�Chris, you lazy bum, wake up!� a soft voice called. Chris merely mumbled something and drifted back to sleep. �Well, we�ll do it the hard way then,� the girl said as she neared the cot. �Gotcha!� the girl whispered and jumped onto Chris�s sleeping body and promptly tickled him into submission.
�Hahahaha! Okay! Okay! I�m up, I�m up!� Chris breathed in between laughs. �Or I would be up if one would kindly remove herself. With that said, Chris pushed the girl off the cot.
�That wasn�t very nice,� she said in a teasing voice.
�Well, Leigh, you should have gotten off.� Leigh�s response to that was a childish act of sticking out one�s tongue.
�Well, I suppose it doesn�t matter. But you need to get up; your mom won�t like hearing that you were late to school again. You�ve already been late 7 times.� That being said, Leigh pulled the boy off of his cot and pushed him into the shower room, threw him a towel, and shut the door. �Make it quick, we have 15 minutes, and I�ll never speak to you again if you make me late.�
�You wouldn�t last a minute without me.�
�Whatever you say, Chris.� With the closing remarks said, Leigh made her way down the stairs. She decided to quicken the get to school process by making a lunch for him. Really, she thought to herself, he is too irresponsible. How would I be able to rely on him? But he is good looking�and smart�strong�cut that out! She reprimanded her conscience; we�ve been friends for too long�I don�t want to ruin that. �I better get this stuff done.�
Chris stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel. He tied it around himself and looked in the mirror. Nah, he said to himself, I could skip shaving today. He ran a hand through his tangled, shoulder length, brown hair. He decided that it was presentable and proceeded to his room. He rummaged through his closet until he found his favorite clothes, which were nothing more than some pants, a T-shirt, and his flannel over-shirt. He glanced at himself one more time in the mirror and picked up his belt with his sheath on it. He put it on and looked around his room for his sword. There it is! He thought as he found his short sword lying on his desk. He sheathed and hoped that he wouldn�t need it, though he wouldn�t be unwilling to use it if the need occur. Chris rushed down the stairs and grabbed his book bag off the table. �Hey, you ready to go?�
Leigh spun around with almost lightning speed, �Don�t scare me like that!� she scolded.
�You, scared?� Chris retorted, obvious trying very hard to restrain as much sarcasm as possible.
�Shush. Here�s some food, now let�s go,� Leigh said as she tossed him a paper bag and headed out the door with her books. Chris found it a little hard to keeps his eyes parallel to the ground. You�re just friends, stupid, nothing will ever EVER happen between you, he coldly told himself as he followed out the door�Ever.