LUDICROUS | ✎

chapter | 12

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L U D I C R O U S
[ chapter 12 • fat oompah loompa ]
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POOLS THE COLOR of brilliant yellow, bright orange, and subtle red-tinted slightly brown by the crispness of the late autumn washed over the park.

Saturday's have always been my favorite day of the entire week; it was my only day basically off from soccer. It was a day for me to clear my head from all the bullshit thrown at me the entire week.

A slight breeze rustles the leaves making them fall to the solid ground one by one. The crisp chill in the air felt refreshing to my skin as I ran across the pavement covered in different colors of leaves — the dried leaves crunching underneath my feet from every step taken.

The steady pound of my footsteps echoed over the music from my headphones. A thin layer of sweat covered the nape of my neck. The cold air bit into my lungs, but keeping my breathing steady, I pushed harder and went faster. My calves burned, and my breathing formed in clouds of air.

My pace slows down as I drew near the bridge. Finally, stopping after running for about 20 minutes, I rested my hands above my head attempting to catch my breath. Surprisingly, the park is barren for a Saturday afternoon except for a couple of other joggers and an older couple.

I lean over the dark wooden bridge, staring at the minute green and brown tinted pond, watching at the milky white, soft feathered ducks quack and battle one another for the food thrown aimlessly onto the ground.

My hooded brown eyes caught glimpse of a particular dark-haired girl walking towards the basketball courts. Her braided hair bounced against her back with ease. From where I stood, I could see something was wrong — her head was lowered and she held a tight grip on her bag. There was just something off — I mean Atalie was the person to walk around confidently, what I'm looking at wasn't her.

Sighing, I stand up to my full height and head towards the bleachers. Maybe she just needed someone to talk to. I just hope she doesn't think I'm some sort of stalker, again.

Her head was ducked low, walking towards the bleachers. I too followed behind quietly and it helped to the fact that there were a couple of people on the courts, the sound of calls and the ball being dribbled rang into the air.

As she reached into her bag, I grabbed her by the shoulders, whispering into her ear "Boo!"

A shrill scream leaves her lips as she jumps in surprise. Unexpectedly, she kicks her leg out, attempting to kick me but ends up tripping over her own feet. She grips my arms tugging me down with her. I didn't have much time to switch our positions, so I can hit the ground instead.