The next morning passed in a blur. Next thing she knew, Valeria sat with Sai and his friends at lunch. She perked up when Erin approached their table with a sheepish grin.

"I talked to my dad," she said, her cheeks flushing red. "He said I can come tonight."

Sai looked over at Valeria and asked, "You invited her to your house too?"

"Yeah," she replied, exchanging glances between Erin and Sai. "You guys are my favorite people."

"Really?" Erin asked, her eyes beaming. "That means a lot to me."

James looked up at Erin, his eyes scanning her like a machine. "So wait, is she playing too? If so, we could use another healer."

Erin blinked at him, the color draining from her face. "Excuse me?"

Roberta groaned while combing her long red hair. "Forget it, James. If she's coming - we should do something else."

"Sorry, Erin," Jon said. "Forget what he said. I can bring board games and cards. I have Apples to Apples, Uno and –"

"Come on guys," James protested. "We're never going to finish our campaign."

Erin exhaled, her pallor returned to normal. Looking at Valeria, she said, "Oh, if you guys are already playing some kind of game - I can just sit and watch. Or I could just come another time and –"

"No, Erin," Valeria said, shaking her head. "I want you to come. And you could play our game. It's not that hard really."

James pointed at her. "See? Even Valeria wants to play. She's already kicked ass as our rogue."

"Excuse me?" Erin asked, her eyes widening. "What did you just call her?"

Roberta shook her head. "See, you're going to scare her away, James. Let's just play some Uno or something."

James pointed at Valeria. "It's her house. She should decide."

"Okay, James," Valeria said with a laugh, "We can play your game for a little bit. We can always do something else if we get bored. How does that sound, Erin?"

Erin looked uneasy, but when their eyes met - she smiled. "Umm...okay."

"You gonna walk to my house with us?" Valeria asked.

Erin shook her head. "The security guard will drive me. He has to remain parked outside - part of my dad's conditions."

"Security guard?" Roberta asked with a hint of concern. "Why is that necessary?"

"Her father is an important government official," Valeria replied. "It's okay, Erin, I'll text you my address." She took a moment to look around each of her friends and said, "I'm really looking forward to having you guys over." She turned to Erin and added, "All of you. You guys should know –"

"Hey there," Sheri interrupted, brushing away a strand of her long blonde hair as she appeared behind Erin.

A powerful wave of perfume invaded Valeria's nostrils, causing her to gag. "How long were you standing there?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face as Sheri replied.

"Long enough. I heard you guys making plans? I'm having a party at my house tonight. You and Erin can even bring your little friends if you like."

"Of course," James said, staring at her with a dreamy grin. "We would love to go."

"Umm," Jon said, frowning at his friend, "we can't because Valeria is grounded, right?"

Groaning, Sheri turned to Erin. "And you?"

Erin shook her head. "You know I can't, Sheri. My dad is very strict about that. No parties."

"Fine," Sheri said with distaste. "Your loss. Have fun at V's house, doing whatever your kind does. Bye!"

The lunch bell rang, signaling for them to leave. Sai tried to get her attention, but she waved him off and followed Erin to their afternoon classes. After school, Valeria went outside, unlocked her bike, and  was greeted by Sai and his friends. While they walked ahead, Sai stayed behind with her.

"So you've become good friends with Erin?" he asked.

The urge to declare Erin her new best friend was on the tip of her tongue, but Valeria refrained. She had friendships in the past, but they always ended with betrayal, indifference, or altercation. She liked Erin and Sai, but she would remain skeptical nonetheless. "She's alright, I guess."

"No one knows much about her," Sai said. "She's with the Elites at school, but that's only because she's rich. No one's seen her outside the school."

Valeria considered this a moment. Others might call Erin shy and awkward, but she didn't see her that way. Erin was smart, funny, and genuine; a girl like her should have a lot of friends. But she didn't, and this made Valeria uneasy. She couldn't help but wonder if Erin's isolation was involuntary...or deliberate?

"You don't find her a little weird?" Sai asked.

"No," Valeria said, her eyes narrowing. "She can be shy at first, but she's actually fun to be around. Kinda like you."

Laughing, Sai asked, "Did you just give me a compliment?"

"Don't get used to it," she said, trying to hold back a smile. She would have kept staring into his eyes, but two luxury cars parked in front of the house drew her attention.

Two security guards in black suits exited the car and motioned for them to stop. They were tall, broad shouldered, and muscular. But that didn't worry her. The poorly concealed pistols in their jackets did.

She tried to remain calm as the guards searched them. She focused on the cars, noting the three people that had exited the first car. Erin stood next to a taller and older African American man with greying hair. They were joined by an older African American woman with cropped hair. When the guards finished searching them, Erin walked over and waved.

"Sorry to make you go through that. I told you my mom and dad can be overprotective."

James looked at the older couple and scratched his head. "They're your parents?"

"Oh yeah," Valeria said, remembering what Erin had told her. "You were adopted, right?"

"They adopted me when I was seven," Erin said, turning to acknowledge the woman first. "This is my mom."

"Hello," her mother said, a smile across her face. "It's nice to meet you all." Turning to Valeria, her smile widened. "And you must be Valeria."

"Yeah," she said, smiling back. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. My daughter has told me a lot about you. And who are your friends?"

Valeria started introducing them, but stopped when Mr. Tyrell released an exaggerated cough beside the car. "Elmyra, can we hurry this up? We have an important dinner to attend."

Mrs. Tyrell's smile evaporated as she turned and motioned for him to wait. Her smile returned as she addressed them again. "While her father doesn't care, I, on the other hand, am so happy to see Erin making friends. She needs to get out more."

"Mom!" Erin protested, her cheeks flushing red.

"What? Am I embarrassing you?" Mrs. Tyrell asked, her smile widening. "I can't help it. I'm just happy, that's all." She turned to Valeria. "My husband wants to meet your parents before we go. Hopefully Erin told you we'll leave security outside?"

James perked up and said, "Security? Is that necessary?"

"You'll be fine," Mrs. Tyrell said, her tone nonchalant. "I think my husband is being a little overprotective, that's all." She led the way to the front door and stood next to her husband, who rang the bell.

When no one answered, Valeria reached for the door handle - but stopped when Frank opened the door. His eyes widened with surprise upon noticing the older couple and the two security guards.

"Are you Detective Malone?" Mr. Tyrell asked.

"Uh...yeah?"

"I'm Lawrence Tyrell," Mr. Tyrell said, extending a hand.

Frank looked at his hand and started sniffling. Blowing his nose, he said, "Sorry. I have a cold. Don't wanna get you sick."

"Very well," Mr. Tyrell said, "Our security needs to check your house before we leave our daughter here. Do you mind?"

"Umm," Frank said, shrugging his shoulders. "Not really. Go ahead."

Erin stormed over to her dad, her face flushing bright red. "Dad! This is completely unnecessary. You're embarrassing me," she whispered, stomping her foot in protest.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe," he said, rolling his eyes. "As a police officer, I'm sure Detective Malone understands."

"Sure," Frank said, eyeing the two security guards. "Go ahead. I'm sorry our house is a mess right now."

Both security guards nodded and entered without saying a word. Valeria expected Frank to appear nervous, but he seemed calm and relaxed. On the surface at least.

"Is your wife at home?" Mrs. Tyrell asked. "I'd love to meet her."

"Well," Frank said, his eyes shifting between Mr. and Mrs. Tyrell, "she's still at work. She has a yoga class afterward, so she won't be home until later tonight."

Sighing, Mrs. Tyrell said, "that's too bad. She's quite admirable, working as a public school English teacher. You both sound like wonderful people, serving the public and agreeing to take in a foreign exchange student."

"Yes," Mr. Tyrell added, "After a background check on you, we learned your daughter passed away last year. I'm sorry to hear that. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Frank's calm demeanor cracked; his smile faded and his fists clenched. "I'm not really sure why that's any of your business -"

"Knowing about the company Erin keeps is my business," Mr. Tyrell interrupted, his voice callous and unforgiving. He reached for the phone in his pocket. "You don't have to tell me. I can just make a phone call and find out -"

"That's not necessary," Frank said, his tone and demeanor shifting toward defeat. "She had Leukemia."

"Leukemia?" Mr. Tyrell asked, his eyes narrowing. "That's unfortunate. A childhood friend of mine also lost her daughter to Leukemia. If you joined any Leukemia support groups, you might know her."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Frank said, refusing to look away. "What's her name?"

"Jada Jackson."

Valeria's eyes widened. Was it possible that Jada's maiden name was Jackson? Did she know him? She wanted to ask all these questions, but never got the chance.

"I'm sorry," Frank said, his face blank, "I've never heard that name before."

Mr. Tyrell paused, the two of them staring at each other without saying a word. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the guards returned.

"The house is clear, sir."

Mr. Tyrell nodded and turned to Erin. "You know what to do in an emergency."

"Dad!" she protested, " I'll be fine."

Hugging her daughter, Mrs. Tyrell said, "I know you'll be fine. Have fun with your friends."

"Detective Malone," Mr. Tyrell said, removing a business card from his pocket. "This card has my cell, so feel free to contact me if you need anything. Her security team will escort her home later tonight. Good evening." He turned and walked away; Mrs. Tyrell followed close behind.

"You're welcome," Frank muttered under his breath.

Watching a guard escort the Tyrells to their car, Valeria whistled and said, "Wow. They're really protective of you."

Erin shuffled her feet and avoided eye contact. Her face was still beat red, her brown hair matted with sweat against her forehead. "They weren't able to have a kid. After adopting me, they called me their miracle."

"Miracle?" James asked, his tone sarcastic. "It's a miracle you haven't gone completely insane with them smothering you like that. Anyway, it's nice to see you again Mr. Malone!"

Nodding, Frank motioned for them to enter. "You too, James." He turned toward the others and said, "Roberta, Jon, and Sai. I made iced tea if you want some."

"Thanks, Mr. M," Roberta said, weaving past them. Jon, James, and Sai also greeted Frank as they entered, leaving Erin and Valeria at the front door.

"It's really nice to meet you, Mr. Malone," Erin said. "I'm Erin, and I'm so sorry about my parents and the security," she said, glancing back at the sole black car outside.

"That's alright," Frank said, back to his trademark smile. "I know your family needs extra security since your dad's a government VIP. Hopefully you can just relax and not worry about any of that with us."

"Thanks," Erin said, her eyes focused on Valeria. "I hope so."

"Come on," he said. "Let's not keep your friends waiting."