takes my hand and lets me hoist her up.
“Now, let’s get out of here,” I say.
“What about them?” she asks. The fear in her voice shatters my heart. The older me is getting mad. Little kids shouldn’t be afraid to come to a playground.
“Forget them,” I say, loud enough for Claudia and her friends to hear. “They don’t scare me.”
“Oh really?” The words register in my brain just before I go sprawling across the blacktop. The knees of my new jeans rip and I can smell the blood oozing from the scrape. I remember these. They’re my first pair of designer jeans. Mom brought them back from a business trip to New York City.
I stagger to my feet before spinning around to face Claudia. “Do you have any idea how much these cost?” I growl.
“Like I care,” Claudia retorts. The glint in her eyes is pure evil. I’m pretty sure I’ve had the same one in my eyes on several occasions.
I don’t think Claudia expects to have a fight on her hands and the idea is bringing out the worst in her. I motion for Abby to follow me. “Come on.”
“Are you stupid? I told you to stay out of this. Now it’s time for you to learn your place,” Claudia says with a hateful laugh. She motions to her friends and I watch Jenny and the other girls circle in front of us. I have to admit, they’re doing a good job of stopping our retreat. They remind me of a pack of wolves closing in on an injured deer.
“I’ll distract them. As soon as you can, make a run to my house and get my parents. Whatever you do, don’t come back without them,” I whisper to Abby.
“But they’re going to kill you,” she whispers back.
“Wouldn’t be the first time today,” I mutter. To Abby I add, “I can handle them.” Turning back, I hope what I’m saying is true.
Before she can argue, I spin back to Claudia. “Did you have something to teach me?” I try to send out as much confidence as my scrawny body can manage. It’s not much, but it does get their attention.
“Hold her, girls,” Claudia says.
Now it’s time to see if this body will respond to some evasive maneuvers. I dodge past Jenny and head toward the other end of the playground, away from Abby and my best escape. My speed surprises both of us as I race to the far end of the playground. The gate that’s normally open during the summer is sporting a lock and chain. I hear Claudia laughing like a hyena behind me. “Stupid kid.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Abby dart out of the playground and sprint toward my house. “Yeah, I’m the stupid one. But I don’t have to bully people to feel good about myself,” I say, full of bravado. I don’t know if it’s because I won’t have to nurse the wounds in the morning or because I’m pretty sure she’s not going to kill me, but I’m not afraid of Claudia. “Do you get some sort of sick thrill out of picking on people?”
Claudia’s eyes narrow and I realize that I sound more like my mom than an eight-year-old kid on the playground. I try to put on a look that’s a mixture of surprise and fear and hope she isn’t smart enough to get suspicious because the truth is, this girl could break me like a tooth pick. Luckily, Claudia’s rage is still focused on Abby. Well, lucky for me, anyway.
“She got us in trouble,” Claudia said, opening and closing her fist.
“You got yourself in trouble,” I counter. “Smoking is dumb.”
She steps forward. Her hand is tightly clenched in a fist. “Did you just call me stupid?”
“Technically, I called you dumb, but it’s the same thing.” I watch Claudia motion to Jenny.
I don’t have time to move before the girl locks my arms behind my back. I struggle to get away, but I forget how strong she is.
“Let me go,” I demand, shifting from side to side, struggling against her grasp.
“Hey,” Jenny says, looking around. “Where’s Abby?”
Everyone looks around the playground for her. Except me. I’m looking at Jenny’s bright pink tennis shoes. With every ounce of strength I have, I lift my foot and crash it hard in the center of her orange laces. She howls out in pain. It serves her right. Orange and pink do not go together. They never have, no matter what anyone