Ava had come over at 6:00 am this morning to help me pack up all of my stuff. By the time that we had finished, it was 7:30 pm! I went over to Ava’s that night and we had a blast! We stayed up until 2:00 am. Then we went back to my house and my Aunt Alya was there. She and my dad had packed all of my things into her pickup truck. There was some blonde guy there too. He looked around my age. 

“Krys! You’ve gotten so tall since I’d last seen you!” She exclaimed as she ran over to hug me. 

“You must be Ava! Armando’s told me a lot about you. Said that you and Krys are inseparable. I’ll make sure that she calls you everyday.” She said to Ava. Then Aunt Alya gestered over to the guy I saw. “That’s your cousin, James. I adopted him last year. He’s in your grade too.” She looked at her watch. 

“Sorry guys. I gotta go and help your dad make lunch.” She said as she walked away. I looked around for James. He was sitting on the porch. I waved over to him. 

“Hi!” I said. He walked over to me and Ava. Dang, he was tall! He shook his hair out of his eyes and held out his hand. 

“‘Sup? Name’s James. ” He said. I cautiously took his hand and shook it. 

“Hi.” I said slowly. “My name’s Krys, and this is my best friend Ava.” I said. I looked over at Ava and she was frozen. James cleared his throat. 

“Oh! Sorry! I spaced out  for a minute.” She said as she shook his hand. He gave her a weird look. 

“Um, OK? So. . .” He trailed off and I heard a buzzing sound. He checked his phone. “Oh, I’ll be right back.” He said as he started walking away. I looked at Ava. She couldn’t stop grinning. 

“Ava? You OK? You’ve got that weird dorky grin and it looks like the one that Aaron gets whenever he sees me. . .” I trailed off. She was still staring at where James had been a minute ago. I waved my hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. 

“Ava? Hello! AVA!” I said. She snapped out of her daze. “Ava, are you OK?” I asked her again. She looked around for a minute. 

“Oh. My. Gosh. Your cousin is HOT!” She exclaimed. She sighed dreamily. Ugh! 

“Oh my gosh! Ava! You're such a dork!” I said as I shoved her. “He’s clearly outta your league.” I said laughing. “Ha ha, very funny! Maybe you’re just jealous!” She said grinning. 

“What? No! Ew!” I said. “You know that blondes aren’t my type!” I said. “And besides, he’s my cousin.” I said. 

“Girls! James! Time for lunch!” My dad said, calling us inside. 

“C’mon. Let’s go.” I said.

. . .

“OK. Now it’s time to say good-bye.” Aunt Alya said. I ran over to my dad and hugged him. 

“I love you, Dad.” I said. He hugged me back. 

“I love you too.” He said. “I wish that I didn’t have to send you away.” 

“I know, Dad. Me too” I said. Then I ran over to Ava and gave her a hug.

“I’ll miss you!” I said sniffing back tears. She sobbed.

“I’ll miss you too. You know it’s not really fair.” She said sadly.

“I know.” I said. I looked over at my Aunt Alya. “I’m ready to go now.” I said. 

“OK, Sweetheart. Get in the car.” She said. I got into the backseat and I waved to Ava and Dad until I couldn’t see them anymore. Then I pulled my phone and AirPods out of my pocket and turned on my music. I looked out the window. It was starting to rain.  It was going to be a long 2 ½ hours.