Point of Retreat

walks into the kitchen and grabs a stack of cups out of the cabinet.
     
    “Hey,” Gavin responds. “You decide where we’re having your party next week?”
     
    Kel shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe bowling. Or we could just do something here."
     
    Caulder walks into the kitchen and starts setting places at the table. I glance behind me and notice them setting an extra place.
     
    “We expecting company?” I ask.
     
    “Kel invited Kiersten,” Caulder says, teasingly.
     
    Kiersten moved into a house on our street about a month ago, and Kel seems to have developed a slight crush on her. He won’t admit it, of course. He’s just now about to turn eleven, so Lake and I expected this to happen. Kiersten’s a few months older than him, and a lot taller. Girls hit puberty faster than boys, so maybe he’ll eventually catch up.
     
    “Next time you guys invite someone else, let me know. Now I need to make another burger.” I walk to the refrigerator and take out one of the extra patties.
     
    “She doesn’t eat meat,” Kel says. “She’s a vegetarian.”
     
    Figures . I put the meat back inside the fridge. “I don’t have any fake meat. What’s she gonna do? Eat bread?”
     
    “Bread’s fine,” Kiersten says as she walks through the front door…without knocking. “I like bread. French fries, too. I just don’t eat things that are a result of unjustified animal homicides.”
     
    Kiersten walks to the table and grabs the roll of paper towels and starts tearing them off, laying one beside each plate. Her self-assurance reminds me a little of Eddie.
     
    “Who’s she?” Gavin asks, watching Kiersten make herself at home. She’s never eaten with us before, but you wouldn’t know that by how she’s taking command.
     
    “She’s the eleven-year-old neighbor I was telling you about. The one I think is an imposter based on the things that come out of her mouth. I’m beginning to suspect she’s really a tiny adult, posing as a little red headed child.”
     
    “Oh, the one Kel's crushing on?” Gavin smiles and I can see his wheels turning. He’s already thinking of ways to embarrass Kel at dinner. Tonight should be interesting.
     
    Gavin and I have become pretty close this past year. It’s good, I guess…considering how close Eddie and Lake are. Kel and Caulder really like them, too. It’s nice. I like the setup we all have. I hope it stays this way.
     
    Eddie and Lake finally walk in just as we’re all sitting down at the table. Lake has her wet hair pulled up into a knot on top of her head. She’s wearing house shoes, sweat pants and a t-shirt. I love that about her; the fact that she’s so comfortable here. She takes the seat next to mine and leans in and kisses me on the cheek.
     
    “Thanks, Babe. Sorry it took me so long. I was trying to register online for Statistics but the class is full. Guess I’ll have to go sweet talk someone at the admin. office tomorrow.”
     
    “Why are you taking statistics?” Gavin asks. He grabs the ketchup and squirts it on his plate.
     
    “I took Algebra II in the Winter mini-mester. I’m trying to knock out all my math in the first year since I hate it so much.” Lake grabs the ketchup out of Gavin’s hands and squirts some on my plate, then on her own.
     
    “What’s your hurry? You’ve already got more credits than Eddie and I put together,” he says. Eddie nods in agreement as she takes a bite of her burger.
     
    Lake nudges her head toward Kel and Caulder. “I’ve already got more kids than you and Eddie put together, too. That’s my hurry.”
     
    “What’s your major?” Kiersten asks Lake.
     
    Eddie glances toward Kiersten, finally noticing the extra person seated at the table. “Who are you ?”
     
    Kiersten looks at Eddie and smiles. “I’m Kiersten. I live diagonal to Will and Caulder, parallel to Layken and Kel. We moved here from Detroit right before Christmas. Mom says we needed to get out of the city, before the city got out of us…whatever that means. I’m eleven. I’ve been eleven since eleven-eleven-eleven. It was a pretty big day, you know. Not many people can say they turned eleven on eleven-eleven-eleven. I’m a little bummed I was born at three o’clock in the afternoon, though. If I would have been born at 11:11, I’m pretty sure I could have got on the news or something. I could have recorded the segment and used it someday for my portfolio. I’m gonna be an actress when I grow