Before we can even enter, we have to stand in the driveway fighting to regain composer. Once we both seem to have collected ourselves, we continue to make our way to the door, but Clifford glances at the forest and loses it again- causing me to break out in a smile again.

   "Clifford," I say unsuccessfully trying to scold him. "We need to be sincere about this apology, now stop lau-"

    I can't do it. We're a complete mess. We might have to stand out here for the rest of the afternoon- I can't even keep a straight face!

   Clifford nearly doubles over in laughter before finally, it seems, getting over himself. Straightening up, he takes a breath and nods at me, still fighting off the stupid smile on his face. Since he's reined himself in, I do the same, but neither of us can wipe the dumb smirks off our faces.

   It's the best we can do, though, so I enter first, cautiously looking around.

   To be honest, I'm not sure where he would be- if he's even inside. So we look in every room- which isn't many- in hopes of spotting him. Finally, I stop at the threshold of the family room once I notice him peering over at the photos on the wall.

   Just at first glance, he doesn't appear too upset still, but he's like a volcano- you never know whether it's dormant or not.

   Clifford gives me a little shove, to which I glare at him before taking a breath and cautiously walking towards Xalale.

  "Xalale."

   He doesn't look at me, but I know I have his attention.

   Taking another tentative step forward, I clasp my hands behind my back, staring at the carpeted floor then looking back up at him.

   "I just wanted to...apologize for- for what I said," It's not that I've never apologized to him before, but for some reason I'm finding it a bit harder today. "It was wrong of me to say something so rude and mean-spirited-"

   I can't do it. Not when I'm thinking back on it. The stupid smile I thought I'd lost, is now creeping back on my face and into my voice, causing me to pick up the nearest throw pillow and cover the bottom of my face.

   I know once I start giggling again, Clifford- like little kids do- starts smiling again. He turns away from us, covering his smile with both hands.

   Unfortunately, I haven't finished my apology, so I have to press on- giggles and all.

   "I know- I know what I said might have been-" The light laughter in my voice is detectable and I know this fact to be true because now Xalale is looking at me with an unamused expression and a hard look in his eyes.

    "Pull it together, Mal. It's not that hard."

   It takes every fiber of my being not to look away and start laughing again.

   "It might have been a bit crude. I don't know what came over me- but- but I'm sorry."

    There. I said it, I'm done. I'm still gripping my pillow to my face, trying not to show the smile hidden behind.

   Clifford should apologize too, but his back is turned and I know if he started, he wouldn't finish.

   Waiting for his response is killing me. I want to let out a good, final laugh, but the way he's staring hard at me makes me hold it back a little longer until he finally speaks up.

   "Thank you for such a heartfelt apology." His voice dripping with sarcasm and I know it's supposed to make me feel bad- and I do- but I can't help but try to bottle back my giggles more.

   Apparently, he's had enough of my ludicrous behavior and storms past the both of us out the front door.

   We both collapse again, letting out what we've been holding back.

   I really did try to be sincere with that, but my playful nature got the better of me.

   As our laughing dies down, I am starting to feel kind of bad. Actually, I feel surprisingly off once I've fully got off my high.

   "What's wrong with me?" I cry, running my hand through my hair.

    Clifford reclines on the couch, clearing not feeling as guilt ridden as I am.

   "I'm a mess."

   "It was only a joke-" He begins, shrugging innocently.

   "No, Clifford, it was actually kind of mean." I didn't mean to snap at him, but it came out anyway. I stand up and begin pacing, frustrated with myself. "I'm just so stressed and nervous and- ugh. Still, that was no reason to say something like that."

   My mom would be deeply disappointed in me. Her motto was: "No matter the person, there's never a reason to cut so low."

    Even though Xalale isn't exactly a saint, he's still a human being with emotions (though most of the good ones are hardly used) and words can still hurt.

   I sigh, knowing what I have to do.

   "Wait here."

   Clifford watches me go, with curious eyes, as I leave the house and heading to the woods. I don't know how I figured he'd be there, but my guess is right on the money once I spot him leaning against a tree.

   Rubbing the palms of my hand on my capris, I trudge up the slight hill and press my back against the tree next to him.

   Not a word is spoken between either of us for what feels like longest time. There's a nice breeze that comes by every so often to cool us down, but not a cloud in the sky to shield us from the bright, radiation beams of the sun.

   It's bizarrely difficult to try to find the proper words to explain myself to him and every time I open my mouth, thinking I've found the words, I lose them as if the passing breeze steals them away, causing me to close my mouth and conjure up something else.

   Finally, I look over at him, his eyes closed not looking at anything in particular, and say the only thing I can think of.

   "I'm sorry."

    Staring down at my shoes, I wait for his response, but after a few moments of silence, I feel the need to speak up again.

   "It's alright if you think I'm an ass," I sigh, smacking myself. "It's just, there's so much going on and I feel so stressed and nervous and uptight. I do stupid things when I'm nervous and uptight. I want to divert my mind off what's making me tense and sometimes I use the wrong methods."

   He hasn't spoken a word throughout this entire ordeal and for once, I don't blame him for giving me the cold shoulder.

   I linger for another second before giving up. I tried my best and I did apologize, it's his choice if he accepts it or not.

   About ready to walk back, I'm stopped when he finally speaks up.

   "You know, I wouldn't be so damn snarky if you weren't up my ass all the time."

   For a quick second, I take him seriously and am about ready to put up a fight, but the moment I whirl around to face him and notice the slightest curve of a smirk, I put down my arms.

   "Up your ass as all the time? Now that's an exaggeration," I say rolling my eyes. "Besides, if I don't do it then who's going to?"

   Crossing his arms, he looks off at something I never seem able to see.

   "Clifford does a fairly decent task of that." He scoffs.

   I can't help but smile at that, relieved to passed this and back to a much lighter mood. Now we're even- we just have to keep it that way.

   "So you wanna go inside now?"

   He glances at me for second then back to where he was previously staring but answers me.

   "Fine."

   We walk back to the house together, everything feeling strangely calmer than before, even my nervousness and anxiety about what happened earlier is gone.

   Clifford sits up once he notices us coming in.

   He drags his feet, approaching us, head down looking like a puppy with his tail between his legs, and in one of those little kid let-me-act-guilty-now voice addresses Xalale.

   "Hey Axel, I'm sorry about what I did earlier. That was mean of me and I just want us to be friends again"- He glances up- "We're still friends, right?"

   This kid is something else- not sure it's good or bad yet.

   Xalale just sighs tiredly.

   "You're forgiven, Clifford-"

   "Yay!"

   This kid's as thick as a wall, dashing over and hugging him like the world might end. Clifford has no qualms about invading people's personal space even if he's getting death glares. Pulling back, reenergized, Clifford bounces like little kids do when they're excited- his eyes gleaming.

   "You guys wanna play a game now?"

   "No." My response comes quickly, deflating him somewhat, but not fully.

   "So, do you wanna watch TV? Oh, and I can show Axel some superhero movies- that is if you have Netflix."

   Judging by Xalale's bored expression, I can tell none of this interests him either. A majority of our reason, I can tell, is because neither of us wants to handle a hyper Clifford.

   "Clifford, why don't I pull up Netflix for you to watch," I say already guiding him back to the family room.

   But he's determined to include us in it.

   "Okay, but what do you guys wanna watch first? The Flash or Spider-Man? I personally think Spider-Man is better. We should watch that one first."

   "Actually you'll have to watch it by yourself because me and Xalale were going to..." I glance back at him, hoping he'll cover for me, but he just gives me this expecting look, waiting for me to finish this. "Uh, we were going to do something important."

  "Really? Can I join!?"

  "No, it's between the two of us, plus it's really boring stuff."

  "Can't you guys do it when I leave? Or tomorrow when I'm not here? Can't we just watch Netflix right now? I really wanna show Axel what a movie actually is."

   Again, I glance back at Xalale, giving a defeated look. This kid was going to pester us the rest of the time if we didn't join him. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

   "Fine." I sigh.

   "Yeah!"

   He races into the family room, plopping himself down on the floor in front of the TV, waiting patiently for me to switch over to Netflix. He only takes his attention off the screen to look at us and call out, "Come on you guys."

   I look to Xalale and shrug.

   "It's only until his mom picks him up," I say, trying to lighten the current mood.

   He tosses me a sullen glance as he passes.

   "It's only 2."

    "Then we have quite a ways to go." I take a breath and follow.

   So like Clifford wanted, we watch the first Spider-Man movie- the older one with Tobey Maguire.

   Early on in the film, it's pretty clear that the three of us together do not make for a good movie watching experience. From the moment the movie starts, Clifford is acting like the narrator, telling us- mostly Xalale- what is going on even though we can see the things going on. This, in turn, annoys me since I've seen this movie before and know what's going to happen already and it spoils the fun for new watchers like Xalale. I keep telling him to shush and nudge him with my foot whenever he starts commentating and stuff, but he ignores me. Clifford's ramblings, plus his added, always constant questions, annoys Xalale, who isn't understanding the point of this movie at all. Like the part when Tobey gets bite by the spider and later develops powers, Xalale feels the need to be a killjoy and scoff at this and that. And he does it constantly. Throughout the whole damn movie. This causes Clifford to start becoming an advocate and begin defending why Spider-Man is logical and awesome in every way. He sounds like one of those intense fanboys who drills you if you don't know everything there is to know about what they fanboy over. Xalale's mocking is made worse by the fact that is Clifford's favorite superhero so Clifford's triple passionate about defending it to the death. But he's not helping his case by spewing out painfully stupid points. Like that it is possible a spider can give you superpowers or that someone can build a supervillain costume if they're really wealthy.

   I'm so fed up with these two and their constant talking. It's a movie! Even the noisiest people shut up for a movie.

   By the time the credits are rolling, I'm silently thanking God.

   "Let's watch the second one now," Clifford says, picking up the turner.

   "Nope," I get up off the couch. "I am not watching another thing with either of you."

   "Aw, why not?"

   "Because neither of you shut up during a movie."

   "I find these movies rather pointless and absurd." Not surprising coming from Xalale.

   "Come on guys, just the sequel. We have plenty of time."

    Regardless, neither me nor Xalale want to go through that ordeal again and so we get up to leave the room. Clifford's a persistent little thing, I'll give him that much.

   "Okay wait, what if I let you guys choose what we watch. It can't be anything boring. Oh, and I promise I won't talk throughout the entire movie, really I won't. Just, please can we watch another movie together?"

   There's that good, noble side of me coming out again- it refuses to stay hidden. I sigh, pausing in the entryway of the family room. I know Xalale isn't going to stop unless I hold him back, so I grab him by the wrist before he leaves.

   "What?" He gives me a stony look.

   Crossing my arms, I lower my voice. "You know what."

   He glances past me at Clifford toying with the carpet then back at me with a deepened flinty stare.

   "He just wants to spend time with us," I say. "He's a single child so he doesn't always have anyone to play with or talk to. You know how it's being a single child."

   This time he glances away for a moment before letting out a displeased sigh and walking back in. I follow suit and settle back down on the couch again, picking up the remote.

   "Alright, Clifford. We'll stay for another movie."

   This brightens him up once more and he pumps a fist in the air.

   "Yay! What are we going to watch?" He asks, studying the screen as I scroll through.

   "Not sure yet. Maybe a classic."

   "Oh, we should watch Star Wars!"

   "I don't think they have that on here."

   "Aww."

   He slumps back down only to pop right back up with another suggestion.

   "What about Wall-E?"

   I scrunch my nose while continuing to scan through the selection.

   "I didn't like that one too much. It was kind of boring at first."

   "Well I liked it," He turns to Xalale now. "Wall-E's about this robot that lives on Earth, but not our Earth now but a future, dirty one that no one lives on. So this robot, Wall-E, he like cleans up the Earth- right?"- He's directing the question towards me. I reply as I scan.

   "Yeah, he's a cleaning, compacting robot or something."

   Clifford looks back at Xalale again. "Yeah, he does that. But then this female, white robot name Eve or Eva-"

   "Eva." I clarify.

   "Right, she comes to Earth and she wants to destroy Wall-E at first, but then he connects with her and they become friends, but then-"

   "Clifford." Xalale interrupts him.

   "Yeah?"

   "Hush."

   "Okay, but doesn't it sound cool?"

   Xalale's already in a foul mood due to sticking around for a second movie, so Clifford's rambling isn't improving his mood.

   "I don't care."

   "Well, you should," He faces away from him now. "Are you done picking something?"

   "Almost."

   I'm not entirely in the mood for a movie so nothing looks interesting to me at the moment. I look at potential films but decide against it and move on. My eyes do catch something that makes me turn back to it.

  "Hey," I smile. "Why don't we watch Mulan or Pocahontas?"

  "Ew, no way." Clifford makes a face of contempt.

  "Why not?"

  "Pocahontas was boring and I watched Mulan not too long ago. Let's watch 101 Dalmatians instead."

   "So picky. Plus Pocahontas wasn't boring, it was historical."

   "Yeah, that's what made it boring."

   "Well, I don't want to watch 101 Dalmatians."

   "Fine, then Pinocchio."

   "Now that movie was boring, plus really inappropriate if you think about it."

   "No it wasn't. It's about a wooden doll who becomes a real boy."

   "Um, yeah it was and he was a puppet by the way."

   "Same thing."

    I roll my eyes, scrolling down further.

   "Maybe we should watch a documentary," I suggest.

   "They're too boring," Clifford whines. "Let's just watch a movie."

   "What's a documentary?" Xalale questions.

   "A boring waste of time." Clifford answers.

   I glance back at him. "Ignore him. Documentaries are films that are about a real world topics, like there are animal documentaries, food documentaries, historical documentaries, and so on. They can be really interesting if you pick the right ones. We can watch one if you want."

   "No!" Clifford cries. "They're super boring!"

   Ignoring Clifford, I listen for Xalale's response.

   "It doesn't matter." He says flatly.

   I shrug and continue searching.

   "What about The Incredibles?" I ask.

   "Sure," Clifford grins. "Dash is my favorite character."

    "I'm not surprised."

   We both wait for Xalale's input.

    He notices that we're waiting for him and he sighs.

   "It doesn't matter."

   Such a joy he is sometimes.

   I start the movie and like Clifford promised, he's as quiet as a mouse throughout the entire thing. Thankfully we're all much quieter than before and I actually get to hear the movie.

   By the time we finish watching, I can hear tires rolling along the driveway and a car door slamming shut.

   I'm surprised- but definitely not disappointed- that she's here so early and go to answer the door. Xalale heads back to my room for the time being and Clifford just spins around the family room, going on about scenes he enjoyed in the movie.

   "Hello, Mrs. Mershire." I greet. I step aside to let her in, but she smiles and lets me know she's fine standing on the porch.

   "I'm sorry we were late this morning, Mallory. Things were quite hectic and I was in such a rush." Her usual energy seems drained today. "So how was Clifford?"

   "A little moody this morning, but we managed to cheer him back up to his regular, energetic mood."

   It only hit me once it left my mouth that I said we, referring to me and Xalale. Thankfully she doesn't catch my reckless mistake.

   "That's nice. Thank you." She gives me a smile that masks a trace of sadness before straightening up. "Well, we better get on our way."

   She calls out to Clifford to come on and pulls out my daily pay.

   "You'll get to have a break from him over the weekend." She states, handing me the money.

   "Okay, thanks."

   Clifford joins his mom on the porch and I can sense a slight uneasiness between the two of them. Clifford looks up at me with uncertain eyes then up at his mom.

   "See ya Monday, then." I smile.

   They head back to their car, where Clifford looks at me once again with uncertainty dancing in his eyes. This time, I give him an encouraging wink and smile. He seems to get it and smiles back, waving wildly at me as he ducks into the car.

   Closing the door, I lean against it for a moment, listening to them back up and out of the driveway before heading down the road.