Gigi Dreams

It was Wednesday, the day Gigi was supposed to go out to Mr. Muffin’s Marvelous Merchandise Market to fetch some milk, chicken, and vanilla ice cream to go along with the peach cobbler that Mrs.LucridMclacral was making-- the usual Wednesday dinner and dessert. She looked forward to it.

On the short cut that she had never taken before to go to Mr. Muffin’s Marvelous Merchandise Market, she saw Edmund, the rich brat of Acorn Street (Mr. Muffin’s boy).

“Hello orphan girl.” He sneered.

“Good day Edmund,” Gigi said, looking down.

“Are you heading to my father’s Marvelous Market?” he said, taking a step forward, onto the narrow dirt path.

“Yes, I am,” she said, perking up a bit.

“Bet you can’t afford a nickel’s worth of candy.” Edmund was getting aggressive.

Gigi made a face. “Well, I happen to be getting five pound’s worth of gumdrops for my family to have and pack in their lunches for the rest of the week,” she lied.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll be waiting right here for you on your way back so I can see it for myself, and, maybe have a bit myself,” he then grinned rather stupidly and wrinkled his brow, as if he was trying to think.

“Okay then, that sounds good.” She mumbled, realizing their conversation was over.

‘Drat,’ she thought, ‘what have I done?’

On her way back, Gigi had forgotten all about her arranged meeting with Edmund The Bratty One. She was just looking forward to getting out of the cold, misty evening weather.

“Ha!” she exclaimed triumphantly as she accidentally stepped into a mud puddle in her yellow rain boots with turquoise polka dots. She’d remembered to wear them that time.

A few 10 paces later, Gigi bumped into something big while admiring her boots that Lenny, her best friend, had gotten her.

‘What did I just bump?’ she thought.

Then suddenly, Gigi remembered Edmund. She looked up, and to her horror, she saw not just him, but all his other short, over-stuffed rich friends. They surrounded her.

“What’s going on?” She said quietly, in her most civilized and calm voice.

“You tell me,” said Edmund, his breath white and visible even though it wasn’t that cold out, “Now, where are the gum drops, Gigi? Or did you lie to me?”

‘Oh no. I knew it! What goes around comes around. I shouldn’t have lied!’ she thought, backing away, only to bump into the other one of the heavy-set boys.

Edmund! That un-trustworthy rat had set her up. She felt very stupid, now recalling when Thomas, another orphan she lived with, once came back with a black eye from the rich acorn boys. Thereafter, Mom and Pop (Mr. And Mrs. LucridMclacril) told us all to stay away from Edmund and his gang and not to say a word to any one of the brats.

“’Ave you got the pound’s worth of gumdrops?” said Edmund in a horrible mock of a woman’s voice again. No answer. “Huh??” Again, Gigi said nothing. “Awwww,” He laughed, “looks like she’s too stunned by my awesomeness to say a thing more.” The gang snickered along with him like slippery snakes that were trying to laugh but it came out sounding like a pig that got mixed with a bear that was burping.

“Please, leave me alone!” she cried as they circled in. Her grocery bags were dropped on the ground. There was kicking, and that was Gigi, defending herself from the fiends trying to hurt her for no apparent reason.

A sheriff riding a horse almost caught the boys in their act, so they scattered, leaving Gigi upset and surprised in mid-kick position.

“That’s the last time I’m taking the short cut,” she said out loud to herself.

As she was picking up the bags, she noticed a ring made of sterling silver with a little clear white gem in the center sticking half way out of the ground. She picked it up, brushed off the dirt, and put it on her pointing finger. It fit perfectly. Satisfied with her finding, she smiled and skipped, heavy bags in hand, all the way home. ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ she thought.

But what she didn’t notice was that in the very center of that clear, white diamond, there was the smallest black dot imaginable. It was no stain.