I'm not sure what time Uncle Torin is supposed to leave to pick Katell up from school, but I'm pretty sure that he's running late. He looks like he doesn't want to leave me here by myself to unpack, constantly casting glances outside as he helps me carry boxes to my temporary room.

"Don't you have to leave soon?" I question, watching as he peers out the window again. It looks like he keeps looking towards that same spot in the treeline. He pushes against the closed glass and checks the latch. When he turns to me, though, the agitated expression I thought was on his face is replaced with a smile that doesn't touch the unease in his virescent eyes. I hadn't imagined it, after all. Is he worried that I'll be eaten by a bear?

"Oh! You're right," he says, acting like he forgot. He discretely looks over his shoulder again to the saturated colors outside. "I'm not surprised you chose this room, it has a great view. Don't go out on the balcony though, okay? It's not safe out there yet. I'll try to find some time to take a look at it soon."

I nod my head obediently, deciding it best to keep my previous adventure onto the landing a secret. "Okay."

"Thanks," he starts to walk out of the room, but turns around in the doorway, suddenly slapping his forehead. "Oh! I completely forgot to take you to the store. Do you want us to pick something up for you?"

I shake my head, peeling the tape off of one of the boxes on the floor. "That's okay, I have to go back out anyway. Is there anywhere that I can rent a car around here?"

My uncle raises his eyebrows and raises a hand to scratch at his beard, seemingly taken off guard by my question. "Well, I think so. I didn't know you drove. Then again, I guess you're a little older than Katell. Well, they might be closed when we're able to get there, and I guess you're probably tired of traveling for today. I work tomorrow, but if you want to go early in the morning, I can give directions to get back by yourself." 

"That would work, I can go shopping then, too. Thanks, Torin." I say, only pausing my unpacking to show him a grateful smile.

He returns it before turning to go back out of the room, tossing a quick wave behind him. "It's not a problem. I'll be back in an hour."

Faolan follows at his heels, while Boru remains laying by the foot of the bed, perking his ears to listen to the garage door open and close. He lifts his head to look out the window as Torin's truck peels slowly down the driveway, and Faolan returns to the bedroom. 

Once I'm sure my uncle is gone, I reach for the phone in the pocket of my joggers, selecting the call button on my dad's contact. It rings twice before he answers.

"Hey, bud. Did you make it?" His voice is a familiar sound through the speaker, which releases some of the tension in my shoulders. 

"Hey, dad. Yeah, I'm at Torin's house unpacking now."

"Really? How was the flight? Was the drive over okay? Do you feel okay? I know that jet lag can get you pretty badly." 

I break into the first genuine smile that's crossed my lips since I left the JFK.  My dad has always worried so much about me, I'm surprised that he hasn't started to bald yet from stress. He's always asked me to check in on him every hour or two when we weren't together. This separation must be as hard on him as it is on me. "It's fine, I took some medicine before taking off. I wish you would have just let me go with you." There's no hiding the discontentment in the last half of my sentence, and it draws an audible sigh from the other end of the receiver. 

"I know, Nicky, but you'd be so stressed trying to spend your last year in school trying to keep your straight A's and learning a new language, all on top of living in an unfamiliar place. It's better for you in Maine, trust me. Give it a chance."

My lips set into a pout, because I know that he's right. "There are so many trees here." Is all I manage to complain about, picking at a string on the comforter of the bed. Without anyone around to save face for, I feel my spoiled, only child attitude making an appearance. I know that I'm being childish, so I try to suppress it. I drop the string and stand up, going to look out the window in hopes that the lovely view will change my impending attitude. 

"I know, you must be homesick. It's good for you though. Breathe in as much of that oxygen as you can while you're there. It's better for you than all of this city pollution. Breathe some for me, too. I'm going to have to wear a mask when I get to Hong Kong." 

I nod solemnly, though he can't see it. I have to admit that as good as I look in a face mask, I'd hate wearing one every day for a whole year. I prefer them as an accessory for videos, or for when I have a cold. "Okay. Speaking of pollution, I'm going to go rent a car tomorrow."

"Okay, that's fine. You have plenty of money in your account, but I'd prefer that you stay away from any Rolls Royce. They have too many problems and I don't want you to get stranded anywhere out there." 

"Sure. Should I look at anything specific, then?" My eyes keep wandering over to the woods, so I distract myself by fogging up the window with my breath and drawing on it with my finger. I subconsciously take to tracing a phrase from one of my cousin's songs, creating the Hangul characters with slow precision. 

"Well, a Porsche 911-"

"Dad," I cut in, "I don't want to look super rich. I want to seem like a public school kid, at least." 

I can practically see him rubbing his neck as he thinks of the most reliable car models that he knows of that are not way below our budget. "Well, there's nothing wrong with driving a nice car. My only son will not be driving around in an outdated piece of crap. Ask for either an A7 Sedan or A5 Coupe." 

"What are those?"

"Audi," He doesn't wait to hear my groan as he suggests another luxury car brand before continuing in a voice loud enough to drown me out. "I'm going to do some research and call the nearest dealership to you. Every Audi dealer in the country knows our name, so they won't turn you down. You'll have to take your uncle with you though since you're underage. Even with my consent, he'll have to be there for them to approve your lease." 

I pinch my forehead, turning away from the window. I guess everyone at this school is going to think I'm some pompous rich boy, then. As well as it helps ease my dad's mind, I guess I'll deal with whatever decision he makes. If he thinks these cars are the most reliable, I'll drive them. It's all his money, anyway, so he may as well be happy. "Okay, if it's what you want." 

"Alright, thanks for trusting me. I'd better let you go, I know you have a lot to unpack. I'll call you before my flight leaves in the morning, okay?" 

"Sure. Don't forget."

I hear his smile, and imagine the way his eyes look when they crinkle at the corners. "Never. Love you, Nicky." 

"Love you too, dad." I wait for him to hang up first before I slip my phone back into my pocket. With a sigh, I turn back to the window to cast another glance down at the trees that line the front yard.

I startle when I see something rustle one of the branches of a tree, nearly expecting to see a person in a ski mask standing there, watching me from beneath the shadows of the forest, like in some horror movie. Instead, I watch as a tawny-colored bird flies out of the cover of orange-tinted leaves.

I expect it to fly away somewhere behind the house, but it comes over to me, landing on the railing of the balcony just outside the window. I stare at it in awe for a minute before reaching for my phone again, trying to snap a picture of the owl before it flies away. It turns it's flat, round face to look right at me as I snap a series of photos. It blinks, before stretching out its wings, as if posing for the pictures. I can't help but smile as I snap one more, curious to know why the bird of prey is out during the daytime. As if knowing my thoughts, the Barn Owl opens it's beak in a yawn, black, raptor-like eyes staring right into my own. 

Just as I lower my phone, Foalan notices the bird outside and growls, jumping up from his spot on the floor and running towards it. Boru promptly joins him, and they both bark ferociously until the bird releases a horrible sounding screech and flies back towards the trees. 

I stand there for a moment in stunned silence, finding the noise that it made startling. I always thought that owls hooted. With a furrowed brow, I scroll through the pictures that I captured of it and decide to send it to a group chat with my friends in New York, inquiring about it. After sending the message, I look back outside before shrugging and heading back towards the closet of the big room to start hanging some of my clothes up. 

As I'm going through my things, looking at all of my high-quality garments makes me decide that I should probably change my travel-worn clothes. My phone vibrates on the nightstand beside the bed as someone answers my text, and I toss my dirty jacket on the comforter as I go to read the reply. 

It's from Ronnie.  

That's a Barn Owl. They're the only owls that don't hoot. 

Despite seeming callow, my co-lead is actually a straight A student at her school and knows a lot of information about various subjects. She can tell you about anything from species of birds, to video games, to Shakespeare.

 For the past three years, I've been a leader of a dance troupe in New York, and have become really close with the other six members in that time. We're known as one of the best competitive dance groups in Brooklyn, specializing in covering only the most difficult choreography that K-pop groups have to offer. Our Youtube page has over two million subscribers, though most of them are actually fans of my personal account, which has almost five. 

Oh? Thanks for the info. I text back. 

Nik! Have you made it to Maine?? Someone else enters the group chat,  Sim. 

Yeah, safe and sound. I have to go now, but I'll FaceTime Ronnie at practice tomorrow. I'm out.

The steam in the bathroom smells heavily of mint body wash as I step out of it, free from the lingering scent of the first class plane ride. After drying off, I slip into a pair of dark washed jeans and a Gucci hoodie, using a towel to rub my hair dry. I wipe the steam from the bathroom mirror, wondering how much Katell has changed since we were kids. Does she still have that gap between her front teeth? Is her hair still unmanageable? Is she still as bossy as she used to be? 

I look over my reflection, reaching for the birthmark on my cheek. I flinch a little at the touch of my own hand as my mother's face flashes before my eyes, imagining that it's her fingers brushing against my skin. I let my hand fall to the counter of the sink.

I think I've always looked the same, though I may be a bit taller than my six-year-old self. Otherwise, I haven't changed at all.  I sigh and walk back out to the bedroom, grateful to have one inside of the bedroom. I'd never had to share a bathroom with anyone before and was actually a little worried about splitting the personal space with someone else. 

The first thing that I notice when I step out is that the window to the balcony had been pushed open at some point while I was out of the room. Confused, I pause the towel drying of my hair to go and close it. I thought for sure that it was locked, but I must have been wrong. Since there's no way to get to the balcony from the ground below, I just assume that one of the dogs must have pushed it open, maybe still excited over the owl from earlier. 

It takes me a moment to realize that the dogs aren't here, either. With a frown, I look down at the driveway to see if they heard Torin and Katell come home while I was in the shower and gone to greet them. I start when I do see the nose of the Dodge poking out from the side of the house.

I suddenly forget about the discontent that sits like a weight in the pit of my stomach, and discard the fluffy towel on the floor, bolting for the bedroom door. By the time I make it to the bottom of the stairwell, the door to the garage opens and I lock eyes with a pair of emerald green ones. 

Katell looks just the same, though much more feminine than her past, tomboy self. She wears a red and white cheerleading outfit beneath her unzipped jacket, and her hair is held back into a ponytail behind her. She releases a squeak upon seeing me and flings herself into my arms just as I take the last step to level ground. "Oh, my god! Nick!"

 I'm embarrassed and appalled to realize that she is the same height as me, and equally as lean, despite her girlish figure. I hadn't noticed how long her golden curls are until I put an arm around her waist to hug her, and trapped a bunch of it against her coat. I laugh at my cousin's exuberance, happy to see that she seems to be the same as when we were kids. "Hey, Kitty." 

She pulls away to hold me at arm's length, eyes scanning me up and down. They linger on my hoody before coming back up to study my face. "Hey, wait a minute. How's that fair?"

My brow furrows in confusion. "What?"

Her serious expression cracks with a grin, and she reaches a hand to my birthmark, but instead of touching it as I expect, she stops just below it and pinches my cheek. "How are you prettier than me? I hoped you'd gotten uglier, or at least stayed the same. But look at you! How have you gotten more gorgeous? That's so unfair! Where are the pimples?"

I laugh uncomfortably and pat her arm to ask her to let my cheek go free. "Well, I mean, look at you! You definitely aren't the same, pudgy five-year-old. I bet you're the hottest girl in school." 

She smiles, eyes crinkling the same way as her dad's. In fact, everything but her blonde curls is Torin's, which is very much the opposite in my case. I wish that I looked like my dad a little more, instead of looking like a male version of my mom. I even have her delicate frame and long, slender fingers, which aren't very masculine. I have nothing to compare myself to yet, but I'm suddenly worried about going to school here. I'm sure that the other guys look like Uncle Torin, all broad shoulders and hands like lacrosse nets, perfect for catching and receiving football throws.  

Katell steps back to remove her coat, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder as she does so. "Well, in my grade, at least," She wanders to a closet that I overlooked before, and hangs her jacket up inside, kicking off her white sneakers and hiding them in there, too. "Puberty really did wonders on us."

"I guess we just have good genes," I remark, leaning against the railing. A sudden tinkling sound comes from behind me, and I look over my shoulder to see a tailless tabby come jogging down the steps, a golden bell bouncing against its chest. 

Katell comes over to scoop the cat up, and it erupts such violent purring that I'm surprised my cousin's arms don't vibrate. "Maybe. You got all the flawless skin, though. You'll have to share your routine with me."

"I'd love to. Who's this?" I ask, reaching to stroke the cat's head. I remember Torin saying that they had a cat, but hadn't seen it since my arrival. It must have been hiding out in Katell's room, waiting for her to come home.

"Oh, this is Sionn. She's a Manx, so she naturally has a docked tail. Don't worry, she wasn't in an accident or anything like that," She pauses her petting of the creature in her arms to stare at my chest again, expression turning incredulous. "Hey, is that real?"

I frown down at the logo on the hoody, stretching it out to see it better. "Uh, yes...?"

She smacks her forehead, causing Sionn to crane her neck curiously at her owner. She reaches a paw to bat gently at Katell's chin experimentally. "Duh, right. I forgot that you're super rich."

I can't help but feel a little offended at her tone. It isn't like she's wanting for much, herself. She lives in an incredible house and has a dad that loves her more than anything else. "Hey, I'm not-" 

My cousin holds up a hand before using it to continue petting Sionn. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like a brat. Though," She pauses to look me up and down again, and I try not t squirm beneath her scrutinous gaze. "We might go shopping this weekend for some more... inconspicuous clothes. That is assuming that you don't want to be treated differently." 

"You're right, I want to blend in," I trust Katell's evaluation since she has a much better idea of the school's social norms and customs than I do. I want nothing more than to blend in, if at all possible. "I need to go rent a car tomorrow, anyway. I'd love your help picking out normal clothes."

My cousin's fair, perfectly manicured brows shoot up. "You're getting a car? Where?"

"At a dealership... My dad is calling in a favor," I'm not sure why the topic of money suddenly makes me uncomfortable, but my fingers begin toying with the strings of my hoody. "I'm just renting it. I don't want to bother your dad for rides everywhere."

Katell sets Sionn down, and the cat chatters argumentatively, rubbing against her legs. "What dealership?" She reminds me of a cop interrogating a suspect. 

I clear my throat uncomfortably, locking eyes with Torin as he finally comes through the door with both dogs trailing at his boots. "Um, Audi. But-" I quickly cut off the obvious protest about to come from Katell's red lips. "I already tried to convince my dad to let me drive something normal, but he insisted. If it makes him feel better, I'm doing it." I make sure my words are finalized, sealing them with a pointed look and crossed arms. 

Katell raises her hands in surrender. "Alright, fine then. But you're giving me rides to and from school every day, okay? I'm so taking advantage of this."

Torin slips his boots off and hands Katell a backpack from his shoulders, reaching for something in his pocket as it makes a dinging sound. He pulls out an ancient flip phone and reads the message, letting loose a sigh that could set a hurricane in motion. "Fine," He mumbles, before closing the phone and putting it away. "Your dad gave me the address and a time to meet someone at the dealership in the morning. We should be on the road by seven to get there on time."

Katell sighs in acceptance. "I guess I'll cancel practice for the morning to come with you guys." She looks to me, pointing a finger. "We have some shopping to do." 

After about an hour of homework, Katell joins me in my new room, where I'd gone back to organizing and putting things in their temporary places. I didn't notice until revisiting the room that it seems to have a particular scent, that I think may be coming from the potted plant that sits beside one of the windows. I decide to try and get rid of it without offending anyone or at least try to replace it with something similar that doesn't give off such a weird odor. Maybe it's something in the soil.

I've just finished carefully folding my undergarments, socks, and sweatpants into the dresser on the other side of the room when my cousin rejoins me, looking much different out of her cheerleading uniform. Her hair is braided and hangs down to her waist, and she wears an oversized shirt that I would guess belongs to Torin, as well as a pair of boxer shorts. I try not to gawk at the sudden transition, and only spare her a glance as she walks around the room, casually looking at the things that I brought with me in fascination. 

"You brought all of this with you?" She asks, pausing to look at the books that I arranged by size on a small case that was there. "I didn't take you for the reading type. Did dad show you the library?"

I nod, standing up from the floor. It isn't until my stomach growls and I take a look at the darkness outside that I realize how late it is. I pull my phone out of my pocket but pause to cast a look at Katell. I'd be more than happy to introduce her to my dance crew, but I'm not sure if she'd be as interested with the way she's dressed. I clear my throat and point to my phone. "I have to FaceTime some friends. Do you want to meet them?" 

I'm surprised when her face lights up and she skips over. "Yeah! I'd love to meet your city pals." She comes to sit beside me on the bed as I set the call up. When Ronnie answers, I'm not surprised to see her sweaty face, but I don't expect the vexed expression that she wears. She's usually in a great mood after practice, but it looks like something must have happened. 

"Hey, Ron. What's the matter?" I ask, keeping the video chat on myself until I have an appropriate time to introduce Katell into the conversation.

Ronnie gives me a pout and takes a sip from her water bottle. It looks like she's sitting on the floor of the studio, and I can see the reflection of a few people in the mirror behind her. "The matter is, Nick, that you need to come back."

"I've only been gone for a few hours." I reason, raising an eyebrow.

"I know that," Ronnie scoffs. "But I can't do this without my main dancer. Fenno can't sync up with me and he keeps screwing up the choreography for the new routine. I keep showing him the video you took, but he still can't get it right," She turns her phone so I can see for myself the travesty that my stand-in is causing.

The reflections that I saw behind Ronnie is none other than Fenno himself and the five remaining dancers. I only now notice the sound of a popular K-pop song being played on the speakers in the corners of the studio. I watch carefully as one of the particularly hard parts of the song's choreography comes up. I hold my phone closely as four of the group members encircle Bennie, the only other female of the group besides Ronnie. As they're supposed to, they each grab an arm or leg of Bennie and lift her into the air, swinging her forward once. So far, everything is going the way that it's supposed to. 

 Fenno comes from behind and tucks himself into a flip over the small girl at the same time the other guys are swinging her forward, but instead of sticking the landing, Fenno missteps with a sharp squeak of his shoes against the wooden floor. In the background, the four boys release Bennie mid-air, and she lands on her feet, not unlike a cat, and she continues dancing in sync with the other members.

 Meanwhile, up in the front, Fenno recovers from his mistake and steps out of a well-delivered cartwheel. Seeing the way that his shoe slips on the sweat that covers the floor, I hold my breath, prepared for the fall that is going to come as he launches himself into an airborne flip. As I foresaw, his shoe slips and instead of sticking the landing, he lands on the heel of his shoe and slips, falling down onto his back.

I hear Katell suck in an amazed breath as she watches from over my shoulder, in awe at the sheer difficulty of the maneuver. "Ouch! Is he okay?" 

 "Is he okay?" I echo, loud enough for Ronnie to hear. 

She keeps the call facing him for long enough to let me see Fenno's thumbs up, though he stays on the ground. 

I sigh as the music is paused and Ronnie turns the camera back to herself, point proven. "You totally left at the wrong time. We could pull this off if you were here."

I see Katell pull away to furrow her bow at me. "You can do that?" 

I ignore her but give her a shy smile before continuing my conversation with Ron. "Look, I see what you're talking about, Ron, but It's been three hours. Let him go home, he's only going to keep messing up. Just send them all home for tonight." 

Ronnie stands up, and I see the reflection behind her put a hand on her hip. "It's not that late. Besides-" 

"Ron," My voice has a harder undertone than before as I cut her off. She stops arguing to lock her dark eyes with mine through the screens of our phones. "They're all tired. Let them go." 

"Hey!" Someone shouts from off-screen. "Is that Nick?" 

Ronnie is suddenly swarmed with the other members of the group, all full of sweat and smiles. 

"Come back, Nick! This song is too hard-" The camera is quickly stolen from Puck, and moves on to the next person that pushes themselves into the frame.

A fuzzy blur of pink hair and there is a close up of Bennie's face. "Did you see the human swing?" Her excitement is muffled as Beck steps in front of her and pushes her back, easily eclipsing her with his tall frame.

"We need you for this, bud-" 

"Guys, shut up!" Ronnie explodes, bringing the phone to her shoulder to take me away from the other members' grasping hands. "Say goodnight to him and pack your shit up. Let's call it a night." 

There is a collection of disappointed groans as the group disbands. "Night, Nick."

"I'll call you later!" Comes a shout from behind the phone, but I know who it belongs to. Beck, one of the guys that tossed Bennie into the air, and also my best friend. 

Once the room is quiet and the others have left, I try to speak again. "Hey, Ron. This is my cousin, by the way, she's been here the whole time." 

"Oh, really?" Ronnie's eyes dart off camera for a moment before returning and focusing on Katell as she waves shyly. "I'm sorry you had to see, well, any of that, really."

"No, that's okay. You guys are incredible!" Kat says, forcing herself into the frame to be seen properly. 

Ronnie smiles, looking back to me as she bends to gather up her duffle bag. "We're way better with Nik. No one here can Trick like him, and of course, we picked this song for our next battle assuming that he would be here to perform it with us."

"I know, I'm sorry..." I run my fingers through my hair. "Why don't you just pick a different song? It really isn't fair to Fenno. If he can't do it-"

Ronnie cuts me off with an annoyed glare. "I don't want a different song. I want you back," She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, aware of how immature she sounds. She composes herself a little before adding, "You're the backbone of this team, Nick."

There is some awkward silence as Ronnie gathers her equipment and turns the lights of the dance studio off, and she is submerged in darkness. I hear the scraping of metal on metal as she locks the door, then the jingle of her keys as she tucks them away into the pocket of her bomber jacket. Her face is illuminated by street lights as she begins to walk home.

I wait for her to speak what's written on her face, like ink on parchment that's typed into the crease of her eyebrows. Something more than Fenno's mistakes are on her mind, and it's only a matter of time before she has to speak it out loud before she explodes.

Ronnie sighs, adjusting the strap on her shoulder and knocking the phone momentarily askew. "It's just... If we can't do this dance without you, will we be able to do any of them? So much of our choreography relies on you. What if Fenno never learns it?"

I listen with a sad smile and nod solemnly as I absorb her concerns. "Ronnie... look. I'll record myself doing the parts that you guys have trouble with. And, listen,"

Ronnie tucks a strand of black, coiled hair behind her ear, turning her pout towards the camera so I can see her head on.

"I'll fly back whenever I have breaks in school to help you practice, okay? I'll take off to come in for the battle, too. I'll dance it with you if you haven't sorted everything out by then."

Though her expression remains the same, her eyes glimmer with hope. "Okay. I'll let you go, you should be with your family."

"No way, I'm staying with you until you get home. Have one of the guys walk you home from now on."

-

Author's Note

Hello!

I know that it may not be clear to you, since writing a description of dance is harder than I expected it to be, so I linked a YouTube video up at the top for you to watch. You can skip to 2:39 to see the part that I'm trying to describe, though Anik's dance crew will be performing the choreography for the entire song. The group in the practice video is Speed, and they're dancing to Don't Tease Me. I by no means intend to infringe their copyrights to the song, members, or the choreography of the song, but if I do, please, let me know so I can take the video down.

Since there is a new name to pronounce in this chapter, I'll add that here.

Sionn (The Manx Cat) - Sh-onn

If any other questions or comments arise, please let me know in the comment section, or feel free to message me. Thank you!

XOXO,

-A.