Belle & Daegan

Daegan

She'd met him when she was thirteen, when his family moved into the vacant house next to her grandparent's farm. A fence divided their properties. He had approached her when she was picking apples in the orchard.

"Hi."

She glanced at him before resuming her picking.

"I'm Daegan. I just moved into the blue house."

"Oh. Hi." Belle stopped her picking, and carried the basket down the ladder. It was nearly full of apples, and it caused her biceps to strain against the weight. "I'm Belle." She tried not to grunt too loudly from straining against the heavy weight.

"Here, let me help you," Daegan said. He took the basket from her, and effortlessly carried it back to the big green house. The barn was to the left, the chicken coop built against the side of it, unpainted. Half of the wood was blue, as Belle's grandfather was in the middle of painting it.

"Thanks," Belle said, when he set the basket down on the house's white porch.

"So...you live here?" he asked.

"No, my grandparents do. But I come here every weekend."

"Ah." He nodded.

They stood there in silence.

"I should get back--"

"I need to do chores--"

They walked away from each other uneasily.

--

One of her grandparents' horses was expecting a foal, and it was due any day now. Belle asked her grandparents if she could invite her group of friends--her squad--if they could stay a few days over the rare four-day weekend.

"That sounds wonderful!" Reed said happily, when Belle finished telling them at lunch. She twirled her long blond hair with her finger, then braided a small one with a small section of her hair.

"A weekend in the country! Sounds like paradise," said Harissa, a dark-skinned girl with big curly hair.

"Would it be smelly?" asked Qwin, timidly. Her short black hair swished when she glanced at her friends.

"Kind of, but you get used to it," Belle said.

"I wish Ellie could come with us," Olive said sadly.

The girls all nodded in unison. Ellie had been part of their group of friends last year, but she had to move after eighth grade.

"She's too far to make it in time," Harissa said, staring at her lunch tray.

"Yeah," Reed sighed. She picked at her food tray, losing her appetite. "Anyway, Olive, Harissa, can you make it to cheerleading practice after school? It's the last practice before break."

Belle listened to them chatter about after-school clubs and groups. She wasn't in any activities, but she wished that there was a horseback riding group, but that would be inconvenient for the city.

"Are there any neighbors around you? Or is it just you for miles?" Qwin asked.

"There's Mia's grandparents' farm, and there's Martin and his dad's farm," said Belle. "They're a ways away, and you can see their houses in the distance. But right next to me is Daegan and his family's farm," Belle said.

Qwin nodded. "Do you have any friends out there?" she asked.

"Daegan, and I see Martin and Mia sometimes. There's another girl farther away, but I've never met her."

"Can't wait to see your farm," Qwin said, her brown eyes glinting.

"I can't wait for you to hang out with me there!" Belle said excitedly.