Dekka had definitely noticed Edilio and Roger. The way they had acted around each other, and looked at each other. She wasn't going to say it flat out to Edilio, though, she was wiser than that. If he wasn't already sure, it'd scare him. It'd scared her when somebody had asked her if she was gay before she knew, though Edilio being any other sexuality that included him liking boys was a possibility. She wanted to help him the best she could.

Edilio obviously needed someone to talk to, though, and she just planned to be that person. She considered them friends, and wanted to help him out with something she knew quite a bit about. And besides, it'd help her get her mind off Brianna.

Edilio had tried to get himself out of talking to her by saying he had to have Jezzie show him something, so Dekka had told him that she'd come with him. When it became apparent that he was actually telling the truth, she said she'd go with him. He'd led her to their rendezvous point on the dock, where Sam and Jezzie stood. Sam did not look thrilled; his hair was still messy and untamed, and he wore an expression of irritation. Not that that was too abnormal for Sam, lately. Ever since Astrid had left, he'd always been grumpy and never satisfied with anything.

"Come on, guys!" Jezzie exclaimed. She grabbed Sam's arm and tried to pull him with her, but he swatted her shoulder and she dropped his hand, looking unfazed.

"What's this about?" Dekka inquired.

Edilio shrugged, paying more attention to his drenched shirt, as Sam said in his morning voice, "Probably something pointless."

"It's not pointless," Jezzie insisted, looking irritated. "Just — just look. Come on."

She led them away from the docks and toward the northern edge of the barrier, near the lake, without another word. Occasionally she would glance back at them to make sure they were still following her.

Edilio had managed to avoid Dekka by starting up conversation with Sam about an idea of his for the septic system. He would throw her anxious glances every once in awhile, but never made eye contact.

"You win this round," Dekka muttered.

"Look!" Jezzie shouted. She pointed to what looked like a garden patch, where Sinder, recognizable by her dark attire, was tending the plants. Orc sat nearby on a boulder next to the patch, reading a book.

Sinder looked up at the sound of Jezzie's voice, and her face lit up. She finished what she was doing and went to meet them at the edge of the garden. It was about four yards on each side, square, and was outlined by an outline in the dirt. Part of the space was unprofessionally tilled. Only about a fourth of square had plants growing.

"Tell them," Jezzie said to Sinder, bounding over to her side.

Sinder looked at them, making sure they were paying attention. "Okay. So," she started, "I have a power."

Dekka raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"What is it?" Edilio asked.

"It's like a green thumb power," she said. When she received incomprehensible stares as replies, she went on to explain. "I make plants grow. Fast. Not, like, immediately, but accelerated. I can grow food for the lake!"

The audience of three observed the garden.

"This is really good, actually," Edilio marveled.

Sinder and Jezzie beamed.

Sam nodded in agreement. "Cool. What kind of plants do you have here?"

Sinder and Jezzie went on to tell them about the garden's current state and their plans for the future. Dekka caught some of it, but mostly she was thinking about other things. Like Edilio and Roger. Like Brianna.

No, not Brianna.

She looked behind her at the lake. A figure was standing at the edge of the docks, waving their arms in the air to two other people. Brianna.

Dekka sighed. She had bigger problems than a smartass preteen girl and her friend's sexuality.

Didn't she?

Dekka would not relent. All day she pestered Edilio, waiting for him to finish tasks, finding excuses to talk to him. As he finished his work for the day, he sent one of his soldiers out to scout out the area for Dekka.

"What? Why?" she'd asked.

"I'm avoiding her," Edilio said. "Don't ask why. Please."

The soldier rolled her eyes and stepped outside to look for Dekka. She scanned the area, then gave Edilio an all-clear sign.

"Thank you," Edilio muttered as he walked past her out of the dock's office.

The false sun was setting beneath the fake sky, and the sunset was reflected on the lazy waves of the lake. Most kids were returning to their living places now, so the docks were slowly emptying. Edilio spotted Brianna sitting on the edge of a dock, swinging her legs with her super-speed over the side, creating a small cloud of mist, while Computer Jack sat next to her, reading something that looked like a comic. He almost said hi to them, but before he did, Jack leaned over to show Brianna something in his comic.

"He has super-speed, too," he said, pointing at a page.

Brianna peered over at the comic. "I have a better name."

Edilio turned to walk to the White Houseboat, where him, Sam, Dekka, Mohammed, and three other kids who were a part of the lake's government lived. Hopefully Dekka wouldn't be in there. Maybe he should send someone in to check. No, he'd done that too many times already….

He decided just to hope for the best, since he couldn't avoid her forever, anyway.

He walked past a boy exiting a houseboat, saying goodbye to its occupants. Edilio glanced over at him, and then stopped dead in his tracks. It was Roger, again. Oh, god, what should he do? Should he say hi? The last time he'd encountered him he had spilled water on him…. What if he messed something up again?

And why did he care so much?

"Roger," he blurted suddenly, not planning to do so. He mentally cursed himself for his rashness. "Um — hi."

Roger froze, and his eyes widened. "Edilio," he stuttered. "Uh, hey."

They stood there for a moment, silent, both of their faces flushed. Roger was clutching a stack of pencils in one of his hands, and sheet of paper was in his other. Edilio, making up as he went along, said, "Sorry for spilling water on you earlier."

"That's okay," Roger assured, smiling. "We're even, I guess." That was almost exactly what Edilio had said to him earlier, but he decided against pointing that out.

"Yeah," Edilio agreed. "There's been lots of spilled water lately."

They shared a laugh, and then silence fell again. They glanced awkwardly at each other before someone called, "Edilio!"

Edilio and Roger turned their heads to see Dekka standing outside the White Houseboat, looking at them.

"Sam needs you," she called, beckoning to him.

Edilio looked back to Roger. "See you around, then," he said with a smile, then hurried off, glad to be out of that uncomfortable situation.

"What's he need?" Edilio asked Dekka when he reached their boat.

Dekka smirked, which contradicted her normal aura of aggravation. "Sam's been asleep for an hour."

Edilio blinked. "Then why'd you say Sam needed me?"

"Because you were so obviously uncomfortable talking to him, and I thought I'd get you out of it," Dekka explained.

"Oh. Uh, thanks." He made a move to go past her into the boat, but she stepped in front of him, blocking the doorway.

"So, what's the deal with you and the Artful Roger? You two just friends?"

Edilio felt himself blush, and he looked at the ground, suddenly finding interest in the dock's floorboards. "Um… yeah. Well, we're not really friends, we've only talked, like, twice."

Dekka nodded. "Right. Well, next time you try to talk to him, don't talk about the water incidents again. Ask him about his art or something. Something that can actually start a conversation."

Asking Roger about his art had never occurred to him. It should have, considered the boy was known for being an artist — hence "the Artful Roger" nickname — but he must have just blanked out. Yeah, he definitely blanked out.

"Yeah," Edilio said, looking behind him to see Roger enter the houseboat he lived on. "Yeah, I will."