The Wayslide Gang Book One: Rainstorm

Vanessa held her head in disgust; her mind was working far too fast and too much again. She decided it'd be best to just go with the flow for now and get some breakfast. However on her way down the stairs to the kitchen she couldn't help wondering if she had some sort of gift.

It's happened before, She recalled. A few years ago she dreamt of meeting a girl at school with a passion for writing and a strange outlook on life. Sure enough, she did meet that girl- Rain was her name. It turned out that Rain and Vanessa were best friends to this day.

Vanessa poured the milk thoughtfully into her bowl. She watched the Froot Loops spread out across the liquid, and she scooped up a mouthful.

" What's the plan for today?" She wondered aloud, scanning the room. No one else was up yet; it was only her. " I suppose I'll just go for a walk," She decided, finishing off her food. She then chugged a glass of orange juice and made her way out the door.

The air smelt cool, like it had just rained. Indeed it must've, for the roofs on the houses were shiny, and the grass looked moist. Vanessa shoved her hands into her pockets, a little chilly from the breeze.

" Hello there, Vanessa!" One of her next door neighbors called out.

" Hi," Vanessa replied, smiling.

" You're an early riser," He commented, pulling a few weeds out of the grass. " Any special plans for today?"

Vanessa shrugged. " Not really. Just out for a walk."

" I see. Well, a nice day for it indeed," Her neighbor said warmly. " You have a good one."

" You too." She walked on, avoiding puddles along the way. The sun was trying to make its way out from behind the clouds. Vanessa looked up at the sky, admiring the beauty of it all. Very suddenly, her sight began to fade away, and the world left her... leaving her in a box with her dream world.



Two kids were walking down a quiet little street that night, talking like they were fools. They turned into someone's backyard.

The backyard was pretty big, mostly grass with a giant trampoline in the center.

Vanessa's vision fast forwarded to a moment of utter silence, where about four or five kids were standing in the middle of the yard, staring at each other. The two girls were on the ground, looking a little freaked out, while three boys jumped on the trampoline, smirks on their faces.

The boys began to whisper to each other, and after a while the girls looked defeated and dragged themselves back onto the street. Before they could get too far, one of the boys jumped off the trampoline and dashed over to them.

" Will you go out with me?" He asked one of the girls.

There was loud laughter coming from the trampoline, and the girls didn't know whether the one boy was serious or not.

" No," The girl answered firmly.

" Okay," The boy said coolly. " It was only a dare anyways." He ran off, back to the trampoline.

Vanessa watched in disgust. How could boys be so rude? The two girls left, whispering anxiously to each other. It didn't seem like either one of them had any feelings for any of the three boys, but perhaps there was something going on still? Something didn't seem in place.



Vanessa blinked fast; her little daydream had ended.

Those characters looked so familiar, She thought. Who are they...?

She tried to clear her head, but it didn't seem to be working.

" Woah! Uh, sorry there."

Vanessa looked up to see a boy around her age standing infront of her looking confused. He had brown hair with a bit of blonde to it, and green-blue eyes. He wore the kind of hat that people wear when they're trying to look cool or something.

" No, it's my fault," Vanessa argued. " I wasn't watching where I was going." For some odd reason, there was this strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. As soon as she met this boy's eye, she knew he was going to be some part of her future. But what role would he play? And how did he innocently appear in her life like that...?

My dear goodness, She thought, All these impossible questions that need to be answered!



" What rhymes with orange?" I asked for about the millionth time that day.

" No real word rhymes with orange," My mother sighed, getting sick of all this kind of talk.

" Does door hinge count?" I offered, clicking my pen repeatedly.

" Rain... how many times?" Mom snapped. " How about you just go ask someone else. Dad maybe?"

" No! Don't ask me...!" Dad called desperately from the basement. I suppose he didn't want the pain right now.

" Oh fine. I'll write a nonsense poem then," I said sadly. " Too bad it won't make any sense for you to read it..."

Mom put her hands on her hips and scowled. " Doesn't matter to me what you write at this point," She said. " Just... do it somewhere else please?"

" Fine." I sighed, picking up my gigantic pile of notebooks and dictionaries and lugging it into my room.

I threw all my supplies on my desk and took a seat, thinking deeply. What to write about...?

I'd already written roughly ten poems that morning; I was running low on ideas. I needed a good inspiration, but there just didn't seem to be any.

" Hello?" I said, as the phone had rang.

" Hey, it's Vanessa," My friend said on the other end. " What're you doing tonight?"

" Well it's summer vacation," I pointed out. " I'm up for anything. Any ideas?"

" Actually yeah. Wanna come down to my house later? We're having a neighborhood party. My Mom said it would be okay."

" Oh really? Wow, that would be fun." I grinned. " Your neighborhood parties sound like a blast. For sure I'll come."

" Okay! Come down to my house at six-thirty," Vanessa told me.

" Sounds good," I said. " See you then."



The wind chilled the air that evening; it was more of a cooler summer night.

But it certainly is a beautiful one, I thought, gazing up at the sky. The sun was just beginning to fall down for the night. As I rounded the corner I could honestly begin to smell a faint trace of laundry detergent blowing my way. That was the way it always smelt as I entered Vanessa's neighborhood, and I liked it that way; for some reason the smell made me feel warm and at home.

Fortunately, I didn't have to walk much farther as Vanessa was sitting on a tree stump at the end of the street. She was bobbing her head; I assumed she was listening to music.

" Hey Vanessa!" I called, waving.

Vanessa didn't seem to show any sign that she'd heard.

" Vanessa!" I tried again, a bit louder this time.

Still nothing.

" Vanessa!" I screamed, running over to her and pulling the earphones out of her ears.

" Oh, Rain! You scared me!" Vanessa gasped, her eyes wide. " You came a bit early."

" I'm always early for everything," I pointed out sourly. " How long have you been sitting here anyways?"

" About an hour," Vanessa told me.

" An hour?!" I repeated. " Vanessa, you didn't need to do that..."

" Oh no, it wasn't for you or anything," She interrupted. " I was thinking."

Vanessa jumped up off her tree stump and we began to walk towards her house. The scent of laundry detergent was so strong that I could almost reach out and touch it...

" Thinking, eh? Of what?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Vanessa stopped walking suddenly. She gave me a concerned look. " I'm not really sure, but... something to do with a boy in this neighborhood."

" Oh yeah?" I nodded. " Go on; tell me more."

Vanessa sighed, and told me the entire vision she'd had of us meeting the three boys on the trampoline.

" That must be tonight," I guessed. " But why's it such a big deal? So we meet a few people. Is there something wrong with that...?"

Vanessa shrugged, frowning in frustration. " There shouldn't be anything wrong with it. I just... have a feeling, that's all."

" What kind of feeling?" I urged.

" I think this guy is going to be... special, in some way or another," Vanessa mused. " I don't know how, but he's going to play a major role in our lives."

" Huh." I nodded again, kicking a few pebbles with my feet. I had to admit, the things she was telling me were sort of interesting.

" Don't you think I'm... kind of, weird?" Vanessa whispered.

I turned to face her. " Now why would I think that?" I asked.

" Well, because I have... visions," She explained. " Does that make me a freak...?"

" Definitely not," I told her firmly. " Now let's go on over to your place. I'm kinda hungry."



Vanessa's mom kicked us out of her house about ten minutes after we arrived. She argued saying it was a "nice night" and we should "spend it outside" as there was a "huge neighborhood party" going. So the two of us trudged over to the place where it all started, Mr.Sander's backyard.

The Sanders were always running huge parties for the neighborhood. Their place was where it always began and ended. In the very center of their yard was a big table full of food and drinks, with people mingling around it.

" Man, your neighborhood is so big," I said, eyeing all the people chatting and eating.

" No, not really." Vanessa laughed. " Neighbors invite people from other neighborhoods to come to the party. We always have way too much food anyways."

" Oh, I see." I scanned the yard, looking for anyone I may know. I gave up after a while; it was a lot full of strangers.

" Oh, sorry!" A big looking man had crashed into Vanessa and I, spilling some sort of sticky pop all over us.

" That's fine; it was a mistake," I said, giving him an honest smile. Vanessa however didn't look so forgiving. She frowned, staring down at her stained shirt and said nothing.

" Vanessa, let's go some place a little less crowded," I suggested, pulling her back onto the street.

People were beginning to spread apart a bit, now that the party had really begun. They were crossing the streets, visiting other houses, playing ball hockey and throwing frisbees.

" Should we go back to your place to change?" I asked worriedly when I saw she was still fretting over her shirt.

" No, I don't think we can," She said. " My Mom told me we have to be out here for the rest of the party."

I shrugged. " What's a stain gonna do, right? Let's go look around then."

We somehow ended up a few doors down, petting the neighbor's two beagles. The owners were sitting in the front with comfy-looking lawn chairs, sipping beer and appearing cautious.

" I have a beagle," I said to them, smiling.

They nodded, trying at a smile.

Maybe grown-ups just act weird at parties? I thought, then shrugged it off.

Vanessa was in her own little world, petting the two dogs. I think she really felt connected with animals. Things like that made her special. I watched her pet them with a dumb little smile on my face. The littlest things amused me; made me happy. I didn't think there was anything wrong with that...?

" Hey girls!" I recognized the voice as Vanessa's mother's. She was walking over to us with her husband and a few other neighbors. " Having fun yet?"

I grinned. " Yeah, I am."

Vanessa nodded absently. It appeared she was whispering to the dogs.

" Anyways," Vanessa's mom went on, " there's not a lot of kids at this party really, but I wanted to point out there are three boys in that backyard over there if you want to get acquainted with them." Suddenly a man called Vanessa's mom from across the street, and she was gone.

" The three boys your mom just mentioned," I whispered, " they must be the ones from your vision."

Vanessa stopped petting the dogs and got up off her knees. " Yes, but only one of them holds importance to the future." Her eyes seemed to shine with certain.

" Well let's just worry about the present," I told her, and we ventured into the backyard her mom had directed us to.



I suppose during neighborhood parties, who lives where doesn't really go into play. People just wander into other people's yards without worrying they'll get hollered at or anything.

That's exactly what Vanessa and I did, and we sure hoped it'd be fine with the boys that were there.

" I'm a little scared, to be honest," I whispered to Vanessa. " I'm not sure why..."

As soon as the boys came into sight I noticed the one in the middle first- definitely had to be the one in our future. All the boys stopped jumping and stared at us; it was a little creepy the way they observed us from top to bottom. I think I'd been shivering then.

There was the longest silence, and I internally begged for someone to say something.

One of the boys raised an eyebrow. He did this ever so slightly, just to add to the strange tension of the yard.

Another boy crossed his arms over his chest, as if he were waiting for something to happen.

And the last boy, the boy whom I assumed played a role in our future somehow- just stood on the trampoline staring wide-eyed, like he'd never seen a girl before.

" Why are all of them looking at us like we're aliens, or have three heads or something?" Vanessa asked me under her breath.

" I don't know," I whispered back. " Maybe we should go?"

But something told me it wasn't time to leave yet; it was definitely not time to go.

" Huh, two girls," The raised eyebrow guy finally spoke. He had a strange color of hair; a tinge of red, blond and brown together. His eyes were green-blue, and judging by his expression he wasn't ready to make any friends.

" Are these your girlfriends Blake?" The crossed arms guy asked the guy in the middle.

" I don't even know 'em," The boy named Blake replied quietly, though he continued to watch us.

" Well don't stare then, you'll creep them out," Crossed arms guy told Blake.

" Oh shut up Danny," Blake snapped. " I wasn't staring; you know that."

" What else could you have been doing?" Raised eyebrows guy pointed out smartly.

" I'm going to kill you," Blake said under his breath.

" You want to fight?" Raised eyebrows guy asked with a smirk to his face.

" Oh Lucas, you won't get far with him," Danny sighed.

Vanessa and I watched, feeling slightly interested now. What was it that made these guys speak such nonsense? I wanted to know now.

" Get off the trampoline," Blake ordered Lucas.

" Ohh, he's gonna fight you," Danny cried in fake horror.

" I realize that." Lucas hopped off the trampoline, followed by Blake.

The two stood in the yard, staring at each other with hatred in their eyes. Danny took a seat on the trampoline, a wide grin spreading across his face.

" This should be good," He said cheerfully.

Vanessa and I glanced at each other, then both took a seat in the grass. It appeared the boys had forgotten we were even there.

" Are you ready for this?" Lucas asked, jumping up and down in excitement, almost.

" More than ready," Blake assured him. " Come on, let's see what you've got then."

Without further adue, Lucas let out a yowl and charged at Blake. He threw his arms out and tackled him, or at least tried to. Blake looked quite a big bigger than Lucas; he must've been at least two years older.

" That doesn't look to promising," Danny commented on Lucas's tackle.

" Shut up," Lucas muttered, trying to push Blake down to the ground. He had a good hold on him but Blake wasn't going anywhere.

Blake simply stood, watching Lucas get out of breath trying to move him.

I smiled as I watched, because the proud grin across his face was priceless.



" Are you almost done?" Blake asked Lucas calmly.

" Not... yet..." Lucas mumbled, backing up a bit then slamming into Blake once more. Nothing happened.

" It's no use," Blake pointed out. " I'm much stronger than you are."

" Oh yeah?" Lucas backed up and stared him down. " Then you come at me and we'll see about that."

Blake shrugged. " Sure thing." He looked over at Vanessa and I for the slightest moment and I hadn't a clue why. But as quick as anything, Blake had Lucas pinned to the ground.

" Oh get off of me," Lucas complained. " You're crushing me, you..."

Blake smacked him on the head. " That's enough, Lucas. There are people watching, eh?"

Lucas looked up at us, embarrassed. He seemed to just realize we were still sitting there. Blake looked amused.

" Let's go get something to eat," He suggested. " We can come back to this if you want...?"

" No no, that's fine," Lucas answered quickly. " I'll pass."

" Hey you two," Danny hollered, catching up to them as they walked out to the food. " How many hot dogs can you eat? Fifteen, you say? That's absoloutley nothing, for I can eat forty in one sitting."

" I won't believe that," Blake stated.

Their voices began to fade into the distance, and that left Vanessa and I sitting in the silence.

"...Wow," I said, scratching my head.

" Wow is right," Vanessa said, " Lucas is a pretty handsome fella!"

I looked at her. " What? I meant, I can't believe that Blake guy is going to be part of our futures."

" I suppose Lucas won't though right?" Vanessa wasn't listening to me anymore. " Just Blake? Who said it had to be just Blake?"

" Fate did," I snapped. " Cut that out; it's creeping me out. Lucas is probably like seven years old."

" Or maybe he's just short," Vanessa argued. " Either way..." She giggled.

I sighed. " Maybe we should just leave..." I grabbed her arm and we started heading back onto the street.

The boys were coming back, food piled on their plates like construction workers.

" It's not my fault; the guy didn't want me taking all the hot dogs," Danny cried.

" Sure, sure," Lucas said sarcastically.

Blake walked in silence as soon as he saw Vanessa and I leaving. I looked over at him and our eyes met for a few seconds.

" Hey," He said. " Stay here?"

The way he said it sounded almost pleading. He wanted us to stay?

" Um, well... we were going to get food, actually," I lied. " So really..."

" No, it's fine. We have too much anyways. We'll share," Blake offered. " Right guys?"

Lucas and Danny didn't look as inviting.

" Blake, you're too much of a ladies' man," Lucas mumbled. " Why should I have to make sacrifices for you and share my food?"

" I agree with Lucas," Danny said. " And I think you're a little out of it tonight."

" Didja get into the liquor or something, Blake?" Lucas asked jokingly, getting back onto the trampoline.

Blake rolled his eyes. " I'm just going to ignore them for now. Come on, we can eat on the deck or something."

I nodded, but Vanessa looked frightened.

" It's okay," I told her, trying to sound certain. But I wasn't, to be honest. Who knows what the future holds...?



We ate pretty much in silence. There wasn't much we could say as we didn't know each other. The only thing I found out was that he's a year younger than us. I happened to notice that he too, smelt of laundry detergent.

Just a neighborhood smell, I assumed.

When we finished eating, Blake went back to the trampoline so Vanessa and I just sat on the deck and watched them again.

" What're your names?" Blake called.

" Rain," I replied. " And... that's Vanessa."

Vanessa didn't look ready to speak yet, so I did most (or all) of the talking.

After a while I think the guys got bored and they began whispering among each other.

What now? I wondered as I quietly looked on.

" Hey Rain," Blake suddenly called.

The two other boys laughed.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. " Let's just leave," She said.

I agreed. They were acting a little weird now. We dragged ourselves back onto the street, and somehow I knew Blake was running after us.

" Wait," He called. He looked over at me. " Will you go out with me?"

I made a sort of disgusted, creeped-out face. " No," I said firmly.

" Okay," Blake said. " It was only a dare anyways." He looked at me again, and I analyzed him. He had brown hair for sure, but with a golden kind of tinge. His eyes were blue-green like Lucas's, but even more so...

I shook my head. It seemed I was acting strange today as well.

Blake ran back into his backyard, and that was it.

That was all I saw of Blake... until four years into the future.



(Four years later)

" You going to come with me to do the papers?" Lauren asked after school that day. It had become a regular question ever since Lauren began her paper route up the street. I usually went along to help her and we could hang out at the same time.

" Sure," I answered. " I've got no homework tonight, so it's all good."

And just to make a mental note, I was in grade nine at that point. First year of high school- kind of scary, I must admit.

" Okay. Why don't you just come on over to my house," Lauren suggested. " You can throw your bag downstairs."

I nodded in agreement, and so the two of us headed on over to Lauren's place.

" Lauren!" I could hear a whiny, irritating voice yelling.

Lauren rolled her eyes. " If you can't keep up, we're not going to wait..."

" I will! Just... hold on!" I turned around; it was Lauren's little brother Charlie. He had a huge mouth for sure, but he was the cutest little seven year old there is. It was only a shame that he couldn't stay quiet when the time was right.

" What are you holding us back for?" Lauren snapped, losing her patience after a while.

" There's a rock... in my pants!" Charlie screeched.

When I looked at him I could see the kid with his hand shoved down his pants, looking for the rock.

" You know we're in public," Lauren pointed out. " Get your hands out of there and let's go home now."

Charlie sighed heavily. " But-"

" No buts," Lauren interrupted. " We're going home!"

I sighed just as heavily as Charlie had. I felt sympathy for Lauren; she had to deal with Charlie and her little sister Heather all the time when her mom worked.

And if one kid's trouble, think of two, I thought to myself, shivering.

We finally reached her house with all of Charlie's little distractions. I sat on the back deck while Lauren got her brother a snack and found him something to do. Did little siblings really have to be so demanding?

They can't even get themselves their own snack, I observed, watching as Lauren sliced up an apple.

It took a while, but eventually Lauren was done all the dirty work, so she joined me outside.

" It's a great day out," She noted, the wind moving her hair.

" Mhm," I agreed. I closed my eyes and leaned back, enjoying the feel of the sun touching my skin. Warm and relaxing; right now there wasn't a better thing in the world...

" We've got to do papers," Lauren said, and my beautiful vision had disappeared.

" Wouldn't it be cool if we lived in a land of Pigsharks and Dinoskunks?" I asked, avoiding the subject of doing papers for now.

" Pigsharks? Dinoskunks?" Lauren repeated, raising an eyebrow.

" Yeah," I said. " Me and my English buddy created these amazing fantasy creatures. We invented our own fantasy world, where everything's different. Wouldn't it be strange, if Pigsharks flew the skies and Dinoskunks roamed the Earth?"

Lauren tapped her fingers against the deck, impatient. " Um... papers? Like, now maybe, and now tomorrow?"

"Ah yes, that's what we were going to do!" I announced, and so we began our journey out the door, to deliver papers that sunny afternoon.



As soon as the boy saw me I looked away, but he'd already figured out I was staring, so I said something.

" Hey," I called across the road, " you're Blake, aren't you?"

The boy looked slightly afraid. He fixed the strap on his helmet, avoiding my gaze.

" Aren't you Blake?" I repeated, a little louder this time.

The boy gave me a hard stare back, and tipped his head to the side. " Yeah," was all he said.

That's it? I thought in disbelief. After all that time we haven't seen each other, all he has to say is "yeah"? Give me a break...

I frowned, disappointed. I'd been hoping to make a new friend that day, but I suppose nothing in my life was about to change.

Blake gave me one last look, then without another word or phrase he hopped onto his bike and sped away.



Weeks went by without even a small sign of Blake. It was odd how he did papers in the area but I never saw him around, and I happened to be outside quite a bit over the course of the week. I suppose he was just speedy with his job.

" Hey, it's me," I said into the phone on a rainy Tuesday.

" Who's me?" Vanessa asked suspiciously.

" Rain," I answered, grinning. " What's up?"

" Oh my gosh, really?!" Vanessa shrieked; I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a good long fifty seconds.

" Really," I assured her. " Now can you tell me something?"

" What is it?" Vanessa asked, ready for anything now that we were speaking again.

I paused, biting my lip. " Uh, well to be honest... I was wondering if you ever speak to Blake? You know, the one in your neighborhood?"

" Oh gosh no," Vanessa said automatically. " I don't see him at all. Why?"

I sighed. " Never mind, I was just... wondering, you know?"

" Oh yeah, know'm sayin'. It's all cool."

When we finished our phone conversation I took a while to look around my room at things that meant a lot to me: books, the stories and poems I'd written, odds and ends I'd gathered from my past. Why was it that all the while I was gazing at these mementos I couldn't help but think of Blake?

I can't understand this, I thought angrily, shaking my head. This guy hasn't even tried to become a part of my life, so why am I letting him in like this?

" Dinner's ready," My mom called from down the hall.

" Coming," I told her. I set my poembook down on my dresser and thought of Blake's blue-green eyes as I headed to the kitchen to eat.



March break rolled around, and I had to admit I was eager to get in some time outside.

" For some odd reason, I don't think all of my excitement is because of the march break," I admitted.

"Why else are you excited?" Lauren asked me curiously.

" I have no clue," I said.

The street looked kind of dry, like it hadn't rained in a while. The sun beat against the tops of the trees. Once again, a boy sped down the hill on his bike, with a paper bag and a blank expression.

" That's... him," I choked out. " Blake!"

Blake actually stopped that time to acknowledge me, and I felt special then.

He's actually looking over here, I thought, amazed. That's a start!

" Yeah?" He said.

" Um, well. I haven't seen you in a while," I commented, fighting to find words to say. Lauren was watching me strangely.

Probably wondering who this kid is!

" Haven't seen you either," Blake pointed out, walking over to a house with a paper in hand.

I randomly pulled out my cell phone to check the time; it was getting kind of late.

" Hey, you have a phone," Blake said eagerly. "Can I see it?"

" Um, sure," I said, passing it to him.

He flipped open my phone, trying out the buttons and looking at my photos.

"Hey! That isn't yours to look at," I snapped, grabbing it away from him.

"I was only looking," He protested, a hint of a smile playing across his lips.

Lauren stood behind us, looking impatient and rolling her eyes.

" Oh fine."

" Can I see that again for a second?" He asked hopefully.

I sighed, handing it over.

He punched in a few keys, then handed it back.

" What did you do?"

" Added in my number," He told me. He hopped back onto his bike and began to pedal down the street. " Text me sometime!"



I can't say I know how it happened, but Blake and I hungout that week- almost every day. I texted him, and we randomly decided to do papers together.

It went on like that for a while, and I even gathered the courage to show him one of my poembooks.

I wonder what he'll think...? I thought as I passed him the thick book of all my greatest poems.

"Just to warn you, I never read anything," Blake said. "So... I'll be a while."

"Oh just read it," I said, rolling my eyes.

He looked to the first poem he saw, and I knew he was reading it by the way his head tipped to the side in interest, how his eyes moved along the sheet according to the phrases, and his expression changed with the story that it was telling.

"Wow," He said finally, after a long moment of silence. He handed the book back, but I shook my head.

"You can keep it," I said, grinning. "I'm so glad you liked it."

"I loved it," Blake corrected me. "Wow. You know... I can really see you becoming a famous writer someday. You know that?"

"No way." I laughed. "That's close to impossible."

"But you can do it," He insisted. "I know you can. Your writing is amazing!"

I couldn't help but smile stupidly as he continued along the road. My writing is... amazing? And that was coming from someone who never read!

Perhaps the best writers are the ones who can write for even those who don't enjoy reading, I mused, watching him put more papers in mailboxes.

"You know," I called, "I'm going to get to one hundred poems someday."

Blake turned his head. " What do you mean?"

I smiled, squinting my eyes against the sunlight coming down from behind the houses. "I'm going to be able to say that I've written one hundred poems-or more- in my lifetime. That's what I want to do."

Blake nodded slowly; perhaps he was thinking. I wasn't sure.

Suddenly he pointed. I followed his finger, and he was pointing at a lonely ant scurrying across the street looking rushed. It appeared as if it had a purpose, but did such a small living creature really mean anything to the rest of the world?

"Yeah," I said. "It's an ant. What about it?"

"Could you write a poem about that ant?" He asked me.

"Hmm." I thought for a moment. "Why yes, I bet I could. The Lonely Ant, I would call it. Doesn't he look lonely to you?"

Blake nodded in agreement. " Yes, yes he does." He grinned. "If you can write about an ant, I'm sure you can write about anything. One hundred poems? No problem."



"You know, I think I'll just chill here," Vanessa said, sounding almost nervous. She took a seat on a swing, rocking back and forth. She waited quietly for Blake and I to leave.

"Don't you want anything from the store?" Blake asked her. Vanessa always wanted candy.

"No, I'm good."

Okay, something's definitely up, I immediately concluded. But nevertheless Blake and I made our way down the sidewalk.

The streetlights were beginning to come on as the moon appeared in the sky. It was beautiful, really.

There's something about this moment.

"I know why Vanessa wanted to stay back at the park," Blake suddenly spoke up.

"And why's that...?"

"She wanted us to have time alone or something," He explained, not so sure himself.

"What do you mean? Why alone?" I urged.

Blake sighed. "Well I don't know if this is really true, but when her and I were heading to Wayslide she told me you really liked me. So, is it true?" He looked over at me curiously. Something told me to nod my head, so I did.

"Oh. Well, okay." Blake nodded and stared straight ahead. His expression appeared blank.

"I didn't want you to find out because... I didn't think..." I said through clenched teeth. I'm going to kill Vanessa!

"No, no. It's cool," Blake assured me. "It's fine."

"No, it is not fine," I said angrily. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I felt odd. It was practically unexplainable...

"It's fine," Blake repeated the rest of the way there. He bought himself a drink then we walked back in frightening silence.

After more walking and more silence, I figured silence was indeed the best route to take.

He's probably not going to talk to me after this anyways, I pointed out to myself. Why try and say anything?

As we rounded the corner though, I had a different perspective. I suddenly felt hopeful and I had no clue why...

"Do you want to go out, then?" Blake asked, kind of quietly.

"What?" I couldn't bring myself to believe what I was hearing. "Really...?"

"Yeah, sure," He said. "Well you like me, so why not right?"

I shrugged, looking away at the houses. Well this... is awkward.

"Right?" He prompted.

"Uh, well yeah," I said. "But... I didn't think you would want to. You know?"

Blake nodded. "Well. I kind of like you, too."

Silence again. No sounds, but the wind whispering through the trees- spirits, beckoning us from the forest perhaps?

"You do?" I asked in a sort of question and statement tone.

"Yeah," He replied, not sure if he was supposed to answer or not. "So, did you want to? Yeah or no?"

"Hmm," I said. I think what Blake thought was that I was thinking it over; but really- who needs to think that? "Okay."

Blake nodded again. "Okay."

It was sort of awkward after that, but there wasn't much longer of a walk left to the park. Vanessa would be waiting, then the tension would be released.

Okay, so I suppose I don't have to kill her anymore...

We reached the park, and Vanessa nervously walked over to meet us. Blake and I were walking awkwardly beside each other, so Vanessa probably assumed something went on and it was her fault.

Well it was, but...

"Come here, Vanessa," I ordered, pulling her aside.

Blake grinned and took a seat on the bench. Vanessa and I walked onto the street.

"I'm so sorry, man!" Vanessa cried. "I couldn't help it, you know? I thought it'd be a good thing to do! But me and my big mouth, eh? I'm sorry, man. So sorry... I shouldn't have done that, oh man..."

I shook my head, and slapped her across the face. Just hard enough to get her to stop talking for a moment.

"It's okay," I said. "It went all right. I wanted to say thank you."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "It went all right? And thank you? Whatdya mean?!"

"Well, we're going out now," I stated firmly.

"What? Seriously?" Vanessa shrieked.

Vanessa and I squealed for a few moments, then remembered Blake sitting nearby so we toned it down to a reasonable level.

"And all because of me." Vanessa sniffed. "Yeah, I guess you can thank me."

I looked over at Blake, who was still watching us- probably wondering why the big fuss was going on.

"Okay," I said, not even bothering to retain my smile, "thank you."



Weeks went on without any complaint. I even had one of my best friends from the city come down. Her name was Victoria. She had a habit of dying her hair all too much, but that's a good reason why I liked her. I admired people who stood out and did their own thing; it's only what makes people special.

Victoria freaked out when I told her about Blake and I. She thought Blake was amazing after she met him the week before when she came to visit. Now she was down again, and I was only way too excited to see her.



"Hey!" Victoria shrieked as she walked through the front door.

"Victoria!" I yowled, giving her the biggest hug. "Long time no see!"

"Actually you saw me last weekend, but okay," Victoria laughed. "So what are we up to today? Going to see Blake, huh?"

"Hmm. Yeah, that was kind of the plan," I admitted.

Victoria smiled. "Honey, of course we can go see your boyfriend. Let's head out now."

"Now?" I repeated. "But you just got here..."

"So what? We can still go over now," Victoria said. "Come on."

Victoria made sure to bring her camera, and off we went. We had a blast- taking pictures of everything we did.

"Oh stop for a minute! I've got an idea for a picture." I gestured for her to stand back. "Now, take the picture when I say so. Ready... and, now!" I threw myself into the air, pulling my jeans up as I jumped and kicking my legs out.

"What the heck was that?" Victoria asked through laughter.

"It's called The Pants Thing," I explained.

"Nice name," She commented sarcastically. "But anyways, the picture turned out sweet. Can't wait to upload these onto my computer. We're going to have thousands..."

And perhaps we did get thousands. By the time we reached Blake's neighborhood we had so many pictures we lost count. Pictures of the sky, the trees, the houses. Pictures of our faces, our feet, the Pants Thing...

I ran up to his door to retrieve him, but he was in the backyard according to his parents, so we went on down.

"Wow that's so awesome!" Victoria cried, automatically noticing the zipline hung between two trees. She grabbed the handle and started to play with it.

I shook my head in defeat and went over to Blake, who was shoveling rocks out of the ground.

"What's the big plan here?" I asked, nodding towards the heap of rocks piled into the wheelbarrow.

"Oh, just getting rid of this mess," Blake explained, tossing another bunch into the pile.

"I guess it will look better once it's gone," I commented. "So you wanna hang out? I brought Victoria again."

Blake looked up from his work. "Yeah sure, as soon as I'm done this. Hey Victoria!" He called.

"Blake! How's it going, bud?" Victoria hopped off the zipline, running over to see him.

"I'm good," He said. "Once I'm finished we can hang out."

"Okay, we'll just wait out here," I told him. Victoria and I took a seat on the deck.

We watched him work for maybe five minutes, then got bored. I pulled the camera out of my pocket and turned it on. I started to take pictures of the backyard.

"Hey, take a picture of this one," I heard a voice call out.

I looked around to see who had said that, but I couldn't see anyone.

What the heck...?

Out of nowhere, Blake's younger brother Brock came flying into the yard at a hundred miles an hour. He threw himself at the zipline and grabbed the handle and he went soaring across the yard through the air.

"Take the picture, quick!" Brock yelled.

I scrambled to get a good shot. Turned out not so bad.

"Come take a look," I offered. Brock dropped off the zipline and took a seat beside me.

The picture showed Brock dangling upside down on the zipline.

"Ha, very nice," He said. "Now how about you get one with me up in that tree-"

"Okay that's enough Brock," Blake snapped, pushing his brother off the deck so he could sit down.

"No need to push me," Brock mumbled.

Blake shrugged; he didn't seem to care all too much about his brother. It was kind of funny how they never seemed to get along, no matter what.

"So let's go to Wayslide," Blake suggested. "We could get Vanessa to come, too."

"Can I come?" Brock whined.

"No," Blake snapped. He looked back at Victoria and I. "Let's go then."



Wayslide looked unusually beautiful that day- the way the bricks were aligned perfectly together- the bright red doors of the school just shot out at us like a cannon. The gorgeous green grass sparkled with the dew, and the sky a bright blue.

"How many thoughts do you think a minute?" I asked. Victoria and Vanessa had gone off to the swings while Blake and I sat at our usual picnic table.

"I have no clue," Blake said, and laughed.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," I said, instantly regretting it. But it has to come out eventually.

"Go ahead," He told me. He took my hand in his.

"Well, I don't know how else to say this..." I stammered. "But, we're moving."

Blake's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"Yeah. The end of May." I sighed sadly, looking out onto the field.

Blake looked down at his shoes and said nothing.

"There isn't anything I can do about it though," I pointed out. "And you could come over on weekends, right?"

Blake shrugged. "It wouldn't be the same." He looked up at me. "It'll hurt me a lot when you move, Rain."

I nodded, not sure what else to say. I was all choked up; tears began to well in my eyes.We both remained silent on the outside, but on the inside our minds were thinking at a hundred miles a minute. Maybe even a second. A nanosecond...?

"I don't want you to move," He told me, still not looking up.

"I know that," I snapped. "But I can't change it. Life changes, and we just have to deal with it."

"I would never forget about you," Blake whispered. "You know that, right?"

The wind slapped at my face. I nodded.

"Good. Because I wouldn't."

I managed a small smile, but Blake managed none.

"What really makes us the Wayslide Gang?" I asked, hitting my feet against the picnic table.

Blake chuckled, holding his foot out to stop me. "Our abnormality?"

I looked at him; looked at that boy strangely.

"What?" He finally asked, looking a little self-conscious.

"I've never heard you use a word like that...!" I stammered, amazed.

Blake never failed to surprise me. And here he was, surprising me once again.

"But it's true," Blake went on. "Like, it's just us. We couldn't be the Wayslide Gang if we were normal, right? Something about it is just different, I guess."

I tipped my head to the side, suddenly intrigued. "Different...?" I echoed.

"In a good way," Blake assured me, and kissed me to prove the fact correct.



I guess this is it, I thought sadly. I plopped down into the grass on my front lawn, for probably the last time.

"It's going to be okay," Blake said, putting his arm around me.

Vanessa linked arms with me. "Yeah, what he said."

"Maybe it'll be okay," I agreed, "but not perfect like it was here."

I won't lie, I cried. We all did. The three of us cried for a while, but we knew it was time to go our seperate ways for now.

"Don't leave," Blake whispered.

"I don't have a choice." It was the bitter truth.

Vanessa rubbed her eyes and sniffed. "We gotta hang out every weekend, deal?"

I smiled. "We'll see what we can do."

"Group hug?" Blake asked.

We all nodded, and hugged for the longest time.

After a while my Dad honked the horn real loud.

"Time to leave." He spoke the feared words we'd all dreaded.

All three of us sighed in unison.

"Come on!" My little sister Julie exclaimed. "We've got a pool in our backyard!"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay guys. I'll... see you, around."

"Bye!!" Vanessa shrieked, wrapping me in a hug.

Blake joined in. "Come visit us as soon as you can."

I got into the car, and I was surprised that my memories stayed with me. Every single one of them.

Maybe life goes on, and changes sometimes, I thought, gazing out the car window. But no matter what, you don't ever forget the things that were once important to you.