AN: Sorry it took me so long! I've been working on my novel lately.

CWs: None

The morning dawned bright and early. I carefully selected my clothes, choosing a red polka dot off-the-shoulder blouse and slightly ripped capris. I then pulled my long hair back with a bandana hairband.

Cute and summery! All I need is some sandals.

I dug out a pair of gladiator sandals and texted Tabitha that I was ready to go. My parents had already permitted me to spend the morning at the mall with friends.

When I came downstairs, Mom and Dad were already seated at the breakfast table. A platter of fluffy Belgian waffles awaited. My stomach grumbled.

"Oooh, waffles!" I plopped one on my plate. "These look yummy! Thanks, Mom."

"So, Lexi," Dad began. "I hear your little group has expanded." A bit after the monkey bar incident, he'd returned home to settle some matters with the house.

"That's right. We're six now."

"One of them is a boy named Keefe, right? He's around sixteen, blonde hair, blue eyes."

"That's him. Why?"

"Because he's staying at the Dorchester."

I nearly spit out my milk. "Hang on, what?!"

I'll be interrogating him so hard today. It has been a month, and he decided to withhold this detail?

"I'm assuming he didn't tell you this?" Dad raised an eyebrow in amusement at my reaction.

"No, he did not. I intend on interrogating him today. I must learn the how and why behind this whole mess."

"Lexi, eat your waffle before it gets cold," Mom urged. "Tabitha is going to be here any minute now."

I complied, flooding my waffle with maple syrup and adding a fair amount of chocolate chips.

"I like the kid," Dad continued. "Reminds me of my own sixteen-year-old self."

"You were a troublemaker in high school, Dad?" I looked up from my task of eating my waffle.

"Oh, yes. The teachers hated me. Anyway, I'm just glad you're making friends, sweetheart. You've made some very good choices, too."

"Thanks." I polished off the rest of my waffle and checked the time. "I have ten minutes before Tabitha's coming. I gotta go get ready. See you later!"

I plopped my dish in the sink and headed to my room to finish getting ready. By the time Tabitha texted me to let me know she'd arrived, I was fully ready.

"Hi, Lexi! Cute outfit," Tabitha noted as I hopped in the car and seated myself next to Matilda.

"Yeah, red looks super cute on you," Matilda agreed.

"Thanks, girls! Red is actually my favorite color. Especially this shade."

"I've got a question, Tabitha." She raised her hand.

"Shoot. What is it?"

"How are we going to pick up Keefe? He doesn't have a phone, and we don't know where he's staying."

"That is an excellent question. I forgot to settle that."

I smirked. "Well, I know where he's staying. Mainly, 'cuz Dad dropped it this morning at breakfast."

It felt nice to be the one with the info for once.

"Do tell." Tabitha's interest peaked.

"The Dorchester. Where Dad works."

"You're kidding, right? You've gotta be kidding." Matilda stared at me as if I'd gone nuts.

"Nope, I am perfectly serious. Why would Dad joke about this?"

"No, she has a point," Tabitha replied. "However, let's try the park first. If that fails, we can go pay him a little visit." A mischievous grin spread across her face.

We both gave our approval. After that, the car ride continued like normal. We chatted the whole drive to the park, which was about two minutes.

No sign of the blond boy.

He's probably trying to ditch. Looks like Operation: Surprise Keefe is about to get enacted.

"He's not there," Matilda pointed out. "Shall we activate our mission, Agent Tabitha?"

"Absolutely. What should we call the operation?"

"Operation: Surprise Keefe?" I proposed.

"Great, let's call it that. Operation: Surprise Keefe is officially activated."

I beamed. I wasn't sure of the results, but what I did know was that it was gonna be awesome.

"Hey, Tabitha, can you put some music on?" Matilda interrupted my daydreams of surprising Keefe and proceeding to interrogate him for the entire car drive.

"Sure." She pulled up her Spotify. "What playlist?

"Can we do oldies? Pweeaase?" I did my best puppy-dog eyes.

Tabitha nodded. "Excellent taste, Lexi. What's your span of oldies?"

"Big band to the '90s. Pretty broad range, I know. But it's awesome!"

"Huh, I never considered big band. Mine starts with the '50s."

"Big band is, like, 1920s through 1940s, right? And is super jazzy?" Matilda clarified.

"Yep," I confirmed.

Tabitha pressed shuffle, then play. Soon, the sounds of "Sweet Dreams" blared through the car speakers. 

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"Here we are," she announced some time later as we pulled up in front of the fancy hotel. "Lexi, care to do the honors? You'll have more influence since your dad works here."

"Why, I never thought you'd ask! Gladly. Want me to drag him over by the ear, too?" I grinned.

"If you can do that, my utmost respect for you. We're the same height, and no way on earth could I drag a guy that much taller than me by the ear."

"Well...I could use this little thing called persuasion, but there's no fun in that. Anyway, wish me luck. Lexi Anderson is about to charge into battle."

I hopped out of the car and strutted toward the entrance. I would make that boy come with us, whether by persuasion or coercion.

"Hello, Lexi," the lady at the front desk greeted me. I was well-known at my dad's work. I'd come with him a couple of times before, sure, but Dad also loved to sing my praises. "Are you looking for your dad?"

"No, actually." I explained my errand.

The lady tried to smother her laughter. "I see. I could grab Keefe for you, unless you'd like the honors?"

"Oh, please. I would love to try to drag him out by his ear!"

I hope I can. I'm just five feet, though, and he's around Luke's height. But short people tend to be more vicious. The closer to the ground we are, the less you want to mess with us.

She told me his room number and specific directions on how to get there. I smirked. His reaction would be priceless. Absolutely priceless. I navigated my way through the endless maze of hallways and confusing room number orders.

At last, I found my target. I laughed evilly to myself as I knocked on the door.

Oh, I'm so giving him an earful. He must hear all about my displeasure. Rats, I don't even know his last name. How am I going to properly scold him? Keefe Middle Name Last Name? That is so corny and lame.

Nothing happened. I tried again, this time more obnoxiously.

"Keefe, I swear, if you don't answer within the next thirty seconds, I will find out your most embarrassing secret and share it with the girls." I hoped I sounded serious and annoyed enough to actually do this horrid deed.

The door flung open. "Sheesh, Lexi, you could've resorted to something less evil. Like, you know, actually announcing who you were the first time." Keefe had a tone of mock annoyance.

"What can I say? Yelling at people is so much more fun than being normal and polite. Plus, it's not like I was yelling. I was projecting. There is a difference."

"Whatevs. How'd you find out I was even here? And how'd you find out my room number?"

"I have...contacts. Also known as my dad. You may know him better as Miles Anderson. He works here. He thinks you're chill, so that's a plus for me. Anyway, being the kid of an employee has its perks."

"Your dad's Miles? You don't even look alike!" Keefe looked flabbergasted.

"Yeah, in case you couldn't tell by our very noticeable American accents."

This landed an eye roll from him, which was quickly replaced by a proud look. "Y'know, I appreciate the sass. That was a pretty good comeback. And that's coming from the King of Sass."

I giggled. "Well, Tabitha's waiting for you. And Matilda. You're not ditching the shopping trip, sir. Let's go."

"Okay, okay! I'll put up with the giggles and gossip for now. Mainly 'cuz Tabitha actually drove here."

"Come on, then!" I dragged him by the arm out of the doorway and into the hall.

With me leading, we soon made it outside of the building. I spotted Tabitha's car, and, half-dragging Keefe, I beelined toward it.

"I did it," I declared as I triumphantly sat back down next to Matilda.

"Well done, Lexi. Well done." Tabitha was proud as a very reluctant Keefe claimed shotgun.

And so we were off. According to Tabitha, there was a mall a decent distance away.

I still can't believe this is happening. I kinda pity Tabitha, though, 'cuz she has to practically chaperone us. Even though one of us is sixteen. Teen guys are notoriously idiotic, after all.

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The trip to the mall turned out to be one of the best carpooling experiences I've ever had in my life. It involved off-key karaoke, an introduction to the gloriousness of eighties and nineties pop, and lots of interrogation. And by lots, I mean lots.

"We're here!" Tabitha said as we pulled into the parking lot. "First stop, a toy store. The Squishmallow is top priority."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Matilda was ready to jump out of the car as soon as we stopped. "It's shop till we drop!"

"Nope. I am not going broke this time." I remembered my last shopping spree back in the USA.

"This time?" Tabitha raised an eyebrow.

"I may or may not have made some poor financial choices the last time I went shopping. But I've learned my lesson. I am going to be financially responsible today."

Matilda gawked. "I never thought I'd hear those words coming from Lexi Anderson herself."

"Yeah, believe it or not, I can make dumb spending choices, too. Now, hush. We need to find somewhere where they sell Squishmallows."

"I still don't know exactly what a Squishmallow is besides a plush," Keefe complained.

We ignored him. Somewhere between yesterday and the drive to the mall, we girls had made an unspoken pact never to reveal the mysteries of the Squishmallow. Keefe must find out for himself.

After some fruitless searching, we located a welcome sight: a toy store.

Tabitha smirked; Matilda rubbed her hands in mischievous glee.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Time to get cultured, my good sir." I strutted in and waved at the displays with a dramatic flourish. The others followed me inside.

I led the way to the stuffed animal section. Soon enough, I spotted the Squishmallows. There were a myriad of options to choose from. I noticed small ones that could easily fit in a bag, larger ones that made perfect snuggle buddies, and giant ones that could probably be used as a chair.

"This, my friend"—I gestured to the plushes—"is a Squishmallow."

"These marshmallow-shaped adorable plushies are the things you've been referencing?!" Keefe stared at the wide array of potential snuggle buddies. "They're awesome!"

"And now, you may pick one out to serve as your extra-special emotional support Squishmallow," Tabitha instructed. "I'd recommend the small ones, but you're welcome to the medium-sized ones as well. Just don't get the giant ones—those are harder to take with you."

His eyes widened. "You mean...?"

"Yep, yours to keep!" Matilda grinned.

He looked absolutely entranced, picking up a smaller one, reading its name tag, squishing it, setting it back down, and repeating the process again with another.

"There's so many," he murmured. "I can't pick just one."

"Decisions, decisions." Tabitha started browsing for her own personal plush.

"You don't collect these, do you?" I said with a hint of amusement.

"I do," the redhead confessed. "Promise you won't tell the rest of the boys?"

Matilda and I assured her the secret was safe with us. Keefe was too distracted to pay attention to our conversation. Or at least, I hoped so.

"I found the perfect one!" He triumphantly held up an aqua dragon with metallic wings in a darker shade of blue.

"Oh my word, it's so cute!" I squealed. "What's its name?"

He opened the tag and read off the name. "Tatiana."

Both Tabitha and Matilda commented on how pretty the name was and how it fit her perfectly. Keefe, however, was not convinced.

"Tatiana is what I'd name a person, not a plush. Stuffed animals need to have goofy names. Like Mrs. Stinkbottom!"

I shrugged. "Well, I'm fresh out of ideas. You can think about the perfect name for her later."

"Yeah. We need to get you some new clothes, and we don't exactly have all day. Come on," Matilda urged, dragging Tabitha away from the Squishmallow display.

Keefe rolled his eyes but didn't protest. She took the lead. She was the most fashion-forward of the girls and seemed perfectly in her element.

"Well, are you all coming or not?" She turned around to face us, some of her curled light brown hair whipping in her face.

We picked up the pace to catch up with her.

"What's our first stop?" I wanted to know.

"I'm not sure." She furrowed her brow. "Keefe, you're a DC fan, aren't you? I noticed you were wearing a Batman shirt at the park the other day."

"Sort of. I first picked the shirt because it looked cool. Foster gave me the nutshell version of Batman lore, and I decided that he was cool. I just found out there were comics and movies a few months ago."

"Welcome to the fandom! We'll get you up to speed in no time." Tabitha smirked. "There's so much more to DC than just Batsy, although he's cool most of the time. It depends on the whim of the writers."

"What she neglected to mention was that Batman adopted, like, ten kids, most of whom have black hair and/or blue eyes," I inputted. "He's got only one biological kid, Damian. There's this new Webtoon series—that's an online comic, by the way—called Wayne Family Adventures that chronicles Batman's struggles of being a single dad of a gaggle of kids, even though some of the 'kids' are legal adults."

Matilda perked up. "Oh, I just started that! It's super fun, and honestly, it kinda reminds me of my relationship with Willow."

"Girlies, he doesn't have a phone. Or any other electronic device," the redhead reminded.

"Oh." My face flushed. "I'll talk my dad into getting you a phone, then!"

He rolled his eyes yet again. "I'm not six. You girls don't have to mother hen me."

"Too bad! We will continue to intensify the mother henning." My youngest friend grinned mischievously. "You need it if you're gonna make it past sixteen."

"I'm almost seventeen," he muttered but didn't press the matter further.

We continued our quest. As we walked past a row of stores, Matilda stopped suddenly.

"I spy with my little eye a comic book store! With merch!"

"Are you kidding me? Let's go check it out! We can probably pick up some comic books and T-shirts for Keefe." I was ready to bolt into the store.

Tabitha, the major comic book nerd of the Playground Gang, exercised more self-control. "Let's not stampede the place, shall we? Let's be orderly and mature." She placed extra emphasis on "mature."

"Do they have Batman merch?" he asked.

"You betcha. This place is one of my favorite stores in this mall." Tabitha stepped inside. "Come on!"

The rest of us followed her lead, fully prepared to return with some loot.