"Why do we have to mooooove?" Delilah groaned. She sat sandwiched between her two sisters in her parents car. She made her displeasure of leaving the city more than known over the last two months.
"Honey, please. We've already been through this" her father said, exasperated.
"It's not so bad, Del" said her mother. "The city is only twenty minutes away. And you'll be closer to your cousin William. Won't that be nice?"
"We already see him every weekend" she argued. "I'm leaving all of my friends behind! It was hard enough to find them, you know I have a hard time talking to people!"
"Get over it, Del" her older sister, Ydian, huffed.
"Yeah, get over it" Bridgette echoed.
"Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"No, you!"
"Mom, Delilah's telling me to shut up!"
"All three o' yous shut up!" Their mother scolded. "Daddy's trying to drive"
The house in Cherry Hill, New Jersey wasn't large, but it felt like a mansion compared to their small row home in Northeast Philadelphia. Delilah could recognize the pros of moving. Her dad's new job would mean she could finally get her piano lessons. She was able to have her own room, which was the only thing she really liked about the house. She could decorate how she wanted, and she wasn't constantly stepping over Bridgette's toys.
It was nice having a back yard. Over the weeks her parents had built a play set for the youngest daughter. There was a hot tub and above ground pool that everyone was excited about. Her favorite discovery, however, was the small creek by the tree line of her property. She followed it through the woods where it fed into a large lake. There she saw a boy about her age fishing. 'Should I say hi?' Delilah wondered to herself. Her anxiety wouldn't allow it.
Over the weeks she would keep going to the lake just to sit and soak in the beauty. She would see the boy sometimes, but never attempted a greeting. She was sure he never noticed her anyway. She was as awkward a teenager as one could get. Her curly, black hair was always pulled into a bushy ponytail. She wasn't very fashionable, preferring tee-shirts and jeans to anything else most girls would be wearing. Glasses decorated her face, as did many pimples and bushman eyebrows. She was chunky. Her parents were confident she would thin out as she grew, but there was no guarantee.
"Hi!" A male voice greeted. She turned her gaze from the lake to the boy. Her heart leapt when she saw his hazel eyes. "You're new here right?" She could only nod. "I've seen you around. You're always alone"
"S-so are you" she stuttered.
"I'm the only one of my friends that likes fishing" he sat next to her and offered his hand. "I'm Chris. Chris Delanco. I live down the street" Delilah grabbed his hand and shook.
"I'm Delilah Gutierrez. We just moved here a couple months ago"
"How old are you?"
"I turn thirteen in September" Chris grinned.
"I turn thirteen in two days. I'm having a party do you wanna come?" Delilah could feel herself blushing. A real boy, a cute boy, invited her to his birthday party.
"Yeah, I'd love to"
As they chatted they realized that they had many things in common. They liked the same movies and the same bands. Chris knew how to play guitar and Delilah knew how to sing and play keyboard. They would make up silly songs on the spot or play covers, whatever they felt like in the moment. "You know, Delilah, I'm really glad I met you. I could tell you would be the kind of person I could be friends with" they sat at the edge of the lake on the last day of summer vacation watching the sunset.
"Yeah, me too"