A few weeks later, it was mid-October. More leaves were turning and I would kick them up as I walked along. Damien was out raking them and there was a massive pile. So I did my duty as a teenager to take a running start and launch into the mountain of multicolored flora. Damien wasn't happy with me, that's for sure, but he knew I meant well. At least I think he did. I couldn't really tell over his old man yelling as I ran away laughing. As I walked down the street, I took notice of the pumpkins on people's porches; some painted, some carved. It was really getting me in the fall mood. My walk took me to the park, where kids were soaking in the last bit of sun they'd get for a few months. I walked over to the skatepark section and almost walked straight into Jace and Lance, who were sitting on their boards waiting for their turn.

"Hey, Bea!" Lance remarked, reminding me that this was probably the first time I had seen him without Abby latched to his hip.

"Yo" Jace inserted, waving his hand but not looking back at me.

I popped down next to Lance since he seemed more likely to talk. "Whatcha guys up to?" I asked, swinging my legs down into the bowl.

"These guys have been here forever. We're waiting nicely but..."

"They're taking forever!" Jace snapped, waving side to side on his skateboard. I hastily looked over to see if they had heard us. They did. I turned away from them, beet red.

"A-ah, I see," I said, trying not to make eye contact with the guys.

"So what are you doing here?" Lance asked, placing his hands on the ground so he wouldn't roll into me.

"What?"

"I mean, you don't seem like the type to go to the park by yourself, nevertheless skate." He had a fair point.

I pulled slightly on my braids, some of the blond hair falling loose. "Oh well, everyone's gotta get some vitamin D now and again, you know? And I busted a giant leaf pile my butler was working on and had to make a swift exit..."

Lance burst out laughing, and I even saw Jace crack a smile at my autumn shenanigans. "Dude, you're a leaf pile murder! A fall femme fatale" I felt even more embarrassed than I already was. How can they talk so casually? I've only been friends with them for a few weeks...

"'A fall femme fatale'? Really? Lance, you can do better than that."

"Look dude, it's hard to find words that describe someone murdering a pile of leaves, ok?"

"Shouldn't you know these things? I thought you wanted to write."

That piqued my interest. "Of course I do, but that doesn't mean I'm always coming up with synonyms and comparisons. That's not how-"

"You want to be a writer?" I piped up, startling them. It seems they had forgotten about me. "That's so cool."

Lance blushed slightly, the red color contrasting his dark brown skin. "Really? Nah. It's just something I like doing. It's not that cool."

"Clearly it is if you want to do it for a living. I can't write to save my life, so good for you." My smile was genuine, but I could see a deathly intense glare coming from Jace that scared me out of it. What was his deal? Suddenly the guys who had been occupying the bowl finished up and left, leaving it open for the two guys.

"Well, the bowl is ours now so we're going to skate. See ya Bea" Jace quickly said before hopping up and diving in.

He shrugged. "Sorry for Jace today, I have no clue what's going on with him."

"No worries, I'm used to it," I said, waving my hands dismissively.

"You shouldn't be. Not anymore," he said, smiling at me. "Later, Bea." With that, he dropped in to join his friend and I was left alone. I got up and started heading back to the main entrance. I heard crying and part of me wanted to ignore it because it's a park, kids cry all the time, but something was dragging me towards it. I followed the sound until I came across a little girl who couldn't have been more than 5 huddled next to a bench, crying.

"Hey, little one. What's wrong?" I asked, lightly tapping her shoulder. She looked up at me, tears staining her dark freckled face. A weird hit of deja vu hit me, but from the viewpoint of the little girl. No wonder I had been drawn to her-

She sniffed back her runny nose, trying to fight the tears. "I- I can't find m-mommy" she whined, green eyes gray and cloudy from the water. I crouched down to her level.

"I'll help you look for your mom, ok?" She nodded her head, still crying though not as much, and we stood up. She took my hand, though it took her a second. I had forgotten just how tall I was compared to her. Together we searched the entire play area and even wandered over to the dog park before a faint yelling was heard from the distance. The girl lit up as we turned and saw two older women running towards us; one closer to my age and one that looked like the other's mom. "Mommy!" she squeaked before letting go of my hand and running towards the older women.

"Oh Reyla" she cried, hugging her tightly. The one closest to my age looked relieved. She noticed me and came over, a look of gratitude on her face.

"Were you helping my sister find us?" she said, her brown skin radiating pink, slight tears in the corner of her eyes.

"A-ah yeah, I was. I found her by the skateboarding area." I started pulling on my braids.

"Thank you so much! My mom and I were looking everywhere for her! I'm Sara" she said, extending a chubby hand towards me. I awkwardly took it out of obligation but was startled when she grabbed my hand with her other one and vigorously started shaking it. "Thank you again, really! Reyla always has a habit of getting-"

"Sara, sweetheart, you're scaring the girl," her mom said, causing the girl in front of me to realize what she was actually doing.

"Oops, sorry" she chuckled, letting go of my hand swiftly. I simply smiled back. "Anyway, how can we repay you?"

"Repay me? There's no nee-"

"Please, allow us to thank you for finding my daughter" her mother cut me off. "Why don't you come over for some cake?"

I blinked at them for a moment, stunned. How can they be so friendly to a girl they just met. For all they know, I could have actually been kidnapping Reyla I thought to myself. Not wanting to be rude, however, I accepted their invitation, and the four of us made our way out of the park.

About five minutes later, we arrived at a large, pale orange house. There were toys scattered all over the lawn and three bikes propped up against the garage; one substantially larger than the others. They led me into the big living room which was also scattered with toys and randomness. I was told to sit on one of the couches and wait with Reyla while the older duo went and grabbed the cake. I looked around the room more in the process. There were thin polka dot curtains draped over the huge windows, a pretty big tv above the grey fireplace, and a completely empty toy bin. "Mommy runs a daycare on weekdays" Reyla piped up, seemingly knowing what I was asking myself. "Everyone always asks."

"I see. Then shouldn't the toys be put away because it's the weekend?" I ask her, trying not to sound too adult in my phrasing.

"No, because me and sissy play with them all days," she said, smiling. I tried to imagine Sara playing with the little Duplo car track near the end of the carpet.

"She means our younger sister" Sara replied, entering the room with two plates of cake and a bowl of fruit. She set the bowl down in front of Reyla.

"Why can't I have cake?"

"Only good girls who don't run away get cake" she responded, handing one to me and keeping the other for herself. The younger girl ran off stubbornly, fruit bowl in hand. Turning to me, she continued. "My mom has to go deal with my other sister, so she won't be down for a while. Enjoy!"

"Thank you," I said, looking down at the cake with a slight smile. "Reyla mentioned your mom runs a daycare?"

"Oh, yeah. She does it so she can watch out for our little sister and still make money." She took a piece of the spongy angel food cake and ate it happily. "My youngest sister Amity has some medical issues, so she has to stay at home. Because of that, so does my mom."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." I silently ate my cake. That made it kinda awkward, at least in my eyes. Who just casually brings up that their sister is super ill? Well, I guess if it's a normal thing then it just becomes second nature to talk about. I decided to change the subject. "So, what school do you go to? I haven't seen you around?" I barely see anyone, what am I saying?

"Rainvilla. I go to Rainvilla High School" she responded. That piqued my interest.

"Oh! So do I. What a coincidence." Why would it be a coincidence? We live in the same neighborhood... "I've never seen you in any classes." How has she not recognized me and gotten me mixed up with Amber? Who is this girl?

She scratched the back of her head sheepishly, her fingers getting caught in her short brown hair. "Well, I'm a junior. You seem older than me so, it figures that you wouldn't see me in any classes." She continued rambling. "I also don't get out of the computer science room much and if I do it's to go to the gym for dance practice. Also also, I just don't seem to be noticed by pretty girls like you anyway. You and... Oh! Wait you're Bea Butterville, Amber Butterville's sister!"

I let my fork drop to the plate. How did she know I wasn't Amber? "How did you..."

"I've seen you hang out with Abby Brooks and her friends lately. I know Amber doesn't like them, and you always wear your hair in braids! I'm surprised I didn't get it till now. You guys are so pretty, I'm surprised it didn't click faster. Now I'm disappointed in myself."

"Ah! Don't be! I'm not very popular, so don't feel down that I didn't ring a bell. Really!"

She blushed slightly. "O-ok. Thanks. That makes me feel a little better."

"Sure thing."

"You seem so nice, I don't know why you're not more popular than Amber. She's kinda rude..."

I audibly laughed at that. "Yeah, no kidding. I just don't like socializing, I guess."

"But you're socializing right now?"

"Ah-" I blushed anxiously. She got me there. This whole situation had been thrust upon me and I was dealing with it. I mean, I was screaming inside, but at least I was acting like an adult and not an anxious ball of weirdness. Maybe I was learning from my interactions with Kahoni and the others? Hmm, this would need further research.

She laughed, smiling all the while. "You're cute when you're flustered," she remarked, making me even more embarrassed.

"C-cute?"

"Sure, why not? I think you're actually really cute! Oh, but the prize for cutest girl goes to Abby Brooks for sure!" She blushed harder and closed her eyes, swaying back and forth, daring her cake to fall to the floor.

"You like Abby?" I asked, snapping her out of her trance. Her happy blush seemed to turn to that of embarrassment.

"Ahaha... shoot. Um, yeah, to answer your question. I really like Abby, but she has a boyfriend. She's actually the reason I joined the dance team."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. But I haven't been able to get close to her since her boyfriend's been around. But she's super pretty and funny, and she's a great dancer and ahhh she's so cute!" She fluttered her feet in excitement. I kept my eyes on her cake once more as it dangled precariously on her knees.

I turned my attention back to her eye level, even if she couldn't see me due to her crush-like trance. "You're so open about that sort of thing" I state, bringing her back to reality. She turned almost scarily serious.

"Oh absolutely. I'm about as gay as a girl could be. My mom always taught me to be open about these things, even if it made others dislike me."

"And has that happened?"

She looks at her cake solemnly and picks at it with her fork. "Oh yeah, loads of times. Girls wouldn't invite me over for sleepovers once they found out 'cuz they thought I was I would attack them or something like that. And don't even start about locker rooms. Regardless, I try and enjoy life and be as Me as I possibly can be."

I stared at her for a moment, mouth wide. "Wow, that's really noble of you" I commended, earning a bashful look from the girl opposite me.

"It's really not much."

"Well as someone who keeps everything hidden, I commend you." I ceremoniously raised my half-eaten cake slice into the air like a toast. She laughed and followed suit, then we ate the rest of our cake. Her mom finally came down the stairs.

"I hear laughter. That's a good sign!" she said, collecting our plates from the coffee table.

"Hey mom, how's Amity?"

For a moment I see a look of sadness on her face. I can only imagine what having a sick child would feel like to a normal parent. She forces a smile when she remembers I'm there. "Oh, she's just resting. She played with Reyla today so she's all tired."

"I'm sorry about Amity, ma'am" I interject, and she just flashes that same forced happiness in my direction.

"It's okay".

There's silence for a moment, but it's a long and awkward one. I bite my lip anxiously. There's this weird tension in the air between the three of us. It felt like gravity had been switched to heavier on us. I could see by the look on her face that Sara had noticed it as well. She cleared her throat, saying louder than normal "Well after that cake I could use a drink!" Clearly, she was trying to move her mom off the topic. In a twist to me, it actually worked, and Her mom offered me a glass of water or juice. I declined them all.

"Sorry, ma'am. As much as I would love to stay for a drink, I should be getting home. I originally only left because I became a fall femme fatale and was desperate to escape." Realizing what I had said, I instantly blushed.

"A what?" The mom asked, rightfully confused.

"I-um... I blew up a leaf pile the butler was working on..." The two laughed and I was happy to see them both out of the dreary mood they had fallen under.

"That's fantastic" Sara replied in between laughs. "I'll see you at school, k?"

I nodded, butterflies in my stomach. I was about to leave but without thinking I spat out, "wanna eat lunch with us tomorrow? Abby will be there!" My face was the color of a tomato, head spinning like a planet in orbit. It seemed like I had caught her off guard. Soon her face had gone a similar shade of red, the hue contrasting brightly against her dark skin. All she could do was nod vigorously. If she did say something, I didn't hear it because I then proceeded to squeak "okay cool bye" and zip out the door without a second thought. I definitely had enough of my crazy mind that day. I walked home with my theoretical tail between my legs, film reels replaying the day's events over and over in my head. It had only been about two hours since I had dipped home yet so much had happened.

I walked into the front yard to see Damien finishing up the leaf pile again. It was even bigger, and despite my temptation to dive headfirst into it, I didn't feel like any more spontaneous adventures. Apparently, neither did he, as he gave me that "I'm watching you" hand gesture. I put my hands in the air and walked inside, hopefully putting the events that transpired the previous few hours to rest. At least for a little while.