She knocks on the door about ten times before finally she decides yelling can make Kim answer the door more quickly.
"Kim, open the door!"
"Are you supposed to be yelling like that?"
She walks around the house frantically trying to look into windows, tiptoeing over bushes and shrubs. "Kim is always listening to songs on her headphones with the volume all the way up, and his dad doesn't come home until eight. Yelling is the only way to get her to open the door."
"Well, have you ever tried calling?"
She doesn't answer, instead focusing on something on the second floor. I can barely keep up with this girl. Her brain runs ten times faster than the normal person's.
"Put your hands together like this," she says.
"What for?" I do what she says. She takes off her flip flops and holds my shoulder for balance. "Wait a sec. You're not thinking of climbing in from the balcony, are you?"
"Her windows are never locked. I wonder why I've never thought of doing this before." Before I can say anything in response, her feet have come off my hands and my shoulders and she's climbing over to the inside of the balcony. Girl's got some strength.
"Maybe because this is trespassing," I say.
"Well, that was fun." She smiles at me from above, arms casually crossed on the railing. "In less than three minutes, Orion Ross, you will be meeting my one and only friend in middle school, Kimberly Peterson."
She disappears from view. I wait. Five seconds, then ten.
"Kim!"
I hear the window slide up. "Emma, what the hell are you doing on my balcony?!" I hear a door open.
And then it's quiet. I look around. There are neighbors outside their houses, watering the garden, walking their dogs. No one seems to be paying attention to us. Maybe they've seen it a million times.
I hear the bolts unlocking from behind the front door. I make a mental list of my appearance. Collar, check. Hair, check.
Behind the halfway-open door is a smirking Emma, and behind the fully-open door is Kim. Kim is chewing on a gum and doesn't look too excited to be seeing me. But she extends her hand and says hi anyway.
"Hey. Kim Peterson."
"Ryan."
"I know who you are. Come on in."
Kim's house is dirty, to put it lightly. There are dirty dishes in the sink, a coat of dust on every surface, and everything is just not where they're supposed to be.
"So this is Orion Ross, the wonder boy you've been raving on about." Kim is on the fridge, looking for something for us to drink, I suppose.
"The what?"
"I never called him wonder boy, Kim." Emma helps herself to a glass of water.
Kim slams the fridge door shut and hands me a bottle of Coke. "Is this alright?"
"Sure. Thanks."
The three of us are sitting underneath the dimly-lit kitchen light, on a tiny round dining table that must usually fit only two people. I wonder if her parents are divorced. Kim is eyeballing me meticulously, as if I might suddenly turn out to be some sort of alien who's gonna snatch her friend away.
Kim has high cheekbones. I can tell right away from the lighting above us and the way the shadows play out on her face. She is thin but looks very athletic all the same. She doesn't seem like the type who gives too much attention to her appearance, which shows in her brown and long and messy hair.
"So, what's up, Em? What do you feel like doing today?" she says to Emma, keeping her eyes on me.
Emma is back on the water dispenser, pouring another glassful of water. "I think I wanna dye my
hair."
"You what?" I say.
Neither of them seems to be the least bit surprised by Emma's sudden acclamation. Kim strides over to the kitchen counter and grabs a set of keys, while Emma downs another glass of water.
"What color?"
Refilling her third, Emma says, "I don't know. I'm thinking red. What do you think?"
"Red is awesome. Let's go."
Kim is already at the door when Emma says from the kitchen, "You guys go ahead and wait. Someone needs to clean these dishes, Kim, and if you won't do it, I will."
"Be my guest. You coming, wonder boy?"
