lol, so this is repeat from the other thread, but that's ok, right?? ok, so some of it's new.
“Thanks,” she said sweetly. He gave a stiff smile and a nod. “I’m Jennifer.” This startled him a little. He wasn’t expecting conversation. He ran his finger around the inside of his shirt collar.
“I’m Edmund,” he said.
“I met your sister just a little bit ago,” she said shyly. “She… she said that you go to Hindan House.”
“That’s right,” he answered shortly, still standing there awkwardly.
“I’m going to be going to your sisters’ school starting this semester.”
“Really?” he asked. This was very interesting news to him. He went to sit on the bench next to her, but then he realized that that could be potentially awkward for her.
“You can sit down,” she said with a small, mirthful smile. He gave her his slightly crooked smile and sat down next to her. She studied him for a moment before passing judgment.
“You look a lot older than your sister,” she observed innocently. His chest tightened and he stared at the ground.
“I’ve… lived a rougher life than she has,” he said with a nervous laugh, hoping that she wouldn’t notice how on edge she was.
“I suppose,” Jennifer answered. Her voice told him that his answer didn’t really satisfy her. “Is your family busy getting ready for Christmas?”
“Yes, well, at least the girls are. My brother and I don’t shop as much as they do.” This made her laugh, and Edmund began to feel more at ease. “What does your family do for Christmas?” she sat silently for a moment, and Edmund instantly regretted his question. “I’m sorry if I…”
“Don’t be sorry,” she insisted. “I don’t really have a family to speak of. I’m not sure what I’m doing for Christmas yet. What are you asking for Christmas?” Edmund grinned and leaned back.
“A new torch.”
“Why is that so funny?” she asked, watching him intently. He coughed and thought about how he was going to explain this one.
“I got a new torch for my birthday,” he explained, and she nodded her head, “but I lost it at… the train station when we went back to school.”
“Oh, that’s too bad!” Jennifer said sadly. He shrugged.
“It was my own fault. I’m sure some other person is enjoying it right now,” he said, thinking back to Narnia. He wondered who had found it in the Telmarine castle. Perhaps the mice had found it. That would be a sight to see.
“I still don’t understand what’s so funny about it!” Edmund turned, remember Jennifer again.
“Sorry, it’s just… well, it was amusing. Ask my sister sometime, she’ll say the same thing.” Edmund sat and let his eyes rove over her calm face for a moment. He took a deep breath; he was about to be bold. “Are you doing anything tonight?”
~*~
Peter walked into his bedroom to find that Lucy was in there arguing with Edmund. He threw his satchel on his bed and listened with amusement as the two bantered back and forth.
“I did it to help you!” cried Lucy as she stomped her foot.
“Some help!” snorted Ed. “I wanted to die I was so embarrassed.”
“She talked to you, didn’t she?”
“Only because I beat up some kid who was bothering her! You had nothing to do with it!”
“Ed, did you talk to that girl?” asked Peter, happily surprised. Edmund grinned and colored.
“Yes. Her name is Jennifer.”
“She was my friend first,” declared Lucy with a smile twitching at her lips.
“Yes, Lu, whatever you say,” said Edmund as he rolled his eyes. He turned back to Peter, saying, “And I asked her to come over for dinner tonight.” Peter’s mouth hit the floor and Lucy stared at Ed with wide eyes.
“Well, what did she say?” cried Peter eagerly.
“She said she can’t come,” Ed answered, cheeks getting red again. Peter let out a big guffaw. “But she said she’d like to do it some other time!” the young teenage boy added quickly.
“Well, we all know what that means, don’t we!” said Peter as he crossed his arms in front of his face with a smile.
“No, no! It wasn’t like that!” Edmund insisted, jumping up from his bed. “She was honestly sorry that she couldn’t. She said that her family is having company over, which I was disappointed about, but then she said that maybe we could do it some other time. I told her that we could if she wanted to, and she said that she’d like that,” Ed explained, his face now as red as a cherry.
“Oh, Edmund, that’s so sweet!” said Lucy as she patted her brother on the shoulder. “I never knew you could be so romantic!” Here her brother pulled away from her.
“Come one, Lu, you and I both know that I don’t have an ounce of romance in me,” he said with a smile to his younger sister. He could never stay mad at her long.
“You might surprise yourself,” she stated, and left the room. Edmund eyed Peter, who wasn’t making eye contact with him, the reason for which they both knew.
“It’s your turn. Hold up your end of the bargain,” Edmund said to his brother in a serious tone. Peter met his eyes.
“I’ve never made it a habit to let you down, and I don’t intend to start now.”