For Kristin, a summer alone at her family's vacation cabin was the perfect getaway. The tranquil lake, picturesque views, and cherished memories beckoned her. However, her idyllic escape is quickly marred by her neighbor, Tory, who seems hellbent on...
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Kristin stood on the porch of her new summer home, taking in the serene view of the lake. She couldn't believe her parents had let her come out here by herself this year. Though between their fighting, they might not even notice. This summer was going to be a fresh start. She was going to embrace the tranquility and leave the worries of the past year behind.
But it didn't take long for her perfect getaway to soon take an unexpected turn. Just as she finished arranging the furniture to how she liked it, a loud explosion echoed through the woods, startling her. Kristin ran to her back deck, glancing over to the neighboring cabin, where the sound had originated. A girl with fiery red hair emerged, holding a gun over her shoulder. She looked to be around Kristin's age.
"Oh hello. You must be the new neighbor." The girl said when she saw Kristin on the deck. "Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm Tory!"
Kristin felt an immediate sense of annoyance and wanted to correct her. Her family had owned this place for a while, but they hadn't come up here since she was five. But she let it go. She had hoped for solitude, not a noisy neighbor who was already disturbing her peace. Nonetheless, she smiled politely, "Hi, I'm Kristin."
Over the next few days, Tory's loud activities became more frequent. Shooting guns, fireworks, several loud motor vehicles that she drove through the woods and around the lake, and at one point, Kristin had thought she had been killing a cat, but she had just been singing very loudly. And all of these activities seemed oddly drawn to Kristin's cabin. Were all part of her elaborate activities Tory was doing for the purpose of annoying her new neighbor? And did she not have parents? But Kristin didn't confront Tory about it, yet.
One evening, as Kristin was trying to relax on her back deck with a good book, Tory appeared with a portable speaker, blasting catchy pop songs and she looked over at Kristin as she began to dance. Rolling her eyes, Kristin retreated inside, determined not to let Tory get to her.
As the days passed, Kristin found herself waiting on what was next from Tory. The irritation she had felt, seemed to have transformed into curiosity for what her neighbor had planned now. There was something undeniably endearing about Tory's wild spirit.
When she saw Tory down by the lake, most likely planning something reckless, she made her way down to join her. To her surprise, she found her painting.
"Painting?" Kristin asked, crossing her arms. "No explosions or guns? This isn't nearly loud enough for you."
Tory glanced up, her green eyes bright with mischief. "What? You don't like my artistic side?"
Kristin sighed, "It's not just that. You keep interrupting my peaceful time."
Tory put down the brush she was holding and approached Kristin. "Look, I'm sorry if I've been a bit much. It's just that you seemed so serious, and I thought maybe I could help you loosen up."
"By purposely being obnoxious?" Kristin asked and Tory laughed a little.
"At first I was trying to run you out, sure." Tory nodded. "I am used to it just being me out here and having an extra pair of eyes has been weird. But you seemed so uptight when we first met, I thought maybe if I annoyed you enough, you'd either loosen up or leave."
