𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗲 & 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 - 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗞𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘇

Junge Kinder!

As I wake up, it's light out and the sun shines nicely in my room. Today, mom told me I was going to be meeting the neighbor boys, she said it was time for me to get some friends. I'm barely in kindergarten, but I love new friends! I hop out of bed and run down the hall to brush my teeth and hair.

I forgot to shower last night because my parents took me to bed after I got sleepy on our couch. I pull on a messy T-shirt I got from Italy when I went with Ma for her job, and run down the steps barefoot. Mom turns around, making a funny noise at me. Dad drinks his coffee while he stands against the counter in the kitchen.

"Eve! You cannot meet new people barefoot, it's not right." She says nicely. I sigh, but run back up to my room. My mom scares me when I make her mad. Afterall, I'm only 4 and she is scary. I listen. I pull on striped socks and my tennis shoes, running back down nearly stomping to mom. She looks down me, and back to my eyes.

"That's better, are you ready now?" I nod eagerly, she smiles politely. I learned that word from school. Polite. It means to be nice, and it is a around the world rule. Mom taught me that. She takes my hand and we walk out the door, down the sidewalk, and to the house on the left side. I learned those in math too!

We walk up their sidewalk, mom knocks on the front door. A tall woman with a blonde pixie cut, blue eyes and a pretty nose. She smiles at my mother, unlocking the glass door. She opens it, smiling very wide now. "Ah! You must be Riley, come in!" Mom's name is Riley if you did not know. But now you do! I look around her house, interested.

It smells like pumpkin pie, and a bit of my favorite ice cream too. The woman bends down to me, squeezing my cheeks. "You're such a beautiful girl! What might your name be, sweet heart?" I hear a noise from the upper level, getting distracted but I remember I am talking with the woman and her good smelling house. "My name is Evelyn." I tell her, gripping my moms hand and smiling.

She laughs, petting my hair. "Beautiful brown hair, she's gorgeous Riley." The lady beams, standing up again. Mom thanks the woman, and the woman introduces herself as Charolette. A pretty name. A man comes from the lower level, hugging and kissing Charolette. I make a 'bleh' sound, turning away. All the grown-ups around me laugh before the man yells upstairs.

"Boys! The neighbors are here, come say hello!" Without a moment, loud footsteps come from the level above before two identical boys appear. They both run down the steps, and run their way over near me. One taller than the other looks at me. Like he's trying to look past me, but he isn't.

"Bill, Tom, this is Evelyn and her mother." The tall one walks my way, his short dirty blonde hair is spiked up, and he is a bit taller than me. He smiles very nice at me, his eyes are light brown, and like a pinecone. "Hi!" He smiles. I smile back, eagar for more friends. "What's your name?" I ask, feeling shy. But they look so alike, it's hard to tell them apart.

Though the boy with the same hair color, his hair is longer. To his chin. And straight, smooth, and pretty. Shiney. "I'm Bill! Evelyn?"I nod. He smiles. "Pretty name. Want to hug?" Just then, the other boy I am guessing is Tom walks up. I nod quickly, Bill wraps his arms around me. Squeezing me.

"Nice to meet you!" He laughs through his words, letting me go. Tom looks shy. He looks to his feet, then back to me. I wonder if my teal eyes make him feel weird. Maybe not. "I'm Tom." He stutters out, scooting a bit closer. I smile, hugging him too.

He freezes before he hugs back. I wonder why he's so shy. "Evelyn." I beam, squeezing his stomach. He wheezes, me and Bill laugh at Tom who turns pink. He looks down, his hair falls to his face. I smile.

***
(A day before Christmas)

I rush inside behind Bill, he has my hand in his, while Tom has my other so we don't get lost through the bad wind. Shivering and huddling on the snowy mat, Charolette comes down to us. She laughs, and leaves. Bill hugs me tighter, and I hug both of them. Trying to stay warm. Sadly, Bill is taller. And he and Tom are 5 now, I turn five in January.