New Friend

New Friend

“This is a strange place.”

“Shh!” James whispered, loudly, “he might hear you!”

David started whispering, “How can anybody even live here?”

“We’re kids, we live where our parents live…”

“Ok, how would any grown-ups move into here with their kid? And doesn’t he have a sister too, like eight or ten years old?”

“That’s me!” came a voice from behind them. They both jumped out of their skin, then turned around. There was a girl who looked exactly like any other girl in that age group they ever knew. She smiled, “I’m Jenny, Ted’s sister. I’m nine.”

The boys said hello, uncomfortably… Then James asked, “Did we scare you? You know, being in your house like this? Your brother brought us, he went to find your Dad.”

“Oh, Dad’s down at the cemetery,” she said.

“The cemetery?” Ted asked.

“Yeah, he works there. That’s why we live here. This house belongs to the cemetery. Dad says living here saves us a ton of money and will help me and Ted when we go to college. Where is Ted anyway?”

“We don’t know, he told us to wait here, we’re going for lunch.”

“He probably went down to beg some money from Dad. We don’t have much, and Dad promised us we would both get to go to college.”

Ted walked in. “Hey, listen why don’t we just have sandwiches here, then we won’t be late for the game,” he looked at his watch as if they were running out of time. Then noticing Jenny, he added, “What are you doing here, Brat!?”

Jenny spit back, “I live here too!” and stomped off.

The boys ate, then went off to the game. The three friends were still best friends twenty years later, thanks to Ted’s sister Jenny, being a brat.