A sick day, spent outside walking to who-knows-where when she should have been indoors. Rosy nose and cheeks, along with constant sniffling and hand rubbing. She was obviously annoyed at the situation, but wasn’t alone to bask in the biting cold.
Different characters kept her sides warm: a happy narcissistic man-child, an introverted teen, and her own miffed self. She looked up to see her so-called friend happily gazing at her with a smile so large it would surely break his face in two. Looking away, she ignored him to give a glance to the youngest of the trio.
The introvert had a complexion just as pink as hers (if not more so). Their eyes had been trained on the ground until they realized from their peripheral view that they were being watched. This caused them to quickly avert their eyes to a very interesting leaf on the snow covered ground, the motion accompanied with their face somehow managing to become even more vibrant than before.
The girl, still aggravated at being dragged out on her sick day off from work, sighed and turned to the ever-smiling of the group to get rid of that grin.
“So what did you deem important enough to drag me out of my warm cozy bed this time?” She exhaled slowly, haphazardly attempting to mimic a dragon’s breath.
He patted her head, earning a quiet curse mumbled at him. “I have something to show you!”
Another dragon breath was given, followed by a quick sniff. “That doesn’t exactly give me much of a clue.”
“It’s a surprise!” The girl groaned loudly in response to her friend, yet continued to follow him deeper into the woods. “I’m sure you’ll like it, Ann.” He nodded and continued to do so until she copied the motion.
“How much further?” Ann asked, crinkling her nose as her legs tired from the long walk.
The youngest suddenly raised a pointed finger and aimed it at a vague direction apparently familiar to James. “Oh! Ah, right over there. Thanks Elliot.” The tallest leaned down and pecked the top of Elliot’s head, quickly bouncing off towards their destination after.
Ann rolled her eyes, placing an arm around Elliot’s shoulders for warmth as the slower two walked together after James.
Just over the hill which he had disappeared, a small clearing came into view. A large oak tree centered in the middle, along with three misplaced boulders maneuvered into place near it as makeshift seats.
Already leaning against the tree when the other two finally walked up, James smiled and did a large sweep with his hands, showcasing the small area. “Ta da!” he sang, beaming at his work. “Do you like it?”
Elliot also gave a curious glance up at Ann, having already seen the scene James had put together. “Did you see the engraving?” The introvert stepped lightly around the area up to the oak, resting a palm under a series of markings surrounded by a heart.
“J-A-E.” Ann spelled aloud. She traced the lines with her fingertips, giving a small laugh.
James quickly hopped over a boulder to stand on the other side of Ann, almost tripping on the way. “James, Ann, and Elliot!” he repeated cheerily. The three were coincidentally standing in the recited line, all staring at the tree.
“When’d you guys find the time to do this?” Ann looked to the bulky looking rocks on the ground, mentally guessing their weights. She bumped one with her boot and concluded they were indeed heavy, and continued to plop down onto one without further inspection.
“Oh, you know,” James shrugged sitting down on another rock. “We know how much you like the woods, so Elliot and I picked out a cool spot to hang out.”
“We revamped it a bit, too.” Elliot added, curled inward on their body for warmth. They had their hands in the long sleeves of their jacket (which looked like it would fit James better than them) to hide their fingers from the cold. “It was fun.” James almost cooed aloud at the endearing smile Elliot gave Ann, but managed to restrain himself.
An equally sickeningly sweet smile was returned by Ann, and this time James made an audible “aw”. She rolled her eyes but continued to grin. “Thanks guys. Why don’t we bring blankets or something next time we come here?” Ann shifted, placing her hands underneath herself. “My butt’s is kinda cold.”
James laughed and stood up, reaching out a hand to each of the other two. He told Ann, “Let’s get you back home so you can sleep off this cold first. We can get lunch on the way.”
Ann gave an “aw yeah” at the mention of food and sniffled, grabbing a tissue from her pocket and shoving it in her nose. “Sounds like a plan.” she said nasily. After earning a tongue pointed at her in feigned disgust from the both James and Elliot, she chuckled.
The three headed back to the car, hands clasped together and swinging back and forth as they happily started planning their next outing.
Quarticulation 