Crash and Burn Victims

"Hey there, Pacific."

Ocean ignored the boy trailing behind her. Reuben had a smart-ass smirk carved into his face. He had a new line of jokes and insults for the day.

"Don't you hear me, princess?"

Still no reply. She fought back all the tears she could, desperately thinking of anything but him and the encounter she'd had that morning with one of his friends. Ocean clutched her book bag tighter against her chest, her flip flops clicking against the sidewalk as she sped up her pace.

Reueben grew annoyed after they had walked a few moments in silence. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, swinging her around to face him. A pang of guilt - the first he had ever encountered when it came to bullying her - spread through his chest. Her bloodshot eyes poured rivers. Her freckled cheeks were flushed.

"Don't touch me!" she croaked, pulling away from her adversary and running down the street. Her white mane of hair floated like a cloud into the tree line at the end of the road.

"Ocean. . ."