“Hey! I have Maddie with me!” Mot jiggled the door handle of his room.

“Boohoo, you’re trapped with a girl. Get over it.” Eric laughed as two pairs of footsteps moved away from the other side of the door.

“We’re locked in?” I checked, confused yet alarmed. “Why would your brother lock you in your room?”

Mot ran a hand through his hair. “He does this sometimes. He doesn’t like me ruining his dates.” Mot shot me a wicked grin. “Want to see something funny?”

I found myself smiling, still unsure about the whole thing. “Sure.”

Mot opened his window and climbed out. That wasn’t any great feat being on ground level, but it felt like we were being sneaky, breaking some unspoken rule. I followed him, giddy to sweep such notions from my mind for the promise of seeing what Mot was up to.

He ducked down and crept along the wall, ignoring the elf woman sitting on her porch facing us. I caught her eye and she winked at me, smirking like she knew exactly what was going on.

Mot swirled his hand around until water came out of his flask. He paused underneath the next window over and put his finger to his lips for me to be quiet. I nodded and he slowly peeked over the edge of the window.

He cracked it open and beckoned me over. I joined him, peeking in as the water slipped inside.

Eric and his girlfriend were making out on his bed. My hands flew to my face, but I didn’t cover my eyes as the water slunk up above them. I held my breath in anticipation.

The water doused them in one fluid drop that splashed up to hit them a second time. The girl let out a shrill shriek as Eric moved her aside to glare right at us.

Mot cackled, not running like I expected him to. He fell onto his back, clutching his stomach and laughing as Eric stormed up to the window. I backpedaled, afraid of repercussion. Why wasn’t Mot booking it away?

Eric shoved the window closed before wood covered it like a curtain.

“Aren’t you going to get in trouble?” I asked as Mot sat back on the grass, satisfied.

“Maybe. Eric will probably trip me with a root or something. No big deal. Don’t you and Theo play pranks on each other?”

“Not really. Nothing like this,” I said.

“Makes sense. You’re too nice to want to upset Theo.” Mot jumped to his feet and meandered back the way we came. “And Theo loves you too much to want to mess with you.”

“Do you and your brother not get along? I thought you did.”

“We do. We just have another way of showing we care.” Mot grinned at me. I wondered if he would pull pranks on his girlfriend, when he got one.

I frowned. Not liking the idea of some stranger taking the place at his side and drawing him away from me.

***

At thirteen years old I woke to Theo shouting, “Happy Birthday!”

I took my pillow from under my head and brought it up to cover my ears as he sang a happy birthday song.

He plucked the pillow from me and tugged me into a sitting position. “Come on! Up we go!” He lifted me out of bed and carried me to the kitchen table where he set me in my chair.

I blinked blearily and yawned, wishing for more sleep. I slumped my head onto my arms resting on the table and closed my eyes.

“Hey, hey! None of that.” Theo poked my side and I heard a dish get placed by me. “Today is a big day and I have it all planned out.”

“I told you to let her sleep more,” Mother censured him lightly. Her hand patted my head. “Happy thirteenth birthday. I love you.”

I raised my head and yawned again. “Can’t I sleep in on my birthday?”

“Not on my watch.” Theo slid the plate of a pancake, eggs, and bacon in front of me. “Eat up and get ready to go. We need to get going before he shows up and messes up our plans.”

“You mean your plans,” I said pointedly.

A knock on the door sounded and Theo looked about frantically as if where to hide me.

“Come in,” Mom called.

The front door opened as Dad came out of my parent’s bedroom.

Theo frowned as Mot entered holding something behind his back.

“You’re here absurdly early,” Theo stated.

I sat up and wished I had had the chance to freshen up a bit before he came. Mot didn’t eye me like I was some dirty ragamuffin. He looked at me like he did any other time, happy and smiling.

He pulled out a bouquet of wild flowers and a smile stretched across my face as I came around the table to receive them.

“Thank you. They’re beautiful.” I inhaled the sweet scents.

“Happy birthday Muddie,” he used my nickname that he thought was funny. Moss and Muddie.

“Happy, happy birthday!” Dad chimed in, also hiding something behind his back.

Mom cheerily hurried over beside him and they both grinned as he revealed my gift.

“A book!” I took the precious commodity as my face scrunched, almost tearing over the heartwarming moment.

“It’s an old book your grandma didn’t want anymore. Thank her next time we visit,” Dad said.

I didn’t care that it was used. It was my first book. It was more precious than anything.

“You have to eat and get ready to go for my present,” Theo said, not as grumpy as he had been at Mot’s entrance. Over time he begrudgingly accepted the elf’s place in my life.

I hurried to put the book in my room on my nightstand and Mom retrieved a vase that Mot filled himself with water from the flask he carried around specifically for magic purposes.

“Why are you here so early?” Theo asked Mot again while I ate.

“To celebrate Muddie’s birthday. I heard that you planned a full day excursion so I had to get in on it.”

“It’s Maddie. Maddie,” Theo reiterated.

“It’s fine.” I waved his insistence away.

“Have you eaten yet?” Mother checked as she dished up another plate.

“Just some berries,” Mot said.

Mom set the plate down and scooted the chair by him out. “Then eat. Breakfast is important.”

Theo got the next plate. Then Dad and finally Mom.

“Thank you for the delicious breakfast,” I thanked her.

“Yeah, it’s great. Thank you,” Mot seconded.

“You’re welcome. Theo helped me cook it,” Mom said.

Theo bit his lower lip and his gaze slid to the side away from us.

“Good job. The bacon isn’t even burnt,” I said in encouragement.

“Of course it isn’t,” he blundered, but he had helped cook with his fire gift before and ended up with varying results.

The next people to arrive was Francesca and Penelope.

Mother paused her meal to quickly hop back up to cook two more pancakes.

“Happy birthday!” they sang in unison. Francesca handed me a folded note and a nice hat that I didn’t know when I would wear. It was floppy around the edges and had a green ribbon around it.

Penelope gave me a small pile of papers tied together by twine that didn’t have a cover. I loved it, my first notebook. I had “practiced” learning to write by using a stick and dirt. I didn’t have a quill and ink, but this was a step towards that. If I received an allowance, I would save up for one, but we didn’t get pocket change except for special circumstances like to get a bite to eat in town.

“Thank you both so much!” I went to open the note, but Francesca shook her head vehemently.

“Read it later, okay?” she said.

“All right. Thank you again. This means a lot.” I tucked the note away.

Francesca gave Mot a sly smile. “I’m glad you made it.”

Theo frowned at her. “You told him?”

“Of course. It’s only right for him to be here.” She took the seat by Mot while I, finished eating, vacated my spot for Penelope.

I left to get dressed and wore the hat Francesca had gifted me. I hoped it looked good.

I unfolded the note and gaped at its contents.

Flustered, I crumpled the scrap of paper and tossed it in a drawer of my dresser for now.

Francesca gave me a smirk and wink upon my return, to which I gave a small shake of my head and a tense mouth between a smile and grimace. Her eyes narrowed as her smirk broadened and I panicked internally.

“Hey Mot, doesn’t Maddie look beautiful today?” Francesca said, enjoying this.

I felt my cheeks light on fire.

“She looks beautiful every day,” he answered and I wanted to seep into the floor. Suddenly I felt ill, and opened my mouth to make an excuse to get out of whatever plans awaited. I met Theo’s gaze and shut my mouth. Theo being around meant nothing would happen. He would not let it. I had nothing to fear of Francesca’s romantic matching aspiration.

“Aren’t you sweet,” Mother responded for me as she delivered two more plates of food. They must have planned for extra mouths to feed because there were hardly ever leftovers.

“The ribbon matches your eyes,” Mot noted. Dad gave Mot a suspicious glance.

My hand went up to my hat as new emotions swirled inside me. What did I do about them? It was all Francesca’s fault.

But was it? I had to admit to some butterflies in my stomach when he had handed me flowers. But those had been easy to ignore. Not now though that Francesca had put such an idea into my mind.