The next two weeks or so went by slower than a herd of turtles. Most of the day was spent inside but sometimes Ms. Kingsley would force me out of the house...that probably wasn't the best idea. After my first encounter with Eddy, who lived right next door to me, our relationship became that of hatred and scheming. He would pick fights with me whenever I went outside and we'd go at it until Edd or Ed had to split us up. The boy was annoying and so infuriating. That's all he was, nothing more, nothing less; just an irritating little brat who bragged about his older brother and made weird...projects.

That being said, I would watch the boys at times, and I'd watch them...build things. Sometimes it would take them several hours and sometimes it would take them the whole day. Kevin told me that they were just suckering the neighborhood kids into handing over all their money, but the boys would always fail because they never figured out the last part of their plan: how to get away with it. Edd, on the other hand, described it as he and his two friends 'concentrating their time in studying the kids of the neighborhood and working to make a couple dollars in the process'. For him it was, I knew that much, but who knew what went on in the self-centered mind of Eddy. Ed was never really apart of the planning process, according to Edd, and shouldn't be treated so harshly just because he hung out with the boys. So Edd was the planner, Eddy was the salesman, and Ed was (in Eddy's mind) the work monkey.

Edd told me why they did everything, the real reason why. It was because they were just kids, kids who didn't want to grow up, kids who just wanted to act like...kids. The other children of the cul-de-sac assume that when you get to junior high you're an adult and should act like one, so you have to conform to the attitude the middle school students have acquired. I felt sorry for them, really. All they wanted to do was earn some money, buy a couple jawbreakers and have some fun. Though, all three boys had a different view of 'fun'.

Edd mentioned that when his parents came home, his mother would occasionally give him a few dollars, where the boys would go into town to the candy store. There were times when Edd could afford more than three jawbreakers and would use his remaining cash to buy candy for some of the other kids in the neighborhood. They would accept them, of course, but their thanks would be accompanied by the rude words the boys had grown accustomed to. The children basically hated them, and even if Ed and Edd didn't want to hurt or get hurt, Eddy made it so they always did. The two Ed's never wanted to cause pain but there was never a way out of it.

Back in my home, my room had been restored after day three. I particularly enjoyed watching Kevin scrub the crusted paint from the windows and have to stuff and sew my pillows back up. Immediately after I moved into my room, Ms. Kingsley decided to go on a shopping and hand-me-down spree. She went down into the basement and found her husband's old PC computer, which looked more like it'd fit a gaming nut than a CEO of a jawbreaker factory.

When I first switched it on it still had all his documents and videos saved to the desktop. Most of them were boring things like building expansion designs, jawbreaker flavors, and reports for his company; you know, just stuff for work. Though I did find a couple of other folders, those being filled with videos and pictures of he and Kevin when Kevin was younger. Kevin looked young, around the age I was when I lost my father and when asked, he told me the pictures were taken a few months before the accident. He and Ms. Kingsley never explained to me what had happened to Mr. Kingsley, or what this 'accident' was, but I figured it was a very touchy subject, so I left it alone. There were a couple other pictures of Mr. Kingsley with his wife. She looked younger than she did now, since it was when Kevin was only seven, and she looked...somewhat familiar. Ms. Kingsley went into my room a few days later and took the pictures and videos off, saving them to a flash drive and keeping it in her purse. I still remember the pictures though and it brought up a memory of someone I used to know but couldn't remember.

I felt Ms. Kingsley had gone out of her way to help me when she started transforming my room into that of a teenage girl's. She bought me a bunch of electronics to go along with my gamer personality: a laptop, three pairs of headphones, a phone, and a bunch of different video games that Kevin didn't own (and that she said he never would after trying to steal them from me). She even bought me some rather expensive art supplies after snooping around my stuff and finding my drawing folder.

Some of the least expensive things she gave me were things that "Kevin didn't want" which just meant she made him hand them over since he didn't use them. These things included an X-box 360 that he had replaced with a PS3 the year before, his old BMX bike he claimed was broken so he could get a newer and cooler one, and a camcorder that he had never used. Ms. Kingsley even gave me her old (and super expensive) Canon photography camera.

Some of the items she gave me though were things I'd always wanted since before the System, like three little Disney figurines for a collection that my father started when I was 4, and a bunch of comics that my little 6-year-old-self was hooked on, a couple months before my mother left. It was like she knew what I was like before and it, surprisingly, made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside, while also being totally creeped out as to why she knew those things about me. Who knows, though, maybe the information was in my papers.

I feel now like I should have been a little more polite and grateful for the gifts, but when she gave them to me I didn't say a word or even smile. Ms. Kingsley blew it off as me being shy and that on the inside I was jumping for joy. The truth was: I wasn't. I felt she had gone out of her way to help a lost cause such as myself.

So yay, twelve days in my new home, how exciting. Obviously, that was sarcasm, and now that I realize it, 'home' has too big of a meaning, so let's just call this place my temporary prison until I'm 18 and able to move the heck out of here. Maybe I'll be a hoarder/cat lady until I die old and alone.

It was hot today, at least 95 degrees, and I had no idea how to spend a day like this. Kevin had decided to lock me out of the house so he could play video games without me disturbing him. He really was a jerk. The only reason he doesn't like me is that he's not an only child anymore. He even had the nerve to say "go back to the orphanage and live like the little orphan you are", which I could have easily responded with "your real parents are dead" but I'm better than that.

I took a seat on the shaded wood of the porch and leaned my head against the door. The Light Behind Your Eyes by My Chemical Romance played through my earbuds as I sat and thought about life. I had been thinking about many things this morning, my dominant thought being: why am I here? I meant that in three different ways. One being why did Ms. Kingsley adopt me? Why me? Out of all the other boys and girls in the System, why did she take a liking to me, what made me so special? Am I the chosen one? Was I picked by The Ocean or The Claw? Is there some stone-age prophecy I was born to fulfill? Honestly, when I thought about life, I always strayed to why the Earth had humans on it in the first place. Why was the Earth still going, giving us life, letting us survive? We're killing it, why not just say 'Bye!' and give up on us? The Earth is dying and so are we; that was a thought that kept my little brain scrambling at night. After thinking about Earth for a good while I always end up thinking: 'why had my parents had me?' or really, 'what would things be like if there had been one little change in their lives?'. What if they had never met? How different would the world be? What if my dad had never become a marine? Would we have lived in a different place with completely different lives? Would some good person still be alive? Would he still be my best friend? What if they were still here? Would I still be happy?

When the hot sun crept up the porch and to my feet, I decided to move to the front lawn and lay in the shadow cast by a tall oak tree in Eddy's yard. The sky was a light shade of blue and many fluffy clouds sat motionless here and there. A cool breeze swirled through the trees and cooled the August heat that stuck to my skin.

The world around me was peaceful and quiet, unlike my former neighborhood. I'd always had trouble finding peace in Tuskbury with all the cars, the people, the sounds; laughter, car horns, children. The only sound I could actually find peace in was a freight train that passed by on the tracks over the hills every night. One would come by every evening and blow its horn for all to hear. It was never too loud or too quiet; just enough to slip me into my dream world and the beautiful comfort of sleep. It was always the same atmosphere in Tuskbury. Here, though, it was always changing. Today it was hot and quiet, yesterday it was cool and crazy, and tomorrow would be a mystery to all but the one who controlled fate.

The last two weeks had been very stressful for me. It was hard for me to adapt to my new environment since I had lived in the same town ever since I was born, and leaving it scared me so much. This move wasn't like the move into the System. When my parents left me I was only 6, which meant I was gullible and clung to so much hope, so I thought my parents would come back for me. I was so scared when I met my first new family. They wanted to take me home and replace my parents, replace my life, and take away everything I had known. So I did my best to make them hate me, forcing them to take back their decision and put me back in the System. I hoped that my parents would come back for me, so I decided I'd keep rebelling every new family until they put me back in my father's arms...but they never did. Now I felt nothing but fear and sadness. I guess I don't really remember what it's like to be truly happy. When I turned 10, I finally got it through my head that my parents were never coming back, and fighting to stay in the System was starting to get childish. I learned that I was alone and that no one was going to fix it, so I locked up every ounce of life I had left in me, leaving behind a hollow shell. No one seemed to want to adopt a hollow shell.

The world settled around me and the temperature wrapped me up in a blanket, calming the war in my mind. Before I knew it, my music started drifting me off into a world of sleep. Of course, I have a really good case of bad luck, so it wasn't a surprise that Ed managed to throw a basketball over the backboard of the hoop in Eddy's driveway and leave my stomach feeling flattened. I groaned and rolled over in the grass not 10 minutes after I fell asleep, clutching my stomach and curling up into the fetal position.

"Ed, you dolt!" Eddy screamed at his big friend, "Now I'll never get my ball back!"

"Haha, your face turns even more red when you're mad, Eddy." I could hear their shoes scraping along the pavement as Eddy probably started to chase him.

The grass rustled at my side and a hand rested on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Edd kneeling beside me. "Are you alright, Kassie? I'm so sorry that our ball caused you any pain, we were just-"

I groaned, "Please, just help me up Edd." He stood and gently grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet.

"Well, that's the first time I've heard a friend call me by my given name in a while. It's different to hear someone other than Mother or Father use it," he said quietly to himself. His attention turned to the two boys chasing each other in Eddy's driveway before he said, "I don't think Eddy has any scam to sucker me into helping him with this afternoon. Would you care to go to the park with me?"

"So, are you adjusting to Peach Creek alright?" Edd asked when his swing finally settled to a stop next to mine. We had been at the park for nearly an hour now, playing 20 questions while we were swinging and when we were laying in the grass by the sandbox. I learned a lot about him through the game, though no real secrets, just the basics. Eddy had come by a little after Edd left him so he could drag him back to their game, but the annoyance was captured by Ed's demonic little sister.

I answered his question with "Yeah, Kevin's really nice to me and I really like my mom." I was now living a lie. Kevin was torture and I was wary of his mother. She was nice and all, but there was something about her that I didn't trust. Then again, I'm always paranoid when I enter a new family.

"What about the rest of our little cul-de-sac?"

"Well," I said sheepishly, "I haven't really met anyone besides you three." I lowered myself into my swing and rested my feet on the chain.

Edd looked at me in disbelief. "Really? It's been two weeks, what has been more interesting to you than social interaction?"

I just shrugged and blushed, "I don't really care much for 'social interaction'. I'm too much of an introvert. Too much to process at once and too many emotions to keep in check." I suddenly became very uncomfortable with having a conversation about my insecurity of talking to people in front of an obvious socialite. Curse my lazy arse for never wanting to go out and meet people when I was only a stupid child.

He gave a confused facial expression and said, "You are a prankster, though, are you not? You also said you yearned to make art your occupation and your metaphorical life. You wanted to share that with the world. How can you be introverted and despise being social yet have a bubbly personality and hold interesting conversations with complete strangers?"

I sighed, "If you're referring to yourself, you're not a complete stranger, I've known you for two weeks now, I've even given you a nickname. Your name is Edd with two D's, but I prefer Beanie, you have an obsession with using big words my small brain can't comprehend, and you're a very fun person to be around."

He smiled a bit and laughed at the nickname, "I'm glad you feel that way, Kassie, but still, knowing the name of a person isn't the same as knowing their character. I may seem like a good-hearted person on the exterior, but you don't know what's on the inside."

"Is the inside bad?" I asked, sounding almost childish.

He shrugged, "I'd say no, but that's the exact point I am trying to make: you don't know."

A moment of silence passed between us before I answered his point. "Then help me," I sat up and pushed off the ground with my feet, sending my swing back into motion.

He looked at me confused and said, "With what?"

"Finding out what's on the inside. I want to know what makes you you, what makes Eddy himself, and the same with Ed. I want to get to know people and, I dunno, I want you to help me."

Edd sat silently for a moment, pondering my request. "Well, it seems like it would be the perfect opportunity to learn how you fare with strangers, and I would very much like to get to know you more," he paused for a moment before giving a small nod, "Kassie, I am going to help you be a socialite!" he smiled and started swinging again.

I smirked at him, "Nerd."

He gave me a shocked look but quickly transformed it into a smile upon hearing my tone. "I'm proud of it."

Edd and I walked along the sidewalk, keeping sure that Eddy was nowhere to be seen. Edd feared that if Eddy found him he'd be dragged away to help think up some incompetent plan that would immediately turn into a disaster. That or Eddy would turn into the equivalent of an enraged gorilla for letting him get dragged off by Sarah. The boy had a short fuse, best not be around him when it's blown.

The first stop on our little meet and greet was a little farm next to Edd's house. It apparently belonged to a 17-year-old foreign boy named Rolf. No one knew where he was originally from and the only time he mentioned home he called it "The Old Country". Edd said that he was a very...mysterious boy.

Edd and I hopped up the porch steps and rang the doorbell. After pressing the button a few times, the door was finally opened by a ginger boy. The first thing I noticed about him was his outrageously long hair that was colored a light shade of orange and stopped just below the body part you would call his butt. His eyes were basically non-existent, covered in equal proportions by his hair.

"Hey, Double Ed" he spoke, "and...chick? What's up, man, whatcha want?"

"Oh, hello, Ezeke. We were just wondering if Rolf was home."

"Shy-eyes? Who be at Rolf's door?" a blue-haired boy walked into view from behind Ezeke. "Double Ed boy? Where be the big one and spiky-haired Ed boy?"

"Oh, they're not accompanying me today. I'm just taking our newest resident around the cul-de-sac. Kassie, I'd like you to meet Rolf" he gestured to the blue-haired boy "and Ezeke" he pointed to the ginger. "Rolf and Ezeke, this is Kassie."

"Kassie?" Ezeke whispered the name to himself a couple times before his eyes lit up and he looked at me, "Hey, you're Kevin's sister, right? I'm Ezekiel, Kevin's cousin, but you can just call me Ezeke." He smirked at me "Ya know, my aunt mentioned she'd be adopting a teenager. Didn't think it'd be a pretty nerd girl like yourself." I choked on my saliva. Great, my cousin's flirting with me. The reason I hate boys.

The blue-haired boy spoke up. "Rolf thinks Pretty Girl is shy." I immediately turned a light shade of red at the name but bowed my head to hide it. Kill me. "Rolf is right, is he not? Either way, Rolf welcomes you indoors." He and Ezeke moved behind the door and blue boy spread his arm out, motioning us inside.

Rolf shut the screen door and led Edd and me into the living room, Ezeke trailing behind. A very antique looking couch sat in the middle of the living room and a similar looking chair sat just across from it, both separated by a big, red rug. Rolf motioned for me and Edd to sit on the couch. I did as told, crinkling the plastic slipcover that laid atop it for protection.

"Shy-eyes! No jumping on Rolf's furniture!" Rolf yelled as Ezeke flopped down in the chair. He put his hands up in defense but made a face at Rolf when his back was turned to turn off the tv.

"So, Ed-boy. What brings you and your lady friend to Rolf's home?" Rolf asked, sitting on the arm of Ezeke's chair.

"Well, Rolf, Kassie moved in twelve days ago and she so far has had no social interaction. I willingly agreed to take her around the cul-de-sac and introduce her to all of our residents."

"Do any of those residents include those stupid Kankers?" Ezeke asked, showing a look of disgust at the name.

"Heavens no, Ezeke. I would never go near that demonic trailer park." Edd responded. "Besides, Kassie has already had a few rough confrontations with Eddy. It's best I keep her safe with... normal people."

Ezeke snorted. "You already know there's no such thing as normal in this cul-de-sac, Double D."

"Who are the Kankers?" I interrupted, slightly curious.

"A couple of demonic whores," Ezeke answered, still showing his disgusted look.

"Ezeke!" Edd exclaimed, shocked at his choice of words. Ezeke just rolled his eyes.

I was still confused, "No seriously, who are the Kankers?"

Rolf spoke up before Ezeke could repeat his earlier statement. "The Kankers are the demons of this fun-loving cul-de-sac." His face and voice turned dark as he spoke. "They are Cthulhu's demon spawns and want nothing more than to cause destruction and pain. They are ruthless girls that live in the evil depths of the trailer park. Never go to the trailer park, Pretty Girl. It is a dangerous place that not even Rolf, the Son of a Sheppard, nor Rolf's father, the Sheppard, would go. The sheeps would rather graze in Hell than near the sirens' cave..."

Rolf finished speaking and all three of us just stared at him. We were utterly confused. "...ok," I said and tried to change the subject. "So, what animals do you have on your farm, Rolf?"

Rolf's eyes lit up at the question. "Would Pretty Girl like to meet Victor?"

I closed the screen door behind me as we entered the backyard, where Rolf's farm was. Rolf was looking around the yard with an annoyed look, trying to find something that apparently wasn't where it was supposed to be.

"Victor!" Rolf yelled...nothing happened. A moment passed before Rolf yelled again, "Victor!...Where is that animal?" A second later, a dirty, white goat emerged from the inside of a small wooden shack and bleated at him. A small gray goatee was grown at the tip of his chin and a brass cow bell attached to a red collar was placed around his neck. He sported a unibrow, much like Rolf's and Ed's.

I immediately fell in love. "Aww, he's so cute," I said, walking through the open gate of his pen, dodging small piles of manure.

Rolf crouched down and put an arm over Victor's back and the other hand on the goat's stomach. He looked at me strangely. "Cute?" He seemed confused at my words. "Victor is a powerful beast. He does not deserve such a demeaning label." I ignored him and placed a hand on the goats head, in between his two horns, and scratched.

Victor seemed to like the attention and raised his unibrow at me, removing the dead look from his face. He stepped closer to me and licked my shirt. It must have tasted good to him because he proceeded to take it in his mouth and chew on it.

"Victor!" Rolf yelled. The goat stopped his actions and looked to his owner. "Pretty Girl is guest. We do not eat guests' clothing!" Victor's eyebrow went back down and he spat out my shirt, which now had a bite mark at the end of it. He decided we weren't interesting anymore and turned around to go back into his shed, his small gray tail swishing back and forth as he walked.

Rolf turned his attention from the goat and called out another name. "Wilfred!" An oink could be heard coming from a chicken coop opposite Victor's pen. "Wilfred!" he walked over to the chicken coop and grabbed Wilfred by the sides. The pig squealed and tried to escape Rolf's grasp, but Rolf was stronger and he threw the pig onto his shoulder after he pulled him from the coop. The chickens made a lot of noise and spilled out of their chicken coop and into the yard. Wilfred's fat butt had been blocking the exit, so the chickens had been stuck in their coop for who knows how long.

Rolf plopped Wilfred on the ground, who stopped his fighting and just sat down with a derpy look. I giggled; he was adorable. I had always liked pigs. I walked up to Wilfred and scratched his head like I had Victor. He liked the attention just as much, and even fell onto his back, begging for a belly rub. His curly pink tail wagged as much as it could.

"Wilfred! How dare you turn soft." Rolf picked the pig back up and set him down in his pen with a couple other pigs. "You are a man, pig! Act like one."

He left the pig and ran to a big, green shed on the opposite end of the yard. He swung the door open and entered the building. He returned a second later with a rope in his hand. The rope was connected to the neck of a cow. "This beast is Beatrice," Rolf exclaimed, eyeing the cow proudly. She mooed in response, then bent down to feed herself, pulling up all the grass that could fit in her mouth. I stayed where I was, fighting the urge to go up and pet her, knowing she would probably turn soft and annoy Rolf even more.

He looked to me, "So what does Pretty Girl think of Rolf's farm?"

"It's amazing! I love the animals. They're so..." I refrained from saying the word cute, since he obviously didn't like the name "...nice." Beatrice mooed in response, sounding displeased with my answer, but Rolf smiled wide, looking around his farm proudly. A crash and a scream suddenly broke the moment and we all looked in the direction of Ed's house. We all muttered "Eddy".

Edd groaned. "I'm sorry, Rolf. But Kassie and I should really get going." He ran toward the side of the house and I followed, waving goodbye to the boys. Edd unlocked the fence gate and pushed it open, keeping it open for me and closing it when I was through. We sprinted across the street to the green house 3 down from mine.

Eddy lay in Ed's yard, Sarah's knee pinned in his back and her arm around his throat. Broken bits of wood lay scattered on the lawn surrounding the two. Eddy's face was red and he was coughing out insults at Sarah.

"Beg for mercy!" She growled at him.

He growled back, "Never".

Ed was standing in the corner of the yard, looking nervous and shaking, not knowing what to do.

Edd ran up and tried to push Sarah off of Eddy, but she just pushed him back, sending him to the ground. This pissed me off, and I knew I had to intervene to defend my friend. I ran up to Ed's little sister and grabbed the arm that was around Eddy's throat, gripping it hard and pulling it away from him. He immediately began to cough and gasp for air.

I proceeded to put both of her arms behind her back and pull her to her feet. She struggled to get away from me, but I was bigger and stronger than her, so her attempts to escape were useless. She finally gave up and went limp, falling to the ground on her knees and pretending to cry. I made eye contact with Edd, who smiled weakly and helped Eddy up.

I dragged Sarah to the front door and opened it, pushing her inside. I scolded her for being a little demon and that if I ever caught her physically harming another person I would tie her upside-down in a tree and leave her there till her parents came home. Ed came up behind me and intervened, trying to defend his sister but not side with her.

Sarah pushed her older brother out of the way and stood in front of me, trying to be intimidating. "I'm telling my mom on you, weirdo!" She snarled. I just smiled and raised an unpleasant finger at her unpleasant face. She growled and tried to tackle me, but Ed wrapped his arms around her and carried her back inside, closing the door. I could hear her shouts of protest grow softer as they walked farther away from the door and I walked farther away from the house.

I walked back to Eddy and Edd. "I didn't need your help, Kassie!" Eddy yelled at me.

"Well be happy, you little brat, because you got it anyway." I gave an over-exaggerated bow to annoy him.

The boy scowled at me and pushed Edd off of him, sending him back onto his butt. Eddy stalked off back to his house, so Edd and I were left on the sidewalk. I held out a hand to the boy. He took it and I pulled him to his feet. "You okay?" I asked.

"Thank you, Kassie. I'm fine," he answered. I looked up at the sky and saw the familiar scarlet color that meant the sun was setting. The sound of a car engine pulled our attention to the road as the blue Impala pulled into the driveway of my 'temporary prison'.

Edd and I walked down the sidewalk side by side, not talking about what happened. Ms. Kingsley stepped out of the car and grabbed her purse out of the seat. She turned around and noticed me, "Hey, look at that, you finally left the house on your own. Hello, Edd."

"Hello, Ms. Kingsley," Edd answered, giving a small wave.

"So, what have you two been up to?" she asked, walking up the porch steps and entering the house. Of course, the door was unlocked. Stupid Kevin.

"Just hanging out at the park," I answered, quietly, still not comfortable talking to her. "Edd took me over to Rolf's house and I met Rolf and Ezeke." I walked through the door, closing it after Edd walked in behind me.

"Finally met your cousin? Well, what sucks is that he lives in that godforsaken trailer park, where you aren't allowed to go. I don't want you anywhere near those Kanker girls."

I just rolled my eyes and leaned against the back of the couch. "How bad can they be?"

"She's right, Kassie," Edd spoke up. "You shouldn't go near them. They're scary."

"They're evil," Kevin said, appearing out of seemingly nowhere and pushing past Edd to get into the kitchen. Ms. Kingsley leaned on the breakfast bar after setting down her purse and started clearing off the mess that was on top. Edd took a seat at one of the plastic chairs at the breakfast bar.

Kevin came back from the fridge with a Mountain Dew can and sat down in a chair next to Edd.

"Hello, Kevin," Edd greeted the demon.

"Dork."

"Kevin, play nice," Ms. Kingsley scolded, as she looked through the mail I had placed on the counter earlier in the day.

I smirked at him, "Yeah, Kevin, play nice." He glared daggers at me while drinking his Mountain Dew.

I walked behind Ms. Kingsley and opened the door of the fridge, pulling out two cans of Mountain Dew. I threw one at Edd, who surprisingly caught it. "Thank you," he said simply and set the can in front of him.

Ms. Kingsley sighed and threw the junk mail in the trash. "I'm going to start dinner. Are you staying for dinner Edd? I don't want you to have to fend for yourself tonight." Fend for himself? What does she mean? I knew she was hiding something!

"I guess that would be fine, Ms. Kingsley," he answered softly, his face reddening from what looked like embarrassment.

I smile and pull on his arm. "C'mon, let's go to my room."

"You keep that bedroom door open, young lady!" Ms. Kingsley yelled after me, and I felt a blush creep across my face as mental images of her reasoning entered my mind. Get those out of your head, ya pervert.

Edd laid on my bed, his half empty Mountain Dew can resting on his stomach, and his eyes fixated on the window beside him. "So dark," he said, half zoned-out as he stared at the night sky.

"Yeah, kind of like my soul." We had been in my room for an hour now, waiting for Ms. Kingsley to finish the latest episode of Cupcake Wars. She refused to do anything (including watching whatever she was cooking) until it was over. Edd and I had kept our question game going for a while before we just fell into a comfortable silence.

I slammed my colored pencil down on my desk and yelled, "I'm done!" He jumped at my loud voice and fell off the bed, spilling his Mountain Dew in the process. I covered my mouth to muffle my giggling.

"Please, Kassie, never do that again."

I giggled, "Poor Beanie." I picked up the drawing that I had been working on and brought it over to him as he sat on the bed again."You can keep it," I said, gently setting the paper on his stomach and setting the now empty Mountain Dew can on top. I walked back to my desk and started putting my colored pencils and papers away.

He spoke up after a couple minutes of admiring my work, "You know, you're a really good artist, Kassie. What do you do with your drawings?"

I shrugged, "I normally stick them in the back of my drawing folder. If they were really good I'd normally hang them on the wall, but I haven't made any that were good enough to decorate my room with yet."

"Are you kidding me?!" Edd yelled, making me jump and drop a colored pencil. He sat up and looked at me, "That's a waste of a talent! You should sell your drawings, they're amazing! Maybe you could even give drawing lessons to some of the kids around town, like Jimmy."

I snorted, "Yeah, like people would buy my drawings." I shook my head and continued putting my art supplies away. The picture I gave him was a small Edd portrait that had the word 'Beanie' sharpied at the top. It wasn't anything big and special and I could tell he was just trying to boost me up and make me happy... unfortunately it was working.

He sighed, "You say that as if your art is terrible. People would pay good money for them. They're good enough. They're better than good, they're astounding!" He flashed me a huge grin and I couldn't help but smile back at him and laugh a bit. Great, he's contagious.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments as I pondered the idea of selling my art. I decided I'd think about it another time. "Anyway, thanks for everything today. I had a lot of fun."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. Though, there still are some people you need to meet," he said. "Should we meet in the park tomorrow. 2:00?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Sounds good."

Ms. Kingsley yelled from downstairs. "Kassie, Edd, Kevin! Dinner's ready!"

I heard Kevin's bedroom door open. "Took you long enough," he rudely exclaimed. We heard the sound of his troll feet stomping down every single step.

Edd and I laughed at the noise before he smiled and pulled on my arm. "C'mon. I'm starving."