Aja Plots Revenge

"I don't want to hear your voice! I don't want you any where near me!" Aja hissed at Roderick upon their next unpleasant encounter. "The next time we fight, you are the one who will be on the losing end! Just. Stay away from me! Be gone, you headless llama!"

Roderick's face turned red. He looked as though he were about to respond, but instead he simply stormed off.

Aja needed to cool off. Being any where near Roderick simply made her blood boil. She talked herself down in the bathroom mirror.

"Come on, girl! You've got to pull it together. Sure, Roderick is a jerk, but is he worth all the excitement? Let him go his way, you go yours. Just... breathe." Aja breathed in slowly and held it for a moment before slowly letting it out again. In, out. In, out.

It would be time for breakfast soon. Aja decided to go fishing to catch something to eat. Finding something to focus on helped ease her tension and she even began to enjoy herself a bit.

It was hot and Aja decided to eat indoors. Roderick was on the couch, talking with Yuki. Aja remembered that she had been interested in getting to know the girl, but now she wasn't sure. How well did they know each other? Were they just acquaintances, or were they more? Were they friends? What if they were boy friend and girl friend? She didn't know if she liked that idea.

She decided to ignore Yuki and turned to speak with Malcolm Landgraab instead. He looked at her sharply. "You know, I saw how you treated my boy, Roderick earlier. That was not cool!"

"But, you don't even know what that was about," Aja began, "Rod..."

"I don't need to know what that was about. You don't treat Roderick like that. He's a great guy! I don't know you, and I don't want to. You're the one who should do the leaving!"

Aja shook her head, dumbfounded. She set her jaw squarely and stood up. She felt like retorting, but she was outnumbered. There were 3 of them and only one of her. Suddenly, Aja felt lonelier then ever. She strode firmly back out the door.

Aja headed for the gym. She needed to learn to fight to defend herself. She didn't need Roderick kicking her butt next time they fought. Besides, pretending the punching bag was Roderick's head was too much fun and helped alleviate at least some of the stress.

Aja didn't feel like going back to the park. Roderick and his cohorts would probably be there. She decided to go see the park in Willow Creek instead. She ran into a familiar face. A very sad familiar face.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Aja asked Sophie. Sophie just shrugged and shook her head. Aja paused to give Sophie a chance to respond, but she didn't say any thing further. She decided to distract her instead. She looked around for some sort of diversion.

"Hey, you want to watch the clouds with me?" Sophie nodded her head slowly. At first, obligingly, allowing Aja to point out what she saw, but soon she was pointing out cloud formations herself. Aja just listened and let Sophie do most of the talking.

Aja didn't know how long they lay on the ground like that, but at long last, Sophie sat up, brushing off her blouse. "Look at me," she giggled, "I'm a mess!"

Aja laughed wholeheartedly. "I'm not that pristine myself."

"Listen, I've got to go. I'm late for dinner and I still need to get my homework done, but thanks for spending a bit of time with me this afternoon."


Aja smiled, "Any time!" She realized, as she watched Sophie leave, that she had even been able to relax herself. Forgetting her own problems from earlier in the day. Her tummy rumbled. She'd been so distracted by Sophie she'd forgotten to fish for her dinner. She wasn't sure there was any place to cook here any way.


Luckily, she saw some grilled fruit someone had cooked up. Not so fortunately, it wouldn't be long before the food spoiled. Oh well! She had to eat. She shuddered at every bite as she forced herself to swallow each forkful. Fish was better!

It was long past time to be getting back to the park, but as she was preparing to leave, a girl came over.
"Hey, you new around here?"

Aja smiled. "No, I'm just visiting. I live in Oasis Springs. Why, who's asking?" Well, it was a half truth any way. She didn't actually have a home, but this other girl didn't need to know that.

Avery Raines, created by Simmie Sweetness

"My name is Avery Raines. It's nice to meet you."

Aja blinked. What did this girl want any way? "It's... nice to meet you." She said at last.

"Listen, I know it's getting late, but I was wondering if I could get your number. You know, maybe we could hang out sometime?" Wow! Awkward. Aja wasn't sure what to make of this girl.

"I'm sorry, but my folks don't let me give my number to strangers." Aja said lamely.

"Look, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just looking for a friend. You looked like a pretty friendly gal, that's all."

Aja sighed. "Ok, come talk with me in my office."

The girls settled down at the picnic table. Raine began their conversation. "So, tell me about yourself."

"Well, there's really not that much to tell." Aja knew her life was so not interesting. Besides, what could she possibly tell her any way? 'Hi, I'm a runaway. And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind keeping that to yourself?' Yeah right! She'd be back to the system before you could say 'foster care'.

"Come on, there's gotta be something. I mean, I'm sure you have hobbies or... something?"

"Well, I like my coffee with cream and sugar. Oh! And I'd like to be a song writer."

"You play?" Raine looked fascinated.

"Sure..."

The girls became so involved with their conversation, they talked the whole night through. At dawn, Aja made her way back to her encampment. She needed breakfast and a bit of sleep. Today was practically blown already.

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