REM

Chapter three - Rocky Friendships.

Walking to her friends house, her mind was heavily burdened. Her last two dreams were...doozies to say the least. It seemed as though she was losing some control over them. That was not a comforting thought. To think of losing control of something that you're supposed to have power over, it wasn't nice. But she refused to dwell on things she couldn't change.

There were more important, real, things to worry about.

Her friends were probably cursing her name under their breath. In their defence, she was taking forever, but they could wait on her. She always waited on them. In more ways than one. At times, it was like she was their servant. Technically speaking, she had no obligation to go. She didn't tell them she was going to go, it just always worked out that way. 

Amaya approached the dainty little blue house on the corner of the street and knocked on the door. No answer. She rapped on the door once more. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal the mother of the family smiling down warmly at her.

"Hi," Amaya said twirling her hair in her fingers. "How's it going Ms. Nest?" She asked trying to strike conversation. Ms. Nest was the "den mother" of the neighborhood. If you ever needed something, she had it. And she would remember your birthday even if no one else bothered to put it on their calendar.

Yes, the woman's last name was Nest. Her best friends were Robin and Sparrow Nest. And the whole flock-er...group of them, were as chipper as could be.

"Come on in, Amaya," Ms. Nest said with a sweet, sticky, syrupy tone to her voice. "You know our house is yours too!"

Ms. Nest backed away so Amaya stepped inside. Immediately, her face was caressed by the fresh aroma of honeysuckle. The smell tickled at her nose as she inhaled deeply.

Almost mechanically, she walked the familiar route to Robins room. Sparrow was always in there anyway, so she knew she'd find them both. She knocked on the door, or attempted to. It was flung open before her knuckles did any actual knocking.

She did accidentally knock Robin upside the head if that counts.

"Heya, Amy!" Sparrow spake from behind Robin. "We heard ye comin'," she said with a smile.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Amaya." She scoffed and started wagging her finger. "A-may-a." She said pronouncing every syllable.

"It was close enough. Amy, Amaya, what's the difference?" Spoke Robin. "Now c'mon! Times a' wasting." he said enthusiastically gesturing to a boatload of legos sitting on a sheet in the middle of the floor.

Sparrow was already building a large structure. She said it was a measly boutique, but it looked more like an outlet mall. It was huge.

"Don't hog all the good pieces!" Robin exclaimed running over and grabbing handfuls of the choking hazards. He began snapping them together randomly. No rhyme or reason at all to what he was building.

Amaya slowly walked over and say down near the pile, she winced as a pain shot through her rear. "Ouch!" She said maneuvering around to retrieve the sharp connector from under her. "What fun," she mumbled, rolling her hazel colored eyes.

She picked up a few pieces and thought of how they could fit together. As soon as she started clicking the peices together, sparrow pointed at the single block holding it all together.

"That one," she started, "I need it." She stated simply as if that was Amaya's cue to hand over the piece.

"Oh. Isn't there another one?"

"I want that one." She rolled her eyes.

"How about you take the whole set and stick it..." Amaya sighed. "Nevermind...Here." She said disassembling her structure tossing sparrow the block.

"Thank you!" Sparrow exclaimed with false enthusiasm as she snatched it up.

Amaya liked Sparrow and Robin for the most part, but they were very spoiled. And controlling, don't forget controlling.

"Hey can we do something else?" Amaya asked. She made no effort to hide the fact she was flat out done with the legos. In fact, she started grabbing clusters of them and taking them apart to try and  influence their decision.

"No." Said both Sparrow and Robin. Amaya wanted to rip a handful of her hair out and set it to flame. She hated it when they talked in unison.

She racked her brain trying to think of an excuse to leave and was delighted when she found it. "Hey guys, I have to go. Its my turn to...wash dishes." She said.

"Bye." Robin said simply, taking only a moment to wave goodbye. Sparrow seemed to be too engrossed in her playing to acknowledge Amaya's exit.

She exited the room as quick as she could. Simply muttering a "Goodbye" before leaving the house.

She was kinda disappointed. She wanted to spend the whole day at the nest. Yes, they call their house the nest. Sure, Sparrow and Robin weren't the best friends, but they were best she could get.

Yes, Amaya was that pathetic. (At least in the friend department.)

She sulked all the way back to her house. "Well, at least I'm back in time for lunch." She spoke, trying to stick to the brighter side of the situation.

She forced her hand to the door handle and walked in. "I'm back!" Her voice echoed throughout the house.

Her mother was in the kitchen bent over. She was digging in the refridgerator for something.

"Hey honey," she said.

'Honey', Amaya muttered under breath. Funny. She was honey now, after being a sloth only hours earlier.

Amaya walked up to her room and plopped on the bed. It was too early to sleep so she had no idea what to do.

She decided to draw. Taking out her favorite sketchbook and flipping to one of the very rare blank pages, she started to scribble away. She had had that sketchbook for years. The binding was loose and the back cover was completely gone, yet she'd rather use it than a new one.

She was drawing a raven perched atop a quartz crystal. It looked really cool when she envisioned it in her mind. On the paper? Not so much.

Oh well.

Soon after she started, her mother called her down. Moments later, she was right back on her bed with a microwave burrito and some tortilla chips.

She ate in silence.

The day went by in a blur. Amaya kept to herself and did...Amaya-type things. Though when it was time for her to go to bed, her father was still not home. That troubled her.

"Night mom! Tell dad I love him," Amaya yelled down the stairs before closing her door for the night.

She changed into her galaxy pajamas and climbed in bed.

She didn't dream of dancing sugar plums. Far from it.

Suddenly she was standing by her friends Spade, and Jasper in the exact same place they left off- about to start their venture to the town. The sky bright blue and the sun beaming down. Just enough wind to make the leaves dance as they fell.

Little did the trio know, it wasn't going to be the magical journey to Oz that they expected.