Gen Three- Chapter Twenty Five

Much to my surprise, Arbor and I ended up deep into the city. My plan for hanging out with him naturally hadn't been thought out with great depth. Dancing and hanging out at the festival brought Arbor out of his shell in a way I hadn't expected, but keeping that shell open proved to be the challenging part. He closed back into his general apathetic attitude even though he remained receptive enough to my prods and encouragements. When I asked if there was somewhere he wanted to go, he went ahead and answered without hesitation. Arbor wanting to get ice cream from a particular shop was was took us into Berrybrook's heart, and it was where I learned that he had a strong preference for all things pistachio flavored. The weather was too nice to stay inside, so the two of us wandered here and there until we approached the Twilight North's branch campus. Arbor was willing to walk even long after our treats were devoured.

Gen Three- Chapter Twenty Four

Ethereal and Ephemeral, as usual, had seemingly endless amount of energy. They were always the last ones to fall asleep at sleepovers and were typically the first ones to rise as well. Gilly and I had done everything we could to tire them out over the weekend, but even after spending the whole day guiding them around the city the twins walked with a spring in their step while my sister and I struggled to keep up. Ethereal and Ephemeral claimed their pep was due to being raised completely in Tinseltown. With everything constantly moving at a rapid pace there, one had to adapt to not be left behind.

     "Oh, wow! It looks amazing!" Ethereal gushed as we neared our next destination.

     "It's so big for a family owned bookstore too." Ephemeral added.

     "Well, it's now a bookstore and cafe proper. Dad technically owns both parts, but Aunt Mimi really runs the first floor." Gilly explained as we reached dad's business.

The three story building was unlike anything the old bookstore used to be. It wasn't even on the same lot anymore. Flooding had been a constant background threat for the building even before those crazy rainy years, and with most of his hard work being lost thanks to the hurricane dad hadn't hesitated on buying up a better location. The lot near the hospital provided room for expansion as well as heavier traffic for better sales.

Gen Three- Chapter Eleven

My feet ached slightly from the walk I was not used to. Gilly, Merlot, and I were going to have to talk to mom and dad about a better way to get us all home after school. The start of a new year of education meant something big for us older ones. Seventh grade had us finally departing from elementary school and journeying on to the adventure that was junior high. Merlot was left all by his lonesome then at the elementary, and mom and dad weren't too keen on their first-grader walking home alone. They'd asked us to meet up with him and walk home together, but there was no way this could go on all year. It was such a massive inconvenience for us, and Merlot had to sit there and wait so long that pretty much everyone else had left. Him sitting there alone didn't seem any better than him walking by himself.

     "The best part was when it went dead quiet and that random guy started jumping around in the background." Apple recounted merrily.

The walk had at least been somewhat interesting though. Apple was coming over, as usual, and Timber had been nice enough to tag along as well. We'd met up with Merlot, and in the small break we were taking before the trek restarted my cousin and my friend told us about the funny video one of the teachers in their class let them watch at the end of third period as there was time for nothing else.

     "I liked the part where that one person yelled about the cheeseburger." Timber laughed.

Gen Three- Chapter Nine

The fact that the air brushing against my cheeks and slowly knotting my hair as I zoomed back and forth on the swing wasn't cold pounded my chest with a lively excitement. Back when I was young, well- younger, I hadn't gotten why spring was the reason why people bothered so much more with cleaning and the start of large projects. Now I got it. The feeling of invigoration after the snows had passed and one could go outside without suffocating layers of clothes made one want to actually do stuff. For example, mom, dad, Gilly, and I were outside having a blast being silly as mom and dad did their best to push my sister and I at a matching pace while just a month ago we all lazed about in bed as long as we could hardly wanting to get up to make a cup of hot chocolate.

     "You're pushing too fast." dad complained with a large grin as Gilly and I began to go out of sync.

     "You're going too slow." mom rebuked back.

     "I'm going slower so you don't tire yourself out by trying to match me."

     "You calling me weak, Vivid?"

Gilly and I laughed. We found it amusing that mom used dad's last name to call him out during their playful bantering even if it had been her last name too for over a decade now.