Genesis

Dad had scarcely been gone twenty minutes when the doorbell rang.

"Hello." The girl who'd rung the bell said. She is very attractive and looks to be around my age with an athletic build and silky dark hair cascading down her back. "I'm Dakota from next door."

"Hi Dakota from next door." I reply smiling.

"Uh, I saw when you moved in the other day." She says shyly. "Thought I'd say hi and maybe you wanna hang out?"

"Uh, okay." I reply because it's polite.

"Great." She smiles. "I hardly get to see anyone my age in this neighborhood. It's such a relief!"

Smiling I let Dakota in, offering her a glass of orange juice while I dress up. I feel slightly worried about leaving her alone downstairs so I ask her to come up to my room with me even though there's the possibility that she's a serial killer.

"So." I say when I've left a note for dad to find just in case he gets back when I'm not home yet. "Where are we headed?"

"The mall?" she offers uncertainly.

"Sure."

Dakota leads me a few ways down to her house and we get in her Elantra.

I'd had to sell my car due to the move because dad didn't want it driving eleven hours just to get here. He even had his brother put the house up for sale.

However, he said I should be getting a new one before school begins. I'd thought of getting something simple like maybe a Honda civic because that's just the type of person I am but maybe Dakota's car could work too.

"Where did you live before now?" she asks turning up the heat.

"North Dakota." I chuckle

"Funny how it has my name in it." She laughs. "Must be fate."

I shrug because, well, I don't believe in fate. I believe in God.

"How do you like it here so far?" she asks without missing a beat.

"It's only been a week." I shrug. "New year's was okay but I didn't know a lot of people."

"You'll get used to it." She smiles, sparing a glance my way. "It's nice once you stay for a while."

"I guess so."

"So where you going to school?"

"My dad says I'm supposed to attend Madison West high."

"Oh cool." She replies, making a bend.

"Do you go there?"

"Nah." She says. "I go to a private boarding school up in Beaver dam. It's about 50 minutes from here."

"Sounds posh."

"It's okay." She shrugs. "It's a nice school and I love it there but being away from home sucks every once in a while."

"I can relate." I reply. "I miss my friends so much."

"But you have me now." She says, perking up. "Well, until I go back to school anyways."

"Thanks." I smile.

"Thanks for offering to spend some time with me today."

"Nah, it's nothing." She waves dismissively. "What were they like? Your friends I mean."

"Oh they are so much fun." I gush, getting in the zone. "There's Patty, she's my best friend and Javi and Tyler who hit me at the beginning of the term and then there's my cousin Jerry."

"He hit you?"

"Not on purpose. I was trying to break up a fight but then I got in the middle and he punched me like this." I say, demonstrating and falling back into the chair.

Dakota laughs, nearly losing control over the steering wheel. "I like you already." She says. "But please, let me drive in peace."

"I like you too Dakota." I chuckle.

"My friends call me Kody." She says.

"Got it. Kody." I reply. "And I won't bother your driving anymore. I like us better when we're alive anyways."

At my words, her body visibly stiffens and she grips the steering wheel somewhat tighter. She doesn't say anything though.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Sure."

A glaze if uneasy silence coats the air and I think of what to say as she drives a bit slower than before.

"So what about your friends Kody?" I ask. "What are they like?"

"They're very nice people." She says. "Most of them are into sports."

"Cool." I reply. "Do you play?"

"Volley ball, Basketball and tennis." She replies without missing a bit. "I love sports."

"Wow. That's awesome."

"Yeah thanks." What about you? Do you play?"

"Nah I'm not into sports. I do play guitar though."

"That's cool." She smiles. "I can't play a musical instrument to save my life."

We both chuckle then.

"Everyone's forte is different." I say.

"Of course Zen master." She replies and we fall into a fit of giggles once more.

"Got any best friends?" I ask off handedly.

Her body stiffens again. It's subtle this time but I was watching her closely so I see it. She doesn't say anything at first, so we just sit there. Her, driving carefully and me wondering what I did wrong.

"I did." She says softly after a while. "But she passed away."

"Oh my God." I gush. "I'm so sorry.'

"It's okay." She shrugs. "Her name was Alissa Parker." She smiles fondly when she says her name. "We were so close and she was so smart and matured and I miss her every day."

"It's okay." I say, giving her arm a light squeeze. I understand how she feels. I know what loss feels like.

"You remind me of her, you know." She says after a while. "I'm glad you moved here."

Few minutes later, Kody pulls into the mall parking lot and starts bouncing so excitedly it's like someone flipped a switch inside her.

Three hours later after we shopped ourselves dry with the new arrivals, we're sitting in a little café, having drinks.

"When do you resume school?" I ask, taking a sip.

"On the eighth."

"Same here." I reply.

"Cool."

"Have you got any siblings?"

"Nah." She shakes her head.

"Me neither." I chuckle

"You know what?" she says after a while, glint in her eyes.

"What?" I ask, taking yet another sip.

"We should go see a movie!" she says. "Its five dollar Tuesday and I have been dying to watch 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them.'"

It takes a while of convincing when I look up the synopsis on my phone but I give in at the end and actually end up enjoying the movie a lot.

It's set in 1926 and is about this guy called Newt Scamander who aimed at going to New York for a brief stopover after his global excursion in which he documented an extraordinary array of magical beasts. However, some of the beasts somehow manage to escape and the whole thing spirals from there. It helped that we got free popcorn and stuff because of the whole five dollar Tuesday deal. All in all, I had a blast.

"Thanks for everything." I say when Dakota finally drops me off. "I've had a swell time."

"Pleasure's all mine." She says, giving a small wave. "See you later." She smiles and before I so much as open my mouth, she drives off.