddenly jerked forward, and my feet were running before I could even comprehend what was happening.  I heard screams, and I saw a flash of Madelyn’s pretty, frightened face before my knuckles smashed into it.  There was a loud crack, and then she hit the ground.  The other girls ran away, squealing in fear.  I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, my knees shaking. 

What just happened?  I thought.  It felt as if I had lost control.  With some trouble, I stood up straighter to look at my surroundings.  Madelyn lied curled on the grass, covering her nose and sobbing.  Other kids gathered around us at a distance.  I saw the look they gave me: fear. 

All of a sudden, a pair of small hands grabbed onto my hands.  They felt warm compared to my shivering body.  I looked down to see Pippa who was staring at my hands and crying even more now.  I opened my mouth to apologize, but the words became stuck in my throat. 

“Rena, your nails,” she murmured.

I hesitated before raising my hands up to my face to look at my nails.  They were sharper and somehow longer.  My breath disappeared, and my mind grew hazy as I stared at the same hands as my father’s from my dream.  Heaviness overcame my body, and the world twirled around me before turning into darkness.