A cold dank smell filled the alleyway. A lighter went off, and a small red light was lit. Clare inhaled a wisp from the cherry-tipped cigarette she had inbetween her fingers and puffed it out. Her lips parted, letting out words;

“Recess.”

She looked around outside at the children playing. She almost scowled at them.

“I hate recess.” She said.

Her eyes looked around the cherry brick building encasing. A convenient alley was created here, by the shape of the school. Some schools had a shape similar, but not so small, which made it too dark for anyone to like going there. No one ever went here. They were convinced Satan lived back there. Not necessarily Clare, but probably most of them did. It was the fact that strange stories had been told about the place, and it was dark – very dark. The only real light was the cherry of Clare’s cigarette. She sighed. She was about 15, and she wore a dark Slipknot shirt, and her baggy pants had red bondage straps and chains coming off of them. She also wore boots. Combat boots. Her free hand rand through her maroon hair, which was about to her neck. In her pocket she had a pack of Gins, her favorite type of smoke because of the low cost and the good taste. She slid down to the ground, inhaling another wisp of the toxins. She sat there after a few minutes, and threw her finished cigarette to the ground and stamped it out, not even bothering to get up. She leaned against the wall and began to think. It was her daily ritual at recess, smoke, sit, ponder. But something interrupted it.
She knew many sounds of the alleyway. But this wasn’t the usual sound she heard. Never once in her time in the alleywa - which was really the only peice of her life she could remember – had she heard this sound here. For the first time, as she sat alone in that cold dark alleyway, she heard footsteps coming near her. She was almost shocked. What being in their own mind would want to disturb her? Her sacred layer was being desecrated, and yet she had no idea what to do about it. She just looked at the child coming for from beyond Recess to enter her domain. The school was elementary and high school all in one.
The entire school had Recess at the same time. Well, Clare never really had recess. She looked at the little child. Clare could tell in the dark she had blonde hair and bright, joyful blue eyes. She was almost surprised to see such happiness in any being who wanted to talk to her. And if there was, it was because they had just told her that she was a 'f**', or something like that. But she would make sure this girl actually wanted to talk, and not insult her. She came and sat down next to Clare, looking up at her the way kids do. Clare turned her head, looking at the little girl. After a long, almost awkward silence, Clare’s cold pink lips pursed and then parted, speaking.

“What do you want?” She said, all emotion completely fading from her words.

“I just wanna know why you come back here everyday. This place is scary!” She said, her voice filled with honesty and concern.

Clare almost burst into laughter. Was this little kid actually concerned about her? For a moment she had almost thought the kid was being truthful. She was probably sent by the assholes who drove her to hide back here. Still, she felt compelled to bemuse the little girl. It had been a while since she talked to anyone who actually even pretended to care.

“Because my shoes didn’t cost 60$.” She said.

The girl looked at her, not understanding what she meant. Clare sighed and then reached for her lighter and a cigarette. She then put stopped, thinking it best not to get a lecture from the child about how smoking is bad for her.

“I wasn’t cool enough. As if that alone wasn’t enough, they kept killing whatever was left of my ego until I came back here.” She explained. She wouldn’t say who ‘they’ was. And they still continued to torture her in the halls.
The little girl store with her beady eyes. “I think you’re cool!” She said, trying to cheer Clare up.
“Yah, who sent you?”
“No one.”
“Don’t lie to me, girl.”
“But I’m not!”

There was yet another awkward silence. It was broken by Clare chuckling.

“Forgive me. It’s been a while since anyone’s talked to me.”
“Why do those guys in the halls act so mean to you?” the girl said straight forwardly.

Clare almost jumped. Had this girl scene the things they had done to her. Probably, and if not she had probably heard about at least four of the things. She sighed.

“Same reason. I’ll never be cool enough to walk the halls without being humiliated. They said it was sort of payback for how much I humiliate them by existing.” She said, looking at the little girl.
“That’s terrible! You’re not really that evil, are you?”
“To them I’m a Satan-Worshipping, demon spawned of darkness because I follow a different religion then they do. I’m also unholy in their eyes because my political beliefs.” She said, yawning.
“Well that’s dumb!”
Clare chuckled. “Tell them that.” She had scars from different attacks.

After a long pause, Clare sighed.

“You should go. I’m not much of a person for little girls.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you stay, I can assure you will end up like me. That’s not a good thing.” She decided to lit up right now.
“But I want to be your friend! I don’t care if I do that.”

Clare jumped.

“Really?”
“Yah!”

Tears started to come into Clare’s eyes…for the first time, she had a friend.

PART II

Years later, the little girl sat in the same alleyway. Though she wasn’t little anymore. She was 15, as Clare was. Clare had left some time ago for college. Ever since that day where the girl had befriended Clare, she had been right in her promise. Things would be terrible. She turned to have the same luck and social status, and the same problems. But she didn’t mind. She had had a friend, and with that she regained some of her lost hope. So much so her falling grades raised, her spirit raised, and soon, she stood up to the assholes who were making fun of her. All of this would not have happened if the little girl had never helped her regain her spirit. The price was, of course, the little girl falling. She was now in a similar pit. Though she had one advantage over Clare. She knew why she had fallen, and that she had chosen it, willingly to help someone else. This gave her the confidence she had given to Clare.
She looked up at the sky and stuck the cigarette in her mouth, and let the smoke fade into the cold dank of the alleyway where so much had happened to so few people.