CWs: None

AN: Since most of the characters are British, I'll be using British slang and the metric system in their dialogue. Crisps are the same thing as chips. :)

I arrived at the park at 2:15 exactly. All my friends were waiting for me. Even Matilda was there with Willow.

"Hey, guys!" I said as I hopped off my bike.

"She's okay! And lives!" Luke exclaimed when he saw me.

Everyone rushed around me and bombarded me with questions. After assuring them I was okay, I eyed the swings. They were empty.

I smirked. "Anyone up for racing me for a spot on the swings?"

"Racing, you say? I'm down," replied Matilda. She had a competitive streak and did track and field at her school.

"'Kay. Let's start at that tree over there. I'll count down, and then we can go."

She gave me a thumbs up. "Sounds good!"

Once I yelled, "GO!", the two of us sprinted as fast as our legs would take us. It was a close race. Matilda ended up winning by a nose.

"Good race," Matilda congratulated me. "And you said you're not a runner?"

"Uh, I can do short sprints. That's all my running capabilities." I laughed nervously.

"Got it. Come on! Let's claim those swings before any little kids get to them first."

We did so, and in a couple of minutes, we were soaring high in the air. I shut my eyes tightly. I felt like I was flying. I pushed myself higher and higher.

I wish I could just fly away from all my worries. I never thought anything like yesterday would happen when we moved to England.

I conjured up memories of my last theater show before moving here, Once Upon a Mattress. Oh, that show had been amazing. I missed theater. I'd just moved up to high school theater at the time and had loved every minute of it. It was a refreshing upgrade from Broadway JR. shows. The worst part was that the next musical my school was putting on was Matilda—one of my all-time favorite shows. I had never gotten the pleasure of seeing it live, but I'd watched bootlegs and school performances on YouTube and listened to the soundtrack, like, a million times.

But that life was over. I hoped that my new school would have a solid theater program. I wasn't good enough for a lead, mind you, but I could still sing and dance. I'd even considered auditioning for a community theater production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Then Dad landed this job at The Dorchester. We managed to sell our old home, buy a new house in London, and purchase plane tickets all in the matter of a couple of months. At least I got to spend my birthday with my old friends.

Well, Lexi, there's no use dwelling in the past. You've got friends—three, to be exact. And the Sarratt girls are close acquaintances. You'll be attending the same school as them in the fall. Maybe we can end up being friends!

I brought my swing to a halt. Jumping off, I rushed to the equipment. A certain giddiness filled me. The others were preparing for a game of Above-the-Ground Freeze Tag. Despite my soreness from yesterday, I eagerly joined. I hoped everything would be normal again. And it was—at least for a couple of weeks.

Once Luke said the word "twenty,"  the game was on. I leaped from springboard to springboard until I was within stepping distance of the ladder to access the jungle gym. Stepping onto it, I clambered up the metal rungs and pulled myself up right on time. Luke followed in pursuit. I raced toward the monkey bars and froze.

You can do this, Lexi. Deep breaths and focus. Don't pay attention to anything in the background. Only notice what's in front of you.

Inhaling deeply, I placed my sweaty palms on the first bar and swung myself across. One bar, then another, and soon I'd reached the other side of the playground.

"YES!" I cheered.

I bolted as far away as Luke as possible. By some miracle, I was still unfrozen.

"Betcha you can't catch me!" I stuck out my tongue playfully.

"Oh, I bet I can!" Luke called back.

I ran up the steps leading to another section of the vast jungle gym. I couldn't get frozen. Luke had caught up to me just then and was about to tag me.

Right before he could, Tabitha called out, "Asher's down!"

I let out the breath I'd been holding. I was safe!

"Wait, what's this? Lexi actually managed to make it through a round without getting tagged?" Asher remarked sarcastically.

I shot him a glare. "Says the guy who's currently on the ground. That means you're It, by the way."

"So, are we going to play a new round, or what?" Matilda asked. She'd been watching the action from her perch on the swings.

I looked at the others for confirmation.

"Why not?" Tabitha shrugged. "You joining, Matilda?"

"Absolutely!" She hopped off the swing and ran over to the group.

Everyone else agreed. Soon, Asher was on the ground, counting to twenty while we located ourselves on the equipment. I chose the main playground. Not only was it more spacious, but it also contained more access spots to the rest of the equipment. No sooner than he'd said "twenty,"  I took off, bolting across the swinging bridge connecting two sections. Speed was on my side.

As I fled, I noticed Asher sneaking up on Matilda. "Look out!"

She took a sharp right to avoid him, practically leaping over a step to reach the monkey bars.

"Sorry, Asher, but I'm not giving you the satisfaction of tagging me. Well, not yet, anyway." She swung across while she childishly stuck out her tongue in defiance.

I laughed. "You go, girl!" I mimicked her actions, minus sticking out my tongue.

Alright, Lexi. Time to get a strategy going, not just try and see how long you can last without "dying" or getting tagged.

My heart thumped in my chest. I shouldn't have been so nervous. But I was. I half-expected Him to show up out of nowhere again.

Okay, well, maybe strategy is overrated.

Once safely on the other side, I charged to the other side of the play structure. I'd just hide out until he came for me. Matilda seemed to be Asher's target anyway.

"Lexi, you may wanna move!" Tabitha called out.

I gasped as I noticed that he'd given up hunting Matilda.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. No, no, no, no!" I was cornered.

Well, forget what I said. Maybe having Mystery Boy come back wouldn't hurt. That way we'd have a distraction.

Unfortunately, I was not saved this time. Asher tagged me. Pouting, I slid down the firepole and landed on the rubber.

"No fair!" I whined.

"Yes fair!" He imitated my whiny tone. "Now count."

"Fine." I dragged out the word before starting to count.

"Hey, Willow!" Luke called. "Wanna join us? It's fun, I promise."

Willow looked up from her book. She'd been reading the whole time. "Why not, I guess?" She bookmarked her spot and set it down. "Who's It, anyway?"

"Lexi," Tabitha answered. "This'll be fun!"

"I'm probably going to be an easy target." She laughed. "Well, from what Matilda's told me, once Lexi hits twenty, I've got to run, right?"

"Yep." Tabby nodded. "C'mon, we'll have the best spots on the playground."

As soon as I hit twenty, I set off in hot pursuit of Asher. I was gonna get him back.

I shall have my revenge, Asher Gibson. Just wait and see!

The wind whipped my braid in my face. I laughed, not even caring. My life was returning to normal. This was just a run-of-the-mill Sunday afternoon. No stranger occurrences whatsoever.

And no adventures! Huh. I should've been a hobbit—I'd fit right in.

"Oy, Lexi, what are you waiting for?" Luke taunted from his perch. "Ya just gonna chase after Asher?"

"Never taunt Lexi when she's bent on revenge," Tabitha said. "Very risky business."

I switched courses and climbed the ladder as fast as possible.

"Ooooh, I'm sooo scared." Luke pretended to shudder.

"Knock it off, Ainsworth!" Willow rolled her eyes. "I'd focus on running away if I were you."

"Yeah, well, friendly reminder that she's like 152 centimeters—that's five feet in American units. Hear that, Lexi? Despite what Willow here claims, you'll never catch me. I'm 188 centimeters—over a foot taller! Shorty!"

"Are you calling me short?" I halted and whirled around. "Luke Ainsworth, you are going to suffer for this!"

"Someone get the popcorn and crisps!" Matilda paused her getaway. "This is gonna be one epic showdown!"

"Wait, what's going on?" a new voice asked. "All I caught was something about someone getting called Shorty and someone else getting ready to beat him up. Oh, and that we need popcorn—and if we're gonna have a fight, I totally agree with that statement."

It was Mystery Boy. Sure, I would've appreciated a normal Sunday, but at least he'd shown up like a normal human being, given that he'd caught our conversation.

I guess I'm gonna have to get used to that. Fun.

"No, we are not fighting." Asher sounded disappointed. "Luke—the guy with dirty blond hair—called Lexi short. Lexi's the girl with the braid."

At hearing my name, I waved. "Hi."

"Anyhow, Lexi doesn't like getting called short, so she's making him her target for Above-the-Ground Freeze Tag. Now that you suggest it, though, having the two fight it out sounds way more interesting. Of course, that would be unfair since Luke does have a height advantage."

Mystery Boy gave a thumbs up. "Okay. Too bad. I wanted to see a fight. Height doesn't necessarily imply a win." He sounded like he spoke from experience.

Matilda noticed the lull in the game and ran over. "Oh, new person! Hi, I'm Matilda. What's your name?"

"Keefe. With an f, not a th. People keep on calling me Keith, which is annoying. What are you guys' names?"

"I'm Tabitha. It's a pleasure to meet you, Keefe." Tabitha smiled welcomingly.

The rest followed her lead until Willow and I were left. We looked at each other awkwardly. None of us wanted to go.

Finally, I decided to break the silence. "My name's Lexi. She's Willow, Matilda's older sister." I gestured to Willow.

Willow waved in acknowledgment.

"Wait, Lexi. You're the girl who fell off the monkey bars, aren't you? I'm so sorry for startling you. I...should've been more careful." Keefe sounded sincere. "I hope you're okay. That looked like a pretty nasty fall."

"I'm fine. A bit shaken, but fine." I hoped I sounded reassuring.

"You sure?"

I apparently did not sound that convincing. But what was I going to tell a stranger? "Oh, yeah, I didn't get any sleep last night because of your little appearance out of thin air. I also managed to hurt myself and freak everyone out. Yep, life's just hunky-dory!"

Out loud, I said, "Positive. Please don't worry about me, 'kay?"

Keefe did not look convinced. However, he chose not to press the matter further, which I appreciated.

"Would you like to join us after this round finishes?" Tabitha offered. "We don't mind the extra company."

"I think I'll watch for now," he answered. "Lexi, if you don't mind, can I talk to you real quick after you're done?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Anyway, I gotta go sack Luke. Let's resume, shall we?"

The game resumed like normal. Luke ended up being proven wrong, much to my satisfaction.

I smirked as I tagged him. "That's for calling me short."

He shot me a glare. "I promise I'll get you back for this, Alexis Anderson."

I rolled my eyes at the use of my full name before sliding down onto the ground. I knew he meant it in good fun, so I wasn't particularly concerned about his passive-aggressive threat.

"Well, I'm done for now. Gotta talk with Keefe," I told the others. "I'll be back—don't worry."

As soon as I walked over to Keefe's bench, he stood up. "Do you mind if we head somewhere a bit more private? I don't want the others to learn this. Not yet, anyway."

Kinda suspicious, but what's the worst that can happen? I'm feeling a bit dangerous today, anyway.

"Nope. Lead on."

We headed over to a ramada a few feet away. Curiosity was driving me crazy.

"Well, what is it?" I demanded once we'd come to a stop. "I'm dying of curiosity."

Keefe inhaled a couple of times, as if he were trying to mentally prepare himself for the confrontation that was about to occur.

"I honestly don't know how to begin," he admitted. "I've never had to explain this to anyone before. And I'm probably going to have to blow everything."

"What do you mean?" My attention was fully captured.

"Can you keep a secret?"

That sounded like an odd question.

Must be something super touchy.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"You'll see. Promise not to tell anyone? Not yet, anyway."

"Promise."

He took a deep breath. "You saw me materialize out of thin air, didn't you? That's why you lost your grip on the monkey bars. That's why you looked like you couldn't focus. I could feel your panic and confusion. And I can tell right now that you think I'm crazy. You're probably right." He paused for dramatic effect. "You see, Lexi, I'm not human. I'm an elf."