Apologies! Teenagers and the Infamous Game of Tag

A Chapter by Emunah June.

No one bothered me at all for the rest of the day. It was nighttime by the time my internal clock said "Hey! I haven't been fed at all today! Feed me!" Even though I was starving, I didn't leave my room.

That is, until someone knocked on my door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Edward. Can I come in?"

My gut screamed No!

"If I let you in, will you throw my things on the floor? Or grope me?" I retorted. "No! Just...let me in!" he cried from the other side of the door. I sighed, then hoped that Al was nearby if anything happened. "Sure."

He walked in, not looking at me at first. But then he stood at the edge of my bed, and looked me directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry for getting angry at you this morning," was his brief apology. "It's okay. I've had worse happen to me."

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"The red dress I was talking about...it's over here!" Winry cried as we ran through the marketplace. We pushed through large crowds of people, and by the time we had gotten to the fashion department, I was exausted. "Look!" Winry had said with a big smile. The dress was exactly as she had described it: red, soft, and it had a large bow on the chest. The collar of the dress was a lighter shade of red, and the bow was more of a milky white than a snowy white as I had imagined. It was just perfect! "Winry wow!" was my response. Then, the only flaw made itself known:

It was 2 times my size.

"I can't wear this, it's too big!" I mourned. Winry had pat me on the shoulder. "Relax! I'll sew one for you when I get older. After all, I'm going to design clothes!" she'd said as she pat her stomach. I smiled, and my mind wavered to other things.

Like....

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The next morning, I woke up and walked to the dining room. There I saw Al sitting next to the window, looking out at the sun. "Al? Are you okay?" I asked. Startled by my appearance, he looked at me for a while. "Koda? Oh me? I'm allright. Just watching the sunrise, that's all," he responded. I smiled. "May I sit with you?" I asked, just in case this was his alone time. "Sure."

We sat and watched as the birds all woke up and began to fly around. It was awhile before Al looked at me and began to talk. "Did Brother apologize?" he asked. I nodded. "Good. I told him that it was a good idea. Looks like he took my advice," he said. Al looked out the window again, and this time I spoke. "Al....would you like to go shopping with me later?" I asked. He looked at me, seeming to be startled by my question. "Shopping? For what?" Al asked. "For anything you'd like to take with you on your travels. I mean, it's been awhile since you and Ed have been here, so I'd like you to get something to remember us by," I explained. He nodded. "Allright then!"

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The marketplace seemed to freeze still as Al and I walked down the strip. Everyone fixated their eyes on Al. I heard woahs and oohs and many other remarks, but Al didn't seem to care. "I get it all the time," he said. We walked, and Al kept looking at tiny trinkets that seemed to please him. I offered to pay for every one of them. But, as I had expected, Al refused. "No it's okay!" was his famous answer the entire day.

Then I saw it.

It was small, but able to be carried around easily. "Al, look!" I said, as I pointed to it. At first he didn't move. Then, he gave out a pleased "Ahh..." sound, and picked it up. "Oh wow!" he cried. It was a small crystal that was shapped like a mother cat giving milk to kittens. "It's beautiful! I love it!" he said, as he danced around it town square. I wondered what Ed would have said, but I laughed. "Allright, I see we've found your souvenier! Let me see how much it is."

$10.00.

After I paid, Al was humming happily. "Thanks again, Koda," he said. I smiled. "No problem Al. Just take good care of it, since there don't seem to be anymore around," I replied. Al kept the crystal close to the breastplate of his armor, looking around to see if anyone was sneaking up on him. Then, he grew real quiet. As we got back to the house, he said, "About Brother...."

"What?"

"Oh....it's nothing."

We walked inside, and Winry looked mad the second I walked in. "Sneaking away again huh? What were you two doing, eloping?" she asked. I blushed, and Al stopped looking at me alltogether. "No! No! I took Al shopping for a souvenier to take along his travels! Nothing like eloping! Nothing like that at all!" I spoke really fast. "Mmmhmm, that's what they all say," Ed said from the kitchen sink, washing his one hand. "Hey!" I said, my face still red. Then, I felt highly nostalgic as all four of us did something we hadn't in a while:

Laughed.

We all laughed. It felt weird to do this again. Laughing about nothing, but at the same time, laughing at ourselves in a way. It felt like, right then, all the tension between me and the Elric brothers were lifted. I felt much more comfortable.

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For old times sake, Winry took the rest of us to the hilltops where we played when we were kids. When we were all sitting in a circle, she stood up. "And now, the time had come!" She cried. We all looked at her, very confused. Then, she poked Al on the top of his helmet and said the two words that I thought she was going to:

"You're it!"

Immedietly, we all scattered in all directions. Al stood up and said 'Hey!", then began to chase after Winry. When it was clear Winry was too fast for him, he fixated his eyes on Ed. Ed gasped, then ran the opposite direction. I stayed hiding behind a tree, pushing down my Tailor's Child down the best I could. I looked over just in time to see Ed tumble down the hill. "Ed's it!" Al cried, then he ran the opposite way. Ed scanned the area, then sighed. "No fair!" he yelled, then ran after the whizzing figure of Winry. When he tapped Winry's shoulder and screamed "Winry's it!", I ran the other way, but still stayed on the hill. Wirny saw me and bolted. "Oh!" I breathed, then looked in front of me again.

I should have looked where I was going.

"Watch it!" Ed yelled, but it was too late. I bumped into him, and we both rolled down the hillside.When the dust cleared, Ed was sitting next to me, rubbing his head. "What was that for, dummy?! You should have watched where you were going!" he said. "It's not my fault!" I complained back just as Winry pushed against my back. "Koda's it!" she said, laughing. I grit my teeth and turned my head to face Ed, who still hadn't moved. "Wahh!" he cried when he realized I was it, and he ran as fast as he could. But I was much faster, and soon I pushed his back. "Ed's it!" I said, then turned around and ran.

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