SITLPTTD Q & A. (A sharkboy and Lavagirl Q&A series)

Childhood friends

The screaming of children filled the air as tiny footsteps stomped around in several directions. The rhythmic beat of two tied jumping ropes hit the ground accordingly to the song of girls, along with the repetitive thump of someone constantly falling off the monkey bars. A young girl with a band-aid on her wrist entered the playground, pushing the majority of her brown hair behind her back. She looked towards the direction of a group of guys just around her age that were all huddled together, in the center of said group stood a little boy with a red ball. She let out a sigh, roughly ripped of the band-aid, and made her way towards the kids.

"You should play tag with us Max!" Shouted one of the boys.

The blonde boy with the ball shook his head, looking down disappointedly, "B-but this is the first time I've ever gotten a ball before. The-they usually run out before I get the chance to get one, if I want to play tag I have to put it back."

Another boy shrugged with a smirk on his face, he was oddly round-shaped with messy brown hair. "That's not our problem. If you want you can play catch by yourself, but I can't promise you it will be just as fun as tag."

"Can I play?" The little girl spoke up, everyone finally noticing her sudden presence.

"Sorry," the chubby kid spoke, pointing a fat finger right at her. "But this game is for boy's only, a girl like you would just slow us down." Then he shoved a thumb behind him in the direction of the kid with the ball, "But you can play with Maxy though. He's so girly-looking the two of you should hit it off quick!"

Max looked up to meet the girls eyes with an embarrassed blush. The girl smiled at him, not bothering to hide the obvious chip in her tooth.

"Come on Max, you'd really rather be stuck with her than with us? Just ditch the stupid ball already, this is dumb." Max's 'friends' didn't let up just yet. They were giving Max a second chance, because little was he aware of, the choice he made today would effect him greatly in the future.

Max shook his head, this time with his cheeks puffed out. He gripped tighter to the ball like his life depended on it, "I'm staying!"

Everyone was shocked by the stuttering child's sudden boost of confidence. Finally the boy with the messy mop for hair broke that silence with a single chuckle.

"Suit yourself Max, but don't expect us to forget this that easily." They all turned around and began to walk away, leaving the two to their own devices. They began to discuss who would be 'It' and almost instantly began running in different directions.

Max turned around to his new companion and started to rub his shoe into the ground embarrassingly. The way he stood was as if the ball was almost too heavy for him to hold.

"T-thank you for playing with me." He whispered, still facing downward.

"No problem," the little girl responded. "But you shouldn't be hanging around people like them. Don't you have any other friends?"

Max shook his head, "U-uh actually...no. The other kids think I dress weird and act girly so they don't really like me that much. Linus is actually one of the o-only friends I have..." the last few words slowly trailed off  into silence.

The girl stood their very still, and for a second she could really SEE who this boy was. Sure he was a bit ugly, she thought, the way his hair was so unevenly cut and how the single edge of his cheek was so chubby it looked like it would fall right off his face, but that didn't matter. There was something magical about him, like a world of secrets hidden behind his eyes. Little did she know those eyes were the ones that saw much more beyond the imagination, eyes that led past the illusions of reality and into the spirit-realm of dreams. Eyes that would soon guide hers to a world she never even knew she came from. A world where she would finally 'belong'.

But until then, they will play...catch.

The girl placed one hand on her hips and straighten her posture, she flashed him another huge smile, this one running off the edge of her face. She held up her other hand up creating a fist and began shouting, "Be sad no longer! I will be your new best friend!" She declared.

Max smiled, one of the most bravest smiles he had ever mustered. He had just met this girl and already it felt like the two of them have known each other for years.

"S-sure. Okay," he stuttered, "I'd like that."