A few days later I woke up to thuds on my window with loud chirps. I look over to see birds flying at the glass and bouncing off of it while two sat to the side of it, chirping. They flapped their wings when they saw that they got my attention, awake now. I shut the blinds but their chirps only grew louder. I got ready for school, heading to the kitchen and set three plates of breakfast up.

I hear a yawn and smile. I see my father stumble sleepily into the kitchen, buttoning his suit for work. I hand him his cup of coffee and a plate of buttered toast, which he was happy to get. He gave me a kiss on the head.

"Thank you, Marilheart..."He says, sleepily attempting to say my name with sweetheart

"Dad, how much sleep did you get?"I ask, concerned for him

"Five hours...Two more than usual...You and your brother are doing okay in school, right? You know you can call if you need help, right?"He says

"Yes, Dad."I say

He goes to grab the mail and pauses.

"Umm, Dearest? Why are there deer outside at the front door?"He says

A few birds flew in through the open door, landing in front of me or on my shoulders, chirping happily.

"That's probably Darton and his friends.."I say

"Who?"He asks

"A friend of mine is really close with animals. They've come to visit or make sure we're coming."I say, munching on my food

The birds start tugging on my hair, twisting strands around and together. I smile at him, finishing my food. He looks shocked but then sighs as Logan comes down the hall. He kisses my brother on the head and runs out the door, driving away to work. A fawn kept pawing at the door, nodding its head for us to go. I look at the time and it was nothing close to school time. The birds keep tugging.

I sigh.

"Bro, I'll get going before the bucks start trying to get through the door."I say

"Alright."He says

"See you at school."I say, throwing my shoes on

I head down the sidewalk, backpack strung over my shoulder. The birds soar around me, chirping excitedly while a few still play with my hair. Two deer walk on either side of me, the fawn running ahead to lead the way. Bunnies hop across the lawns and after walking a few blocks the birds left my hair alone. I was nearing the school when the deer redirected me down another street. They keep nudging me forward with their heads or antlers. I find myself outside Hugo's house.

"What the-? Do you realize how early it is? This just seems weird! I have classes to attend!"I say

They shake their heads, not seeming to care. The door starts to open and a lady with bright green eyes, long curly black hair, lots of mascarra and other makeup to cover her skin steps out. She wore a long red blouse with very short, well, shorts and high-heeled boots with a black coat over herself and a pair of sunglasses shading her eyes with a bag slung over her shoulder, her keys twirling around her finger. She looks at me and her eyes flash an instance of surprise that quickly was hidden by intrigue. As if she was surprised that people are going past her house at 7:25 AM. She marches right over to me as the animals had scattered the second the knob started to twist. Her gaze scans me up and down, then she reaches out and pulls my hair gently from over my shoulder for closer inspection. I find it braided now instead of the loose style it was before, mostly the birds' doing.

"Huh, your hairdo is gorgeous darlin'. But I gotta say, your face needs some more flare to match it. Not a hint of lip gloss or eyeshadow present. All natural. *sigh* Even some lipstick in the least would get some better attention to you."She says

"I'm not looking for attention, Miss. I don't dress up for others' pleasure or looks. I'm not eye-candy or something. I can style or dress as I wish."I say, pulling her hands off of my chin and hair

I step back from her and she seemed insulted that I disagreed or didn't listen to her. As if I was going to come to this epiphany right in front of her and say something like:"Wha-? Huh? Oh dear! When did this happen? I must've been unaware of my physical appearance for my entire childhood up to this moment! Of course I'll cake my face in makeup just for others to look at me! It certainly is a must for beauty and society! How was I blind to this before? Thank you, random lady, for enlightening me on this very important matter. I will now soak in the epiphany you set onto me and change my life for you." or some garbage.

"What are you doing on my sidewalk?"She asks

"Oh sorry, I didn't see your name on it. I, uh, came to walk with my friend to school."I say with a shrug

"You must have the wrong house. My nephew doesn't have-"She begins

"Oh, so you're his aunt! What an...interesting first meeting and impression you give...Hugo is a real sweet friend and he does have an entire friend group."I cut her off, seeing where this was going

"Oh where are you and your friends standards? Tell me, how much did he pay you? Or did one of the teachers pity him and assign him to you? Ever since his parents disappeared he has been so strange...."She sighs, putting a hand to her chest with a sorrowful voice as if hearing this was too much to bear and she felt sorry for us

I roll my eyes at her little act.

"Don't roll your eyes at me!"She snaps

"You clearly don't know your nephew very well then. Oh loving aunt of his, more like two-faced jerk. My friends and I don't need pity for loving Hugo. Anyone else would be happy that their kid was making friends after everything. Not you, I guess. Now, you seemed to have places to go or something, so why don't you get on that? Or are you going to stand out here, a grown adult arguing with a teen over a friend's social life in the early morning? Not the best look for the neighbors to see."I say, nodding my head to neighbors coming out for the morning newspaper

She notices and her face went pale, quickly fleeing to her car and recklessly leaving the driveway to drive off into the distance. I could hear the wheels screeching as she made quick turns around corners. I hear the door open and then a sigh. I glance to see a man with reddish hair like Hugo with dark purple eyes and a beard growing freely on his chin. He stood in bathrobes with pajamas visible underneath. His eyes were dull as he sips from his morning mug of tea in the doorway.

"She has to stop talking down about those things...She's going to scare everyone off or give the wrong ideas like at the last school...My sister would be ashamed of her behavior...We are so going to have a talk later..."He mutters quietly

"Umm, hello? Are you Hugo's uncle?"I ask

His eyes lock onto me, wide awake now. A grin grows on his face.

"I'm guessing you're the feisty Marilyn he told me about."He responds

"Feisty?"I repeat

"He says you can get quite passionate when defending something or someone close to you or a friend. Doesn't give a crap of what others think or they should say it to your face type of person."He says

"I guess you could put it like that."I say

"His animals really like you, which is rare from what I've seen."He says

"Yeah...I can sorta tell..."I say

"Ignore my wife with her claims. She just isn't as...open to new things as others and isn't good with kids as I'm finding...I'm just glad Hugo has a group of friends with you."He says

He pauses for a moment, thinking.

"You know what may settle this? How about you come over for dinner tonight? It would be lovely to have you."He says, his eyes twinkling as he gave an adult equivalent to puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, um..Sure! I'll have to tell my dad but I'm sure it's okay!"I say

"Great! Hey, Hugo! You ready for school yet?"He calls inside

"Coming, Uncle! Yep!"Hugo's voice echoes from inside

"Good! Also, we're having Marilyn over for dinner tonight!"He says

"We are?"Hugo asks in genuine shock

"Yeah! And you better get a move on because she's here!"He says

"She's what?"He exclaims

His uncle chuckles. Hugo hops out the door, still tying one of his shoe on.

"Marilyn! W-What are you doing here?"He asks, stumbling over

He pauses, gazing at me quietly. His eyes were twinkling.

"I'll see you two after school!"His uncle says, shutting the door

"R-Right! School! Let's go!"He says

I walk alongside him with a smile.

"Your buddies keep coming to my house. Now they brought me over here. And your uncle called me feisty.~"I say

He looks at me in surprise.

"I'm so-"He begins

"Don't be sorry. They weren't aggressive so it wasn't a problem. And your uncle is nice. That's a much better word to be called then I've been called in the past."I say

"Ohh....Where can I find them?"He asks

"Hugo, don't worry about it."I say

"But-"He begins

We walk up the path to the school entrance.

"I don't care what they say. And Sloane handled it. So don't worry about it."I say, then go inside

We hurried off to our classrooms and from there the day seems to zip past me. Before I knew it I was already heading to the cafeteria. I was walking down the hall and heard some noises. I turn a corner and see Marcellus kissing Chelsea, one of the cheerleaders. I shake my head as they back up against the wall and hold each other tightly.

Get a room!

I walk past them to the cafeteria and sat down next to Rosaline, who was doodling away in her sketchbook, a lolipop in her mouth. Raiden let out a sigh as he sat next to me.

"That has to be at least the fourth girl he has tried to get with in the last month."He says with a disapproving shake of his head.

"What color goes good with aqua blue?"Rosy asks, brushing that topic aside

"Hmmm, teal or a green might."I reply, munching on my lunch

She nods, continuing to draw away. All our friends came to the table eventually and the lunch period slipped past me as we talked and ate, just like the rest of the day. Soon the dismissal bell is ringing and I finally caught up with the day, finding myself unloading my stuff into my locker. My phone dings as I take it out and I see it's some neighbors looking for me to work for them again. The first job expected to start in 15 minutes. I glance around, seeing Logan down the hall.

"Hey, Logan! I got a few jobs again! I gotta go!"I say, shutting my locker

"Okay, I'll be at the skate park."He says, taking out some roller skates

I nod, leaving the school. I arrived at the first neighbor's house. Some birds fly over, watching me curiously. I do a few stretches to get my legs ready for the job. I set an AirPod in an ear with a Spotify playlist ready. The door opens with my neighbor greeting me with his St Bernard on a leash. He hands me the leash and I grip it tightly.

"I have a few things to settle with coworkers so could you take him to the dog park? I already went through the rules with him to make sure he's a good boy for you."He says

"Of course, Mr. Andrew. I'm sure Buddy will be just fine."I say as the big dog kisses my hand, his tail wagging

He sighs relieved, thanking me before hopping in his car. I look at Buddy and smirk.

"You know the drill. You ready to make some friends?"I say

"RUFF!"He responds, already tugging at the leash

"Okay, let's go."I say

I lead him to the other four neighbors that hired me for the day. He was soon accompanied by a pug named Trixie, a Chihuahua named Major Cuddles, two Dalmations named Spot and Max, as well as a German Shepherd named Lola. Some neighbors gave me early payment and others said they'll virtually pay me each hour, giving their pick-up times. I hit play on my phone's playlist, hearing it play in only one ear so I'm still self-aware, and then started to jog with the pack of leashed dogs excitedly tugging me ahead. I knew the route to the dog park like the back of my hand now. I kept them from running into the street or wild stuff like that. They knew the drill and were well-trained.

"Incoming call from Hugo."Siri says

"Answer."I say

"Hey, Marilyn. What are you up to? Everyone's at the mall again wondering where you are. They're thinking of going to a park."He says

"Nothing much, just walking my neighbors' dogs. Hey! Major! Not on that lawn! Noo, bad! Sit!"I reply before correcting the Chihuahua

Major sits down, pouting. We wait for the light to change.

"Ooo! I didn't know you do dog walking! That's cool! Where are you walking them to?"He asks

"To the dog park."I say

"THERE"S A DOG PARK?"He exclaims, sounding overjoyed

"Yep."I confirm

"I love this town! I want to check it out!"He giggles

I chuckle and carefully get the dogs across. He hung up and I kept walking. We reach the dog park and once within its gates, I let the dogs loose to play. They ran wild, grabbing random toys, running up the play structures, rolling around, or just laying to the side and watching.

"Doggos!"A voice cheers that caught all of their attention

Hugo comes running in with a bright smile, the gate shutting behind him. The dogs run and leap at him, tails wagging. He got buried in a dog pile and I couldn't even see him, yet could hear his laugh as the dogs eagerly sniff and cuddle him.

"Hugo, are you okay?"I ask, trying to tug the dogs off of him

"I'm great!"He cheers, giggling

I smile at him. Th dogs start inching off of him and lay around him instead. Some of the dog owners show up to pick up their dogs and paid me on the spot. I tuck the money in my wallet and look to Hugo, who had to say goodbye to the dogs. He comes over me with a smile.

"Shall we go to my house?"He asks

"Sure!"I say

He takes my hand and smiles, quickly heading out of the park. I send a message to my father to let him know what I'm doing, as well as my brother.

"Now just to warn you, my aunt is sort of a diva....Well not sort of, she is. She can be very much a drama queen or nitpick anything....But my uncle is one of the nicest people I know. He's my mom's brother so from what he tells me about his side of the family, it isn't a surprise..."He says with a smile

"I see."I say as we walk along the streets

"I just don't want you to get the wrong idea or first impression about my family. Or for that to connect to your impression of me."He says

"Don't worry, first impressions have already been made. And it wouldn't change how I see you."I say

We reach the front door of his home. He gets the keys out right as a car pulls into the driveway. The aunt comes out of the car, looking over at us.

"Sweetheart? What's this darlin' doing here now?"She asks

Oh now it's sweetheart.

"She's joining us for dinner. Uncle invited her."He says

Her smile fades.

"Great...."She says unethusiastically

He takes me inside where the dinner table was already set up. Napkins, plates, fresh tablecloth spread across the table, silverware, food, the complete set. There were even candles on the table, lit carefully. His uncle already sat there, smiling and waiting.

"Hey Marz! Glad you could come!"He says

Hugo looks at me, smiles, then leads me to the table. He has me sit next to him. His uncle smiles at me and it was casual conversation as we each dug in until the aunt decided to open her mouth.

"So, Marilyn, have you been in any relationships recently?"She asks

I feel my body flinch, stiffening up at the question.

"Karla!"His uncle says

"What? It's a good question if she's going to spend time with our nephew!"She says

"How is that a good question? It just makes things awkward!"He snaps

They just kept arguing and I started to tune it out. I just stared at my food as I ate it. I felt a hand on mine, rubbing my knuckles gently with a thumb. I look to see Hugo holding my hand with an apologetic glint in his eyes. I smile at him. I look at his aunt.

"I'm not really into romance...More into my studies and looking after my family."I say

"But hasn't your mother taught you anything about it? You're nearly a grown-up lady. Surely you have some knowledge about romance."She says with a roll of her eyes

I frown.

"My mother isn't...in my life. My dad is the only one raising me."I say

There was a long silence. His aunt seemed horrified, not expecting that answer.

"Sooo! I hear your brother is musically talented, Marilyn? Guitarist, huh?"His uncle says to break the aunt's awkward tension

"Yeah, he's just doing it as a hobby but he is really good. He often plays in the town mall."I say

We started talking about that instead. Soon enough my father came to pick me up, frowning. He seemed to glare the aunt down. I glance at Hugo and smile.

"Thank you for having me, Hugo. It was nice meeting your uncle."I say

"It was great to have you, Marilyn."He says, walking me to the car

My father rolls down the window, sipping another latte.

"I'm guessing you're the animal friend sending birds and deer to our house?"He says

"Wait they're doing what? I told them to not bother you! I'm so sorry, Sir! I-!"Hugo begins

"No no, don't even start. This isn't my first rodeo kid. You'd be surprised to hear that I've seen it before. It's fine. I'm just happy that my little girl has someone looking after her when I'm not around."He says

"But she has a friend group and her brother...?"Hugo says confusedly

"Yeah, but you seem more level-headed than most of them. And she helps Logan more than he can do for her. It's complicated. Just thanks for being there for her, okay?"He says

"Yes, Sir."Hugo says as I climb in the back seat

"Bye, Hugo!"I say

"Bye, Marilyn!"He says, waving as the car pulls away

The window rolls back up again.

"Don't get too close to his aunt, understood? She's nothing but trouble, Marly dear."Dad says sternly

"Do you know her?"I ask

"I used to...."He replies

"And you said you saw animals act like this before?"I ask

"Yes....I had a good friend long ago with that same skill.....Always waking up to a bird with a letter or a deer carrying a basket on its antlers as it tried to ring the doorbell....That sort of bizarre stuff....But that was a different time, nearly a different life at this point."He says

I look to him curiously, but see that this is a tough topic for him. He sighs as we pull into the driveway.

"Just trust me with this, okay?"He asks

I nod. Then we go inside.

TBC