Devil in My View.

I didn’t know that there was a park by our house…then again, this was my first time exploring the town. I saw the boy, but for some reason, I felt too unnerved to go by him. Maybe it was my shyness getting the best of me. Avoiding the boy, I headed into town on foot. I didn’t have a bike; I couldn’t stand riding on them. I liked walking better, because it
gave me more time to think and clear my head. I could also see more things, and stop
faster.

The town was very quiet. I could hear every single one of my steps. At least I could hear if someone was chasing after me. I snorted at the thought, kicking a rock.

“Hey!”

I looked up, seeing a short girl rubbing her ankle and glaring at me.

“S-sorry.” I stuttered, feeling guilty.

“You should be.” She snapped. “Who are you anyway?”

“Um…I’m Kameron. Kameron Rivera. I’m new here?” I responded.

“Oh…oh! I heard that there was a new family coming here. I was wondering why someone would be crazy enough to move to this town,” she babbled, walking up to me.

“What do you mean, crazy enough-”

“Never mind about that. I’m Abby. If you call me Abigail, I will never forgive you.” Abby stuck her hand in mine and gave it a quick shake before turning on her heal and dragging me along. “Come on. I’ll show you around. I am so happy to meet a new friend!”

“Okay.” I said, looking down at her hand. I was wondering how such a small girl could be so strong. I felt like I was being pulled along by a car.

“Okay, so, the school is right over there.” Abby pointed ahead of us. “It’s hidden in the woods. Instead of taking the main road, you’ll probably want to cut through that path. Don’t let the police catch you, though. They are looking for a reason, any reason at all, to block the woods off.”

“Why would they want to do that?”

“Well, vandalism and such. They also want to keep all the teenagers in town so that they can keep watch over them. We’ve had some trouble with teenagers in the past, so…yeah. Parties are held in there and stuff. Wait until Halloween! It will be some awesome!” Abby smiled, then gripped my hand again and dragged me to the right. “This is the center of town.” She explained, gesturing to all of the small stores that we passed. “There’s the town hall.”

“I guess it would make sense that the town hall is in the center of the town.”

“Yeah.” She glanced at me, then quickly began the tour again. “There is a restaurant buried in the corner there called Kat’s Place, aka Kat’s. It’s the most decent restaurant around here, trust me. The closest fast food place is in the next town, a million blocks away, and any restaurant that you can dig up around here is either a place that hasn’t passed health inspections for many, many years, or a place where the weirdoes hang out.”

“And you don’t want to run into weirdoes?”

“Of course not!” Abby smacked my shoulder. “They’re weird. Believe me, stay away.”

“Okay, okay. I get the message. So, what do you do for fun around this place?” I enjoyed knowing where everything was, but, quite frankly, it was getting to be too much. With Abby’s talking and the few people who passed by here and there (that must be busy for this town…) I felt like I was going a bit insane.

“Hmm…well, normally I sit around with people and talk. You can also go to the library if you want. If you want to see a movie, again, you have to go to the next town over. A lot of us do that, make trips and stuff out of going to the other town.”

“How many people are here? And how do they keep the school running?”

“Well, we have one thing the other town doesn’t. A school. I know, weird, right? And we have some of the highest educators around. So, I guess we get something out of it.” She began to play with her hair, curling up the ends with her finger. “So, wanna come to my house? I’m pretty sure my mom could make us some lunch. Well, an early lunch. And, we could watch a movie or two.”

“That sounds fun.” I said, realizing that she still hadn’t let my hand go. I gently tugged it away. “But…are you sure? I just met you and all.”

“Well, my mom is home. And, we will be sitting in the living room. It’s not like you’re going to kill me or anything, right?”

The way she said it made me feel uncomfortable. “Right.”

“Okay then, let’s go.” Abby walked off again, seeming confident that I would follow. I wasn’t sure about it, but I followed.
***

“Mom!” Abby yelled as she opened the door to her house, looking around.

“Abigail, is that you?” A tell woman with dark hair walked into the room to greet us.

“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!”

“Abigail, I am your mother. You do not talk to me that way. Do not make me ground you again.” The woman gave Abby a stern gaze.

“Sorry.” Abby sighed, looking down.

“Now, who is our guest?”

“This is Kameron. He’s from the new family that just moved in.”

“Oh.” Her mother looked me up and down. “Well, welcome. I am Mrs. Stone, Abigail’s mother.”

“Hello.” I said, meeting her gaze.

Mrs. Stone gave me a small smile before looking back at Abby. “Have you seen any of your brothers?”

Abby shook her head. “Nope.”

“Those boys…they’re going to be the death of me!” She sighed, walking out of the room. “Come on and have some food you two.”

“See, what did I tell you?” Abby asked, following her mother.

“Yeah, you were right.” When I walked into the kitchen, I forgot all about the dreary town. It was bright and warm in there. Comfortable. I wondered if all homes were like this, or if the Stones were special.

“Are hot dogs okay with Kameron?” Mrs. Stone asked, pulling some plates out.

“Yeah, they’re fine.”

“Okay. So, do you have any siblings Kameron?”

“Mom!”

“What? I’m only asking a question.”

“It’s fine Abby.” I touched her arm. “Yes, I do. A little sister named Summer. She’s twelve.”

“Do you really? That must be so awesome!” Abby put her chin in her hands. “I wish I had a sister. Instead I’m stuck with a set of twins older than me.” She sighed.

“Those boys are perfectly fine. They just…like to stir up a little trouble.” Mrs. Stone said, putting buns on the plate and then hot dogs on top. “So, what grade will you be in?” She set the plates in front of us and opened a bag of chips.

“Thank you.” I said, looking down at my food. “I’ll be in eleventh.”

“Oh, so will the twins.” Mrs. Stone smiled. “What would you like to drink? We have some coke, some apple juice, and water.”

“I’ll take water, thank you.”

She grabbed a glass and filled it, sliding it over to me. “You know, Abby will be a sophomore this year. Second year of high school.”

“Yeah.” Abby said, accepting a glass of water from her mother. “The twins and I were born a year apart. My mom said we were miracles.”

“You three are. I was told that I could never have kids. Then I have twins! And then I have you.” Mrs. Stone gave Abby a smile. “I never want to lose you.”

It was all too easy to forget anything and everything in the Stones’ kitchen.
***
After watching a couple of movies, I headed back home, content with making a friend. Especially on my first day. The twins never did show. I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved. If they were nearly as hyper as Abby…then maybe relieved.

It wasn’t quite dark out, but it was late enough. Keeping to the sidewalk I found myself passing the park from earlier. It was quiet, with no one around. I don’t know what pushed me to do it, but I found myself walking into the park, looking around. “Hello? Anyone there?”