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2~Charming Manor

The picture above shows Autumn Grant!
2~Charming Manor
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    Grasping for breath, Holly was clutching her hip. Kings Cross was not the kind of game for her preppy personality. It's a dodgeball game and you try to get a flag from the other team without being hit. Autumn, however, was all in for it. All Holly seemed being capable of is hiding behind her friend, but Autumn seemed to like hanging out with her friend in the beanie, Callie she said her name is. They rocked the boys' worlds—and once when Holly's not being hit or pushed out of the way—she laughed.
    After gym and science, art was the last subject of the day. It turns out to be Autumn's favorite subject, and for free draw she drew the prettiest cake, it looked like it had frosting and all. Holly looked at her own drawing. It was a stack of books, but she was positive one way or another Autumn could make one ten times better.

~*•*~

    Swinging her pink and blue backpack over her shoulder, Holly walked home, but a familiar but yet unfamiliar voice calls her.
    "Wait up, Holly!" she turns around to see one of the girls that was with Autumn. "Sorry about the timing, and by the way, I'm Lila," the girl continues, "but I asked Autumn and she said I could ask you if you wanted to go to our party!" As she says, party, she brings her foot over her head and touches her nose with her knee.
    "Wow, umm, that's cool," Holly points out, "and yah, I could come. When and where?"
    "It's at my house, which is two houses over from Autumn's," Lila replies, excitedly. "You can come right after school."
    "Sure..." Holly mutters. "I might make it."
    "Yay! See you there!" Lila yells in pleasure, and trots away.
    Pushing open the cold glass and metal front doors to the school open, Holly makes her way home. It was about two blocks—or rather one forth of a mile—so the walk only took about ten to fifteen minutes. The cracked sidewalk rustled like wiggling worms under Holly's light pink and light grey newly bought sneakers. The houses she passes are all two or three stories, the lights inside gleaming onto the road. Only a cupel cars pass on the asphalt road, and the misty air makes it clear that it's going to rain more than the dark sky, barley bringing in sunlight.
    Then there it is, still two stories with a basement but quite small, Holly walks into her house. She turns off the alarm and leaves a note for her mom, who she knows is always the worried type, not a bad thing, but the note goes like this,

    Dear mother,
I AM ALRIGHT! I have met new friends at school, who where also friends with Autumn. One has invited me to a party, and it's only a few houses down. If you want to pick me up at any time, PLEASE CALL MY CELL! Don't just be 'That Mom' that embarrasses her kid in front of others, just notify me and I'll wait outside for you. Don't go crazy, I'm letting you know for a reason.
    Love from your one and only, Holly

    Holly rings the doorbell to the pale blue house. With pale yellow shutters, it somewhat represents a doll house. A flower garden in front of the house makes it bright and vibrant. With her preppy personality, this is dream home to someone like Holly, who in fact, has a grandmother that lives in a similar house but the house is like the pale yellow shutters as the paint, and then there's mint green shutters. Her grandmother's home is a victorian style, and the wonderful smell of lemongrass always welcomes her. The door opens with a creek, interrupting Holly's thoughts. Lila is there to greet her, and does a ariel when she notices Holly's familiar appearance.
    "You made it!" Lila hugs her impulsively as a boy with red hair and freckles walks in behind Lila. Holly recognizes him from earlier that day, and in fact, all of Autumn's friends are in the background.
    "Who's this, Li?" he asks, looking Holly up and down. "Oh, she's from school. That newbie."
    "Hey!" Holly yells in defense. "Don't call me a newbie, and I have a name. Holly, it is."
    "Ya, Holly, well your heart is pounding two times more than three minutes ago," he replies. Holly stairs at him in shock as he ignores her and continues, "you need to get used to the group, if I'm gonna let you around here. You know Lila and Autumn, and now you know me. Charlie, they call me. Charlie Mist."
    "Well, Charlie, like you said let's get her to know the group. This way, Holly," Lila leads them to the back of the room, and four kids, including Autumn, sits on a couch and one sits on a chair, next to them. Lila starts with the one on the chair. "Jay, this is Holly. You saw her at school, maybe, but she's new and we're introducing her to everyone. Holly, this is Jay Cross. Autumn, are we..." Lila stops to look at Autumn, and Holly looks the same way. Autumn shakes her head and mouths, later. Holly wanted to say something but Lila went on, left to right, "This is Ivy Landon, then you know Autumn Grant, and I believe you know about Callie Labrie-"
    "Like, whatever," Callie peeps in, fixing her beanie.
    Lila doesn't take notice. "And lastly here we got Ashton White-"
    "-You can call me Ash-"
    "-Yep. We call ourself the Gala Group, go ahead, laugh, so do you have any questions?"
    "Autumn, what were you not... well..." Holly starts, but her friend gives her a disapproved look. Trying to get more courage, Holly starts again, "what do I not know. You're not being honest with me, Aut. When you left I felt broken, and why did you leave me? Any reason, Autumn?"
    With a sigh, Autumn replies. "Please, Hol. Please don't let me worry about you, too. Ivy here is new, but if you were in her place, and does what she does..."
    "Autumn! I'm not a baby, I can live with it! Please, you would never do something like this to me at Leaves!" Holly yells, louder than she thought. Leaves middle school was the one they went to a year ago, the one Autumn transferred from to come to Chestnut Pine.
    "But I couldn't. I couldn't live with myself, Hol, I just couldn't," she replies with her head down.
    Anger boils up inside Holly, and she could never, not how hard she tried, remember in the past getting this hot headed. The light blue couch Autumn was sitting on made her think of the blue sky's back in Leaves. Lila was just visible out of the corner of her eye, stayed back like she was trying to stay away from danger, with fear in her eyes. Trying to calm down, Holly slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out. Before she left though, she turned around to look at them.
    "When you have time to be a honest and good friend, I'll always be ready." Without another word, she stormed off, closing the door behind her. Holly ran home, fighting her tears that try to make their way out of her eyes.
    Holly's mother's black SUV was parked in the driveway, and without bothering to ring the yellow doorbell, she raced inside. Mrs. Collins was sitting on a chair by the doorway, putting down Holly's note. With a slight frown, she beckons Holly to her, and holds her daughter in her arms.
    "Honey, what happened?" Mrs. Collins asks, sympathy in her eyes. "Don't worry to cry out, it's just me. Just me and some matches to sparkle a fire inside that soaking body." So Holly didn't worry to cry out. She pored all the anger and sadness out with her tears, and chocking them down, she replies.
    "I feel treated like a baby. Like I can't handle anything, like I'm too 'young to understand'. I feel like a baby who can't talk yet with a bunch of geniuses in a tiny room. I may not be able to speak, but that doesn't mean I can't understand!" Holly cries out as Conner walks in with his pop-out eyeball glasses on.
    "Sissy! Do you want to play..." he starts, but stops once he sees Holly sobbing into their mom's arm. "Umm, sorry, did I interrupt something? I'm guessing I should go..."
    "No, Con. You can stay. Hol's in just having a tough time with friends, okay?" Mrs. Collins replies, patting a set next to her for her son to sit down.
    "Mom, I don't want to be rude, but I think this is girl's stuff. Now if you'd excuse me-" he didn't have time to finish the thought before he turned his heal and scurried off.