Waves of Destiny (Twisted Wonderland)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The day after the unbirthday party, I found myself at the cliff's edge once again. I had gone there a couple of times over the past week to study or relax. Even though I could not get to the ocean, it still felt nice to see it. Today, after finishing my homework, I decided to sit against a tree and munch on a large bag of gummy worms.

"Hi there!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden voice. I looked up to see the boy I had met at the cliff the my first week, grinning down at me. "It's you," I said. I frowned when I remembered the second time I ran into him. "Why did you pretend you didn't know me when I saw you at school?"

"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me or something?"

"Nah, I don't care about that. I just haven't seen you around. Hey, what's that?" He stared at my snack bag curiously.

"They're gummy worms." I grabbed one and popped it in my mouth.

"Whaaat? You eat worms?"

I looked at him quizzically. "You've never had gummy worms? They're like candy. They're good. Here." I pulled out a worm and held it up as high as my arm would reach.

The boy snatched the gummy worm from me and popped it in his mouth. I waited expectantly as he slowly chewed. Suddenly, his face lit up. "This is amazing! Why have I never had it before?"

I laughed at his enthusiasm. "Beats me. Want some more?" I pulled out three more worms and handed them to the boy. He grabbed them from me before sitting right down beside me. I smiled and ate a gummy worm myself. For one moment, silence fell between us, and it was very peaceful.

"I want more!"

I glanced at my bag. "Sorry, I don't have many left. I really want to-" I gasped as the boy snatched the bag from my hands. "Hey!" That wasn't right!

"Thanks for the grub!" He pulled out a gummy worm and dropped it into his mouth.

"You are not welcome. Give those back!" I stood up to try to grab the bag, but he did the same thing. He laughed as he held the bag high above my head. He was nearly a foot taller than me, so there was no way I could reach even if I jumped.

"You look funny!"

"It isn't funny!" I stopped jumping and thought back to my experiences with my siblings. Then something came to me. "Okay, you asked for it..." I slowly approached the boy. He watched me curiously but did not drop his arm. Then I reached out and tickled his sides.

The boy burst out laughed. "That's not fair! Stop!"

I most certainly did not stop. Finally, I had my chance. The boy lowered his arm and I grabbed my bag back. "Ha!" I reached into the bag for a worm. I should not have looked away from him.

"You're going to get it now!" The boy grabbed my sides and tickled me from behind. I laughed but refused to let go of the bag. The boy did not give up. I tried to curl into myself, and the boy pushed me to the ground. I rolled onto my back, but he quickly pinned me to the ground.

The boy smirked down at me. "Do you give up?" His voice was low and probably meant to be intimidating, but I was laughing too hard to take him seriously.

"Okay, okay! We can split it in half."

"Hmm... I don't think so."

I gave him the most innocent look I could muster. "But I'm hungry too..."

The boy laughed. "Okay, deal."

He let me go and I sat up. There were four gummy worms left, so I handed him two. "Enjoy."