I'm definitely in a better place than I was yesterday morning. I woke up around 9:45 and got dress and ready by the time 10 o'clock rolled around.

    My dad was gone before I woke up but my mom was still in the house getting ready to leave when I went into the kitchen.

    "Morning, sweetie," She kissed my cheek. "I'm about to head out."

    "Another full shift at the nursing home?" I asked pulling out ingredients needed for making pancakes.

    "Not as long as yesterday, but yes, another full shift. Mrs. Mershire should be here around the same time. Tell her I said hi."

     She kissed me one last time before heading out the door and driving off. Left alone, I move onto my next course of action.

     For a king, Xalale sure likes to sleep in. Grant it, I always woke before him, but still you'd think he would get up a few minutes after me.

    I creep into my room with a new change of clothes for him.

     "Xalale," I nudge him with my foot. "Wake up."

     He groans in response.

     "It's nearly eleven."

      Not really caring whether or not he wants to listen, I drop the clothes on him and leave to return to the kitchen. I'm making pancakes and bacon for breakfast since I'm in the mood.

     Xalale joins me a little before 11 when the Mershires were due to arrive.

     "Do you want any?" I offer.

     "Fine." He says this like he's doing me the favor.

      The edge in his voice from last night is still apparent, but right now I'm not concerned about that.

     "We need to inspect that portal you fell down, today." He says.

     "I know."

      I haven't told him that Clifford's coming back today, but I'll probably let that one play out on its own.

      Turns out he's not a fan of blueberry pancakes (surprise surprise), but he does- thank God- like bacon. I'm washing the dishes when a knock at the first door comes.

     "Just stay here," I instruct him.

      There's a suspicious gleam in his eyes, but he doesn't say anything.

      I open the door but stand in the doorframe preventing Mrs. Mershire from entering.

     "Hello, Mallory."

      It is always too early in the morning to hear this woman's pitch high voice.

     "Good morning Mrs. Mershire."

      Clifford is just getting out of the car and joining us on the steps. I guess he's not a morning person because he's still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and not giving me a proper greeting.

      "Well, you already have all my information and whatnot so I'll leave him right now." She says giving him a quick kiss. "How are your parents?"

       Ugh, this woman has to have some sort of small talk, doesn't she.

       I maintain my smile. "Just fine. My mother says hi, by the way."

      "Oh, well, tell her I said hello back."

      "I will."

       Finally, she turns and walks down the steps to her car.

       Guiding Clifford into the house, I shut the door, letting out a mini sigh.

       "Is Axel here?" He asks looking up at me with hopeful eyes.

       "His name's Xalale, and, yes, he's in the kitchen."

        With that, he skips merrily off into the kitchen with me following close behind. I don't understand this kid's fascination with Xalale.

        Jumping into a chair beside him, Clifford brightens up.

       "Hey, Axel." His enthusiastic attitude is a stark contrast to Xalale's irritated one.

       Clifford notices the plate of untouched pancakes. "You guys have pancakes!? Can I have some?"

       I answer, "Sure, just take Xalale's."

       He gladly does and reaches for the syrup, completely oblivious to Xalale's annoyed expression. He glares at me and I must be around him too much because I know what he's silently asking: "What is he doing back here?"

       "So, what are we going to do today?" Clifford asks through a mouthful of pancakes. "Can we go into town?"

      "Actually," I say. "Yes, we do need to go into town."

      "Yay!"

       Another look of question from Xalale. "Why do we need to go into town?"

      "I wanna play in the park," Clifford announces. He looks at me. "Do you have any milk?"

        Opening the fridge, I pull out some milk for him. "Sure, you can play in the park."

       "You get to see what our town's like." He says happily to Xalale.

        That might be a problem. Even Clifford should know how the people in town might react to seeing a strange walking through the main drag.

       "So what's your favorite breakfast food?"

        And so the day begins.

        I quickly finish putting away the ingredients I used and wait for Clifford to finish his pancakes.

       "Clifford," I say cheerily. "Why don't you wash your face in the bathroom and then we can all head into town."

       "Alright."

       The moment he leaves the room, Xalale is already getting started up.

       "Why didn't you tell me he was coming back?" He growls.

        I shrug innocently.

        "We don't have time for this. We need to be searching for that portal."

        "Calm down. We're only going to be in town for a little while. Once we get back, I'll distract Clifford with the TV and we can go and inspect the portal." I reply calmly.

        He continues to shoot daggers at me but says no more.

        Clifford returns a few seconds later, energized and ready to go.

       Since I can't drive and we have no ride, the only option to get to town is walking. My house isn't painfully far from town, but when walking with a hyper Clifford annoying an already vexed Xalale, it can seem like an entirety.

      "So I'm sure they have small towns in Transylvania," He says. "Cauldron is really small. I mean like not 28 people small, but still, we're small. Have you ever visited any big cities?"

      It's back to yesterday when they first met. Xalale is ignoring Clifford and I'm biting my nails praying nothing escalates.

      "Why are you ignoring me?" Clifford asks, walking backward so he faces Xalale. "Did I do something wrong?"

       "Kid, I'm still trying to figure him out."

       "I thought we were cool. What did I say?"

       I step in, "He's not a morning person, that's all."

      "Oh," He walks beside him now. "Okay, I guess."

       Xalale gives me a quick glance but I avoid it and roll my eyes. Two can play whatever game he's playing.

       We're approaching the edge of town, passing the fading sign that reads: Welcome to Cauldron, when I realize there's no game plan for how to explain Xalale's presence or why he's here. The truth is not a reasonable option at this time, but I can't just strut in there not expecting to be hounded with questions. Plus, he's already in a pissy mood and the people here aren't going to make things easier for him.

      "This will be a quick visit." I think, trying to maintain a level-headed composer. "Do what you need to do and leave. No questions, no hellos, nothing. In and out."

      We're not even in the heart of town and I already feel the stares from people driving by and those relaxing on their porches. Little kids nearly swerve into the road staring at us as they ride on their bikes. Even a cat lounging in a window seems to watch us intensely.

       I glance at Xalale, wondering if he can feel the eyes watching us. He always wears an unreadable mask that hides what he's thinking, so I don't know how he's taking this.

      Clifford notices, I can tell. He was skipping before, now he has his hands shoved into his jeans, looking around with a weak whistle.

      "This was a stupid idea." But there's nothing we can do now but walk down the main drag and into the heart of town.

       In the middle of the town lies the park surrounded by shops and stores. Further along is the library and school. The Gothic designed building to the west of the park is the Methodist church, beyond that to the north is the rival Baptist church.

       The heart of the town is where you can run into everyone, whether you want to or not. Today, I just wish we'd disappear.

       Strolling along, I feel like we've stepped into an episode of The Twilight Zone. Kids in the park continue to play but look at us with curiosity, people shopping stop and stare, watching us like hawks. It was only a matter of seconds before the first soul would confront us.

      "Hey Mal," Clifford gets my attention. "I'm gonna head over to the playground, okay?"

      "Alright. We're going to be in one of the shops. I'll come get you when we're done."

      He hurries across the street- not even looking both ways- to get to the park. Probably wants to avoid the shit storm about to hit.

      By this time, Xalale is starting to notice the stares we're receiving. It's mostly confusion on his face from this, but he returns to his unreadable expression.

     We're almost to the store I want. I'm reaching for the handle and-

     "Mallory!"

      "God." I'm actually surprised we kept out for so long.

     Shuffling across the street with a smile as wide as the sky, Liberty Watson approaches us trailed by her little sister Valerie.

      It could be worst. Libby isn't too bad to start off with- just a little ditzy and overly perky.

      If it wasn't for the Watsons, Cauldron would be whiter than WonderBread. Libby and her family always had a nice tan skin tone that was apparent in the winter when everyone else looked like a sheet of paper.

      "Hey Mallory, I haven't seen you all summer." She addresses this to me but is grinning like an idiot at Xalale.

      "Is it too late to act like I didn't hear her and walk into the store?" I decide it is and turn on my friendly smile.

     "I've been babysitting so there's not much time to get out."

     "Babysitting? Are you on the job right now?" Still looking at Xalale with eager eyes.

     "Yeah. Clifford Mershire-"

     "Clifford!?" She finally looks away from Xalale and glances around, eyes excited to find him.

     "He's at the park right now," I explain.

     "Oh," Attention back on Xalale again. "I understand the whole babysitting ordeal. I had to do it with Val all the time when she was younger."

      "Hey!" Val makes her presence known. "You never babysat me. We're only like two years apart."

      "Still."

      By this point, Xalale glances over at me in question. He's probably wondering what's up with this weird girl who's staring at him but not addressing him at all.

      "Can I just have the ice cream money mom gave you?" Val begs, clearly not too interested in Xalale.

       "Fine." She fishes out the crumpled wad of cash and gives it to her. Val dashes off to the ice cream parlor, leaving the three of us in this awkward situation.

       "So..." I begin. "I guess I'll see-"

       "You never told me your cousin was coming to visit."

        This is the first comment she's made about Xalale.

       "Uh, yeah, I mean...okay." Should I just go with this cousin thing?

       "Okay." She paused for an awkward second. "What's his name?"

        "Like he's mute and can't tell you himself."

        "Xalale."

        "I like that. Is it French?"

         I share a glance with Xalale, who's unreadable mask is now replaced with concern and confusion (probably wondering about this poor girl's mental state).

        "I guess..."

        "Does he speak English?" She asks. Has she even blinked once?

        "Yes." I want to move but don't know how to escape this situation non-awkwardly.

        "Neat."

         Nothing else added. Just "neat".

         You know that uncomfortable meter that comes installed upon birth? You know when it begins to beep like crazy because it's becoming overload on the awkwardness of the situation you're in? Yeah, mine's going berserk at this point.

        "Okay, so it was nice seeing you," I begin. "We gotta get going now..."

        She nods. "Oh yeah, it was cool seeing you again and meeting your cousin..."

        I can tell I'm going to have to make the first move, so I pull Xalale along into the store, waving goodbye to Libby.

        She smiles then turns and trots away.

       "Please tell me that was the worst of it."

        We enter the store and I breathe a sigh of relief for two reasons. One, we were away from Libby and two because it felt nice to be in an air conditioned building.

       Looking over at Xalale I can tell he's questioning me.

      "That was Libby," I say. "She's a little out there. Sweet, but out there. Not everyone here is like that."

       The uncertainty in his eyes could match how I feel about this whole situation. But I push those feelings aside and walk up to the counter where a shaggy hair teenage boy leans in a chair and nods his head to some country tunes.

      "Doug." I greet.

      He sits up. "Mal, what's up?"

      "Nothing."

      I rest my elbows on the counter. "Hey, you remember that favor I did you in middle school? Well, I'm checking that in."

      He glances between me and Xalale. "Alright..."

     "My friend needs some clothes and I don't have much on me, so..."

      He gets my drift, smirking as he puts his feet up on the counter and leans back again. "Alright, I'll do you this solid. Just don't let my old man catch on."

     "Thanks."

      I walk away from the counter and lead Xalale to a section of the small store.

     "Okay, pick what you want just make sure it'll fit."

      He glances at me for second not saying anything then eventually, he begins to inspect the racks.

      "You're quite the haggler aren't you?" He finally says picking up a shirt.

      I shrug. "Just cashing in favors."

      "Hm."

      He picks out a few garments that appear good and I approach the counter again to retrieve some bags when the front door chimes.

      Doug makes a disdained face as if he smelled rotting garbage. It's only when a nasally voice rings out smugly, "Mallory Ryders." do I understand the reasoning.

      "Morning, Douglas." Franklin greets.

      Doug mutters something about needing to do something in the back, but I can see through his excuse.

      "So Mallory, long time no see. What have you've been spending your summer doing?"

       "God." It's hard not to reveal the disgust I'm feeling.

      "Babysitting."

       He picks imaginary lint off his button down shirt and gives a cheesy, lawyer grin. "Ah, helping the community and being productive. How pleasant."

       There's never been one soul I've met in my life that's as prissy as Franklin Houser- I'd bet my life on that fact. It was hard enough seeing him in school, but outside is even worst. It's bad enough Franklin is the most plastic, fake as can cheese person in Cauldron, but it's made even worst that he's the mayor's son (in a town where being the mayor is equivalent to being the president). I swear, if he could, he'd go around in full business attire with a Bible tucked under his arm just taking a walk in the park.

      In no mood to converse with him, I'm about to walk away when I notice his eyes light up at a sight behind me.

      "I didn't know you had a guest with you." He says referring to Xalale. Sliding past me, he slimes his way to Xalale, holding out his hand. "I'm Franklin. Franklin Houser. And you would be?"

       This time, I just can't hold back the repulsed expression brought on by Franklin.

      Xalale accepts the hand gesture but doesn't give a firm shake. This causes Franklin's cheesy smile to falter slightly, but he fixes it before notice.

      "Xalale."

      "You're foreign I presume."

      If you didn't know Franklin too well, the slightly snobbish tone he just used would've flown right over your head like it did Xalale's, but not mine. "Well I must ask: what do you think of Cauldron?"

       "God, I would take Libby over him any day."

      "It's...interesting." He answers after a second.

       This is not the answer Franklin would've liked causing his smile to falter again. He quickly composes himself straightening up like a peacock (probably trying to seem superior due to him being a head shorter than Xalale).

      "Oh. It must be quite quaint as opposed to...where'd you did you say you were from?"

       I wonder how he's going to answer this. With the truth- like I'm afraid he's going to- or a lie- like I'm hoping he does. Franklin is a geography junkie which means nothing will slip past him.

      "Transylvania."

       I give Xalale a double take on that. "It's something I guess."

       Franklin raises a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "Transylvania? Oh, well, that does explain things."

       Me and Xalale give the same questioning look: "What is that supposed to mean?"

       Letting out a light chuckle, Franklin goes on, "So the villages there must be quite historic. What's the population of your village back at home?"

      "It's been some time since I've checked."

      "Cauldron must be huge compared to your village. Luckily you have Mallory, a lifetime resident to guide you along."

       I think Xalale is beginning to catch onto Franklin's prissy personality. I can tell by the surly expression comes over his face.

      "In fact, you came here at a wonderful time," Franklin rattles on. "You see, every year we have a festival and dance that celebrates when Cauldron was founded. It's fun and quite enjoyable. If you're around long enough and decide to come, Mallory and I would assist you so you don't become overwhelmed with the festivities."

     "Hm."

      Another faltered smile that recovers.

     "Look at the time," He glances at his watch. "I really must be going. It was nice meeting you, Xalale."

     I'm half surprised he didn't say "ta-ta" on the way out. I roll my eyes.

    "If you didn't already catch that," I begin. "Franklin is a little holier-than-thou, pretentious snob."

     Xalale doesn't comment on this, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he caught onto that fact.

    "You can come out now, Doug. He's gone." I call out.

     Hesitantly, Doug comes back to the counter, glancing around- making sure Franklin isn't hiding anywhere- before relaxing again.

     "So you done here?" He asks leaning back in his chair again. "Just remember not to let my old man in on this, alright?"

      "My lips are sealed," I promise.

     He nods and goes back to humming along to the radio. I head to the front door, Xalale following behind when I stop.

     "What?"

     Turning, I look at him. "I'm going to go across the street and get Clifford. It would probably be best if you just hung out here until I came back. The park's pretty busy most of the time and...well, you've seen how some of the people here react to people like you..."

     He understands where I'm going with this.

    "Fine."

    "Okay. I'll be quick." I say, already heading out the door towards the park.

     Walking into the park, I'm glad I had Xalale stay in the shop. The park is lively today, with little kids running around and playing on the playground, to the teenagers chilling under the pavilion, and the group of mothers quietly chattering like pigeons on the benches.

     I spot Clifford's curly head beyond the fountain. He seems to be having a good time playing on the playground with a group of kids his age.

     "Clifford."

      Perking up at the sound of his name, he smiles widely upon seeing me, then waves me over to which I impatiently comply.

      "Hey Mal, check this out," He calls from the top of the pole.

      I watch him slide down the pole.

      "That's nice," I say. "But we've gotta go."

      "Aww. Why? We just got here."

      His whining irritates me even more but I continue the role of a patient babysitter.

      "We can come back another time, but right now we really need to go."

      Hopping over to me, he asks, "Is this about Axel being here? Because if it is, I don't know why you're so worried. I talked to Sydney Howell and she says meeting someone from Transylvania would be cool."

      "Yeah, well not everyone here would think meeting an outsider is cool," I reply, glancing around.

      "I guess..." He says looking around- mostly at the adults. "Yeah, we should get going."

      Even he has knows how iffy our town is about strangers.

      We begin making our way to the shop where Xalale is, but unfortunately, luck can't stay with me for too long and I notice a familiar brunette lingering by the shop's entrance.

     "Oh no."

     Clifford notices my expression and looks to the shop. "What?"

     The brunette smiles brightly once she sees us approaching. She meets us halfway and looks at me.

     "Mallory. Is that your cousin in there?"

     "Uh..."

     Her eager hazel eyes blink continuously (a stark contrast to Libby) as she waits for me to respond.

     "I mean, he's more of a-"

     "He's really cute." She whispers in my ear, fighting back her giggles. "No, not cute. Hot. How old is he?"

     She's too close in my personal bubble, so I distance us by stepping back.

     "Um..."

     Gazing longingly back at the shop, she smiles. "I wanna go in but I didn't want to look like an idiot. How old did you say he was?"

     Finally finding my voice I speak up. "He's twenty."

     I didn't think it possible, but the smile on her face spread even wider when she heard that.

     "Oh?"

     "Yeah," I start to head to the door, but she stops me.

     "Can you introduce us?"

     "Um..."

      I wish she wasn't giving me those pleading puppy dog eyes- I don't want to be the bad guy.

    "Please, please, please."

      I glance helplessly at Clifford as if he knows how to get out of this uncomfortable situation. He gives me a small shrug and stupid look.

     Finally, my attention returns to the bubbly brunette in front of me.

     "Okay, I guess...just follow me-"

     "Oh my gosh! Does my hair look like presentable? Does he like girls like me? Am I his type?" All these shallow questions and more tumble out of her mouth faster than a waterfall.

     At this point, I'm crossing my fingers that we can get through this without any trip-ups.

     We shuffle into the store, me in the lead, Fall hiding behind me- giggling like a schoolgirl- and Clifford dragging behind. Xalale notices only me at first but realizes I have extra company in tow.

     I try to play this off with a casual tone. "Hey."

     Ignoring the suspicion apparent in his eyes, I continue, "So my friend Fall here just happened to be passing by and noticed you. She's really friendly and wanted to say hello." I push her forward a little.

    Looking like a deer in headlights, she stares at him for a moment before glancing away and turning her back on him altogether. On his part, Xalale is slightly confused by her then gives me an irritated look. I simply smile at the awestruck, shy Fall and turn her around.

    "Fall, this is my...friend," We need to determine an appropriate title for what we were. "Xalale."

    "Hi." She squeaks staring at the ground.

     Another interpretative look from Xalale to me: "What are you doing?"

    "I'm not a stalker," She blurts. "Just admiring- not you! The store, the store, I was admiring the store you just happened to be standing in the store...I was admiring..."

     Redness rose to her face. I knew I had to throw her a lifesaver at this point- she was sinking.

    "That's a compliment," I add.

    She smiles at me then nods at him, only to blush again and stare at the floorboards. God bless her she's trying.

     I pipe up again. "So, yeah, she just wanted to pop in and say hi."

    "Yeah, yeah," She picks up. "It was nice meeting you. I hope it doesn't seem strange that I was staring at you, I mean- I'm not weird or, I mean-"

     I speak up to save her again. "It's fine. Besides, it's normal to stare at attractive people."

      "Crap!" That came out before my brain could stop it. Now I'm the one blushing like crazy and trying to backtrack.

     "I meant it isn't normal to stare at someone attractive-" I look like an idiot. I need to stop using that word. "It's not normal."

      Fall is looking at me like I'm the one that needs saving now. I can't even look up at Xalale right now. My face is burning.

     "Okay..." Fall chuckles nervously.

     There goes that uncomfortable meter again ringing in my ears.

      Suddenly a different voice pipes up.

     "My dad's not cool with loitering even if it has attractive people, so if you guys could buy something or else move along, that be cool," Doug calls out.

     "Uh, yeah, sure," I answer back.

      There's a brief awkward silence before Fall speaks up and backs up to the door.

     "It was nice meeting you. Again. I mean...bye." She's out the door quicker than she came in.

      That only leaves me, Xalale, and Clifford, who picks back up his measly whistle.

      "So you guys ready to go?" He asks.

      Definitely one of his better questions.

      "Yeah." I still can't look Xalale in the eyes, and I don't until we're on the edge of town walking away from curious eyes.

      "That wasn't too bad," Clifford says. "What do you guys wanna do once we get back?"

     Nobody answers his question and we continue to walk in silence the whole way home.