Rae stared at the midnight sky. As the rain bolted down across the playscape, she sighed and turned her gaze to her feet. Muddy and cold, they trembled and shook. The glare of feline eyes glinted in the distance, which made Rae shake even more. She had a home, but she was afraid to enter it. Her parents were long gone, and her foster mother, Sylvia, was going out with Julian, who just so happened to be the father of the most popular girl at Rae’s school, Annavel.She was used to routine and all this change scared her. The wind rustled her dark, almost black long hair like her mother used to. I should go home, Rae thought, brushing herself off. She had been around town since after school and hadn’t seen Sylvia in a while, so she held her bookbag over her head and ran through the park.

Sylvia was hanging up her coat when Rae got home. “Oh, Rae, you’re back,” she said, smiling sarcastically, then whispering, “...finally.” Rae thrusted her backpack onto the floor. “Where were you?” Rae asked, looking down at her soaked books. “I won’t tell you until you answer the question yourself,” Sylvia said. Rae knew Sylvia was up to something, after all, the woman always went to bed before Rae. “After school club, then a party,” she lied, “I’m going to bed.” Halfway up the stairs, Rae stopped in her tracks. “Sylvia?” “Yes?” “I really don’t want you to date Julian.” Sylvia frowned from downstairs. “Why not? I love him and I’m sure he loves me,” she said.

Rae walked off shaking her head. She could tell that Julian’s love for Sylvia wasn’t as strong as hoped. Although she had never seen them together, she knew. She just knew, like a bird knows how to build a nest or how a salmon knows to swim up the river. It felt like a power, like a special talent. While she changed into her nightgown, Rae thought about leaving. She thought about this a lot. Leaving Seattle, leaving her pathetic little family, her pathetic little life and doing something interesting for a change. No, she thought as she pulled a blanket over her tired body, I can’t give up now.

The next day left Rae feeling rustled. Rustled and confused, really, because of what her peers had said.  “Congrats on getting in the circle,”a popular-looking girl whispered to her in science. Before Rae could ask what that meant, the teacher shushed the girl. Choir was also weird. Rae and Annavel actually made eye contact, which was beyond rare. And after school, Rae’s friend Clarice asked her if she was okay. “Of course I’m okay, “ she said, “What could you possibly mean?” Clarice rolled her eyes as if it was obvious. “Oh, you know...”

Rae was confused. Overwhelmed, she stumbled home, her mind abuzz with the peers’ words. What on earth do they mean? she wondered as she entered the doorway. “Sylvia!” Rae shouted, “We need to talk!” There was no answer. Finally, Rae entered the kitchen and saw a note on the refrigerator.

She sighed and tore the note off. Why did Sylvia have to be gone when she needed her most? Rae tried calling Sylvia’s number, but to no avail. Whys, hows and whats swam through her head like angry wasps. She didn’t want to cry. Not here, at least. She grabbed a pillow and headed to the park.

    Wolf Medial Park was known for having no wolves. Rae had always liked it because, one, it had a playscape, and two, it was very, very quiet. Hardly a soul treaded on its soil, so nobody noticed a 13-year-old girl running through the gates carrying a pillow as Rae had done many times before. Here she was safe to cry, yell, or even scream in the safety of absence. Rae slumped down by a tall oak tree and began to cry into the pillow. About fifteen minutes passed (it felt like two hours), and had yet to be finished. “Rae!” someone shouted, “Is that you?” Rae quickly jerked back into reality and wiped her eyes. Still choked up, she responded, “Yes?” A figure came into focus. A tall, curly-haired, uniformed female. Annavel Samantha Garin. Rae’s heart beat a mile a minute in fear.

    Clutching her pillow to her trembling chest, Rae began to worry. What’s going on? she thought. “Rae. Oh, there you are,” Annavel said with a slight smile. For once her posse of friend-slaves were not surrounding her in a cloud of gossip and giggles. Where were they? Rae wondered. Annavel looked almost naked without them. Somehow Annavel noticed that Rae had been crying. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Nothing, nothing,” Rae whispered as she stared at the ground. A tear rolled down her cheek. An act of awkward silence occurred between the two. “Well, I’ll leave you alone,“ Annavel said with an absence of emotion.

Rae stopped crying soon after she left and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the park hugging her pillow. She was obviously upset about pretty much everything in her life, and Annavel showing up certainly didn’t help. Her strange smile  had apparently just pasted itself into Rae’s head like her mind was some kind of weird scrapbook. A really weird scrapbook. A few hours later, she checked her phone. It was eleven. I must’ve been asleep for part of the night, Rae thought, I don’t think I ever saw the sun set. She was scared, more so than last time in the park. Unfortunately, Rae was lost. She couldn’t recognize a single one of the trees and there was only a faint whooshing sound of the cars off of the highway. There was no simpler way to put it: Rae was afraid. She tried calling Sylvia, but, again, to no advantage. She called Clarice. No answer. Finally, she gave up all hope and called someone else.

“Hello?” Rae paused. “Hello?” To be truthful, she was pretty relieved that someone answered. “Annavel, I know what you’re thinking, but I need somewhere to stay.” Annavel laughed. “So you’ve been in the park this whole time?” Rae felt a rush of shame as she stood in the mud from the previous night. “I just need a place to stay, Annavel. Please? It’s just one night,” Rae said. The chances were sky-high that she couldn’t stay, but Annavel agreed. “Alright, alright. We’ll put you in the guest room. It’s just me, ‘cause my older brother’s asleep and my dad is out with your mom,” Annavel said, “Don’t make a mess, okay? My brother can find you and pick you up.”

As Rae sat at the table drinking tea (chamomile, her favorite), she and Annavel discussed the day’s events. “Some people kept dropping hints about something at school today,” she sighed, “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Annavel’s cat, Periwinkle, “What were the hints? What did you hear?” Annavel actually seemed half interested with Rae’s problems. She leaned towards Rae as if they were sisters. Rae explained all that happened that day, while Annavel listened earnestly. She began to laugh at the end. “How could you not know? Let me break the news to you: Sylvia and my dad are getting married!”

Rae was appalled beyond compare. Her head swam with crazy thoughts and fears. She felt like she would pass out, but she didn’t. Instead she spilled her tea on herself. “Ah…” she said, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. The liquid seeped into her shirt. “Let me clean that up,” Annavel said. “No, it’s fine…” Rae answered softly. She reached for a paper towel and began to sop up the mess. Tears budded up in her eyes as she soaked up tea. “Hey, are you okay?” Annavel asked. Rae didn’t respond. It was one thing that Annavel Crevice would be her step-sister of sorts, but for her to be kind to a low-life like Rae was just crazy. “It’s okay,” Annavel said, “Rae, I’ve always admired your personality and kindness to others. In other words, I really like you and would love for you to be my friend. Is that okay?” Rae nodded, but then something popped into her head. “But… Annavel, why were you so mean to me in the past? I mean, if you liked me, surely you would’ve shown that.” Annavel smiled and looked Rae in the eye. “It was just for me to fit in. I promise, I will be nicer to you. I’m really, really sorry.” Rae smiled. She had forgiven Annavel for the rest of her life. The two were finally friends.

Exactly eight months later Rae and Annavel attended the wedding of Sylvia and Julian as bridesmaids. Rae had been wrong; Sylvia and Julian were a perfect couple. Later on, they adopted Rae, and a year later, Rae had another sister. Yes, she thought, Everything’s going to be all right. And this time, she was right.

The End