June 28th

LeeAnne, Mariah, Genesis, and Arizona were all stretched out across the floor in Paige’s room. They’d pulled a late night watching movies in the Mitchells’ living room, then bunked upstairs where, instead of sleeping, the girls all stayed up talking another couple hours. Now, late into the morning, everyone was occupying Paige’s bright pink bedroom – except Paige herself.

Genesis turned over and blinked her eyes open. A quick gaze around the room told her that it was well into the morning. The blue eyes grazed across LeeAnne’s hand for a moment, but the ring wasn’t there. She must have taken it off to sleep.

The door creaked open softly and Paige padded in, nearly silent. Gen stretched her neck around to watch the short girl’s path. When Paige became aware of the sensation that she was being watched, she gazed across the palette on the floor. Gen gave her a little wave.

“Hey,” Paige whispered, a pretty smile rolling across her face. “I was trying not to wake anybody up.”

“I woke up anyway,” Gen whispered back. “What are you doing?”

“Making breakfast with my mom. Want some pancakes?”

Mariah’s body jolted suddenly and she sat upright. It took her a second to realize where she was before she groaned and dropped back to the pillow. Genesis and Paige started laughing.

“It’s not funny,” Mariah said, in a voice loud enough to wake up the other two. “Your room is way too pink to wake up to, Paige.”

LeeAnne and Arizona, both with their eyes still shut, giggled at Mariah’s comment. “What time is it, Paige?” LeeAnne asked.

“About ten thirty,” she answered. “You guys want some food?”

It didn’t take any coaxing for Gen, Zone, and LeeAnne to get up and follow her downstairs. Mariah stole the pillow that Lee had been using and covered her head with it, fully prepared to continue sleeping. “Way too pink,” her muffled voice repeated. “Can’t deal with it yet.”

Paige stuck her tongue out at Mariah. “Fine then. I’ll save you some.”

The door shut and the room was silent. Mariah was back asleep in no time.

---

Arizona was the first to start leaving. “I’ve got to get back. If I want to be allowed out tonight to go to the meeting, I’m going to have to clean my room first. Mom barely let me out last night as it was.”

“Okay. See you tonight, Zone.” Genesis waved her good-bye.

“You need a ride or anything to Sasha’s?” asked Paige.

“Nah, Mariah’s supposed to pick me up.”

“Yeah, if she’s awake by then,” joked LeeAnne. “You may have a brown-haired lump on your floor for a few more hours, Paigey.”

Arizona laughed. “Well, get her out of that cocoon sometime today, we’re supposed to be at Sasha’s at a quarter past six, right?”

“Something like that.” LeeAnne tried to keep her voice casual.

Paige rolled her eyes and started laughing. “Yeah right, like you don’t know when we’re supposed to meet up tonight. Cashus is going to be there, so you’ll probably be the first one in the door.”

Genesis gave her a mock whistle-y sound. “Hubba-hubba, Lee.”

“You guys leave me alone,” LeeAnne ordered. “I have to go home soon just because it’s going to take me all day to decide what I want to wear for when I meet him. I don’t need any more harassment from you three.”

“It’s okay,” Paige reminded her. “The one who would really harass you is dead on my floor.”

Arizona turned the knob. “Well, unless I want to be dead on someone’s floor, I have to leave now. Like I started to do a minute ago. Bye, guys.”

“Bye, Arizona!”

---

Zone was just beginning to wonder what the lump ahead of her on the sidewalk might be when she realized that that lump was at the base of a familiar tree. She quickened her stride when she was positive that it was the boy with the black coat.

“Hey,” she called out. “Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

The guy looked up at her and remained silent until Arizona was in front of him. “Oh, yeah, it’s you. Didn’t recognize you since you weren’t falling over.”

Resisting the urge to become annoyed, she started to offer him her hand. “I’m Arizona.”

“That’s a weird name,” he replied, staring her square in the eye. He ignored the hand.

“I was born there,” she answered defensively. Arizona withdrew her hand and paused for a moment, feeling the familiar sensation of awkwardness in front of him returning. “Why are you always sitting under this tree?”

“Because it’s there.” He was smiling, clearly enjoying her exasperation. “If it wasn’t here, I wouldn’t sit under it.”

It was almost comical enough to laugh at, but Arizona didn’t want to grant him the satisfaction. “You’re kind of annoying,” she told him.

“I get that a lot.”

Arizona nodded towards his coat. “Doesn’t it get hot wearing that?”

“It gets hot but it keeps me from getting sunburned,” he replied. “Plus it helps me blend in at night.”

She had a vision of him robbing a bank, and realized that it was just a bit too easy to picture. With the long black coat, the old combat-looking boots, the fingerless black gloves on his hand . . . all that was missing was the pantyhose on the head. Arizona realized that the paranoia was probably her mother kicking in – after all, the guy didn’t seem dangerous, just eccentric. “I never caught your name,” she said. Then, realizing what she’s set herself up for, Arizona sighed –

“That’s because I never threw it.”

Without fail. Of course. Seeing that she would be getting nowhere with him, Arizona started to move on. “I guess I’ll see you around,” she said half-heartily.

“Not if I see you first,” he replied, in a sing-songy sort of way. Arizona let herself smile at that one. She definitely set herself up too easily. Time after time after time. Still, she had to admit it was fun running into him again.