OMG moment. T.T

[~Just a little girl.]

She screamed.

She had been walking peacefully in the forest when something scuttled in front of her. It wasn't her nature to be a coward- but it wasn't her nature to be brave either.

She lay on the grass, long blond curls caressing her pale, sweating face. She risked a peep and sighed in both relief and embarrassment when she realized what scared her was nothing more than a squirrel. So stupid, she told herself, as she pushed herself up from her position on the ground. Once sitting up, she stared at the creature and it stared back. She then saw with sudden happiness that it was cute.

"Please sit still," she instructed the squirrel as she took out her sketchpad and a pencil from her bag. The animal tilted its head to the side, twitching its tail. She smiled at it and proceeded to draw. And to think her little adventure wasn't any use at all.

[Xena]

"Ma'am? Are you okay?"

I ignored the other inquiries for a drink before I enter the North Woods."Seriously, I've been here before," I kept on saying, making an effort to pass by the boy with glasses that held on to a pitcher filled with blue liquid. "But I recommend you to try this!" he exclaimed. He was probably about six or seven, an age that I doubt had already conquered the forest itself. "It's dangerous! One time, I--"

Cutting to the chase, I gulped down a glass of it to make his cries recede. It didn't taste half-bad, maybe a glass of milk taken out of the fridge two days after it was opened. Then I left a grateful young lad run off to the direction of the buildings. Maybe it was his new classmates' dare for him to be accepted in the Academy and, possibly, in class? Perhaps so. Either way, I made him happy. But I think I had upset my stomach. Oh, poor thing.

As I clutched my midsection, something furry sped pass by me. Curious, I followed, forgetting about the effect of the drink on me. The sudden scream startled me, causing me to dart from the open to a hiding spot - a tree, and quite a thick one mind you. Then I listened intently, holding my breath. Is there a monster around? Was she being attacked? I let out an exasperated sigh as I heard the next words. I grinned at the thought that the squirrel might be the one I've been quite familiar with; the one that caused me so much trouble from before, and other past times.

I stepped away from the tree's shadow, still hidden. A shadow among shadows. It sounds so cliché, eh? I strided to them in an easy pace, behind the girl so that only the squirrel may see my approaching, slender figure. I peeked at her book, my figure slightly arched towards her, and noticed it was a sketchpad.

[~Just a little girl.]

She felt a presence behind her.

At first she chose to ignore it, calming her breathing. Why was she so paranoid? And to think she was a grown-up girl...

You'll never be brave enough to be alone forever, a voice in her mind quipped.

She sighed. If it was a monster, so be it. If it was a bigger squirrel, she'd be scarred for life.

She turned around and saw the woman looking at her sketchpad. She turned red in the face, hid her face, and quickly hid the pad away.

"Please don't look at them!" she pleaded from behind her palms. "They're all ugly and i don't want anybody else looking, especially someone who's as pretty as you!"

[Xena]

Did I hear her right, or was the constant green environment getting to me?

No doubt about it. She said 'as pretty as you.' Taking in what she just said, I examined any possible loopholes into tracing the sentence back to herself, my mind working in slow gears as I accepted the compliment. I wasn't sure if she had intended the phrase or it was just a slip of the tongue as the books call it, but either way she made me blush.

I wouldn't think of myself pretty at all. Cute yes. But pretty? An adjective that can be closely replaced by beautiful is nothing that I had expected. Sure, my late mom used it on me all the time. But no one other than her did so. Until this. Regardless, I did not know how to act. I felt pressured to return another compliment, and I gritted my teeth behind my lips in annoyance. That was a bad habit, I should quit doing that when I'm thinking in an obscure manner. Then it hit me to do a humble Mary Jane act; as what I call it anyway.

I regained composure before bowing slowly, a straight angle being arched leisurely. I had no problem in bowing. After reaching half of my expected bow, I retreated my head. "T-thank you," I managed to stutter, a slow drop of sweat rolling down my ear from my scalp. Straightening myself further, the squirrel was staring right at me with its beady eyes. Perhaps it doesn't recognize its 'friend.' Or adversary. I cut my hair. Isn't that fascinating?

In hope that I did not stray out from reality too long that the shy little girl had thought of me as being too modest, I continued with a small yet sly grin. "I would love to look at your drawings. I'm sure they are as pretty," she coughed a little at the word, "as me. And as cute as you. Now, I plea. May I see?" That rhymed, and it sort of creeped me out and made me giggle at the same time. I reached out for her halfway, before my palms upturned themselves in a way of offering an invisible gift, but this time it was waiting for an item.

[~Just a little girl.]

She didn't have a choice when someone would ask of her nicely, and although reluctantly, she handed over her sketchpad.

Sigh, she thought wearily, what a troublesome day. First she had nearly lost everything she owned, got lost in the woods, fell in love with a guy, and now she was actually showing her own sketchpad containing her deepest secrets. The lady was kind though, and modest, she mused, but on the other hand it was okay. After all, it didn't hurt to be yourself sometimes.

And there was something about the lady that fascinated her. Maybe it was because she was the first who had truly talked to her as a friend since she moved in- and that was a rather comforting thought. She wasn't really expecting she'd make a big impression to everybody in a place where lots of reasonably popular adolescents go- she was like an ant in a floral garden.

On a whim, she knew, she had addressed her new 'friend' as a pretty person- which, in truth, was not far from fact. She liked this person. She guessed it was the short hair and even-colored skin. Whatever it was, this woman was prettier than she could ever be.

She felt silly.

She tried to smile up at her companion, her cheeks flushing a deeper red in the process. She didn't like staring people at the eye. Sometimes, she could feel them see through her. The thought made her involuntary shiver.

[Xena]

She gave it.

Oh, magnificient. She complied and I felt the urge to take back my pathetic words of self-flattering and compliment that had sounded so wrong, just so wrong. But then again, I had this argument with my mind already, time cannot be taken back once it has been already spent.

And that's why I hate it so much.

The only reminder I could give to myself everytime another person is around was to watch my words, think before you talk. But constant distractions prevent me from doing so. Take our situation right now, for example; the word 'pretty' being used on me. Other girls might have another reaction on the sentence, but I shouldn't judge them by my pre-preception. I should at least talk to them in the same manner. But with this shy little girl... I haven't got the guts to try.

Ah, that's right. I wanted to view her drafts, didn't I? And by the time I felt the solid object in my hands, it had been a few seconds after it had been giving. Relaxing my shoulders slightly, I retracted my arms and lowered it close to my chest, hovering a few centimeters from it as how I often read while standing. I took a silent gulp, before opening and viewing her work.

[~Just a little girl.]

After a while of silence, Ida decided to ask her companion what she thought of her works. She felt so embarrassed, and secretly she wished to just disappear into the woods. Perhaps she hadn't encouraged herself too much. And there was that sudden sense of foreboding in her gut. She was nervous, she realized, and feared what her friend would have to say.

"What do you think?" She stuttered. It's crappy! she thought when Xena hadn't replied. She'll throw it in my face and say it's stupid and make me run away. Dang, I wish I hadn't showed it to her in the first place.