I Caught Myself
FOUR
Eight years later.
May was taken into a family at age eight. She's fourteen now, and they just moved to Littleroot from Lilycove.
"May, dear! We're here!" May's mother called from outside the moving truck. She pulled the doors toward herself which revealed all their furniture and random things, all packed in boxes and wrapped in some sort of thin plastic to shield them from dust and grime.
May groggily stepped out of the moving truck, one of her hands covering her mouth appropriately. "Mom…"
"Yes, hun?" She asked her adopted daughter as she marveled at the house standing right in front of her.
"Don't ever make me travel in the moving truck…" May answered, running inside the house and making use of the toilet before anyone else did. The whole journey from Lilycove had been bumpy in the truck, and May got dizzier and dizzier by the second. Finally, she gave up here in Littleroot.
"Brendan, do come with me to the Neighbor's house? They just moved in, and I want to give them a welcoming present." Delia told Brendan, fussing around in the kitchen. Brendan stood and walked towards his busy mother, picking up a wooden spoon and dipping it in the cookie batter. He lifted it from the thick liquid and tasted it.
"Mom, this is the best batch of cookies you've ever made. What are these?" Brendan asked.
"They're my regular chocolate chip cookies. I just decided to change the recipe a bit."
"Oh…well, see ya later, then." Said Brendan, dashing towards the door.
"Hold it, mister!" Delia screeched, bringing Brendan to a halt. He was already by the door then, and he was positioned to turn the doorknob. "You're not going anywhere. You're coming with me, and we're meeting with the new neighbors."
Brendan turned around and sighed. "Don't worry mom, I'm going to meet with them right now. I'm just gonna beat you to it."
Delia smiled at him and nodded, letting Brendan go to his destination. The Maples' house.
Brendan stepped outside, stretching his arms up as he looked to his right and found a moving truck parked in front of the once-empty house. He watched as the Machoke unloaded boxes from the truck and loaded them into the house. A middle-aged man stood beside the truck to supervise. Brendan ignored this and entered the house. Well, why not? The door was open, anyway.
"Helloooo?" Brendan asked, stopping just beside a coat rack. Mrs. Maple peeked out of the kitchen and noticed him. She dropped the utensils she was wiping with a white cloth a few seconds ago and rushed towards the living room.
"Why, hello, dear."
"Uhm, hi. I'm Brendan Birch…you must be Mrs. Maple?" Brendan asked, unsure of what to say.
"Yes, that's right. Oh! You're William's son?"
"Yes, ma'am. My mom sent me here to greet you. She said she'll be here a little later."
"Is that so? Then Brendan, do you mind staying here to wait for your mom?"
"I don't, ma'am. I'd love to sit here and wait…" Brendan answered, a little too doubtfully. 'Yeah, who wouldn't love sitting and waiting?' He frowned, the thought not fully fading away from his mind as he found a chair and sat on it.
May groaned, trying to act strong for this new town. She looked herself down and sighed, noticing the hint of wetness around her collar. She had been sweating heavily because of nausea. She ran down the stairs, screaming for her mother. "Mom! Mom, where'd they put my freaking suitcase?! My closet's still not in my room!"
Her speed picked up, and because of the angry thoughts floating around her head, she hadn't noticed the box by the staircase. She took one more hurried step and tripped, her fall causing her to wince in pain. Brendan noticed this and held in a laugh. He picked himself up and walked towards May.
"You really should be more careful," Brendan said, his smile gigantic. May looked at him grumpily, taking his hand as support for her to stand up.
"And who are you?" She asked, brushing the dust away from her apparel.
"I'm Brendan Birch. I live next door."
"Oh." Escaped May's lips. She was at a loss for words, as she stared deep into his ruby red eyes. She caught herself doing so, and she shook her head violently, looking down at the ground. Their hands were still gripped.
Brendan shook hands with her, noticing that it had been awkward that they were still holding hands at that point.
"What about you?" Brendan asked, finally letting go of her hand. He realized that this wasn't the kind of formal introduction he always had with new acquaintances.
"Huh?" May asked, dazed and frozen in her spot.
"What's your name?" Brendan asked, the childish question ringing in May's ear.
"What's it to you?!" May retorted, trying to hide her extraordinary antics from this stranger.
"Well, we're neighbors. Wouldn't it be weird if I saw you everyday and I'd go, 'Hey, Whatsername, hi!'?" Brendan answered, trying to think of a better statement than that.
May cocked an eyebrow up at him. "I'm May. May Maple. Now, if you'll excuse me, Brendon, I have to go look for my clothes."
"It's Brendan." Brendan corrected.
"Whatever!" May huffed, storming off to the kitchen to see her mother. This had been awkward for her. Her heart had begun to beat madly in her chest, and she was blushing wildly, though she was trying to control this. She glanced at the hand she used to shake with and sighed. This was something different…but it was so familiar.