A little girl snuck out of her house in the dead of night. It was an easy task, as her mother was asleep, her dog was lazy, and her brother was absent.
Her name was Tracy.
She snuck over to the house adjacent and gazed up at one of its windows, envisioning a sort of Romeo and Juliet scene. But, she knew it wouldn't be so, and she climbed a tree to get up to the window. She tried to open it, and was lucky to find it unlocked.
The room was dark, but her eyes were already used to the lack of light. She could clearly see two beds, only one of which had someone in it: a little boy about her age named Picky.
That disappointed her, however, as she didn't come here for him. Picky was a kind soul, yes, but he was plain, and scrawny, at least in comparison to the one she really wanted...
His older brother, Pokey...
Yes, Picky was nothing like his husky, rotten brother, whom she found oddly attractive. Ever since the Minches had become her next-door neighbors, she'd always fixated on him, that stout, pig-like boy with his hair over his eyes, whom no-one really liked, for obvious reasons, except for her.
She knew Pokey was a horrible person, from those stories her brother, Ness, told her over the phone; Pokey was as slippery and slimy as an eel, as craven and cowardly as a rabbit, and conceited and condescending as a cat. And somehow, all these qualities that turned off others only made her want him all the more.
Just the thought of that corrupt big boy trotting about as if he owned the world, talking down to whomever he wanted, but always ready to dash off and hide if someone should decide to stand and make him eat his words... It was enough to make her swoon.
But, why? Why did she love him? Why would she want someone slinky and cowardly and full of himself, like a lawyer, politician or used car salesman?
Because he was hideous. Because he was a permanent stain marring the otherwise pure sheet of Onett. Because he was scummy and cunning and unpleasant. Because her brother hated him. Because he was forbidden fruit.
Besides, he was evil, and we all know how girls get over bad guys.
She stared down at the empty bed and sighed. She'd envisioned sneaking in and, finding him here, waking him with a kiss. She'd finally gotten the courage to do it, and he wasn't here. She'd never thought of just how he'd react to it, and now she was sure she wouldn't find out.
But, she had to wonder why she thought he'd be here. If he'd been pestering her brother, wherever he was, she should have known he'd probably keep following him, with no reason to come back here as far as she knew.
Oh, if only she'd come here earlier, before the meteor fell. She'd loved him even before she knew just how low he was. Now, he might never come back, and she'd lost her dream boy.
She snapped to attention as she heard Picky stir, and she rushed out of the window. But, she leaned against the house, a lone tear falling down her cheek, and she almost cried out plaintively. What possible reason would he have to return? To keep at her brother's nerves if he returned, maybe, but he'd do that at a distance.
All she could do was hope she might run into him someday, but...
With her heart shattered, she returned to her room. But now she couldn't sleep, thinking about how he was now "the one that got away". She opened her window, and cried out in desperation, "POKEY!"
Her call was absorbed by the darkness, and no one replied.
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