After stopping by Clanton's Cafe to grab a bite to eat, Namęšéme and I went back home and resumed unpacking. We'd managed to have some of our furniture out by now, but all I'd had in my bedroom at this point was just a twin-sized mattress and a plain antique nightstand next to it. Namęšéme had promised that we'd find a bedframe for me and some more bedroom furniture in the weeks to come, but for now, we needed to focus on me getting ready for seventh grade and getting acquainted with our new neighbors. I wasn't too thrilled about having to wait some more for my room to actually feel like my room, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things that getting settled into a new routine was more important.

Later that evening, Namęšéme and I went by Newt's house to have dinner with him and his family. Upon approaching Newt's front door, Namęšéme and I saw just how well-dressed our neighbor had made himself and his family. Newt wore his usual outfit, only he wore a white dress shirt instead of a blue one and dark denim jeans that seemed to have been specifically tailored for him. He also wore different shoes from the boots he'd worn earlier. He just happened to be wearing black leather shoes instead of his usual cowboy boots.

Behind Newt, I could see two boys (one teenager and one child) wearing identical outfits to the one he wore. The woman I could only presume to be Mrs. McBride wore a nice pink wrinkled blouse and a pair of light denim jeans, complemented only but a pair of high heels that matched her blouse and a white pearl necklace. Their daughters (one of which was already going to Ewing-Halsell Middle School like I would) wore pastel pink dresses with pleated skirts that only touched their knees. Their dresses had short sleeves, and the girls wore black dress shoes with plain white socks. I couldn't help but envy them somewhat. They could pull off femininity so easily, being cis and all. Me, on the other hand... even when I knew myself to be a girl, I barely felt like it. It was like something compelled me to prove my worth as a girl. It didn't exactly help that I was wearing Náhko'éehe's old clothes (consisting of a pink and blue plaid cowboy shirt, ripped up jeans, and tattered sneakers) from when she was my age.

So there me and Namęšéme were, coming into our new neighbor's house to have dinner with him and his family. Just like me, Namęšéme wore a plaid cowboy shirt, only tucked into his jeans and with different colors. He had on what looked like dark brown combat boots with a little bit of dirt left behind. His hair was done up in pigtails, one of his favorite hairstyles.

"Hey, guys," Newt said. "So glad you could make it for dinner tonight."

"Of course," Namęšéme said. "Anything for our new neighbors. So..." He licked his lips a little. "What are we having for dinner?"

Newt chuckled. "Quite a bit. We've got chicken-fried steak, green beans, mac and cheese, and..." He gestured his arm over at a particular dish I could only presume Mrs. McBride made. "...we've got Redneck Caviar."

"Redneck Caviar?" I asked out loud. "What the hell's that?"

Namęšéme gave me a pointed look and elbowed my side. "Jessica. Language."

Newt answered my question like nothing happened. "Oh, Redneck Caviar's just a bean salad, that's all. It's got black-eyed peas, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, corn, and onions all mixed up in there."

I tried as subtly as I could to roll my eyes. "Uh-huh, what you got for dessert?"

Newt just chuckled at me. "Well, we've got biscuits and chocolate gravy. We've also got Arbuckle fried pies."

My face beamed up. "Sold."

Newt chuckled again, and he led me and Namęšéme into his dining room along with the rest of the McBrides. Namęšéme and I had to say grace with the McBrides first before we could eat, but once we did get to eat, well... it was some of the best food I had ever had in my life. It wasn't as great as Namęšéme's cooking, of course, but it was still better than some meals I ate back in Malta.

Newt watched me eat and smiled. I guess it made him happy that I was wolfing down all that food like I was. He must have spent hours on all that food, making sure all the servings were right and that it all tasted good for those who were going to eat it. I couldn't help but notice Newt just staring at me while I continued to eat my food. Eventually, I managed to clean near everything off my plate, as had Namęšéme. Newt and his family just stared at us with awe.

"My goodness," Mrs. McBride said. "You two must have been hungry."

"I mean, can you blame us?" Namęšéme replied sassily. "We haven't much food at home."

The McBrides just laughed at that. Once the laughter died down, Mrs. McBride made a sideways glance at Newt and cleared her throat.

"Newt?" Mrs. McBride asked. "Aren't you going to introduce us to our new neighbors?"

Newt laughed sheepishly. "Oh, right. Warren, Jessica, I don't believe I've properly introduced you to my family yet. This woman sitting besides me is my wife Jewell."

Jewell just smiled and waved at me.

"And then there's our children," Newt continued. "You saw our boys already, didn't you? Well, their names are Glen and Homer, and their sisters' names are Shelly, Melba, and Frankie."

The kids just gave me and Namęšéme little grins that seemed etched onto their faces. Namęšéme and I couldn't help but grin back at them just to be polite. It wasn't until a little while later that one of the kids said something.

"I heard your grandpa signed you up to attend the same school as me," Frankie said.

"Uh-huh." I darted my eyes towards the ground. "I'm not looking forward to it, though."

"Why not?"

"I don't wanna talk about it..."

Namęšéme seemed to notice me, and he just chortled to my answer. "Oh, Jessica's just kidding, aren't you, sweetie?"

I said nothing to it. I hated that he would put me on the spot like that. Why would he even do that to me? Didn't he know why I wasn't looking forward to going back to school? It would've been just like how it was in Malta... kids teasing me about how I wasn't "girly enough" or how I looked too boyish for them. Not helping me was knowing that I had already started puberty. I so was not looking forward to being reminded of my assigned gender at birth.

Newt laughed right back at my namshim. "Well, I'm sure little Jessica's nervous about going back to school. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right? It's only middle school."

"Exactly." Namęšéme got up and took his plate with him. "Jessica, I'm going to get some Arbuckle fried pies. Do you want any?"

I perked up, seeming to put aside my hurt and worries for now. I chirped my answer at my namshim, and he happily snagged up some Arbuckle fried pies for me. At least something good was coming out of this. I got to indulge in some much desired dessert for my troubles.