So first, I was having trouble updating once a week. Now two in one day? I must really love you guys... Or MAYBE that last chapter sucked and this one is ten times better- but I don't know.

"Nudge is having... girl problems," I explained to my utterly confused mom and sister.

My mom walked into the kitchen and turned on the stove. She opened the fridge and took out a thing of eggs and a large family pack of bacon. Bacon... The bacon bag opened with a pop as my mom opened it and then she threw about 20 pieces onto the pan on the stove. Then came the amazing sound of sizzling and the mouth watering aroma of cooking bacon. Yum...

"Nudge will come down soon," said my mom as the started to scramble up the eggs.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because if anyone can't resist the smell of sizzling bacon, it's Nudge."

"Very true..." I mumbled.

"So what are her girl troubles?" Ella asked. I was hoping she wouldn't ask that. But, as you can see, she did.

"She... she feels lonely..." I said. Not wanting to say anything embarrassing for either myself or Nudge.

"Oh... you mean?" Ella guessed. "She wants a boyfriend?"

"100 points to the girl in the pink shirt," I announced.

I can't believe Nudge was upset about boys of all people.

Good old boys. Those people that come into your life, take your heart, and rip it right out of you like a sack of potatoes. Okay, horrible analogy. Ripping out hearts had nothing to do with a sack of potatoes, but I was hungry. And I felt like potatoes. Have a problem with that? I didn't think so…

The three of us were the only ones in the kitchen. I glanced at the clock on the microwave.

8:45 A.M.

Huh, all the others are usually up by now.

"Where is everyone?" asked Ella, who stole the words right out of my mouth. "We're all supposed to go shopping for school clothes together. Even the boys."

"Well," my mom responded, "the boys weren't exactly too… thrilled about going to the mall for 5 hours so I told them I'd get them each a pair of pants and a fancy top. You'd think the fancy top would have swayed them. They must really hate the mall."

"Boys have a weird sense of enjoyment," Ella mused.

"Where are they?" I asked, concerned on the whereabouts of my flock mates rather than whether or not they like Ambercrombie and Fitch.

"They went to the roller rink downtown. Orbit I think it's called."

Dang. They get to roll around on shoes with wheels while I, on the other hand, have to push around a cart with wheels. Oh joy. But, at least we didn't have to drag along three complaining boys. Not like I complained or anything, though.

"Mom do I have do go?" I whined.

Okay... maybe I complained a little bit.

"Yes, Max," said my mom as if I were a five year old.

"Grow up," Ella said, rolling her eyes. "It'll be fun."

Oh, yeah. As fun as taking a bath on Antarctica.

So apparently, when you go shopping at the mall you don't even get a shopping cart. Did they even care about their customers?

Ella had talked to Nudge and convinced her into coming. She was a little quiet and crabby at first, but by the second store she was grinning from ear to ear and pointing at every little thing that glittered.

Angel, apparently didn't go to the roller rink with the guys. She had been outside. Talking to ants. Apparently if she doesn't come back before eight o'clock she's gonna miss her appointment with the Queen Ant. I don't even bother asking anymore.

"Ooh! Look! A dress store!" shouted Nudge.

"Look at the purple one!" exclaimed Ella.

"Ooh look at that fish tank!" Angel yelled.

"And it's all on half off clearance!" my mom announced.

"I'm hungry," I informed them.

They all looked at each other. We had just eaten breakfast back at the house and had picked up Mac. Donald's on the way and got five large popcorn's on the way in. Even for bird kids, I think they were stuffed.

"How about I go to the food court and you guys look in here," I told them.

"Are you sure?" asked Angel.

"Yeah, I'll just be down the hallway thing or whatever it's called," I said as they nodded and ran into the store.

I weaved my way through the crowded building, the sound of my mom telling them to stop acting like rabid monkeys fading away and being taken over by the sea of voices.

Ever notice that when you're in a crowded place everyone's yelling but, really, you can't hear a thing? It's like, all the separate talking makes it just one sound. You can't pick up just one conversation.

Thoughts like that keep me entertained for days. Then I see pie and everything changes.

I entered the large room. I found it partly by the smell of the deep fried foods, and halfway by the colossal sized sign about the size of ten trucks that said, "FOOD COURT HERE".

Good thing they didn't make it painfully obvious or something.

I walked along the large wall of vendors and restaurant places. Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Subway, Panda Express, Papa-

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

Suddenly I bumped into someone who was walking the opposite direction than me and fell to the ground.

"Sorry," I said to the person I bumped into.

I sat up and looked at the person across from me.

"No problem, it was my fault," he said, smiling a bit.

The boy was about my age. He had tan skin and deep brown eyes. His brunette hair had a slight curl to it. He had been holding a bags full of pink and purple shirt and floral skirts.

"Quite a fashion sense you have there," I remarked, helping him put the clothes back into the basket he was carrying.

He blushed.

"I have three sisters. They're quite the fashion queens," he said.

"Really? Me too," I told him. "They're in some sort of dress store right now."

"And why aren't you with them?" he asked.

"Stuffing myself into sparkly, cotton tubes isn't really my thing."

He smirked.

"Of course not."

I was about to ask why it was "of course not" but he asked me if he wanted to sit with him before I could ask the question.

"Yeah, sure," I replied, praying that the girls wouldn't come in here and say I was on a "date". Don't you miss the age where you can sit with a boy and just be friends?

"So how's life?" he asked me after he had come back with the food from Panda Express. We both had a craving for Chinese food.

"Could be better," I mumbled, leaning over the table and grabbing a bag.

He looked sort of put down by that and a little guilty.

"Not because of you- of course," I said quickly.

He did one of those one laugh things.

"You have no idea," he said.

"No, really," I insisted, "It's just that my... friend... left me a while ago and it still kind of hurts."

"I'm sorry," he said. Then he said quietly, "I truly am..."

"Don't be," I commanded him. "Tell me about your sisters."

"Well," he started, taking a bite of an egg roll.

We talked about everything. Sisters, movies, even what would happen if the world had been taken over by llamas.

I was in the middle of laughing when I took a glance at my phone.

12:30!

I had been gone for almost two hours!

The boy seemed to have the same thought at the same time I did.

"I've got to go," we said in unison.

We both laughed.

"Hey- what's your name?" I asked him.

"Ah... Um... J- Josh," he stuttered.

Weird. He hadn't been nervous all afternoon and he stutters when I ask him his name? Creepy.

"Well, bye Josh," I called, walking away to throw out my tray.

As I walked back to where I last saw my family the only thing on my mind that boy. Josh.

He was different than other boys. He didn't care about being strong or manly, but he wasn't weak and girly, either. He was natural. He was funny and sweet. But there was something about him that was... off. Something he wasn't telling me. I could sense it.

And the weirdest part of it all: I felt like I'd known him my whole life. I know, I know, it's like something you read out of those corny romance novels, but it's true.

And then I realized something. I'm never going to see him again.

I'd never even told him my name.

I know, I know, you want to kill me. She met a boy. Not Fang. And she likes him. Maybe. Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuuuunnnn.

But maybe YOU know what's ACTUALLY going on...

SO TELL THE WORLD WITH A REVIEW!

Right here

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