They went down stairs together, Ahnali called out to her mom, “Hey I’m leaving!” her mom called back from the kitchen.

“Alright, remember to keep me posted and don’t go out past 7 without her parents.”

“Got it, Bye!” she led Rain past the entryway towards an office room. She knocked and popped her head around the door frame, “Mr. Peter?” the man looked up from his work, “could you please take me over to Claire’s house?”

The man smiled “Haha, Claire? Is this an approved trip?” She smiled back at him brightly.

“Absolutely, I have my mother’s seal of approval and everything, wanna see?” he shook his head,

“That’s ok little one, I’ll take your word on it.” He stood up from his desk “just give me a second to bring the car around.” he went through a door at the back of the room. Ahnali led Rain to the entryway and out the front door. She stopped just outside but Rain kept walking. Both of them were startled by the small tug on their arms. Ahnali had instinctively stopped under the archway to avoid the rain, while he instinctively wanted to be in the rain. They couldn’t help but laugh but their joy was quickly stopped as the car approached.

“I’ll get in first, you follow and quickly close the door, that way I can be sure you’re in.” She saw his silhouette nodding.

The car came to a stop. She dashed out into the rain, expecting the cold drops but nothing touched her. Even still she didn’t slow, it wouldn’t seem natural if she had. She swung open the door and jumped in, letting go of Rain’s hand to make it easier for him to climb in. She saw that the divider was up and sighed with relief. The door shut and Peter began to drive off. “So, how is it to be in a car?”

“Very...cramped...but not bad...though it’s weird to move without doing anything.” She laughed, his response was so innocent. It was only a 15 minute drive but they had a good time talking together. She felt the car stop and quickly told Rain some more rules.

“No more talking, you get out first, I’ll have to let you into her house by the window, it might be a bit cause I’ll have to prep her for this. If you change your mind about meeting her, just tap my hand twice when I open the window, I’ll tell her I was kidding or something. And…” he cut her off by placing a finger on her lips.

“I get it, I’ll be fine.” he whispered. Just then Peter lowered the divider catching their attention.

“We’re here little one.” she looked up at him with a big smile.

“Ok, I’ll send her a text so I won’t have to stand in the rain.” She shot a quick message and waited. The front door opened and Claire shouted out with her hands cupped around her mouth like a megaphone.

“Hey! Get your butt in here!” Ahnali nudged Rain, who in turn opened the door and climbed out. She watched his silhouette disappear into the sky. She slid out and shut the door, pretending to run from the rain, even though not a single drop touched her. She made it to the door and hugged Claire, waving back at Peter as they closed the door.

Claire was about to start talking but Ahnali stopped her. “First let me text the warden, then we order food, after we go to your room, and then I’ll talk.” Claire smiled smugly.

“How is it you know me so well?...Fine, as you command Royal Ahnali.” She bowed down and Ahnali smacked her arm playfully. Ahnali sent the text to her mother and went up to Claire’s room. Claire jumped on her laptop “I’m thinking a pizza with soda, bread sticks, and cinnamon sticks!”

“That’s a lot of food...better make it 2 large pizzas, one Downtown, one Veggie...minus the onions!”

“One large pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and black olive pizza. One Veggie minus onions, one medium bread sticks, one medium cinnamon sticks, a 2L bottle of...what soda do you want?” Ahnali scratched her head playfully.

“Better make it a surprise.” Claire smiled sneakily at her as she replied.

“Ok, the worst soda it is!” Ahnali rolled her eyes playfully. Claire tapped around a bit then turned to Ahnali. “So, are we puppy eyeing my parents or ‘daddy won’t notice’ with your parents?” Ahnali took out her card and tossed it over to Claire.

“Even if he notices, he’ll do something to deserve it,” she said bitterly. Claire finished typing in the order then eagerly turned to Ahnali.