The Moonlarks

Hmm...?

We were questing. I knew that Sophie would be able to find me, but she wouldn't be able to catch me. I assumed that my whole life I had been using an elvin skill, channeling energy to other parts of my body. This is why I've been so fast all my life. I tried to remember which direction callan went and headed that way. Biana, Keefe, and Fitz followed behind.

I guess my kotlc obsession paid off, because I knew Everglen like the back of my hand. Callan's face was priceless when he saw us running toward him, I was faster than all of them so I caught them all with Keefe's help. "Great job Kelly!" Keefe commented. "You're just like Foster" I smiled, getting a complement from Keefe was almost better than seeing Callan's shocked face.

"Well, it's not like I haven't played base quest before." I commented. "Me, Callan, Ryan, and our friend Hannah played it all the time. I've only ever lost once, but I was with Ryan so that explains itself."

We all laughed, except for Ryan, who seemed pretty pissed about that comment. "Hey!" He remarked "I wasn't even the worst player. We can all agree Hannah was." That comment only seemed to add the laughter. "Just... because... you've... won more... then her... doesn't mean your... better." I said in between giggles. Once I calmed down, I added, "at least Hannah knows how to stay quiet."

"Ugh" Ryan sighed, but I could see he was trying to hide a smile. He started walking inside, and Linh went after him, followed by Keefe, Callan, Biana, Fitz, and Marella. Sophie stayed behind, I could tell she wanted to talk to Robin and I.

"I just realized," she started "it must have been so much harder for you guys to come here. I always knew I was different, that I would never truly fit in. But you guys had so many good friends that you had to leave behind. I know that you, Kelly, have been holding strong for you friends. And Robin, you've just been feeding yourself these 'memes' to have a good laugh. Sometimes it helps to talk about the people you miss. Let's start with the closest friends you had to leave behind."

"Hannah, Thomas, Ce Ce, Jonah." I immediately said. "Huh, I never thought Ce Ce would be in there, but I guess we go to each other for advice, and she's a great listener." "Ok, now try talking about the three others." "Oh, god, this is gonna be hard. Ok," I took a deep breath. "Hannah. She's awesome, creative, funny, but also serious. She helps me in school and doesn't let me get off track. She's also an amazing artist. I could keep going forever." I listed

"Next, Thomas. He was funny, kind, and weird, but that's why he was Thomas. He never sat with us at lunch, but he almost always played with us at recess. He was a really good challenge when it came to physical strength, and Callan has known him since first or second grade, but I've only known him since the beginning of fifth grade." I had started to let a few tears slip down my cheek, and I sat down on a nearby rock, Robin came and sat next to me.

"Last, Jonah. What to say about Jonah. Well first of all, I've known him since first grade, and we share a birthday. We were always a metaphorical team, even though we mostly teamed up against each other. In fourth grade in the summer we would go behind the play structure and battle each other. We always made it super dramatic." I laughed a little. "Callan would sit up on the play structure and commentate. The last time we did that was the last day of fourth grade. Even though we were never super close, he was still an awesome friend to have."

At this point, I just had to go. I got it and went down to the lake. I ran to a tree we used for base quest. I stopped running at this point because I knew the lake was close. As soon as a saw the shimmering aquamarine, I stopped and sat down on a nearby rock. Then I started to cry. Not just a few tears at a time running down my face, but full bawling. I started to do what I always do when I'm sad. singing.

It started out with a few tears still running down my face, but once I really started, I stopped crying. "You with the sad eyes. Don't be discouraged, oh I realize, it's hard to take courage. In a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all. The darkness inside you, can make you feel so small." I got up and started climbing a tree with low branches. I stopped on the second branch and sat down on that.