Annalise found herself holding the door knob with one hand and looking out at the pair of mismatched kids that stood on the porch.

One was short and fat. The other one was tall and lanky. They appeared to be around her age. The fat one was squat and was holding two sticks that looked like they could be used to bang on drums. The tall one had hair that was spikey on one side.

The two kids stared at Annalise for more than a moment as the brisk October wind blew some leaves about behind them. The tall kid's mouth was hanging open as if he intended to say something, but had lost the words.





"Welcome to the neighborhood! We're gonna have a great time together. Do you like rocking out?" Fat kid said in a jovial way, raising his arms in the air, the two drummer sticks moving back and forth. It seemed like he made the gesture with genuine warmth, but there was also something practiced about it. Like he had spent some time preparing to say it.

"Houston, she's not a boy. And the only kind of girls that like 'Rocking Out' look like Joan Jet and the Black Hearts." said the tall one.

"Oh." The fat kid said.

The tall kid cleared his throat and then said.





"I'm Bart. And this is Houston. We're from Rodeo drive down the street. We...umm...heard that you were new here...or then...ummm..." He said, apparently nervous for whatever reason.

"That umm...you were..umm....new?" he finished lamely
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Sun 25 Aug 2019.

She had just opened the door her coat in hand she was about to go explore her neighborhood, and she was surprised to find two boys on her front porch. She blinked large grey eyes but than chuckled and waved to them "Hi." she greeted. She pulled the door up and locked up behind herself. While speaking to the larger of the two boys. "I dig all kinds of music, I like the old stuff, Meatloaf, Lenoard Skinner, Fleetwood Mac.." the girl listed off.

They had been favorites of her father and mother, and she had grown up to them after all.

"Not all rock girls look like Joan Jet." she reassured the bigger boy "Some look like Stevie NickS." she said happily.

She tilted her head to the side at his nervousness and offered him an encouraging smile. "I'm Annalise...but call me Anna won't you ?" she asked "Its nice to meet you both." she said cheerfully "Yeah, I am new here, we came her from New York, mom thought a change would be nice." she motioned "So what's fun to do around here ?"

The bigger boy stood motionless with his mouth open. Then he snapped it shut and gave a look towards Houston, the short fat kid.




"Totally Rad. She knows, like, all of the bands that we listen to." He remarked. Then realizing that it might not be a good idea to talk about Annalise in front of Annalise, he said.

"Oh, I mean. Sorry. I'm Bart." he said, even though he had already introduced himself. "We're in a band. So we play music."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:37, Sun 25 Aug 2019.

"Yeah." Houston said. "You rock." He said to Annalise.

"We're hear to give you the Big Tour." He added, brushing a few locks of his bangs away and adding emphasis on the last word.

"Of the neighborhood."

The bigger boy stood motionless with his mouth open. Then he snapped it shut and gave a look towards Houston, the short fat kid.




"There's plenty of fun stuff to do around here." Bart added, hooking one finger around the collar of his shirt and giving it a tug, more room to breath.

"So, want me to show you around?" Bart asked and he stepped forward. "I mean.... us. Us to show you around?"

He was recovering now and warming to the idea, whatever nervousness the boy had felt seemed to fade into the initial parts of the conversation and he spoke confidently about something he knew about: the neighborhood.

"We can give you the tour and point out which kids live where. Show you cool park around the corner and then tell you the best places where the ice cream truck shows up in the summer. Since its October, we also know which houses give out the best candy."

She gave a nod of her head lightly. "Some might think its lame, but I like the old stuff. I mean our music is fab too." she laughed her tone soft and tinkling. "It's just---watching Stevie spin on the stage, and it makes me happy." she felt a little funny to be talking about that to new boys, but she was new too, so that took some of the concern away. They didn't strike her as the type that might, laugh at her or point and make fun. Which made them a-okay in her book.

Her eyes widened again slightly "Your in a band ?" she sounded impressed "That's Gnarly." she bounced down her steps with a toss of her blond head pausing to zip up her hoodie at the bottom of the steps. "What's it called ? Your band I mean ?" she asked still clearly interested as she waited for them.

She sometimes stunned people when she was nice to them, she guessed part of it might have been that she was pretty, but not stuck up. At least she liked to think she wasn't stuck up. Her mother had certain terms for the mother's that were like that at the pageants. "Oh, I love trick or treating, I love Halloween in general! " she exclaimed eagerly "Hands down, it is my favorite Holiday." she said with a grin.

"You guys are just the sweetest, that would be wonderful." she hitched her thumb back at her house. "We haven't been here too long, the people who moved our stuff beat us here." she said glancing back "It's really nice to have friends right off the bat, makes it not so--you know-- lame."

As they offered to lead her around on the tour of the neighborhood, the blond nodded "That sounds great!" she said. "I like ice-cream, have you ever had gelato its a type pf ice cream" she pressed on "My favorite is soft serve. Mr.Softee out of Jersey." she realized how little she was actually told about California. "D--Do you guys have Mr.Softee here ?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Sun 25 Aug 2019.

The conversation was light and friendly as Annalise and the boys bantered back and forth, the ice broken.



“Name? For the Band?” Houston asked dumbfounded. He looked over at Bart.

“What my friend Houston is trying to say, is that we haven’t exactly come up with a name for the band yet.”

Houston looked back at Annalise and started talking about how excited they both were to have her in the neighborhood and how he had never been to New York or New Jersey but was really excited to finally meet someone from there.



“I’ve never met Mr. Softee. Is he a nice guy?”