Chapter Two, Part Three

“She’s never been mad at us, how do you know if she has a temper?” Lexie tilted her head to one side. She licked a piece of Heath bar off of her chin. Damon’s jaw dropped.
“I’m flabbergasted, Lexie. Open your eyes, for the love of Pete! She’s libel to explode at a person any minute! Boy, does she hold a grudge.”
“Has she ever been mad at you?” It sounded to Lexie as if she had.
“Once, a while ago, but I thought you knew. Remember when I wouldn’t come to your house, because I said I was sick, or busy, or something like that?” Lexie nodded.
“You weren’t really sick?”
“No. Kiho was mad at me. She wouldn’t even talk to me for a month. We’re both rather stubborn, and so it looked to be a stalemate. But then we realized we were hurting you, because neither of us would come see you, for fear the other might be there, and we made up. She’s chilling, how angry she gets sometimes.” He scraped the bottom of his cup. It was empty. Lexie was done with her ice cream too, so they left, and walked towards the park.
At 11 years old, they were too old for the park anymore, so they pretended that they hated it when they were with other kids, but alone, they still loved it. They shuffled through the leaves, which had fallen to the ground in the last storm, without speaking. They were both thinking about Kiho. What were they going to do? They still liked her, and without her, it wasn’t the same. She was a pain sometimes, but she would stick up for you, and fight anyone who didn’t. She was tough, and that was something both Damon and Lexie needed. Damon was so vulnerable, despite his hardened features, and Lexie so naive, the “real world” would chew them up and spit them out without Kiho to help protect.
Lexie remembered one time, when they were a lot younger and before they met Damon, when Kiho’s father promised that he would take Lexie and Kiho to the park. Night fell, and he had forgotten. It turned out that he’d been so busy with taxes and work, he’d forgotten all about them. Lexie didn’t mind, but Kiho did. Kiho didn’t show her temper like most girls her age. She didn’t scream, or cry. She didn’t get mad, or upset, but she certainly didn’t forget. She got even without mercy, and with much more precision than your average little kid. She was grounded for three days because she tried super gluing her father’s hat to his head. She’d gotten the idea from Matilda, by Roald Dahl. After she got out of “giant prison capture” as they called being grounded back then, she was perfectly satiated. She didn’t mind that she’d been punished. She called it even. Then. Her parents couldn’t punish her anymore, because she made a huge fuss. If Lexie was objective about it, she knew that Kiho was spoiled rotten.
Of course, Kiho was an only child, and Kiho was rich. That’s how Lexie excused her, anyway. Of course, Lexie and Damon were only children too, and Lexie was rich, but Lexie never thought of that.
“How are we going to get Kiho to come around?” Damon asked, ponderingly.
“I don’t know. Just wait, I guess. Maybe we could apologize, or something.” They started walking to Kiho’s house. Lexie knocked on the door, and stepped back. Kiho’s mom came to the door.
“Hello. Kiho doesn’t want to see you two. What happened?” Kiho’s mom had a haggard appearance, as if Kiho had thrown another of her many tantrums.
“We… Had an argument,” Damon said carefully. Kiho’s mom got worried easily, and both Damon and Lexie felt like she was a second mom. They didn’t want to worry her.
“Obviously,” Kiho’s father called from the living room. He had more of a temper than Kiho’s mom, and less patience with Kiho. “Come in, why don’t you? You’re letting the cold air in. Besides, it’s dark out, and we don’t want any bogies coming in now, do we?” He was putting on a show of jocularity, but he was bothered. They looked at each other, and shrugged. Mr. And Mrs. Braeden weren’t angry, so maybe they had a chance. They stepped in.
“So, what was this fight about?” Mr. Braeden asked curiously. “Kiho’s never been mad at Ms. Lexie, and only once at you, Mr. Damon.” He always called them Mr. And Mrs. for some reason. They didn’t mind, it was kind of funny, in a way.
“There was this prank we were going to pull, and we… we didn’t want to. She was upset because we got cold feet and chickened out.” Lexie told it like she was the one who was in the wrong. Damon cut in.
“She wanted to squirt and old hobo with our guns, and Lexie was being kind, and stood up to her, Kiho shoved her, I shoved Kiho, Lexie got between us, and the hobo woke up and ran away, ruining Kiho’s brilliant plan. She got mad, and left. I presume she came here?”
“You presume correctly. She shouted at her mother, and stomped up the steps. Slamming her door is a given.”
“Of course,” Damon muttered under his breath.
“Well, now I see why she was so angry,” Mrs. Braeden said quietly. “She hasn’t been doing well in her choir lately. The last concert, there were only three people in the audience. She was crushed. She had a solo, and messed up badly, so she says. Neither of us were there, and she takes herself so seriously. She’s anti-social, anyway, but the other kids have been making fun of her.” She shook her head. “This is why I avoided school,” she added in an undertone to herself. Lexie felt guilty. She had abandoned her for an old hobo, just when Kiho needed her. But didn’t the hobo need me? a traitorous voice in her head asked. Don’t be silly. The hobo was only going to get some water in the face, her reasonable side answered. Kiho was only going to get her feelings hurt, and it isn’t as if she’s the nicest person around. Besides, the hobo wasn’t only going to get water in his face; he was going to get a mean spirited welcome to our town. How would that make you feel? Lexie’s crazy side was beginning to sound reasonable.
“Can we go up and talk to her?” Lexie asked. Her friend needed her. She wasn’t going to just leave.
“Yes, may we?” Damon asked.
“You may, but I don’t know if you can,” Mr. Braeden said. “And that’s a very important difference. Kiho might kill you first.” Damon nodded nervously. They went up the stairs to Kiho’s room. Just like in a battle, their best bet was a surprise attack. Her door was slightly open. They opened it the rest of the way quietly, and jumped back. Good thing for them they were expecting a booby trap, because a heavy bust fell off the door right onto the floor where they’d been standing. Lexie squeaked. Damon burst in.
“Now see here, Kiho! You nearly bashed our heads right in! You’re out of your mind!” He was going to go on, but a pillow covered his face. Kiho launched herself at him, and began to try and mash his face. Lexie pulled her off, which was surprisingly difficult, considering how small Kiho was, and Damon gasped for breath. Kiho pulled herself away from Lexie as if she’d been bitten. She went back to sit on her bed, opened a book, and began to read as if they weren’t even there. Her friends looked astonished. She’d attempted murder, now she was going to act like everything was perfectly normal? She had nerve.
“Listen to me, Kiho. We weren’t against you; we were just protecting an innocent bystander to your love of pranks going awry.” Damon tried to joke, but Kiho continued to ignore him.
“We really aren’t against you, Kiho.” Lexie pleaded with her eyes. Kiho wasn’t even looking.
“If you call what you did in your backyard ‘not against’ I’d hate to see you when you are against me.” She didn’t even look up. “I was just joking around, trying to have a laugh, and you sticks felt bad for a bum.”
“If you call attacking me with a pillow having a laugh, I’m not sure I understand your humor at all,” Damon said sharply. Kiho turned over. Damon groaned.
“Kiho, it was all my fault. I should have stuck with you. I’m sorry.” Lexie looked at the floor. Kiho’s ears seemed to perk up.
“Sorry?” Damon hissed. “You’re sorry? She tries to kill me, and terrorize the homeless, and you’re sorry?”
“I was wrong, Damon. The bum,” she couldn’t say it. She couldn’t say that the poor man was in the wrong for being there. “I should never have agreed to it in the first place.”
“You’ve got that right,” a muffled voice said from the depths of a pillow. It sounded like it was crying. Lexie’s heart melted. She ran over to the bed.
“I’m so sorry, Kiho. I’m really sorry.” She hugged Kiho, and Kiho hugged her back. Damon left. As he was walking out, he muttered, “What a fake. What a bloody faker.”
Damon wouldn’t talk to either of them. When Lexie called, his father answered, words slurred, and Lexie always hung up. When she tried to come up to him when he was out on a walk, he avoided her. Kiho didn’t even try to make contact with him.
“He never fit in, anyway.” They both knew it was a lie, but Kiho was too proud to really make up about the fight, and Lexie thought they already had. Damon was in torture, trying to completely ignore Kiho, let alone Lexie, but it was for their own good. Maybe if Kiho really made up, she wouldn’t try and emotionally blackmail Lexie anymore. But Damon was the only way that was going to happen. It was easier for Kiho, for a while, because she was used to holding stupid grudges. Damon wasn’t. He was a little hot tempered, but unlike Kiho, his temper flared, and then it went away again in an instant. But he had one advantage. He had a real reason for ignoring them, while Kiho had only a petty argument. Damon was doing this for Lexie, not himself. Kiho wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of the silent treatment.
It lasted one long week, then Kiho broke down. She went up to Damon as soon as he came out of school one day.
“What do you want? You’re making us all miserable did you know that?”
“I want an apology,” Damon said tightly.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? It was my fault. I was being stupid. I’m sorry.” Kiho looked down, and Damon knew she meant it.
“I didn’t mean me. I meant Lexie. She thinks this is all her fault. I can tell. Take responsibility. She’ll always feel guilty otherwise.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Right now.”
He escorted her all the way to Lexie’s house. He smiled at her, and her sadness was lifted.
“Did you decide to forgive me?” Lexie was partly joking, but partly not.
“No. I’ve decided to apologize. I’ve been acting like a real pig lately, and making you feel bad. I’m really, really sorry, and I promise I’ll never do it again. I was being stupid about that hobo. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I’ll be a good girl from now on.”
“That promise is binding, you know,” Damon smiled.
“I know,” Kiho answered. Lexie smiled, then frowned.
“That reminds me of something… I’ll be right back.” She jumped up, and ran up to her room. She pulled a bunch of stuff out of a little box, paused, and snatched a piece of paper. “Aha!” She pulled a pin from off her desk on the way out. She stopped, turned, and dove into her closet, finally pulling and old Barbie and Ken out of it. She took the steps down two at a time. She shoved it in Damon’s face.
“Read this, then sign it, right there.” He complied, and stated to laugh.
“Who wrote this?”
“I did,” Lexie said, proudly.
“What’s that?” Kiho asked.
“It’s our old contract. He’s going to sign it, too.”