Saturday, 11:30 p.m.

"Finally!" Kim let out an exaggerated sigh as she fell backwards onto my bed. "I thought we'd never  be done!"

I shook my head in amusement. "You know what's funny?" I asked as I began cleaning up my books. "I'm the one that does theatre, yet you're the dramatic one."

Kim scowled at me. "Ha, ha. Very funny," She replied sarcastically.

"Aha! And you don't even deny it!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Shut up!" Kim snatched one of my pillows and hit me with it. Although she sounded annoyed, I caught the brief smile on her lips.

"Hey!" I laughed, blocking her hits with my arm. I reached behind me and grabbed the first pillow I could, and began hitting her back. 

Kim squealed. "Bailee! You're going to mess up my hair!" She complained. "do you know how long it took me to braid it?"

I laughed. "That's what you get for using my own pillows against me!" 

Kim swung back at me, and I moved to stand up on my bed, almost falling over.

"You shall pay for your crimes!" I said in a low, dramatic, English voice.

Kim scrambled to her feet. "You brought this upon yourself, my dear friend," She responded in a similar voice as mine.

"Rubbish!" I declared. "Shame on you for putting the blame on an innocent soul such as mine."

"Ha! Innocent?" Kim mocked with a grin. "Don't flatter yourself."

"What is the reason of your grin, old friend?" I asked. "You won't be grinning when I beat you in a deathly pillow fight!"

"We'll see about that!"

And with that, we began our so called, "deathly" pillow fight. We laughed as we chased each other around my room and tumbled over each other on my bed. It was nice to laugh after what had happened. I knew that I could always count on Kim to make me laugh.

After a long time of swatting each other with pillows, we were nearing the end of our match on my bed. And with a final blow to Kim's face, she fell backward off of my bed, hitting the floor with a loud thud. 

I peaked over the edge of my bed, trying not to laugh at the hilarious sight. Before I could ask if she was okay, Kim let out a dramatic cry.

"You have fought well, my old friend," She said as she looked up at me. "You have won the battle, and I salute you for it."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this," I responded, feigning sympathy.

"Do not be sorry. for t'was mine own actions that brought upon me this horrible tragedy."

"Goodbye, old friend."

"Goodbye."

And with one more dramatic cry, Kim closed her eyes, and died.

Not even a moment later, we both burst into laughter.

"What's all this ruckus about?" Miss crystal asked upon entering my room.

We both turned to look at her, surprised to see her there. "Oh... hi Miss Crystal," I greeted with a smile, trying to calm myself from laughing so much. "Did you get all the groceries you needed?"

"Yes. but I hope that you two weren't fooling around all morning when you were supposed to be studying," Miss Crystal told me.

"Of course not," Kim said with a laugh. Though, the way she said it, made it sound like we actually hadn't gotten anything done. Miss Crystal glanced at me for reassurance.

"Don't worry. We did," I promised her.

"Good. Now, would you two be so kind as to help me prepare lunch in a few minutes?"

"Sure."

With a nod, Miss Crystal returned to the kitchen.

I sat up on my bed and finished gathering all my books, while Kim got herself off the floor as well. "Hey," She said suddenly, moving over to one of the boxes in my room. "Why haven't you finished unpacking yet?"

I cast a quick glance at her before returning my sight to my books. "I... guess I haven't gotten around to it yet," I answered. "Besides, if I'm going away to college in the fall, there's no point in getting everything out just for summer, right?"

Kim shrugged. "I suppose," She agreed as she opened the box and looked inside. "But at least decorate your room a little. It'll feel a lot more..." She waved her hand in the air, probably trying to think of the right word. "...homey."

I was quiet a moment. That was the thing. it wouldn't matter if I got everything out or not. This place... this room... would never feel like home. Not without my dad. It wasn't like I was uncomfortable here. I had spent days here with Miss Crystal when my dad had left for a business trip. But it'd never be... home. "I suppose," I finally said, realising I hadn't said anything yet.

I could feel Kim's eyes on me. She must have sensed something in my previous silence. "What's wrong?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"Nothing," I lied, moving off my bed and returning my books to their proper place.

"Bailee."

I didn't look at her. I had my back turned to her, so she couldn't see my face. "Hm?"

"Tell me."

I let out a breathe, crossing my arms. Slowly, I turned to face her. "It's just... It'll never be home.. Y'know?"

"Yeah. I know," Kim replied with. "And you don't have to putout your things. But... wouldn't it be nice to at least have some pictures out or something?"

I shrugged, looking down at the floor. "Maybe."

There was silence. Kim looked down into the box and pulled out a picture frame. She smiled down at it. But it wasn't exactly a joyful smile. More of a sad one. 

"You're not the only one that lost him... you know that, right?"

Those words hit me like a bullet. I looked at the picture she was holding. It was one with Kim, my dad, and myself. I sighed. "Yeah. I know."

Honestly, I hadn't thought of how my dad's death had affected everyone else. Especially Kim. After her dad left her and her mom... My dad practically became Kim's dad too. The thought that Kim had lost two dads... broke my heart more than it already was.

Kim glanced at me, tears forming in her eyes and the sad smile still present. I mouthed an "i'm sorry" to her, which she responded with another smile. 

With tears threatening to come, I decided to change the subject. "Well, we should probably go help Miss Crystal with lunch," I said, trying to blink my tears away.

Kim nodded. "Yeah," She agreed, quietly, which wasn't normal for her. She placed the picture frame back in the box and stood. Without another word, we left to help Miss crystal.