The rain stopped after another half hour or so. Just a sliver of sunlight poked through the edges of the remaining gray clouds and the sodden leaves and needles of the trees. Water fell in heavy drops off the edge of the roof as Jordyn, Laura, and Jesse steeped outside. Rusted old bikes sat gathering cobwebs to the left of the door, leaned against the wall under the cabin’s overhanging roof. The tiny old that once ran along the outside of the cabin had long since decayed, its crumbling grey stones now in patches with weeds springing up in between them.
“Can we take the bikes?” Laura asked, looking up at her brother. She was just half his size. A little blonde pony tail hung back as her face turned almost to be almost level with the sky. She was wearing her purple rain boots again.
“No,” said Jesse, his own messy, dirty blond hair falling further into his dark eyes as he looked down sideways at her. “They’re old and broken, and you’ll never make it up and down these hills in the mud.”
Laura began to pout. “Screw you. You’re no fun.”
Jesse rolled his eyes. “Watch your language.”
She stuck out her tongue and started down the hill, running a little with the sharp incline. Her ponytail bobbed as she flew through the mud and wet leaves and pines. Two muddy trails appeared where her feet had dragged and slid, pushing aside the pinecones and brush. She screamed as she skidded to a halt at the bottom, grabbing onto a tree she nearly crashed into for support. Jordyn laughed.
“Look, there’s my flip-flop!” she said, pointing to the top branches of the tree Laura was clutching. A dirty white flip-flop was tangled in its branches. Jesse looked up. Before he had time to notice, Jordyn was at the bottom of the hill. Jesse hurried after them, but fell halfway down and slid the rest of the way on his butt.
The girls giggled. Jordyn offered her hand. Jesse didn’t want to look like a baby and take it, but he’d rather that than to seem rude. She pulled him up. He was surprised, he hadn’t expected her to be so strong.
“You’re so short,” he noticed aloud as he stood up fully right in front of her. His chin was level with the top of her head.
“Am not!” She said. “I’m five-two. That’s average.”
“That’s two inches below average.”
“I don’t wanna be tall.”
“Why not?”
“I dunno. I don’t like it.” She said, her slender nose crinkling slightly. “I’m a girl, I like to be little.” At the moment, she was wrapped in a huge black sweatshirt of Jesse’s. It practically consumed her, falling halfway to her knees so that it appeared as if she weren’t wearing pants.
“Good thing, too, cause you are.” Jesse smiled playfully.
“Shut up,” Jordyn said in the same way, punching his arm slightly.
“Oh, tough girl now, aren’t you?” He said, grinning.
“Yup, I’ve always been tough. I have three brothers, remember?”
“That makes you tough?”
“If you want the remote in my house, you need to know how to fight.”
