Nothing like Solitude

[Peppo Valentine]

The sky overhead was a stormy gray, dark and rich, not like those girl thingy-footing dove-colored clouds that only brought a little drizzle. Peppo could feel a big one coming, one complete with thunder, lightning, and raindrops the size and shape of bullets coming down from some kind of heavenly AK-47. In the crisp, almost tangible air, a sigh broke the tension of the coming storm, a sound that before now rarely, if ever, came from a certain pair of lips. Peppo clung to the zipper of her leather jacket, sitting alone on the fire escape that hung just above a set of giant packing containers abandoned here years ago, never cleaned up. Peppo had no where to go, but sitting in the house was the last thing she was going to do. Peppo's sharp eyes stared up at those clouds with a sort of distant approval. She liked those dark stormclouds, she did. But they weren't doing it for her that day. Yes, Peppo was unhappy. Why?

Aladdin wasn't here. Peppo wasn't a moron; she was capable of spending decent amounts of time on her own, but the fact that she was no longer in school gave her a lot more time, and of the small portion of time when Aladdin was not in school, she did expect him to set a little time aside for her without her having to hop on his shoulder to get that time. However, Peppo wasn't the type to trail around friends. Aladdin was her best friend; she wasn't going to compete for his time. However, it left a bad taste in her mouth when Peppo looked up at those clouds and remembered that this would be the first time in many that she and Aladdin would not be spending a thunderstorm laughing and slipping in their bare feet and trying to climb things in the pouring rain.

It wasn't a lost cause: he could still show up. He could still walk around that corner and make her day worth it. It was conceivable that this weekend he wouldn't be asking all the rich boys for advice on how to woo his precious Jasmine. But it wasn't likely. And as the thunder crackled overhead and the first sheets of rain started ripping across the sky, beading in Peppo's black hair and dripping off her ski-slope nose, Peppo's mouth did not form a mischevious grin. It hung in its nondescript state as Peppo considered which store she should steal lunch from.

But it would feel a lot more like a crime by herself.

[Lola Mitchell]

"d**n rain!"

Said a loud voice walking down the blocks of the neighborhood. The rain was pouring down. Like tears from the sky. On top of the blonde's head was a piece of cardboard she had found in the gutter as soon as the rain began to pour. It kept her somewhat dry. Despite the huge wet spot on the back of her black skinny jeans. Some of her top, excuse me tops had gotten a bit wet as well. Why tops you ask? Well she wore her colorful Saved By The Bell character shirt but over it was a longsleeve black fishnet top. She did often wear fishnets. She sighed and continued to walk around until she came to a main road of the town with an overhang. She dropped the piece of cardboard stomping on it with her black converse.

She had been on her way back from {Peter's} house. According to his mother he wasn't 'home'. But Lola had a feeling that he was out with that no good Clovis, who had been eying him all week. Ugh that girl made her sick. She just wanted to go and give her a good punch. Lola did indeed have quite a tough and headstrong attitude. Despite her only standing about 5 foot 2 and being very thin.

As she turned the corner she noticed Peppo. She had met her before, since she had become friends with the new kid Aladdin. They never really talked much though. Lola just watched her a bit figuring she would let her make the first step to conversation.