Chapter Seven

"Well.. He is kind of cute-" Polly let out a loud gasp.

"Oh. My. Goodness." Polly exclaimed. "This is a sign, Ariel. You haven't found any guys cute for two years. You save this guy and become his Princess Charming and you think he's cute? He has to be the one, Ariel. He must be." Ariel shook her head.

"He's cute, yes, but I can compliment a guy without romantic feelings being involved. It just means I have eyes." Ariel said before taking another bite of her mashed potatoes.

"You're totally lying, but whatever. Where are we meeting them?" Polly asked before taking a sip of her water.

"At Deadmans Bridge. We're going to meet his friend and make a gift trade off. I'm giving him a lamp and he's giving me a necklace." Polly smiled, but Ariel quickly changed the subject to homecoming and the winter formal; but Polly always said that Ernest could be her date.

Fifth period was PE, which actually happened to be Ariel's worst subject. She wasn’t physically unable to handle it, but her daily exercise always made it hard to do PE after.

"Drop and give me ten push ups, ladies!" Mr. Trim yelled. Ariel's arms wobbled as she very slowly pushed herself up. "Come on, Smith! One damn push up?!"

"I'm trying, sir!" Ariel retorted, making the guys around her laugh.

"Hey, leave her be coach, she obviously can't do it!" Dean yelled.

"Yeah, she obviously can't do it!" Ariel attempted to yell in a different voice, but obviously failed, making the rest of the class burst in laughter.

"Can't do the push ups, do the laps!" Ariel's jaw dropped.

"But-"

"Ten laps, get to it!" Ariel looked at Polly for help, but all she got was a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, Ariel.. See you in twenty minutes." Ariel sighed before she started her long tortuous laps.

Sixth period, creative writing. To many people's surprise, Ariel's poetry was very dark.

Let blankets drip into the children who've drowned 

Let them know that journeys are just meant to suffocate and destination always means the end.

"Ariel, why is your poetry so dark?" Polly asked. "Write a happy poem, like mine!" Polly said, making Ariel shake her head. "Seriously Ariel, I'm worried about you.." Ariel smiled.

"I'm fine, Polly. Really. Sometimes, darkness is pretty too." Ariel explained.

"Well, that's unacceptable. I need one happy poem from you, please?"

"Don't be silly. Ms. Yield loves my poetry." Ariel said.

"As true as that is Ariel, a happy poem from you wouldn't hurt. I would love to see you grow and expand on your writing. You're so talented. I'm sure you have a lot more to offer." Ariel nodded in silence and looked at her poem. She never really saw them as sad, more bittersweet than anything.

Once class was over, Ariel and Polly made their way over to Deadmans Bridge.

"Ohh, I'm so excited! Aren't you excited?!" Polly asked.

"Well, I suppose only a little, but I'm nervous too. What if his friend doesn't like me?" Ariel asked.

"Well, he can go screw himself. You're amazing, Ariel." Ariel smiled.

"Thank you Polly, that's- Oh my God, Ernest!" Ariel was stunned to see Ernest had a black eye and busted lip. Ariel ran to him and gently touched his face, making him hiss in pain. Ariel's hands swiftly covered her mouth in shock. "What happened?" She asked. "This definitely was no fall-"

"Some guys tried to rob that stupid necklace, but he wouldn't let it go." Michael sneered.

"Here. You have the lamp, right?" Ernest asked with a smile. Instead of taking the necklace, Ariel's face had tears streaming down her face. "Ariel, please don't cry, shit.."

"Uh, thanks a lot, you made Ariel upset!" Polly yelled and Michael stared at her, gawking at how pretty she is. "Here Ariel, take this tissue." Ariel took the tissue Polly handed her and wiped the tears off the best she could.

"Ernest." Ariel said with her voice strained.

"Yeah?" He said.

"That's a pretty necklace." Ariel said.

"Yeah. I know, so I-"

"That's sold in practically every store in this town." Ariel added, making him dead silent. "They don't sell other Ernest.. That necklace should never be worth your life.. Please, never do it again." Ariel didn't like violence very much, even with Polly, she minimized her violent tendencies, so Ariel could be comfortable.

"Ariel, I'm sorry, I just thought about how much you wanted it that I didn't care.. I swear I won't do it again, just please don't cry anymore.. I didn't mean to make you so upset." Ariel  blinked back tears as she took out the lamp from her backpack.

"Here you go, Ernest." Ariel stared at the lamp.

"Ariel, are you mad at me?"

"Here you go, Ernest." Ariel said more sternly, but Ernest shook his head.

"Ariel, I'm really-"

"Ernest, just take the damn lamp." Ernest's eyes widened when Ariel actually snapped.

"Woah, Ari, are you okay?" Polly asked, feeling a little shocked seeing her best friend snap like that.

"I...Yes, I'm fine, Polly and Ernest, I'm sorry for snapping. It just really upset me to see you like that. I don't react to violence very well." Ernest shook his head.

"No Ariel, I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have risked my life for this. I guess I care about letting people down more than myself." Ernest slightly tensed up when Ariel hugged him.

"You're so important, Ernest. Please take better care of yourself." Ernest hugged her back.

"I won't let it happen again." He said. Ariel broke the hug and smiled, causing a slight tint of pink to go to Ernest cheeks.

"It's okay, Ernest. Let's hold off the trade off. Let's go to my house. I have some things for bruises and swelling." Ernest smiled and so did Michael a little. Ariel was a lot more genuine than Michael ever would have thought. She seemed to genuinely care about Ernest and that was both relieving and shocking.

"Ooh, yay! I love it when friends make up!" Polly exclaimed, practically hopping around. Michael looked at her again, with red cheeks, but this time, Polly caught him. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Uh, um, I'm pretty, uh no, not I'm pretty, I meant you're pretty." Polly eyes fluttered while Ariel giggled and Ernest smirked knowing Michael only sounded like a complete idiot when he met a girl he's attracted to. As hard as it was to believe, Michael was the dork in that friendship.

"Oh." Polly pushed some strands of hair behind her ear. "Well, thank you." He nodded quickly, making Ernest snort.

"Screw you, Ernest." Michael sneered.

"Okay okay, let's go." Ariel, Ernest, Michael and Polly went to Ariel's house. "Wait out here, I'll be right back."

Ariel went inside to grab her first aid kit when she heard yelling.

"I'm coming to save you, Ariel! Ain't no white folk lynching my girl!"

Oh no, Frankie!

Ariel exclaimed as she ran outside and eyes widened at Frankie holding a wooden bat. He swung the bat, but he was so far off, that the others just watched him hit air.

"Frankie, don't hurt them! They're my friends!" Frankie stopped and ran up to Ariel to hug her.

"I'm so glad you're okay- Wait, friends?" Frankie looks at them. "I know you are friends with Polly, but who are they?" Frankie asked.

"Well, remember that guy who was drowning? That's him and his friend and now we're friends." Ariel said sweetly.

"Ariel.. this is crazy." Frankie whispered to her. "There's a man, probably white, raping and murdering black girls. What if it's him-"

"Hey, I heard that! My friend is not a rapist or murderer!" Michael fumed. "And who's to say they're white?! The cops don't even know who it is!"

"Disagree honey, the probability of it being a white man is much higher considering there's mostly white men in the town, it's logical, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Hurts himself a lot is not the culprit." Polly said.

"They're right, Frankie. Ernest wouldn't hurt anyone unless it was himself. You need to relax and not throw such serious accusations around." Ariel said. "And I told you to not bring that up around me. It makes me sick and it was really inconsiderate of you to remind me how cruel this world is."

"Sorry, Ariel.." Frankie said. "Sorry guys. Just, Ariel is my only friend and she can be a little.. too adventurous." Frankie said, making Ariel roll her eyes.

"Whatever." Michael mumbled.

"It's okay. Who do you think tells Ariel to have her keister in the house before night falls? I'm just as worried about her as you are." Polly said, making Frankie smile.

"I know Polly. Thank you."

"This is nice. Oh, Ernest, I have the first aid kit." Ariel went up to Ernest and handed him an ice pack and tended to the rest of his wounds.

"Thank you, Ariel.. Sorry for being such a burden." Ariel shook her head. 

"You're no burden at all, Ernest. There, all patched up." Ernest gave her the biggest smile he could, making her smile back.

He's so cute. A little messed up right now, but cute.

Ariel thought.

"Now what?" Polly asked.

"Hm, oh, come on, Polly. Let's go show them our spot!" Ariel said. She went inside to put the first aid kit up and ran back outside. "Let's go."

"Ariel, I'm going to stay home. I was doing chores before all this." Frankie said.

"Alright, see you later, Frankie." Ariel and Polly walked and the boys followed. They walked until they came across a path the boys had never seen before "Come on, nothing to be afraid of." Ariel said as she walked by first and Polly followed. The boys seemed a little suspicious, but went down the path anyway and gasped. You could see the lake perfectly from there and the sun setting over it. There were trees around for shade and there were board games and chairs.

"Ariel, this is amazing. I never knew there was such a clear view of the lake." Ernest said.

"Isn't it gorgeous? I love it when light from the sun hits the lake just right, it's practically blinding and when the sun sets, it's absolutely breathtaking." Neither Ernest or Ariel noticed it, but Ernest was staring at Ariel thinking about how she was cuter like this and couldn't believe he made her cry.

"Okay, well, since we're all here, let's sit down and get to know each other." Polly said. They all sat down and talked for hours; soft sunlight turned into crimson throughout the sky and lake. "I always forget how beautiful this is, wow." Polly said breathlessly. "Oh, and the cutest couple award goes to Ariel and Ernest." Polly said as Ernest's head laid on Ariel's lap. He had gotten sleepy and Ariel decided to let him rest on something softer than the ground.

"Hush Polly, he just needed some rest." Ariel explained.

"Uh huh, well it's getting late. We should all be heading home." Polly said. Ariel looked at Michael, who stared at Polly with frustration, not at her, but at himself. He wanted to ask her if he could walk her home, but couldn't work up the courage to do it.

"Polly, why don't you let Michael walk you home? It gets a little dangerous at this time and I'd feel much better if you had someone to take you home." Michael looked at Ariel with a smile mouthing a thanks.

"Well, if it'll make you feel better. Let's go, stutter pants." Polly said while standing up.

"I-I dont st-stutter!" He yelled, making Ariel cover her mouth in laughter. Ernest squirmed in his sleep a bit before waking up.

"What's going on?" Ernest asked.

"Oh, just on time. We're going to be heading home. You should walk with Polly and Michael." Everyone's eyes widened.

"And who's walking you home?" Polly asked.

"Well, I was-"

"No." Ernest interrupted while standing up. "I'll walk you home. You are more in danger at night than I'll ever be."

"But your injuries… You could barely even keep your eyes open. I was concernee you may have a concussion." Ariel said. Ernest flexed his arms in front of her, making her giggle at how silly he looked.

"I feel great, see? Uh!" He grunted, making her giggle some more. "Seriously Ariel, let me walk you home."

"Well, if you're really okay with it." Michael and Polly and Ariel and Ernest went their separate ways. "Ernest, you promise you'll get home safely, right?" Ernest nodded. "Okay."

"I'm really sorry, Ariel. I just.. can't believe I made you cry. I didn't mean to make you upset." Ariel smiled.

"It's okay. Please stop apologizing. I just need you to take care of yourself better." They stopped in front of Ariel's house. Ernest went behind her and put the necklace on her. Ariel's middle finger lightly grazed over the pendant  before Ernest walked in front of her with a smile.

"Looks great." She smiled and then handed him his lamp.

"Here you go. It works too." Ernest took the lamp.

"Thanks Ariel. Can I call tonight?" Ariel nodded. "Sweet. See you later." Ernest left with his lamp and Ariel turned around with the biggest smile on her face as she walked inside her home.