After two days of sitting in the library after school with her, I could safely say Anne Reynolds was unlike any of the girls at our school. She didn't say much to me without being directly spoken to, and studying and doing homework didn't leave me a lot of idle time to get to know her, but in the small intervals we did speak, she appeared quite interesting. She also got flustered easily. It was cute. Despite the lack of conversation on her end, it wasn't hard to tell that she was a good spirited person. She greeted me politely, and took time listening to me while I attempted conversation, occasionally making witty quips that I couldn't help laughing at. It was hard not to want to be acquainted with her.

I'd had a fairly good morning when our friendship branched from mutual silence in the library to the school grounds. My friends and I mingled by the lockers, trading stories about our weekend, when something caught my eye. Or -- someone. Dressed in a red shirt, as per usual.

I glanced over, in time to witness Anne smile politely at me. I waved back, but she couldn't respond as a girl -- practically a younger but more haughty-looking version of Anne -- bumped into her and sent her stuff flying.

I wasn't close enough to hear the conversation, but as the younger girl took it upon herself to sneer at Anne, I deducted it probably wasn't a good one. Anne simply rolled her eyes, said something to the girl, and turned her attention to gathering her supplies. The girl didn't seem to appreciate what was said, nudging one of Anne's books away from her in a petty attempt to bother Anne further. Anne glanced at me as I attempted to step forward and help. She simply shook her head and went about grabbing her papers.

I frowned, but stayed in my place. At this point, my friends had stopped their conversation to see what I was staring at, and were watching Anne with me. We watched as Anne said something to the girl who seemed to be harassing her, which just further enraged the girl into taking a threatening step forward. Anne stood her ground as my friends and I tensed. More words were exchanged, and then the girl snarled and kicked the same book as before, right over to me, before walking away.

Anne turned to me with a faint smile. I picked up her book and met her in the middle, offering it to her.

"Thank you," Anne said warmly, taking the book and placing it on top of her binder. "I'm sorry you had to witness... that." She gestured towards the direction the girl left in.

I shrugged in response to her thanks. "This is probably above my level of concern, but what was that, exactly?"

Anne seemed to debate the question for a long moment. "That maelstrom of drama and intimidation is my younger sister, Gwen." She bit her lip for a moment, before a playful smile curved her features. She leaned towards me. "I think her monthly visit came a bit early," she whispered.

I snorted at her comment. "Looked like she had some personal vendetta against you."

Anne's smile faltered, and I made note of it, even as she played it off with a slight chuckle. "That's Gwen, for you. Overdramatic and bitchy. Nothing to be concerned about." She shrugged.

I tilted my head at her. Somehow, I didn't quite believe that. "Seems like you handled it well enough."

"Trust me," Anne said with a slight laugh, "I've been handling it for long enough. She eats up any help attempts and spits them right back out. Thus why I denied your chivalrous attempt before she could twist this around to bite you in the ass." Anne glanced over in the direction of my friends. She waved slightly, before turning to me. "I'll leave you to enlighten your dreadfully curious friends. See you around, Elliot."

"Uh, yeah. See you around, Red."

Anne's lips turned upward, and I caught her face reddening as she turned and walked away. I turned to my friends with a shrug.

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Final word count:
696

Yes, sammy8300 , those "friends" are probably who you think they are. I'll better introduce them in the future. 😂