"I hate walking," Hunter complains.

"Oh, quit complaining," Raphael says.

"Guys, quit arguing," I tell them.

We've been walking all day and I'm tired. Tired of walking, tired of the quest. I see a house. Civilization! I've never been so happy to see civilization! I start sprinting toward the house and Hunter yells, "Where are you going?"

"To that house! I need food!" I yell back. "Oh and we need directions to the Dead River!"

I run up the porch and knock on the door. Raphael and Hunter and Amelia come running towards me. A dog barks inside the house. A second one joins the first. A man yells,"Hannah, go get the door!"

A girl about my age opens the door. Her recently died brownish-blonde hair is swept up in a bun with a grey headband and her aqua eyes were staring at me imploringly. Her black tights and and bright orange tank top fitted her perfectly.

"Who is it Hannah?" a man says.

"Four teenagers that look like they were through a lot," Hannah, the girl, says.

"Well, what do they want?" The man sounds irritated.

"What do you guys need?" Hannah asks, her eyes showing sympathy.

"We are homeless and we haven't eaten in days," I tell her.

"They are homeless and they haven't eaten for days," Hannah yells back to the man.

"Just give them money and let them be on their way!" the man yells tiredly. "You know we don't have a lot of food."

"No! I will not give them money! They need to eat!" Hannah yells back. "Come on in, dinners almost ready."

I nod and walk in. The house is pretty small, only a one story house. The walls are pretty bare except for one painting of a boat on water. Hannah leads us into a tiny kitchen where an older man is sitting at a table. His graying hair is flopped on his head like he just woke up. "I thought I told you to give them money," he says.

"Dad, I'm not going to do that," Hannah says softly.

"Hannah," the man says, "we don't have enough money. We don't have enough food."

"So, I won't eat tonight! I don't eat most nights!" Hannah yells. "You eat all of the food!"

The two dogs walk out from underneath the table.

"This Daisy and Sadie. Daisy is the mother of Sadie. They are a golden retriever/lab mix," Hannah explains while smiling at her dogs.

"They are so cute!" I squeal.

Hannah smiles at me. "Hannah, we can't do this," the man says.

"Come on guys, let's go to my room," Hannah says, ignoring the man.

She leads us down the hall and into a small room. The room looks bare except for a bed, a poster for a T.V. show, and a dresser with a small TV on it. "What's the poster for?" I ask her as she sits on her bed.

"Oh it's for a very awesome show called Austin and Ally," Hannah says and smiles at us. "So what are your names?"

"I'm Carmen Jackson, this boy here is Hunter Grace, this other boy is Raphael di Angelo, and this girl is Amelia..." I don't finish because I never found out her last name.

"Amelia Johnson," Amelia says, sticking her hand out so Hannah can shake it.

Hannah shakes it and says, "Nice names."

"Thanks," I say and smile.

"I'm Hannah Ripley," she says.

One of her dogs- I think her name is Sadie- comes trotting in her room. Hannah pats the bed and the dog jumps up next to her. She starts stroking her dog and says, "My dad isn't always like this. Well he is a lot. He's worried that we won't have a house soon because he doesn't have a job."

"I'm so sorry," Hunter says.

"Oh its fine," she says and waves her hand as if dismissing it. "We are having some rice and beans tonight."

"Finally, food," Raphael says and grabs his stomach.

We all laugh. "You want to watch some of Austin and Ally?" Hannah asks. We nod as she turns on a DVD player and her small TV.

"We don't have cable, but I have all the seasons on disk," she explains, her back to us putting in the DVD.

"Cool," I tell her.

She nods. Soon the show is playing and I laugh at a funny part. "The dude who plays Austin is pretty hot," I say.

"He sure is!" Hannah says and we both giggle.

"Ugh, you girls are weird," Hunter says.

"Nope. I bet you would say that for a pretty girl," I tell him.

"Oh then let me," he says. "Carmen-"

"Dinners ready!" The man yells, cutting off Hunter.

I feel my face heat up. Raphael looks at Hunter weirdly. Hannah pauses the show and we walk to the kitchen. The food smells so good that I forget what happened in Hannah's bedroom. "Food!" I say.

I grab a plate and get some rice and some beans and sit down. I start eating and gobbling the food up like I hadn't had any food for weeks. Hannah's dad whispers something in her ear and she looks mad. "They are going to eat and stay the night if they need too," she tells her dad.

"Hannah Ripley, you do not talk like that to me," the man says.

"James Ripley, you are nicer than this!" Hannah says angrily.

"Fine, they can stay," he sighs. I finish my food while everyone else is still eating. Hannah has a little plate of food.

"Thank you James and Hannah," I say. "We really thank you for letting us stay here and have a little bit to eat."

"Oh, its no problem!" Hannah says while her dad grunts in response. After everyone finishes their food, we go back to Hannah's room and watch more of Austin and Ally.
*****
I guess I fell asleep, because the TV and lights were off. I was laying on the floor of Hannah's bedroom. Hunter was on one side of me while Raphael was on the other. Amelia was on the other side of Raphael while Hannah was sleeping on her bed. I close my eyes and lay there. I open my eyes and stand up quietly.

I head to the bathroom. A few minutes later I come out and walk back to Hannah's room. Hannah is sitting up in her bed. She looks at me when I enter. "You OK?" she asks me.

I nod. She lays back down and so do I. Hunter grunts in his sleep and I smile. Hunter. I just remembered what he said earlier. How he was going to say that I was hot. I blush just thinking about it. My crush has a crush on me. I thought that was imagination, not reality.
*****
"Carmen, you should wake up now," Amelia says, shaking my shoulder.

I open my eyes and see everyone dressed and ready. "Ugh, why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I ask.

"Hunter said you looked peaceful," Hannah says.

"Oh," I say, not meeting his eyes.

"Here, you can use these clothes," Hannah says.

I take them and head to the bathroom. I change my clothes to the ones she gave me and I look at the mirror. Black circles have formed under my eyes. Hannah gave me some jeans and a black T-shirt. I head to the dining room and see everyone eating some cereal. I sit down next to Hunter and grab a bowl and cereal. I pour the cereal and milk and start eating. "I have a quick question," I say after eating. "Do you two know where the Dead River is?"

"Its down the road for a few miles and then turn right and you can see it," Hannah says.

"Thanks," Amelia says.

"No problem," Hannah says.

I stand up and so does Hunter, Amelia, Raphael, and Hannah. We go outside on the porch where Sadie and Daisy are. "Thanks for letting us stay the night," I say to her.

"That's the least I could do," Hannah says.

I hug her and she hugs back. My little group of four walk down her porch and we start walking down the road. "Hey Carmen!" Hannah yells. "That's the wrong way!"

I smile and turn around and start walking the other way. "Thanks!" I yell back to her.
******
So Nico1_HLiz did you like how we portrayed Hannah?