Oops!

I've been slacking off lately with posting! Sorry!!! I will get back to work!

Slippery Scalding Soup Save

 

“Hey, Mari, will you pass me the soup?” Stephen asked, his hand stretched towards his best friend. He and Mari were out at a restaurant, talking over plans before they went on a long vacation.  Since they couldn’t decide on a certain type of food, they’d gone to a buffet and were getting their meals.

His mute friend nodded; ladling a large helping of potato soup into the bowl Stephen had waiting. The hot broth sent tiny tendrils of steam spiraling into the air. Mari got some macaroni and cheese, and a slice of ham, and they went back to their seats. They had almost made it to their booths, when a toddler came out of nowhere, running directly into Stephen and upsetting the bowl in his hands.

“AHHHH!!!!” The toddler screamed.

The little boy’s parents came running over, flustered and angry.  They tore their child from the safety of Mari’s arms, and marched on, muttering about kidnappings and shooting glares at the manager.

Mari stood frozen, bent low to the ground with tears in her eyes; her hands were shaking and still held out as if she was still protecting the child. Stephen was staring in horror at the girl’s back, covered in the burning hot soup. A waitress ran over, several towels in hand. Stephen snapped out of his daze and took them from her.

“Mari? Are you alright?” He asked, gently patting her back with the cloth. The girl shook her head no. “Alright. Let’s go home and clean up, okay?” the girl shook her head again and made an eating motion, pointing at her companion. “That’s okay, we can order a pizza. Don’t worry about that; let’s just get you cleaned up.”

Stephen helped his friend up, and reached for his wallet to pay for their untouched food, but the waitress said that she’d take care of it.  Stephen thanked her profusely, and hurried out the door.

A few minutes later, (you do not want to know how fast Stephen drove home) they arrived at the house where they were staying, Mari hurrying into the shower. Stephen paced as he waited for his friend, nearly forgetting about calling the pizza delivery service that they usually used. By the time he’d finished making the call, the water in the bathroom had turned off, and it wasn’t long before the bathroom door opened. Mari, wearing a tank top instead of her normal sweater, walked over to the table and grabbed her notebook and pencil.

Do you have any Aloe? She wrote, pointing to her back. Stephen yelped out a ‘yes’ and ran to a nearby junk drawer, pulling out a small bottle of the green gel. He took it over to his friend, who gave him a questioning look.

“Do you want me to put it on?” He asked. The girl nodded, bangs falling over her eyes. Slightly pink in the face, Stephen moved Mari’s hair away from her back, gasping audibly when he saw it. She had minor burns on her upper back and shoulders, stopping just before the back of her top. Stephen sighed, shaking his head. He squeezed some of the aloe into his hand, and rubbed it gently on the burn.

Mari flinched when the hand touched her red skin, but relaxed as the aloe cooled down the burning pain. Mari smiled softly at Stephen when he finished, but found herself unable to tear her gaze away.

The two stared at each other, blue eyes to brown, for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Stephen opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when the doorbell rang.

“Ack! Uh, the pizza’s here!” he laughed, face red again.  He started walking to the door, but turned around and walked back over to Mari. He placed a hand lightly on her head.

“You did well today Mari, that was really brave of you.” With that, Stephen went to get the pizza, leaving Mari smiling after him.

Indeed

We really should post more often. hmm.  ~Kels

The story

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away from here, two children lived. They were cousins, little Annabelle, six years old, and Katherine, almost eight. They were the best of friends, always getting into mischief and laughing. They were known as Katie and Annie to their families, and they lived very near each other in their tiny village.

One night, while Annie was over at Katie’s house, Katie’s mother baked a whole bunch of cupcakes for their grandparents, who lived in the house next door with the family’s dog, Parsley.  Even though it was dark out, Katie’s mom knew it was a very short walk over there, and that they’d be fine. Annie was scared, but she felt safe when she was with Katie, so they agreed to go.

So they set out, Annie carrying the basket and Katie leading the way. Chattering back and forth, they walked carefully around the willow pond. The branches, long and green, flowed in the wind around them. They could hear the crickets and frogs chirping and croaking around them, and even though it was dark, the world felt safe. Past the stone bench and the tree that dropped green apples in the fall, they came to the base of the hill on which their grandparents lived.

Suddenly a low growling caught Annie’s attention. She grabbed at her cousin’s sleeve, Whispering out: “Listen!”

“What is it?” Katie asked, unaware of the coming threat.  Annie opened her mouth to reply, but another growl, closer this time froze both girls where they were.  Slowly they turned around to face it. A Huge brown dog was facing them, hackles raised and snarling.  Katie moved in front of her best friend, both girls visibly shaking.

“G-get away!” She shouted at the beast, but it simply barked angrily back in reply. Annie was almost too frightened to move. She wanted someone to rescue her. Grandfather had told her to scream if she ever needed help, but she knew the dog would lunge and get them if she did. Then she remembered. Parsley, the family dog! She tried to whistle like Grandmother had taught her, but she couldn’t remember how. She tugged on Katie’s sleeve.

“K-Katie, whistle for P-parsley!” The older girl nodded and whistled, loudly. But nothing happened. The dog growled louder and took a step forward. Suddenly a blur of black launched into the dog, knocking it away while the girls shrieked. Katie grabbed Annie’s hand and pulled her toward the house

“Come on! We have to tell Grandfather!” The girls ran all the way up the hill and burst into the house, where Annie’s parents sat talking to their grandparents. The girls explained what had happened, near in tears and shivering. Grandfather went outside to investigate while they others tried to calm them down.

A few minutes of worrying later, The door reopened and Grandfather stepped inside. He shook his head and said there was no sign of anything. No dogs, no blood, no noises, nothing. Annie’s parents scolded the children for making up stories, and said they probably just scared themselves. The girls protested, but only received sharp looks that clearly said “stop.”

And so the adventure was forgotten by the others, as they sat and enjoyed the cupcakes Annie had managed not to spill as they’d run.  But the girls remembered, and they always will.