Unpredictable

The New Guy?

Middle of the Summer, Toronto.

To a small street, just off of one of the mains. A small house, the walls tiled and a dull red. An old, worn brown roof.
The roads were silent, other than the noises of bickering people and honking cars.

Barking. "LIANA!!"

A teenage girls smacked her head of bright red hair on the wall beside her bed, groaning as her thirteen-year old little sister bursted into her bedroom. "Wha-a-a-at?!"

She sat up, rubbing her brown eyes, looking up to meet a young green pair. "Mom just got back!"

Liana, the eldest girl, had thrown her blanket off her legs and bounded from her bed. "Are the dogs okay?" There had been a virus of sickness which had spread recently and infected neighbourhood pets: dogs, cats, rodents, even birds.

Yipping from downstairs. The two girls rushed down the rickety staircase to where small puppies are waiting. A Pom, and a corgi, named Susie and Jojo. Susie waddled towards Leah, where Jojo limped to Liana.

"What's wrong with Jojo's walking?" Leah asked, looking at their mother. Their mom hung her grey coat on the metal coat rack. "Vet said he got an infection in his paws, so they had to shave it and soak the skin in medicine. He'll be able to run in about two weeks." The corgi whimpered.

Susie crawled into Leah's arms, where the seventh grader craddled the dog like a small child. "What about Susie?"

"She'll have to go back next weekend. The virus affected her stomach, so she has to feed on non-solid foods, which won't be the worst but it's still a fear." Both girls frowned.

A few minutes later, it was about eleven in the morning. Liana stepped outside, her sneakers dragging against the dirty wood of the house porch.

"Hey, watch with that!" Her attention was drawn to her right, where across the street diagonally, a moving truck sat at the curb. A man, about mid-fourties, ordered around the movers, marching around the pale green yard.

She leaned on the porch railing, but stepped back quickly as she heard a crack of wood. "Damn, this house is old," Liana muttered bitterly.

A boy stood by the side of the empty road, arms crossed as he watched his father bark around the tired movers. His light brown, curly hair shook just ever-so-slightly in the soft summer breeze. His brown eyes shimmered beautifully in the sun.

"Daniel!" The father shouted, his face red like he was about to rip out all of the little amount of hair he has. "Stop slacking!"

He obviously gave a sigh, before trudging himself along and into the worn-down house that looked like every other one. Liana crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised. "New guy, eh?"

"Yeah, he's cute!" She jumped, spinning around to see a smirking Leah.

Liana rolled her eyes. "C'mon!" her little sister pressured. "You were so checking him out." The two argued stubbornly, bickering back and forth until their mom yelled at them to get their butts inside and eat some lunch.

And just like that, the next month was just as silent until school bells rang.