New to Barringa Heights, Alison Ashley wanted to walk around and find things. She was bored at home since her mother was asleep and she had no siblings. With her father in California, Alison was constantly alone. So she had decided to go and introduce herself to her neighbours in the hopes that they would have kids her age. She also wanted to find out where her new school was, since she was meant to start the following day and would most likely be walking there. But the problem was that she had no idea where she was going, and within a few minutes, she was lost. She saw someone coming her way and tried to stop them to ask for directions, but they ignored her and kept going.

"Great, now what am I going to do?" Alison asked herself as she turned a corner towards some houses.

There were a few people in the front yards but nobody seemed like they were very helpful. And one seemed downright nutty, though very kind. She pointed Alison to her neighbour's house, saying they were know-it-alls and could help. Alison thanked the elderly woman and carefully picked her way through the long grass until she reached the front door.

A moment later, the door was opened by a girl about the same age as Alison. "What do you want?" she asked, a little rudely.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm lost. I was looking for Barringa East High School, but to be quite honest, I don't even know where I am."

"This is Barringa East. Why are you looking for the school?"

"I'm supposed to start there tomorrow, and I just moved to Barringa Heights this morning so I haven't had the chance to find anything."

"Why aren't you going to Kyle Grammar then? You must be rich if you live in the Heights."

"They don't accept people mid-term, and Barringa East is the closest school anyway. And how would you know if I'm rich or not?"

"Everyone in the Heights is rich. You have to be to afford anything there."

Alison frowned a little, but the girl was right.

"I guess I can show you around a little," said the girl reluctantly. "But you'll have to wait until my mum gets back because I'm babysitting my little sister."

"Okay. I can wait then," said Alison politely. She wished she had a sister to watch.

"Come in. Do you want a drink?"

"No thank you." Alison followed the girl inside. "It's a lovely house."

"Are you making fun of my family?"

"What? No! I mean it. Our new house is really big but everything is so plain and I'm not allowed to decorate it. Your house is so amazing and cool."

"It's a dump."

"No it isn't. Maybe you can come over and see my house. Yours is lovingly cluttered, not a dump. I'm Alison by the way."

"Erica. And this is Jedda, my little sister." She pointed to a child playing with toy ponies.

"Do you have any other sisters or brothers?"

"Another sister, older and an older brother."

"Lucky you. I wish I had a brother or sister."

"Why? They're annoying."

"I'm always by myself. My father lives in California with his girlfriend and my mother is always asleep during the day and working at night."

"At least you can do whatever you want."

"Not really. I can't ever make noise and I can barely have friends over. It's always boring and super quiet in my house."

Erica snorted. "That's a bad thing? I would love to have some quiet here."

"Some quiet is good, but not when it's always quiet."

An hour later, Erica's mother got home. She smiled when she saw Alison. She was going to talk when Erica interrupted. "I'm taking Alison home now."

Alison smiled at Jedda and Mrs Yurken before following Erica out, not wanting her to change her mind about helping her. For a moment she was silent. Then she looked at Erica, a question on her mind. Erica spoke before she could.

"If you cross this oval, you can get back to Barringa Heights. But I'll show where the school is first, because I don't want to help tomorrow. As it is, I'll probably have to show you around, since everyone else is incompetent."

"Thank you." Alison was being polite but she thought it was extremely rude of this girl to put other people down for no reason.

Erica didn't speak again until the reached the school gate. "This is Barringa East High. I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning. Bye."

"Wait! How am I going to get home?"

Erica sighed. "If you're quick, I guess I can show you the way again."

Alison frowned but didn't speak. She just followed Erica so she could get home. She knew she was in trouble anyway, and she didn't need to make an enemy on her first day in her new home.

Ten minutes later, Erica stopped outside Alison's home and gasped. "This is amazing."

"Thank you," said Alison as she unlocked the front door. "Are you coming in?"

Erica looked at her in disbelief. "Really? You're inviting me in?"

"Yes. But we have to be quiet because my mum is still sleeping."

Erica nodded as she walked into the house. She followed Alison to a big kitchen, where Alison made them some milkshakes. "You have a massive home. It must be nice to live here."

"Not really. It's just my mum and I, so it gets really lonely."

"I'd love to be alone with just my mum sometimes. We hardly spend any time together."

"I'll swap with you," said Alison with a smile.

Erica grinned and both girls laughed, comfortable with each other.