Diana
The afternoon before...

Fortunately, the school day is quite uneventful, the typical torture just happened, and the last two hours of English are fortunately cancelled. This allows Leonard and I to go home prematurely.

"Hopefully it won't rain today," the redhead notes, looking up at the sky. I also raise my head and notice immediately what he means. Grey clouds have pushed themselves in front of the sun and create a cold, desolate atmosphere. I nod: "Doesn't look good". "You're bubbling with optimism again," notes young Andrews. I roll my eyes: "You started it."

He quickly distracts from the topic: "Speaking of optimism, please remember to talk to Juniper." I sigh: "I will, but next time you can do it yourself." "N-No, I can't", he begins to avoid my gaze. "What? why?" I ask confusedly: "You are friends after all. What is stopping you then?

He opens his mouth, but then closes it again wordlessly, as if he could not say what he thinks. I give him a questioning look and wait for him to confide in me.

For a few seconds he observes me inquiring, but then shakes his head: "See you tonight". I want to object and ask him to tell me what's bothering him, but he's already moving towards his house and leaving me alone.

For a few seconds I stop as ordered and not picked up and watch as Leo enters the house and then slowly move on. That was just a little strange again. Every time we talk about Juniper, he begins to behave strangely from one moment to the next. I'm quite surprised by this behaviour, as the two are actually quite good friends. Sometimes I would even say that they are better friends than Leo and me. I guess the Coopers and the Andrews have always been very good friends.

I go on to the house next to the Andrews' house where I live. I pull my front door key out of the pocket of my black leather rucksack and open the door. As soon as I have stepped into the hallway, I shout, as usual, checking: "Is anyone at home?

When there's no answer, I assume Mom and Dad are probably still in the editorial office and probably won't return so soon. They took over Grandma Alice Newspaper together when she thought about giving up. After all, it's always been Mom's dream to work as a journalist and Dad liked to write when he was young.

"Diana," a completely different voice sounds from the living room after a few seconds. I go a bit further and look into the room. There is someone sitting there whom I could have expected. Juniper Cooper looks at me over the edge of her English book. "Hey Pip", I greet her a little perplexed. When she hears the nickname, she rolls her eyes, but can't resist a grin: "Why do you call me that again? "Because I think it's funny," I grin and go on to the kitchen to see what else we have in the fridge.

It may be a bad habit, but I can't help but go to the kitchen first after school to look for something halfway edible. "I know my cousin well enough to know that she can't be mad at me for long for that, she's just far too hearty and friendly a person for that.

"Oh come on", take a banana out of the fruit bowl, ask myself since when I have been eating so healthy and then go back to the living room, where I let myself fall next to the blonde: "Because even you find your brother's nicknames funny". "Yes, a little bit," she closes the book in her hands while I start playing with my banana: "But don't tell him that, otherwise he won't talk to me for the rest of the week." I am grinning. In fact, Dagwood can really be offended if I call him 'Woody' again. Probably because he's not a big Toy Storys fan.

"What are you doing here so early?" she now asks one of the more important questions. "The last two hours are cancelled", I explain and slowly open the bowl of my banana. "Is Leo free too", she tries to ask inconspicuously, but I notice that she doesn't just ask this question to keep the conversation going.

I decide not to go into it and instead do my job: "By the way, he asked me to ask you to come to the campfire party today." For a moment the girl scrutinizes me and then makes a thoughtful face: "Why didn't he ask me himself? Suddenly she sounds a little depressed. "I don't know," I answer honestly: "Maybe he wanted to do that at school today, but just couldn't find you and asked me." I shrug my shoulders.

"If you would come with me, you could ask him yourself later", I look at her pleadingly, because I like to have my cousin around me quite a lot, although we are not quite the same age. But it's nice to have the other Coopers, Juniper, Dagwood and Polly around me, because I don't have any siblings myself and it's nice to still have someone other than my parents in the house.

She rolls her eyes, but doesn't seem annoyed: "Well, you can tell him that I'm going with him." "Forget it", I raise my hands defensively: "I'm sure I'll play the transmitter for you. Write him that yourself, please."

With a grin on my face I rise and slowly climb the stairs and leave the insecure Juniper behind. Arriving at the upper landing, I walk straight into my room. I should do my homework in any case, because otherwise my mother won't let me go in the evening. Because although she is not so strict, it is important that I do not neglect school. But every mother has that in her.

Arriving in my room, I drop my backpack on the floor and am about to sit at my desk, someone knocks firmly against my window.

With my eyebrows raised, I rise again and step up to the window. I open it quickly and look into the face of a person whose sight I don't like at this moment. "What are you doing here,' I ask indignantly, struggling with myself not to close the window again directly.