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The golden streaks across the grass caused her to stumble a bit. She gave up straining her voice a while ago, no longer calling out to the runaway. Instead accepting the gently falling rain and rushing through the frozen mist. All this just to catch up to a string of distance barks. Stark's Pond collected droplets just as her pink coat did. Like a signature rip off to Esther Stoley’s- and like her name, Rainy, was to the weather.
The uncontrollable death grip she had on her pet's collar was uncomfortable. Merely rough velcro digging into her hands. If your thumb slipped just slightly, the overlap of battered thread and scuffed leather took away any form of beauty it once had. There was honestly a minor regret in ordering it from that original pamphlet. Rainy got the advertisement from Leslie, before the gun show. When the two would gossip during assemblies, somehow the topic of puppies came up. Leslie read Rainy so easily, openly, with a cold and dry scoff after a smile Rainy was sure was faked… Just so she could send over the money for the item. Yet that day, the girl in the pink coat had nothing better to do but follow behind. When the principal dismissed them, she didn't choke back the nervous urge to chew on her draw strings. The other glanced at her, but didn't say a word. A silent welcome, but there was still a question whether Leslie actually wanted her there. They looked like best friends to an outsider.
Nobody really noticed them when they got into the middle of the halls. Everybody around was too focused on a fight between Nelly and Besty. The second one that week. Many had the decency to step in, but Rainy decided to text the pamphlet over to the two of them. It so happened to contain the trends they were arguing over. And the next day, both of them ended up buying into it, questioning one another's authenticity. Leslie let Rainy share the profits. And they got ice cream afterwards. To an outsider, before Leslie got her head punched clean, there was something they could guess.
They were best friends.
Still drowning in the colder rain, she ran across the field between the pine trees and wild shrubs. At least, she what she thought was shrub-
A small voice whispered a “hey!” and Rainy stopped in her tracks. The two collided for a moment. Turning around, a girl in a heart long sleeve from her class looked slightly miffed. The one with straight brown hair, who was always dressed in a lot of pink… Her name was Magenta and she would often hang out with Muffy. Although she was never a popular kid, she would use a lot of hand gestures as she spoke.
“Do you come here often?” She asked, while the two shifted a bit backwards. “You smash into people often?...”
“Oh shit! I'm sorry-” Rainy tugged on one of her drawstrings and chewed on it, “-um… My dog, for God knows what reason, got off her leash…”
The other girl studied Rainy with a head tilt. Was it the nasally voice? Or maybe the busted collar she still had in her hand? “Yeah?” She ended up shrugging. “Pfft, it's up the hill where you can see the town.”
“Really, you saw her-”
“Yeah. Think it's waiting for somebody.” Magenta paused to catch some rain drops on her tongue, looking around at the dripping pine trees; disinterested. The rain was slowing. “I've been coming, well, up here so often.” Without an answer from Rainy, Magenta kept going. She waved her hands a little. “I zone out up on the hill, often. Is that relevant?”
“Could be to you… I'm not too sure…”
“The change is relevant.”
Such a basic answer… “Change?” Rainy replied, her voice slightly skewed by the drawstring.
“The view-” Magenta pointed proudly to the hill above them, with her long sleeve dripping rain water, “You'd think it's only different after SoDoSoPa, but I don't think so. I think the volcano used to be more visable. I think I used to be able to make the mall out a little better…”
“But my dog is up there?...”
“Pfft, it's not only up there, it's waiting for something,” she smiled, “bro, you're the owner, huh?”
Rainy stared briefly before saying anything, instead opting to nod as an answer before thinking aloud. “Why do you look at the townscape?...” She asked, with the only response being a shifting expression from Magenta. One that was hard to read. “Oh shit, was that a weird question?...”
“Not really,” Magenta scoffed, “I just wanna live with the new feelings in the town, I guess.”
The rain, with a small patch of sun starting to sneak in, filled in the blank stares they were sharing.
“Bye Rainy, I think you should go find your dog,” Magenta softly smiled, “see you in class.”
Just like that, the other walked away; soon hidden between the pine.
The uphill walk was only a little more tiring than the initial run. At the glance of the golden fur, Rainy couldn’t help but sprint. The sun was peaking out a lot better from the clouds as she crashed into the wet grass. It brushed softly against her, while her pet sniffed her face before kissing it. “Do a trick,” Rainy laughed, “roll over!” The dog did as she got up to finally put the collar on her.
It made the dog look a lot different with all the damage the collar had gone through… Like SoDoSoPa did below them. And the torn-up mall. All the new shops too, missing the ones that closed. South Park was never really the same, except for the sign and all that…
As the sweeter, more refreshing smell of after-rain and grass settled in, Rainy took in a deep breath. The dog kept pointing with her eyes at the town. Her fur once dried the tears that came with Leslie being gone.
Looking down upon those mountains and buildings and at the scuffed collar, it only made her wonder if everything was still in O.K…
Maybe she would be too.