May 3rd, 1997

The boy narrowed his eyes at the clock on his wall. It was almost 5:30.

Artemis straightened his tie in the mirror, turning his glare to his reflection. He sighed, remembering his mother's words. He had to play nice.

He had thought of everything to postpone this dinner-nothing short of burning down the house. The child prodigy had even thought about feigning an extreme illness, but dismissed all his ideas in the end.

His parents were excited about the neighbors. He wouldn't demolish their happiness. He was, after all, an eight year old boy.

Slowly and reluctantly, Artemis walked out of his room in in white Armani suit to go downstairs and meet their guests.

The sound of laughter caught his ears as Artemis walked down the stairs to the main room. He soon found his parents with drinks in their hands, talking to a couple on the loveseat across from them.

Artemis frowned. The couple looked...Gaunt. As though they were sickly or malnourished. They were as skinny as twigs and had dark bags under their eyes. Artemis instantly had a bad feeling about them.

"And this is our son, Artemis." Angeline stood up, beckoning Artemis to them.

He walked over, shaking their hands. "Good afternoon."

The man chuckled, a soft, light, and wheezy soft of laugh. "Very polite." He commented, leaning back against the seat.

The woman nodded and scoffed, "If only our daughter would be that way." She said dryly.

Artemis winced. Her breath smelled like old cigarettes. But he kept his posture, knowing that it was impolite to say anything or show anything.

Angeline smiled, "Why don't you go meet…" Her smile fell a bit, "I'm sorry, I can't remember-"

"Jessica." The man interrupted.

Mr. Fowl nodded, "She's in the music room, Artemis. We'll have Butler call you both down when he finished dinner."

Artemis nodded and sighed, turning on his heel. He was happy to leave, at that point. The smell of smoke was choking him.

As the boy ventured down to the east wing where the music room was, he imagined what this girl would look like. Stringy hair and ashen colored clothes came across his mind, a mousy kind of face like her mother and father. He scowled.

The house across the street was not a commonwealth kind of house. It was a manor, as big as Fowl Manor. It was certainly historic as well. Artemis wondered why they weren't well kept, then, if they were wealthy.

He shrugged. It wasn't his place to judge, as much as he wanted to.

Again, pictures of a scrawny, depressed little girl popped into his mind, and Artemis shook his head. He would try to play nice, but if this girl was stupid…

He opened the door to the music room and paused.

She wasn't anything like Artemis had pictured. Not a scrawny, mousy nosed and lipped girl. Dark brown curls cascaded down her back, wrapped in a bright green bow that matched the one wrapped around her white dress. And that was just the back of her that Artemis saw when he walked in, as she was examining some of the instruments on the other side of the room.

Not quite into girls at the moment, Artemis sighed and walked over to her. Make nice. He remembered his mother's words to him earlier that day. "That's a cello." He said, thinking it was a good conversation starter. He had read articles prior to the date about how to make good conversations. Honestly, it was the one skill he lacked in that the boy wasn't too excited about to study for.

"I know." She turned to him, her full lips and wide green eyes, "I play the viola."

Artemis nodded. Perhaps he could have an intelligent conversation with her. "Did you know that the cello was made in the 16th century? It was invented by the Amati family of luthiers?"

Jessica giggled, "I don't think any 7 year old knows that." He punched his arm playfully.

Artemis frowned. Nope. She wasn't different. "I know that. And I'm eight."

She giggle again, hiding her smile behind her hand as she walked around, looking him in the eye. "Hi, Eight. I'm Jessica."

This time, Artemis scowled. Here she was, playing stupid games with him. "Artemis." He objected professionally. "My name is Artemis James Fowl the Second."

Jessica laughed, "Fancy." She said, looking over the piano and running a finger down the keys one by one slowly.

Artemis winced at the dissonance of the notes, continuing to be utterly irritated by her. "Jessica-"

"Call me Jess." She said, turning around and facing him, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. "Everyone in the place I lived before called me that."

"Jessica." Artemis almost growled, becoming even more frustrated at the little girl. "You seem...A bit too energetic for my tastes."

Jessica gave him a look. "Energetic?" She shrugged, "We're kids. Mommy and Daddy say I'm suppose to be energetic."

Artemis rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off when Butler opened the grand doors behind him. "Dinner is ready." He announced.

The genius almost sighed with relief. He wouldn't have to spend any more of his time trying to converse with her alone. Still, he remembered his impeccable manners as he turned back to Jessica, offering his arm to lead her down to the dining hall.

Jessica giggled softly and, instead of looping her arm through his, she grabbed the boy's arm and started to skip out of the room and down the hall.

Artemis rolled his eyes again, dragging behind her as she painfully tugged at his arm, curls bouncing back and forth behind her.

"Hello again, Jessica." Angeline greeted as the little girl bounced into the elegant room. It was decorated beautifully, candles, expensive china, and a long, lace-covered dining table in the center of the room.

Jessica smiled at her, finally letting go of Artemis' arm to wave as she greeted her back before walking over to her parents and sitting down at the table with them. Artemis sighed and sat across from her, in between his parents.

Butler and Juliet came in a minute later, both of them carrying in plates of finely grilled steaks, asparagus stalks, and a side of fresh salad.

"Here, sweetie." Juliet murmured as she set down Jessica's plate in front of her. "I cut up the pieces for you."

Jessica smiled up at her. "Thank you."

Juliet smiled back, "What would you like to drink?" She asked.

Her mother spoke up then, reaching into her purse and chuckling. "Oh, it's fine, dear. Jessie only drinks one thing." She pulled out a yellow bottle. "Pineapple juice."

Artemis winced as Juliet stood back up, nodding at Jessica. "What is...Pineapple juice?" He asked.

Jessica giggled, pushing her head behind her ears. "It's exactly what it sounds like, Artemis." She lilted. "It's juice from a pineapple." The girl held it out to him across the table. "Wanna try it?"

Artemis had to hold back a snarl. She was acting as though he was an incompetent, ridiculous fool.

And she was going to be living right next door.