"Peter! The ball!?" Mr. Pevensie yells.
It was a sunny day, and there was really nothing to do, so they decided to play cricket in the backyard. The ball was thrown a little too far and got over the fence to the next house.
"What?" he asks. He didn't understand what they yelled at him
"The ball!" they all yell, pointing to the fence. When he finally understood, he runs outside to the next house.
He noticed a big moving truck outside the house. 'I guess we have new neighbors' he thought to himself. Then walks to the front door and knocks.
The door opened. A tall, slender girl with auburn hair and deep brown eyes stood in the door way. She was wearing a green jacket and a skirt that reached her knees.
"Hello. You must be our new neighbor. My name is Peter." He said, giving her a hand to shake. He suddenly felt awkward.
"Oh, hi. I'm Marielle." The girl said, pushing her long hair aside and shaking Peter's hand. She saw Peter's face grow red.
He almost forgot the reason he went there.
"Can I get my ball? It fell in your backyard and..."
"Oh sure! Come on in." she said, holding the door for him to enter the house.
He entered the house. It was filled with moving boxes; some opened and some closed, scattered on the floor.
"So, where'd you move from?" he asked, turning to her while walking. He smelled something cooking on the stove.
"I'm from Cambridge. My father got an internship here." She replied, leading him to the door of the backyard.
As they passed the kitchen, two boys were playing with paper airplanes. A man with dark hair was putting plates into a cupboard; just above the sink. When the man noticed them pass by, he said "Marielle?"
"Yeah dad?" she replied, showing her head in the kitchen door.
"Who's your new friend?" he asked, looking at Peter.
"Oh...This is Peter, our neighbor. He lives next door." She said, introducing him.
"Nice to meet you, Sir..." Peter said, coming closer.
"Lance. Call me Lance."
"Nice to meet you Lance, sir."
"Nice to meet you too, Peter. I guess we'll be seeing more of you around here." He said, laughing.
"Come on, let's get your ball." Marielle said, almost forgetting that Peter came there to get the ball.
"See you around." Called Lance, getting another bunch of plates.
After a few steps, Peter asked "So, if your dad's here, where's your mom?"
Marielle started to look thoughtful "She died when the boys were born."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Peter said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I'm alright. I got used to the idea." She replied, opening the backyard door.
Peter was a little blinded by the sunlight, getting used to the indoor darkness. He didn't notice that he stayed there an awfully long time.
"Can you help me look for it?" Peter asked Marielle.
"Oh sure." She said happily.
They looked for the ball and found it under a bush. Peter washed the ball that was covered with moist soil. Marielle just stood there, grinning.
Peter and Marielle walked to the front door.
"Well, I have to go." Peter said, his head looking to the ground.
"Um...I guess I'll see you around, huh?" Marielle asked, her face going pink, neither of them noticed it though.
"I...guess so...goodbye then." Peter said, his face looked at hers.
"Bye" she said, holding the door, ready to close it. She was smiling and giggling a bit.
Peter turned around and walked back to his house. He felt great. Then he remembered about the game they were playing and ran into the house.
Susan, Edmund and Lucy were sitting on the porch.
"What took you so long? Did aliens attack you while getting the ball?" he asked, annoyed with his brother. He loved to think about aliens and their unusual tracks left on earth. Susan and Lucy stood up and went to their places to play the game.
"No...and stop thinking of aliens. I went to our new neighbor's house and asked if I could get the ball. I forgot about the game." He said, handing the ball to his father.
"Ed, it's your turn to bat." Mr. Pevensie said, handing the bat to Edmund.
...meanwhile...
Marielle went back to the kitchen to help her father put away the dishes. The boys were still playing when she came back. She was still blushing when she got back to the kitchen; and her brothers noticed this.
"Marielle's got a boyfriend!" Alex declared, pointing to his sister. His brother Kevin looked at him and started to tease his sister. Lance noticed his daughter getting annoyed.
"Boys, stop it. I'm sure your sister finds him friendly; and he finds her friendly too.." Lance said, arranging the plates while Marielle handed him some more.
"But..." Kevin and Alex chorused.
"No buts. Now, go to your room and start unpacking your stuff." Lance said, a strict tone in the intonation of his voice. Marielle started to enjoy this.
Kevin and Alex started to grunt and murmur while going to their room. When they were alone, Lance asked "Do you like him? He seems to be a nice guy."
"Dad! Not you too!?" Marielle said, a little surprised about what her father just asked her.
"What? I noticed the way you were looking at him."
"I don't know. Maybe...maybe not. We'll see." She said, patting her hands on her skirt.
"Okay sweetie. Now can you help me with the cups?"