My grandmother ran her thumb over my cheek and smiled at me warmly, "You don't need to be upset, Davey, he'll come back." My eyebrows furrowed together and my fingers tightened around the glasses I held in my hands.

"I'm not upset." I mumbled in response, my voice quiet.

She smiled at me sadly and ran her hand through my hair, "Come on, let's get your stuff unpacked." And for the first time I walked into my new 'home', the place that would be my home for the next ten years.

At the time I didn't know how much moving to this small suburban neighbourhood would change my life. I didn't know how much I would grow to miss this place when I finally ended up leaving. Instead I felt a deep seated hatred for this place. Just looking at it made me upset.

I slipped the far too large shades onto my face, pushing them up my nose to secure them. I paused to look at myself in the hallway mirror. I looked silly, but I didn't dare remove them. Wearing them, I was pretty sure I could deal with the fact that I wouldn't see Bro again.

I couldn't help but mope. I was sad. So much in fact, that I was soon labelled the most upset seven year old on the street. No matter how much grandma tried to convince me that Bro would be back in a couple years, I didn't believe her. I would force her out of my room, yelling all the while. I would slam the door behind her and sit down against the door so she couldn't get back in.

Grandma always tried to make me feel better even though it never worked. She took me shopping with her, and would always buy me something from the shop, even though I didn't want to go. Grandma would bother me and try watching the TV shows with me. While I hummed along to Schoolhouse Rock! she tried to tell me how lucky I was that I got TV, let alone colour TV. It always took a while but she would give up and leave my room, and wouldn't call on me again until she had dinner ready.

Soon, it was August; nearly a month after Bro had left to go across the ocean. Grandma would try to talk to me about how I would be going to school in a couple weeks and I would get to meet all of the kids that lived in the area. I told her that all the kids that lived around here were dumb and that I didn't want to be their friends. She sent me to my room for using bad language.

"Davey, would you like to go to the park?" She asked one day. It was the first time she had offered to take me there. I didn't even know there was a park until then. Nonetheless…

"No."

"But you'd get to meet the kids you'll be going to school with."

"No." I repeated, reaching forward to hit the 'Volume Up' button on the TV.

Grandma sighed loudly and walked over, turning off the TV.

"Hey." I whined turning to her and pouting, my eyebrows furrowing together.

"Come on, get up, we're going to go to the park. I want to go for a walk as well." She said nudging my leg with her foot. I groaned and was tempted to just throw myself onto my bed and hide under the covers until she left. In the end I gave in.

I thought it wouldn't be that bad. But when we got to the park she told me to go out onto the playground while she sat on a bench watching. This was not walking. I almost threw a fit. I looked at her, my hands held in fists at my sides and my mouth in a tight line across my face. She shooed me away saying that all the other kids were having fun, but I just turned around and stared.

There were a lot of kids for such a little place. Grandma pushed my back and suddenly I was nervous. I turned to look at her, my eyes wide behind Bro's large sunglasses. She smiled warmly and I decided maybe it wouldn't hurt to go sit on the swing for a while.

I walked past the tire swings where a couple of black haired kids were spinning and swinging, it looked like it would make you dizzy. They were stupid and I hoped they fell down. I sat on the normal swing and started to pump my legs as I had seen on TV. I got the hang of it quickly enough and soon I was trying to see how high I could get.

Eventually, another person came and took the swing beside mine. A girl with blond hair, cut short and held in place with a headband. She didn't go very high. She just sort of stared at the ground with a frown on her face and moved a few inches back and forth. I stared at her for a while as I swung but she didn't notice.

After a little while Grandma came up with another lady. I slowed down to a stop and looked at the two of them with a cocked eyebrow. "Dave, I need to go home and start dinner. If you want to stay Ms. Lalonde would gladly look after you." She said motioning to the very tall lady she had walked up with.

This 'Ms. Lalonde' held her hand out to me and said, "It's nice to meet you Dave, your grandma told me about you." I stared at her hand for a while before taking it with my own and let her shake it firmly. The girl that had been sitting on the swing beside me let out a sigh. The adults looked over at her so I did as well. "Oh, you've already met my little Rosey." Ms. Lalonde said turning back to Dave with a smile.

"Not re-" I started quietly, but this 'Rosey' spoke up before I could finish what I was saying.

"Mother, I've told you not to call me that." She said before turning to me and holding out her hand just like her 'Mother' had. "My name is Rose, it's nice to meet you Dave." She said as I took her hand. Her shake was just as short and firm as her mom's.

"Nice to meet you Rose." I said quietly, even quieter than when I tried to talk to Ms. Lalonde. I turned back to my grandma after that, "I guess I can stay for a while longer…" I muttered just a little bit louder. She seemed deeply relieved and stepped forward.

"I'm glad to hear that." She kissed my forehead, "Just tell Ms. Lalonde when you're ready to come home. I love you."

"Love you too." I responded before she and Ms. Lalonde walked away again. I stared after them for a while before Rose spoke from my side.

"I'm sorry for my mother."

"It's okay." Then we both fell silent and we both went back to swinging slowly.

It felt like forever that we were quiet. "Want to go to the top of the tower." Rose said catching me off guard. She was pointing to the top of the jungle gym, to a small platform held higher than the rest of the playground. I nodded slowly and we both pushed our way off of the swings.

The park was less crowded now. Most of the kids were on the other side of the jungle gym, playing on the wide slide or on the rings or the tire bridge. Where we were headed was completely kid free.

We both stood at the bottom of the jungle gym and Rose spoke, "Most boys like to see if they can climb up the slide instead of using the ladder." She paused for a moment before looking at me. "I won't blame you if you want to try." She said before heading up the ladder herself. I looked at the slide and then the ladder. I wanted to try and climb up the slide like Rose had said but I didn't think my grandma would be very happy if I did that.

I took a step towards the ladder before I thought. Bro would use the slide. I stopped, turned and walked towards the slide. I stepped up onto the bottom and tried to see how far up I could walk. Not very far. I frowned as I slid down to the bottom again. Then I tried standing on the side of it and slowly shuffling my way to the top. Half way I got stuck and didn't know what to do because I kept hitting my head on the bottom.

I stepped onto the slide again right as someone came down. I didn't notice until he crashed into my legs and I collapsed on top of him and we slid down the rest of the way. I groaned in pain and glared at the offending kid. It was the black haired kid I had hoped would fall off the tire swing earlier. "What are you doing?" I asked in an angry voice.

He looked confused like he wasn't quite sure what had just happened. Then he looked up at me and smiled, "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He asked. I pushed myself up and jumped off the slide not taking my eyes off of him as he sat up with an 'oomph'.

"I'm fine." I mumbled.

"Dave?" Rose asked from the top of the slide. "What happened?" She asked looking concerned.

"I was knocked over by some kid." I muttered looking up at Rose for a moment before looking back to the goofy grinning kid that had knocked me over. I decided there that I was going to be mad at him.

"Dave? Your name's Dave?" The kid said jumping to his feet and taking a step towards me. He held out his hand but I didn't take it. So he took my hand by force and shook it like crazy. "My name's John. You talk funny. Are you from around here? Nanna says that people who talk funny aren't from around here." I pulled my hand away from his.

"Leave me alone." I stated, though it was harder than I thought it would be to stay angry.

"But I just want to be friends. I mean… I didn't mean to knock you over. You're supposed to go down slides, silly." He said with a laugh. I had nothing to say to that because he was right.

Rose came down the slide and sat on the edge of it. "Dave, are you going to come up?" She asked, somehow knowing that talking to this John kid was making me uncomfortable.

"Can I join you?" John asked with a smile. Rose and I looked to one another then back to John.

"We're playing a game and we don't need anyone else." I said sternly. John looked a little defeated.

"Oh okay." Someone called his name and he looked over his shoulder at the sharply dressed man who had called for him, "I have to go anyway… I'll see you later." He said with a wave before taking off. Rose and I stared after him for a while before we both decided to use the ladder to get to the top of the jungle gym.

We didn't play any games though. We just talked. Rose told me all about her mom and how she drinks a lot and she gets her things that she doesn't want and that her house is filled with wizards. I found her funny, she wasn't trying to be but she just used a lot of big words and it was funny.

I told her all about my apartment in Texas and how I had lived with Bro before he left to go see the world and left me to live here in Washington with my grandma. I told her that I didn't mind that much because I hadn't really gotten to spend much time with Bro even when we did live together and at least grandma bought me things and made sure I was happy. Rose didn't seem too pleased with my answer, but she didn't say anything else about it.

I ended up asking her about school. She said that she was going into Grade 2 as well, at the same school. I sort of hoped that I ended up in her class. She was really easy to talk to, even if she used big words. She told me it would be nice to be in my class. She wanted to see how I acted in a new school. I'm pretty sure that she liked me too, she just wouldn't admit it.

Rose's mom came up to us after a while and told us that we had to go home. We both groaned but did as we were told; going down the big curly slide I had tried to climb up earlier.

We both climbed into the back of the car and her mom drove me home. She and Rose both walked me up to the door and made sure I was safe in my house before leaving again. I waved goodbye, closed the door and ran to the window to watch the car drive away before I joined my grandma at the dinner table.

She was very happy to hear that Rose and I were friends even though I never said that we were. After dinner we both sat in the family room and grandma put on Pinocchio. She said it was Bro's favourite when he was my age. I had seen this movie before with Bro. I had been very young but I still remembered the songs and hummed along with them.

When the movie was over I could barely keep my eyes open so grandma ushered me upstairs and to my bedroom where she helped me change into my PJs and tucked me in.

I didn't go back to the park again before school started. I never asked to go and grandma never offered. I didn't really mind.

Rose came to visit once or twice. We talked more and more and she made me say things about myself that I would never say to my grandma. She asked if Bro was actually my brother and I didn't really know how to reply. I asked her if she had a dad. Again she countered by asking if I had a mom or a dad. I ended up telling her that Bro was sort of my dad and not really my brother and that I didn't really know my mom. She nodded as she said that she didn't really know her dad either because he and her mom broke up when her mom was pregnant with her. It was sad, but I knew how she felt, so I distracted her with some of the things I had brought from Texas.

She was very interested in Texas because she had never been there. Apparently she had lived in New York when she was really, really young but she didn't remember what the big city was like. Not like I did. I told her how it was hotter than here in Washington and there was always noise because I lived right next to a busy street in the middle of the city.

We both agreed that Washington was nice though. Neither of us really liked all the rain, but it was quiet. I thought it was really cold, and Rose thought I was weird because it was really hot this summer. I stuck my tongue out at her and moved to show her the sword Bro had given me for my 7th birthday.

Rose then called me a few days before school started and told me what class she was in. I was very upset to learn that Rose would not be in my class this year. We both agreed that we would spend time together at recess and at lunch. I hadn't been this angry and nervous since I had first come here. I didn't want to be alone at school and I really didn't know anyone but Rose.

Grandma told me I would be fine and she was sure that I would be one of the most popular kids at school. This didn't make me feel any better so she tried to cheer me up by telling me stories about Bro when he was in school and how he used to goof off and make jokes with all his classmates. She also told me that Bro had never really brought any friends over from school. She said that he had only had four friends that used to come and hang out at the house. She also said that three of them still lived around here and had kids of their own around Dave's age. She let slip that one of these friends was Rose's mom and I couldn't help but giggle a little bit because that was really cool. I decided that would be the first thing I asked Rose about when we went to school in two days.