✗ July 16th, 2014. Wednesday Afternoon

Deaaaar Diary, This morning it's raining something fierce. I guess that's great for the flowers and all, but where does it leave me? Inside! I was even forced to do something "fun" as my parents would call it with James after chores today. I don't see how playing a board game is fun. They should call it a bored game, because that is exactly how it made me feel. He somewhat seemed happy for the rain, maybe this whole underground fort thing made him a little uneasy- but the dirt on every inch of his body when he comes home at night would tell another story. I guess I really don't know. Sigh, at least the clouds seem to be breaking up, maybe the sun will pop out soon and I can go meet my friends somewhere...YES. THE SUN IS OUT. See ya later alligator, i'm heading out!

---

Isabella grinned throwing her diary under her pillow. which to her seemed like a perfect hiding spot known to only her and the tooth fairy. The sun shined through the window panes in Isabella's room, her hazel eyes flickering in the light as she leaned against the window pane. The ground was still pretty muddy, but the heat and humidity would dry it out quick enough. Isabella was still in her pajamas, a cotton night gown with a cheesy floral pattern along the bottom. She wanted to get out of it as soon as possible, and get into something less tacky and embarrassing. Lifting the gown over her head, she threw it on the bed, and twirled her way over to her dresser that held the smell of wood after all these years. Taking out a pair of skinny jeans and a peach color tank top, she adorned herself with the clothes, taking a quick look over in the mirror. Finally grabbing a pair of her cowboy boots she tucked her skinny jeans into them. Reaching into her jar of money, she shoved a few bills into her pocket and walked out of her bedroom door.

Amy Monroe who was busy in the kitchen, raised an eyebrow at her daughter, "Shouldn't you cover up a bit more Isabella?" her mother questioned, her back now up against the counter. Isabella's mouth parted in a bit of angst, "It's going to be like 500 degrees outside with the humidity and you want me to cover up!?" she exclaimed, her hands doing a lot of the talking, as she motioned here and there. "I'll probably over heat and die by the cows, and when someone comes and finds me they'll say-" Isabella changed the tone of her voice, "There goes Isabella, gosh if only her mother wouldn't have made her wear a cover up, she would have lived and gone off to do great things.." Amy Monroe laughed at her daughter's antics, "Fine, but if your father sees you, don't you dare blame it on me!" Isabella grinned, "Thanks Momma!" she called, throwing open the back door as she stepped out on the porch. Isabella began to walk down the road to the Anderson farm so she would have at least have Meg to travel with as the group of friends would most likely meet up in town somewhere later that day.

Journal,

So first things first this is a journal, not a diary. Got it? No diary here. Just a journal where I can right about my day without gossip and girls sinking their way into here. After all I'm not my sister. I don't know how she can write about such immature things in her diary. I thought I was the "immature and foolish" one, but you don't see me writing about boys and my feelings down now do you?

Oh wait, Journal. I never told you how I know about Isabella's diary. So going back to this foolish and immature thing, my 16 year old sister still hides things under her pillow like it's such a safe place. It's like she stills believes in the tooth fairy or something. But back to the story, Journal. One day I was cleaning her room (My parents are so unfair and make me clean her room because she's "busy with school and trying to find where she belongs in the world." Most amount of bull crap I've ever heard from them. But whatever.) I was making her bed and I went to change the linen around her pillow and there was a diary under it. A diary. My 16 year old sister has a diary. She thinks she's so much better than me and so much older and mature but I'm not the one keeping a diary now am I? I'm just keeping a journal. A normal, ordinary journal where I can write about my day and keep childish thoughts out. Remember? Ok just checking, Journal.

But that's enough rant for today. I should probably write about my day, I mean after all this is a journal. It's been raining. Like a lot. I can't say I'm necessarily mad though; staying indoors has it's own advantages just like being outdoors does. Sure I can't work on my fort with my friends or anything but at least I can play some board games and stick around with family. And my muscles are starting to get sore too. Turns out digging for 6 hours a day doesn't do the body too good. Who could've ever guessed.

Tomorrow, assuming the rain stops, I'm going to play with Ana again and keep on working on our fort. It'll be fun I think. I like spending time with Ana. Not because I like her or anything though (that's absurd, Journal)! But she's a nice girl. Sort of quiet but nice and smart and pretty. But what am I doing; this is a journal. I need to focus here. This is for writing about my day, not my emotions. I think the rain just stopped. I'm gonna go check. I'll write to you later, Journal.

-James

Jessica had been working at Beth's Cafe since seven in the morning it was a rather slow day not to many customers were in the dining room looking out the window behind the counter watching the rain fall and hearing the loud sound of rain hitting the roof if the building. She sighed softly wishing she was her sister luckily she had the day off and spent doing who knows what.

"You can leave Jessica there aren't that many customers." Said Beth the manager who she had known pretty much all her life and gladly let her work for her over the summer months while school was out. "Thank you I'll see you Friday!" Jessica said happily and then took off her apron and quickly got out and ran towards her bike and started heading over towards Meg's house to hangout with her.

Alan took a moment to rest his back against the stone wall and wiped the sweat off of his brow with the back of his arm. Unloading one hundred and two hundred pound pig carcasses from the freezer truck and into the deli shop was certainly exasperating, but Alan enjoyed the physical labor. Hell, he would have to if he planned on joining the service in just a few months; hauling around heavy dead pigs would be a cake-walk compared to the rigorous training that was yet to come.

Needing only a few minutes to catch his breath, Alan hoisted up the last frozen pig and hauled it into the freezer of the deli, hanging it up on a hook to keep it off of the floor. Now feeling the sweat on the back of his neck turning into little ice crystals, he hurried out of the freezer to the main part of the shop to receive his next task from his boss.

"-kid, but that doesn't mean you have to give him a raise!"

Alan stopped immediately upon hearing two voices conversing with one another. One he was able to identify as his boss, the other he wasn't too sure. He knew immediately that they were talking about him, he was the only male worker in the deli aside from his boss, and so he kept behind the wall to see if he could hear anything more.

"Says you." Alan's boss scoffed in a reply. "But as you said, he is the Mayor's boy, and I ain't so keen on having the Mayor raise my taxes because he doesn't feel that I'm paying his boy enough."

"If you really believe that, then you're a moron." The second voice replied with an airy laugh. "But that's no concern of mine. Now, my change?"

Alan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. These sorts of conversations seemed to become more and more common and he was beginning to get fed up with it. Everyone always seemed to treat him different because of his father, giving Alan whatever he wanted to keep from the Mayor raining down hell on them. He hated it, he hated being a special case.

Just a few more months, and then you're out of here for good. Alan thought to himself. Seeing that the conversation about him was over, he made himself known and entered the room, recognizing the second man now as the town's librarian. He nodded a quick hello to the man and approached his boss.

"Alan! Good, finished with the unloading have you?"

Alan nodded yes as a reply.

"Good, good. Why don't you take over the counter here while I take a lunch break aye? You could use the downtime...uh, not that you couldn't handle more labor I just meant that-"

Alan sighed and shook his head.

"Naw, it's fine. I'll be happy to take over the counter for you." He interrupted his boss, though he wasn't exactly acting like a boss lately.

"Good, good. I'll be back in an hour then." And with that, Alan's boss took off the deli apron, hung it up on the hook and took off out the door with the librarian following close behind. Knowing that he probably wouldn't get another customer for the rest of the day, Alan took a seat on the wooden stool behind the counter and reached over for a sportsman magazine on hunting and fishing in the surrounding area, and waited.

Meg was lying on her bed, mashing the buttons on her controller as she fought through waves of monsters on the screen. Playing the game with ease, she quickly defeated the rest of them and ran on to the new location. She loved playing video games--they gave her the adventure even in this boring little town, but it just wasn't working for her today. After saving her progress, Meg tossed the controller aside, rolled over to her back and stared at the ceiling. She was so bored! Why couldn't something exciting happen? Because this was a boring town, that's why. The most exciting thing to ever happen was the occasional party that was thrown.

Sighing, she glanced out the window, a little disgruntled that it had stopped raining. If it was still raining, she would've most certainly gone outside barefoot to dance under the raindrops. The only reason that she didn't earlier was because her parents forced her to do some chores, and the rain had let up by that point.

Still, maybe she could expect her friends to come over or something soon, at least she had that to look forward to.

With that thought in mind, she picked up the controller and started to play again.

James tucked Journal in his underwear draw where nobody would look, not underneath his pillow like somebody. With a sense of security surging through his veins, he leapt off his bed and did a lame sort of tumble through the air before falling to his death on the floor that he never undeclared as lava.

"No! The floor is eating me apart! I'm burning! Must. Make. Way. To. Rug. Help!" screamed James.

His mom burst through the door. "James Peter Monroe what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Mom, please, help me to the rug! My legs are already burnt, but we can save my torso if you act fast!"

"Can you just please explain to me what in the world you are doing? The sun just came out and you of all people aren't out there," retorted James' mom.

"Oh come on, Mom. You of all people should know what I'm doing. You remember when it was raining and you told Isabella and I to play in the rain? Well we played the floor is lava. You know? You act like the floor is lava and you have to jump from sofa to sofa trying not to fall?" James tried to explain, but his mom was just nodding her head side to side. "Well whatever I was just staying in character but now that you ruined the fun I think I'll just go outside." His mom left the room muttering something about how he was already in middle school and needed to understand when to play and when to drop things.

With the fun spoiled, James changed his clothing into a more suitable outfit--old shorts and a loose green t-shirt--which he could get dirt on. He called up Ana to see if she could go out too, but James was left with a voicemail of her soft voice instead. He'd just have to go to her house and check the old fashioned way.

Heading down the stairs, ready to go outside, James heard Isabella picking yet another argument. "It's going to be like 500 degrees outside with the humidity and you want me to cover up!?" I'm sure mom is having the grandest of days today. James hovered near the stairs for a few more minutes, waiting for Mom to cool down. Sometimes James thought he and Isabella gave Mom too hard of a time. Dad was hardly in the house anymore, being so bogged down with so much work, and Mom was still trying to go back to school to be a nurse. But none of that seemed to slow down Isabella or James from being the little kids they always were. They didn't stop arguing and they didn't stop asking things of Mom either. I need to do something for Mom sometime.

After a few minutes passed, James bounced his way down the stairs only to see that Mom was no longer in the kitchen. He didn't feel like tracking her down so he just left a note on the granite countertop. "Out with friends digging more holes. Will come back with Isabella for dinner. See you soon. Love you." With his absence accounted for, he unlocked the front door and started his trek to Ana's house.

Isabella hummed to herself as she walked along the well known path to Meg's house. She had walked it many times before, through the sun and rain, and a few times even in the snow. The Anderson and Monroe family had been friends for many years. Their families had both established a pretty stable farm, and were living off the fruitful land of Minnesota for quite some time now. They both helped one another during the extreme weather the state had to offer. It wasn't a big shock that Isabella and Meg were bound to be friends, whether they had been total opposites in personality or not. Thankfully for them, they both had a good head on their shoulders, and they both got along just fine. They both wanted to get out of this small town one day, and they both wanted some entertainment while they were stuck here.

Isabella kicked a stray rock as she approached the front lawn of the Anderson estate with the toe of her cowboy boot. Reaching up to the front porch she rang the bell two times, swiftly. She leaned back a bit, pasting a huge grin on her face for when Mr or Mrs. Anderson would open the door. If it was Meg, should would have still been smiling, it just wouldn't be that plastic one she tended to put on for the adults in town when she wanted to get something her way.

Enrique drummed his fingers over a record of Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, he pushed the disc into the player and smiled as he heard 'Dream On'. As he gripped the record shop's refrigerator door he heard the open door bell ring. He spun around looking at the door, the instant he spotted her his stomach dropped. She had bright blonde hair, blue eyes, she was wearing a blue tank top and shortcut jeans. She walked in and began looking at some of the rock CD's. She glanced over at Enrique and flashed a smile, at that point he couldn't help but do what he did next. He vaulted over the counter and pushed his hair back then made his way over to her. He leaned over the aisle and looked across at her, she giggled and he leaned over the aisle more and grabbed a CD and held it up.

"You might like this," he said with a flirtatious smile.

"The Offspring?" She asked, Enrique found it kind of cute when chicks didn't know the music he had here.

"Dex Holland singing, Pete Parada on drums, and Noodles Wasserman on guitar" Enrique said leaning closer to her, "I have the vinyl if you want it."

"But I don't have a record player," She said looking down.

"I have one, maybe you could come over some time and we could listen to it. And if we get bored..." Enrique was looking her in the eyes, he was leaning in for a kiss when he heard the door open. He let out an annoyed sigh and leaned back onto his side of the aisle, "Just a moment."

He looked towards the door and saw one of the deputies. Enrique flashed a smile and bolted, he hopped over the counter as he heard 'Dream On' pick up pace on the speakers. He ran out the back door and slammed it behind him, he bolted off down the small alleyway and heard the door open behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the deputy sprinting after him, Enrique pushed himself to go faster. He busted out of the alleyway onto the street and collided with a man and stumbled. Enrique picked himself up off the sidewalk and sprinted across the street and into the parking lot where he had parked his bike. He got on and twisted the ignition, he heard it rev up then sputter, he tried again and still the same result. He tried once more but felt two arms rap around his own and pin them to his sides, he looked down and saw the khaki color of the deputy's sleeves. He kicked and tried to get out of his grasp but was lifted up off his bike then pinned to the ground, he felt cold metal wrap around his wrists and he let out a very annoyed sigh.

"I haven't done anything!" He said as he was lifted by the cuffs and put on his feet, "This is bullshit! I didn't do anything!"

"Mr.Ortiz, you're being taken in under suspicion." Dpt. Henley said, "Don't get feisty with me boy, just be quite and well deal with this at the station."

Enrique squirmed but couldn't break free and hung his head as he was escorted back across the street, through the record store then out front into a squad car. He sat in the backseat and tried to calm down while he was driven down the street to the small police station. He was escorted out of the car and into the front of the building. He was sat in a small room with a view of the parking lot, he was told that he was going to be questioned about some graffiti about town. He figured he would be the first subject.

Ana's POV

In the morning, Ana was a like a bright, slightly annoying ball of energy. She, unlike the rest of her family, was a morning person. This teen would be up by 6:00 sharp, and be ready to start her day by 7:00. So, just like any other morning, Ana was out of the house before any of her family was even awake. She did leave them a note, and it read:

I will be out with James today. Will be back by dinner, I took the umbrella. I will feed the animals. Love you!
-Ana

(Please correct me on any of my horse knowledge as everything I know about horses is from google XD)
Ana walked under her umbrella to the horse stables behind her house. The Brown family lived on a horse ranch. They also had a few goats, pigs, and chickens. Ana loved her mother's horses, They had four. Each family member was responsible for one of the horses. Ana dropped her umbrella after she was under the safety of the stable.

She skipped to the third stall. Inside it was beautiful white mare named Daisy. She was named after Ana's favorite flower. Ana gave Daisy her horse feed and water for the day and she groomed her before moving onto the rest of the animals. One by one she fed the goats, pigs, and chickens.

Once her daily chores had been finished and she had rode Daisy around their 8 acres of land, she waited for James. He always seemed to come to her and not the other way around. Provably because the Browns had so much land. Ana sat on top of a hay bale and waited for her friends to arrive.

Derrick's POV

Derrick was probably the slowest person to wake up on Earth. It was like every times he tried to get out of bed it would feel like he was chained to it. After some struggling between his willpower and laziness, he managed to drag himself out of bed.

The first thing he did was make coffee. Don't pass go, don't collect $200, he didn't even dress. It must have been a funny sight, a droopy teenager making black coffee in his pink and white plaid boxers. After he had his liquid energizer, he felt cognizant enough to get ready for the day. Derrick stopped to read Ana's note on the kitchen island, then went up stairs to dress.

He wore white cargo shorts with a black tee shirt and his favorite pair of black vans. Derrick ran a hand through his hair after taking a shower, that's about all he did for "styling it." Feeling refreshed and ready to go, he went out back to do his animal chores. He had a black stallion named Black Jack, he was glad that Ana fed the animals, he reminded himself to thank her for that.

Derrick saw Ana on his way to leave to Meg's, he gave her hair a ruffle (which she absolutely hated) and too off. He was glad to see that it had stopped raining, he had some great plans for a hangout that night. Derrick made sure to grab his ukulele and then he hopped into his car. It was an old rusted piece of junk, but it got him places faster than most, not that it mattered in a town this small. He was glad he took today off from work, not that it was busy anyways.

Derrick pulled up to the house behind Isabella, and parked on the edge of the lawn, as to not block the adult Andersons from leaving. "Bella!" He called out to his female friend as he got out the car. Derrick made sure to grab his ukulele case, which also had some other items inside. See, Derrick wasn't the kind of guys to get caught with his illegal substances, he was too smart for that. He, unlike other stupid teenagers was actually careful with his drugs. Now, he wasn't an addict or pothead, I mean, every teenager has done drugs at some point, right? Derrick jogged to stand next to Isabella which he shot a grin to, and waited for Meg to get the door.

Hearing the bell ring, Meg immediately leaped out of bed and ran downstairs. "It's okay mom, I got it!" She called over her shoulder as she peeked through the peephole. Sure enough, two of her favorite people were standing outside.

She yanked the door open with a grin, before she quickly schooled her expression into a serious one. "You two! I don't think I invited you over." She said in a mock-stern fashion while suppressing a smile.

Unable to maintain that expression, Meg immediately smiled and hugged the two excitedly. "I'm so glad you're here! Lets do something awesome!"

At the call of her name Isabella turned around and let out a groan, Ugh, you know I hate my name shortened to Bella. Either Isa or Isabella!" she commented, placing her hands on her hips as she watched him unload his ukulele and approach the front porch to stand with her. Isa eyed the case, she knew Derrick carried his drugs around in there from time to time, and she wondered if he had the guts to do so in front of Meg's family. Her family always knew what was going on, always.

As Meg threw open the door Isabella returned the grin to one of her best friends. "I didn't want to come here anyways!" the girl joked back before she was embraced in a tight hug. She returned the gesture, leaning back to listen to what the two had to say. "I suppose Jessica is at work right now, or just on her way home. We probably can meet her halfway, and head into town, or maybe even go down to Hinder's creek..if you guys wanna swim!" Isa exclaimed her hands doing most of her talking as usual.

Hinder's creek was a small stream of water that eventually led into a bigger lake of sorts. Most teenagers went there to hang out, smoke, drink, swim. The only problem? Most parents forbid their kids there. Besides the normal teenage activities that parents wanted their children to stay away from, there was a building that overlooked the large swimming area, mostly hidden by the overgrown shrubbery, but the upper floors could be seen quite perfectly from the water. The house that over looked the lake had been abandoned for many years. Of course people would break in and do various adult activities; but for the most part the place was very quiet. Almost too quiet.

Isabella liked the thrill of going there with her friends, and they had gone only a few times since Derrick was old enough and had a car to drive them around. She looked mischievously from both of them, awaiting their answer.

The walk was beautiful, or at least the long way was. James had found his own little path over the past few years to Ana’s house, and it was truly perfect. The route started a few paces outside of his backyard and spanned a mile or so, covering all types of terrain from hills to waterfalls, from rivers to natural caves. The route was always a sight to see.

James began his walk through the little opening in the two large evergreens that he and his father had planted when he was 6; so James really didn’t do the work, figuring he was six, but he fancied that he and his father did it together. James made the opening when he was 9 and had been exploring the forest ever since, strengthening a mental map of the area each time he traversed it.

Walk straight until you come across the evergreen tree with the knot in its roots on the riverside. Hook a left and follow the river downstream until you reach the waterfall. Walk down the rocks to the bottom of the waterfall. Follow the river again, stopping at the first cave you come across (James called it Bass Cave; the opening of the cave looked like a giant bass’ mouth.). Take a right and walk for about 100 paces. Emerge from the forest.

When James emerged, he saw the farm, as usual, and Ana sitting on a hay bale.

“Hey, Ana! I was wondering if… um… instead of digging today…. you… um…. wanted to come see a….. um… cave that I found….” Asked James.

The stuttering couldn’t have been any more obvious. He was nervous. Ok he was really nervous. He and Ana had never gone in the forest together; they were only ever in the sight of her or James’ parents.

James awaited her reply, hoping she would say yes. This was his time to finally be alone with the prettiest girl in Flensburg (sorry Isabella!).

Jessica rode her bike down the side of the street, she passed the police station noticing that Enrique was being escorted into the station knowing he must have done something already to get the police involved. As Jessica turned her bike up another road towards the north, she wanted to stop by her house and get changed into something more comfortable then her ugly work uniform.

She noticed that both her mother and father's car weren't in the driveway knowing that they both were busy with work, Jessica's house was a small basic farmhouse her family had a large yard but they didn't plant anything except for some flowers. Jessica quickly unlocked the front door and headed up towards her bedroom pulling out a simple red tshirt and some blue jean shorts. Jessica looked at herself in the mirror before heading back out.

Jessica got back on her bike and started to ride it towards Meg's house which was not very far at all. Jessica could see Isabella and Derrick waiting outside she quickly got off of her bike and ran over towards them both. "Hey you guys!" Jessica said happily.

Derrick grinned mischievously back at Isabella. "Fine... Isa, you win. I don't get why you hate Bella, it's a good name," he pleaded his case. Derrick had been sarcastically trying to call her Bella since they had met, to no avail. When the door opened, he was glad to see that Meg was in fact around today. She made a joke about not inviting them and he put his hand over his heart and made a mock-hurt face. When she finally gave up on the face he laughed, and hugged her back.

"Hinder's Creel counts perfect! We'll have to get Jess though," he added. As if perfectly timed, Jessica had biked over. She called out to them and Derrick turned and waved. "Speak of the devil," he said with a grin. "We are thinking about heading over to Hinder's Creek. You in?"

Derrick grinned, his parents never had time to really interfere with his life. The only times they did was when his grades dropped. They rarely did, as he was actually very smart. So they never forbade anything, hell, they probably didn't even know about Hinder's Creek. "Okay, I say we either raid Meg's food cabinets or we all hop in my piece of junk and go get some food, then we go to Hinder's Creek. Has anyone seen Enrique, Sophia, Alan, or Alex? I'm sure they wouldn't mind hanging out? If not then no biggie, we'll party ourselves." Derrick said this with a jubilant smile on his face. He was glad this summer was starting off great.

Ana was looking up at the clouds and trying to see if they made a shape when she noticed something moving in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw one of her best friends, James. She jumped down from the hay and ran to James to give him a hug. She giggled when she noticed him stuttering, "lighten up James, it's just a cave. Of course I'll go with you to the cave. But, shouldn't we wait for Owen first? He said he wanted to hang out with us today." Ana motioned for James to follow while she went inside to change into something more appropriate for outdoors exposure.

"Stay here, I am going to change," she told him as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Ana quickly changed into a baby blue (her favorite color) tank top, and a pair of shorts. If her mother ever saw how short the shorts were she would surely be told to change. Even Derrick was sceptical when he bought them for her with his credit card that his parents have to him for when they were away on business trips. Derrick finally gave in to his little sister after she begged him, she pleaded that all the popular girls in school would make fun of her if she wore anything else.

Ana came back down In a burst of excitement. She skipped ever two stairs. Ana grabbed some food out of a food cabinet and stuffed it in the bag she brought. "Now we wait for Owen, do you want to ride the horses? We finished training then last week. They will be ready for shows soon." Ana said this as she geared towards the barn, checking over her shoulder to make sure James was still behind her. She opened the stables and ushered James inside.

Owen

The sun was in Owen's eyes, well at least it was when he opened them. "Ow" was the only word he uttered as he rolled off his bed in a fluid motion, and it didn't take long to notice that something was wrong. With a bit of a yawn Owen pulled on some clothes that were perhaps a bit more suitable for going outside. That was at least what Owen planned to be doing today. now...what was wrong again? As Owen walked to the kitchen which was perhaps a little messy. His brain seemed to click on to what was wrong. "Oh...yeah...It's my birthday...or is that tomorrow? Wait, what date is it?" Owen muttered aloud as the toast popped up. "I expect a cake either way" he grinned as he took a bite out of the toast. The fact that he woke up quite late went over his head, but that probably wasn't important anyway.

With a quick little note to make sure his parents didn't freak out and knew where he was going. Owen headed for the door, which as he looked upon it. Was open, people were just standing around outside. Grace's friends....eh Owen sighed as he headed out of the door, weaving between the group, "Sup losers" Owen made a stupid grin as he turned around to say something. "Derrick, Isabella, Jessica, Graaaaaceeee....I'm going to hang out with my friends to...dig holes...I guess? Anyway, If I get kidnapped because I'm feeble then you know where to look, I'll be back later. Also, I expect a cake! Because it may be my birthday...today or tomorrow...or the day after that-Look, just...you know where to look if I get stuck in a hole or something...Right, later!" Owen took another bite out of his toast and gave a small wave to the group before heading out.

James and Ana was probably at her house, since that what James wanted to do all the time now, he wondered if he was going to walk upon them kissing or something. Owen doubted it, James would probably collapse in a heap of sweat. Owen decided to do what he always did to get to Ana's house, walk forward until he came upon her house. While James had his silly "nature" path, Owen decided it would be better to just walk forward.

So as he hummed a tune, distracting himself by kicking small rocks. He didn't seem to notice how fast he got to Ana's house. As he saw his two friends in his line of sight, he gave a big wave. "Hey guys! I'm not ruining anything am I?" Owen smiled as he jogged until he was right next to them. "What are you doing anyway?"

Zach

The smell of deliciousness, Zach didn't know who decided to say this was a good idea. But he thought that person to have a statue made out of gold. Bacon was such a delicious thing. Zach stared at his plate, bacon,fried eggs,pudding and toast to make it into a sandwich. "This is going to be so great" Zach uttered before he dug into the beast of a sandwich. Yesterday was such a stressful day, and since he owned his own shop. He proclaimed that this would be his day off, it was going to be a good day.

After cleaning up, Zach headed outdoors. he didn't know what to do, And if he couldn't find something to somehow. Then he could always go to his shop and work, because he was the owner. He could do that.

"Ever since that Twilight movie came out, I don't want to be associated with sparkly vampires!" Isabella exclaimed to Derrick, rolling her eyes at his fake heart ache towards Meg. She listened and nodded as they agreed with her notion about Hinder's creek. It was a good idea after all! Though a bit on the wild side. Perhaps being cooped up on the rainy day made them want to get into as much trouble as they could while the weather permitted.

When the bike pulled up to the Anderson farm, Isa grinned happily, "Jessicaaa!" she called happily. It was good that the gang always knew to meet at Meg's house, or who knows how long it'd take to get together during these days. Isa nodded as Derrick explained our plans, "Yeah Jess, come on! We wanna swim!" she cheered, throwing her hands up and shouting, but not too loud in fear that Meg's parents would over hear their plans, if they hadn't already.

While making their plans food plans, Meg's younger brother Owen had awaken and went off to find his friends. He scooted past them on the door step with ease, making sure he had something to say. Isabella had to admit he definitely shared Meg's personality, and a bit of her looks as well. Isa stuck her tongue out at the boy as he headed off the step and waved back to them. "Owen, When you see my brother, tell him I have something for him when he gets home later, thanks!" Isa chirped at him, turning back on the porch to see what the crew had in mind for eating before we swam.

”Lighten up James, it’s just a cave. Of course I’ll go with you to the cave. But shouldn’t we wait for Owen first? He said he wanted to hang out with us today,” Ana said.

“Ya, I guess we should wait for Owen. And it’s not just a cave Ana; it’s my cave. It’s the cave that I found.”

With that final comment, Ana motioned for James to follow her. Together they walked back to her house. As James proceeded through Ana’s kitchen, Ana told James to stay put for a second as she went to change. In a minute, Ana was back out the door with a baby blue tank top and a pair of shorts (which were really short; perhaps they were too short for a 13-year-old.).

“We have to wait for Owen, so do you want to ride the horses? We finished training them last week. They’ll be ready for shows soon,” said Ana as James followed her towards the stables.

James walked into the stables and was taken aback by the sheer number of horses. They were at least 10 different horses, all different colors and shapes and sizes. They were majestic beasts, but terrifying to say the least. He knew Ana had trained them (and he didn’t doubt her), but James didn’t like any animal but a dog. Dogs, after all, were domesticated and small; horses were not. His fear was not going to stop him from getting on the horse, however. He couldn’t look wimpy in front of Ana.

“So which one am I going to ride?” asked James.

Ana pointed to a large, brown horse that was named Kyle and brought it out of the stables and into the pasture. James was just about to mount the horse, but Owen thankfully arrived and saved James from riding one of these things for another day.

“Hey guys! I’m not ruining anything am I?” yelled Owen. Owen knew James liked Ana but always had to put little hints in to try and get Ana to figure out. “What are you doing anyways?”

“I was about to ride one of Ana’s horses,—this one is Kyle by the way—but since you’re here, we can start our adventure. Instead of digging today I thought that we could take a break and explore a cave that I found in the forest. I know you think my nature path is silly and all, but Ana is up for it, so what do you say?”

Sorry, short post)

Ana laughed, "that's like saying if I saw your house first then it's mine." She saw the hesitation when he observed the horses, an pointed one out for him to ride. He brought Kyle out into the pasture and was just about to mount him when a familiar voice rang out behind her. "Hey guys, I'm ruining anything am I?" It was Owen, he other best friend. She smiled and ran to him, "besides scaring the living day lights out of Kyle, no," she replied. Ana gave Owen a huge hug, "happy birthday! How has it been so far? Did you have cake? I think I have cupcakes. We can bring then on our way to the cave!" Ana was super excited, she loved birthdays. And Owen, well, Owen was awesome. She totally didn't like him more than a friend or anything, that would be absurd! Ana ran into the house, "I'll be right back, don't leave without me!" She went into the pantry in the kitchen and grabbed three vanilla cupcakes.