Birds chirped into the air as the sun began its rise on the neighborhood of 27 Durdam Lane. Much too early to be awake at this time, yet one house was up and moving. Little feet stomped through the halls as two little girls readied themselves for school, "Where. Are. My. PRINCESS SLIPPERS!" one of the girls stomped, "Maddie, stop yelling!" Another shouted, grabbing her lunch box, "Thanks, Dad," she said as she ran to slip her shoes on. This was typical for the school week. The two little girls, Madeline and Evalyn, woke much too late for school, "You'll just have to go to school without your slippers, Maddie," The ginger man tried to reason, "NO! I. Want. My. Princess slippers!" she shouted, "I'm not leaving without them!" she stamped again. She was dressed in a puffy, pink dress with a unicorn on it, white tights, and a princess tiara. Her backpack also had a unicorn pasted on it, rainbows surrounding its form. Matt raised his hands, attempting to de-escalate, "O-Ok, sweetheart, we'll look for them, but you have to get your lunchbox fir-" Maddie interrupted him, "No, no, no!" she shouted, starting to cry. Eva sighed, waiting by the door for Maddie, "Maddie, come oooonnn..." she was dressed in a green tee, a dinosaur on it with the caption 'jump scare' on it, a lighter green skirt, and brown pants. As Matt was running around, looking for the slippers, Tom began his down the hall from his room, turned into the living room, stuck his hand under the couch, and pulled out the desired shoes, "Maddie, here...now shush.." he said, handing the girl a pair of glittery yellow Belle slippers, "My slippers! Thanks Tom!" she said, pulling them on, "Mmm..." Tom hummed groggily as he went back to his room and went back to sleep. Tord was somehow still asleep, as well. She quickly grabbed her lunchbox, "Thank you, Edd!" she said, "Have fun at school!" he said in response, "Maddie, the bus is here, c'mon!" Eva said with the front door open. Maddie quickly rushed out the door, "I'm here! I'm here!" As the two rushed out, Matt and Edd watched the girls disappear on the bus, before shutting the front door, the two sighing, "They have so much energy," Matt said, "More like Maddie has a lot of energy..." Edd said, somewhat tired, "I'd be upset too if I couldn't find my shoes," Matt reasoned, "Matt, she has 50 pairs of shoes...PER size change. We have no room in the basement anymore because of how many shoes she has and refuses to get rid of," she said, gesturing to a door in the floor, buldging out and struggling to stay shut from how many shoes were in the basement. "If you wanna keep spoiling her, you can, but get rid of the stuff she doesn't even use anymore before getting more stuff..." Matt crossed his arms, "And make her upset? Nonsense." Suddenly, the triple-locked latch on the bulging door broke open, filling the house with shoes, old toys, and clothes, drowning Edd and Matt in the mess. Matt lowly raised his hand above the chaos, "H-How do I throw this out without her noticing...?" Edd pulled himself out of the piles of childhood memories, "Do it while she's not here." Matt gave a thumbs up before swimming his way to the front door, wrestling it open, and flooding the front yard with stuff.
Matt was just about finished with bagging all of the extra stuff into trash bags when a voice spoke out behind him, "What are you doing?!" He quickly spun around to see the little girl who had returned from school, red-faced and tear-covered, "O-Oh! Um, well- I-" Maddie marched over, "My toys!" She shouted, hugging one of the trash bags filled with her stuff, "Aw, Maddie..." Matt said, "We just don't have any room for all this, Maddie. It's gotta go," he said as Eva joined them, "But what about Ms.Muffins?" she asked, pulling a hippo plushy, wearing a chef hat and an apron, a muffin tray in its hand, "I-Iii..." Matt started, looking at the wide-eyed child, pleading to keep it, "Ok, I guess keeping one of your toys would be ok..." he said, "And my buggy blankie? Ms.Muffins would miss it," She asked, pulling a lovie with a ladybug plush head. "Um...I don't see why not," he said, "And my potato man?" she asked. Within moments, she had gone through each and every item, convincing Matt to keep it. Edd took a step outside, shaking his head and sighing as he spotted the preiviously bagged items were now flooding the yard messily, "Maaatt..." he groaned. Tord soon joined him, "This place is a mess..." He muttered, staring at the yard, "What?! Can you say no to this face?!" Matt said, holding Maddie up amongst the mess of children's stuff, "It's gotta go, Matt..." Edd said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Maddie began to cry, before Eva quickly spoke up, "Why don't we make a toy stand?" Maddie and Matt looked over, "Huh?" Matt said, "Y'know, like a car boot sale, but Maddie and I set up a stand outside, and we sell it all. Then Maddie can have some of the money to buy some new toys, and Matt can use the rest for other stuff," Matt thought for a moment, setting Maddie down, "Hmm...what do you think?" He asked Maddie, "...I guess. I like new stuff." she then slammed her fist into her hand, a thought coming to her, "I can buy a door mirror!" she shouted, excitedly, "That's the spirit!" Eva then looked at Edd, "Can we make a stand?" She asked, smiling. Edd nodded, "Anything to get rid of all of this. Tom can't even get out of his room," He said, Tom's shouts coming from the window of his room, "I'm not using my window as a permanent door!" he shouted, before falling from the window, "AH!" and into a bush, "Ow..." he murmered, before making his way to the front, "Tom, you wanna come with us to get some supplies?" Edd asked, "Meh, why not?" he shrugged. The lot got loaded into the car, zooming off to the nearest hardware store.
As Edd, Matt, and Tom priced things behind them, Maddie and Eva sat at a little wooden stand, the two beaming with smiles brighter than the sun. Tord stood nearby, monitoring the two girls. He looked around the empty sidewalks, thinking momentarily, before leaving the girls, going off to talk with Edd for a moment. He went inside, coming back out with paper and markers, "You know," he said, approaching the girls sitting in their stand, making them both turn around to face Tord, "No one's going to know this sale is happening. If you girls wanna draw up some signs, I'll put them up for you two," he offered, "Ooo! Thanks, Tord!" Eva said, grabbing the paper, "Thank you!" Maddie said, grabbing the markers. As the girls got to work, he turned over to Edd, "Hey, Edd, I'm going to grab some water bottles at the store real quick. It's hot out," Edd nodded, "Alright, drive safe," he called out. As Tord left, a small group passed by the kids' stand, a mother and two boys, "Oh? What are you two doing here?" She asked the girls, smiling softly, "I have too many toys, so I'm selling them!" Maddie said, looking up from her drawing. Edd, Tom, and Matt had sorted all the children's stuff into nice piles on fold-out tables and boxes. Tom looked over at the group of three, "Feel free to take what you want. They're all priced," he called out. The mother looked to the two boys, thinking for a moment, "Well, I don't see why not." The two boys smiled at each other before rushing over to the toys while their mother looked at the clothes and shoes, "Ooo, this one is just adorable!" It was the same dress Maddie had been wearing, but smaller. "What size is this one? The tag's been cut out," she asked Edd, "I think it's a...4?" Matt spoke up, "It's a 5, that's the last dress Maddie grew out of," Edd nodded, "Size 5," the mother nodded, "This will do just nicely for my daughter, then," she said, before leaving to check on her kids, "Boys, pick something small, we're running out of time," the boys nodded, one picking up a remote control frog, and another a hover ball drone. The group approached the stand to pay. As they placed the stuff on the table, Eva began counting up the prices, "5...3...8...13...£16!" Maddie stared at the stuff as the mother began pulling out cash. Nevousness began tearing at her. She would never see this stuff again. All the memories would just be gone. Forever. Sweat beaded off her head as she began spiraling. She quickly yanked all of her stuff back, startling the mother and upsetting the boys, "Hey!" One of them said, "Our toys!" The other added, "N-No..." Maddie said, starting to cry, "Oh dear..." The mother sighed, "Maddie..." Eva said, putting a hand to her shoulder, "I-It's mine..." Maddie muttered, "I'll never see them again," she added, sniffling. Eva thought for a moment, coming up with a way to comfort her friend, "...They made you happy, right?" Eva asked, watching Maddie nod a response, "Well, think about how happy other kids would be with your toys, Maddie. You're making other people happy, too." Maddie thought for a moment, giving the toys and dress one last hug goodbye, before placing the stuff back on the table, "Sorry..." she said. Their customer simply smiled, "Don't be, love. I remember having to get rid of toys, too, when I was your age." She handed the girls £16, then went on her way. Maddie sat in her lawn chair, arms crossed, "That wasn't so hard, right, Maddie?" Maddie didn't respond at first, "...I miss my toys," she muttered after a moment, "You didn't even play with them!" Eva said, smiling, "Yeah, but...they hold my memories..." she said, Eva gave Maddie a gentle hug, "No, silly. Your head does," Maddie wiped her tears, nodding through sniffles. They continued drawing their sale signs, finishing them in about 20 minutes...then they waited...and waited...and...waited...a...n...d......w...a...i...t...e...d. No one else wandered past their shop. Eva and Maddie both rested their heads in their hands, before the car drove past their stand, stopping in front of them before Tord stepped out, pulling a pack of water out of the back, "You girls make those signs?" He asked. The two nodded, holding them out to Tord. Eva's was more stylized then Maddies, having superheroes and cartoony characters, along with bubbly texts on her sign. Maddie had all had the same crudely drawn princesses, flowers, and vines in hers, with scribbled on letters, "These are great!" Tord said, before hopping back into the car, "Edd, I'm leaving again. Putting up signs!" Edd gave him a thumbs up, his focus on reorganizing their product. As Tord zipped off, they waited...and waited...and...waited...soon, people began arriving, "Oh! Mum! It's over here!" An older girl, about 12, shouted, "Hi!! Welcome to our-" Eva started, before Maddie shouted, "PRINCESS SALE!" Eva started laughing, "What she said!" The girl and her mother soon began looking around. Soon, a father and her daughter showed up, "Oh! Is this that sale those signs were talking about?" he asked, looking at the stuff piled in the yard, "Ooo! Daddy, look! Barbie Sky Dancer!" she shouted, tugging on her father's hand, "Welcome in!" Maddie greeted. As more and more faces passed and more items left the property, Tord had returned, joining the others in selling everything. Maddie hugged each item that left, saying goodbye one last time. Soon, Maddie noticed Ms.Muffins in the hands of a woman, shopping through the toys. She jolted out of her chair, "Ms.Muffins!" She shouted, rushing over and pulling it from the woman's hand, "Oh?" the woman asked, startled, "Maddie! That was mean!" Matt called out. Maddie hung her head low, hugging the toy, "Not that one..." she mumbled, sadly, "Ms.Muffins stays...she's my first toy..." The woman crouched to her hight, "Aww...don't worry, baby, I won't take her from you," Maddie nodded, "Thank you...and sorry," she then ran back to her seat, "You know, that one I get," Eva said, "Didn't Mrs. Collins give that to you?" she asked, refering to Maddie's biological mother. Maddie nodded, "I miss mummy," she mumbled, "It's ok, Maddie." Soon, the stuff had finally disappeared from the yard. Maddie felt somewhat...relieved that the stuff was no longer crowding everything. As they began cleaning everything up, Eva counted the money, "50, 60, 80, 100, 110, 200...£213!" she counted, "Nice job, girls!" Edd said, giving them high fives. Soon, a little girl meekly poked her head around the neighbor's fence, looking at something in her hand before closing it shut. She approached the girl's stand, calling out to them as they almost left the stand, "Excuse me!" she called out. Eva turned around, seeing a little girl, about 7 or 6, in a green tank top and tan cargo shorts, "Is there anything left?" Edd looked over, "Must be Edwardo's kid," Edd said, "No, love, sorry!" The girl looked a little sad before pointing at Maddie's plush, "What about dat one?" she asked, "U-Um..." Maddie said, "It's gotta price tag..." the little girl said before placing a quarter pound on the stand, "Is this enough?" she asked, peaking her head over the table of the stand, "Uh..." Maddie looked at the quarter, then at the plush, back at the quarter, back at her plush. She felt a little bad for the girl, but she didn't want to lose Ms.Muffins. Maddie took the stringed tag off of the plush, unwrapping it from its ear, "N-No...Sorry..." Maddie said, "Oh..." The little girl hung her head low before beginning her return to her home. "Ok..." she said. As she went around the fence, a voice called out, "I told ya it wasn't gonna work, kid," a man said. Maddie looked at her plush, guilt pouring into her as she stared at it, then back at the quarter the little girl had left. She swallowed hard, before squinting her eyes shut momentarily, "Darn it..." She muttered, before grabbing the quarter and rushing off next door, "Maddie?" Matt called out. Maddie managed to just catch the little girl before she went back inside, "WAAAIIITTT!!!" she called from the sidewalk. The little girl turned back as Maddie ran over, stomping up the steps, "You forgot your money," she said, handing over a banknote. "Huh? But I had a quarter pou-" Maddie shook her head, "No, you had a pound, not a quarter-pound," she lied, handing it to the girl. Then she held out the plush, "You can have her. Her name is Ms. Muffins. My mummy gave her to me, so take very good care of her, ok?" Maddie said. The little girl looked at the plush, slightly shocked, "B-But...I don't have enough money..." the girl said, "She's free. See? She doesn't have a tag, so that makes her zero pounds!" Maddie said. Matt watched her from a distance, smiling softly. The girl took the plush, tears in her eyes, "Th-Thank you...um...what's your name?" she asked, "Maddie. You?" Madeline asked, smiling, "Elyenor," Elyenor said, hugging the plush, "Thank you, Maddie..." she said. Edwardo patted Elynor's head, "Alright, you got your plush, Ellie. Go inside, it's dinner time," he said, softly. He gave a nod to Maddie, "Go on, kid. Your dad's waitin' on you," he said, shutting the door behind him. Maddie ran off, hugging Matt, "...Let's go home, daddy." Matt patted her on the head, happy tears welling in his eyes, "Y-Yup! After my heart is done melting," he said.
The girls sat in the living room, playing a racing game on the TV, "Outta my way!" Eva cried out, "Take my banana peel!" Maddie shouted in response, "No! Not the banana peel!" Tom walked past the living room with a full trash bag over his shoulder, before stopping when he saw the girls, "Room for one more?" he asked, "As soon as this round is over, yeah!" Maddie called out, "Alright. Gives me time to take the trash out," he said, heading towards the front door. As he walked down the path. He soon stopped a distance away as he saw the rubbish bin shake from inside. He began approaching it slowly as the bin rattled again, more violently this time, "Fox at this time...? It's noon..." he muttered, readying to hit the bin over with his trash bag to knock out whatever was inside. Before he could swing the bag down, the bin toppled over. He soon held the bag in a more defensive stance...until the sight of a little girl's skirt began backing out of the can. As soon as she cleared away from the rubbish bin's lid, there sat a little girl, dirtied, bruised, and hungry. She had pulled out a piece of rubbish bin pizza, munching on it before noticing Tom. She stared at him momentarily, her right eye as black as obsidian void, and her left as brown as wood, before rushing over to the bin, lifting the lid, and shutting herself inside, "Hey!" Tom called out, dropping his bag and attempting to open the bin. He was swiftly met with clawed fingers scratching at him, "Ow!" he called out. He sighed, looking at the bin, "...You know the binmen are going to come soon...they'll have to empty the bin. Don't want to be in there when that happens," she didn't budge, causing Tom to sigh with frustation, "C'mon, kid, you need to get out of the rubbish. It's not good for you," he said. She still didn't budge. Tom thought for a moment, before sitting next to the toppled bin, "...you know, we have fresh food inside. Fruit, pizza...I'm sure Edd will even let you have one of his colas if you want one," he waited semi-impatiently for a response, before begining to give up, "Alright then, get taken by the-" a voice squeeked at him, shaky and weak, "F-Fo...Food...?" She said, "...Yeah. You're hungry, right?" he asked, "...Mhm..." She hummed quietly, "If you want some, you'll have to come inside. Food needs to be refrigerated." The girl didn't respond for a moment, before two small, purple horns poked out of the can, "...?" She looked at Tom, who eyed her, startled for a moment, "Huh...that's nothing you see every day," she quickly disapeared into the can, panicking at Tom's response, "Hey! Hey, wait! Look, kid, look here," he said, holding out his hand to the lid, which had grown purple splotches under the skin from the scratches the kid gav him, "Look here, kid," he said, and the lid popped open again. The little girl reached out to his arm, grabbing it softly, "See? I'm like you...it's ok," he assured, "I'm not going to hurt you," he added. She soon slowly crawled out, attempting to stand before toppling over as light-headedness took her, "Woah...take it easy," Tom said, grabbing the child, "You have a name?" The girl blinked at him, eyes heavy with wear, "T-T...Tara...lani...Taralani," Tom nodded, "Alright, Taralani. Can I pick you up?" he asked. Tara gave a soft nod, not having many other choices. Tom picked her up, bringing her inside and leaving behind the rubbish bag, "Tom, why did you leave the trash in-" Edd started, "-the yard...oh god," Tom looked up at Edd, "We should call the police, shouldn't we...?" Edd stood still for a moment before rushing to the phone on the wall. Tom walked into the living room, carrying Tara, "Girls, stay in the living room for now," he said, taking a seat on the couch, "Oh, ok, why-" Eva started, turning to Tom, before seeing the child clinging to him, "...wut-" Eva started before Maddie spoke up, "Tom had a baby-" Tom rolled his non-existant eyes, "No, I didn't have a baby, Maddie..." Tara stayed silent, clinging on tiredly, before her eyes fluttered to sleep. Not because she felt safe, but because she didn't have any remaining energy left.
Her eyes jolted awake to the sound of her window, sending her hair on edge. She looked at the window, sitting up as her eyes darted around, analyzing the curtains, something moving subtly behind them, as if waiting for her. Tara held her breath before a "who!" was sounded, and it flew away. Tara sighed, realizing she was just panicking over nothing. She scratched at her arm, dark purple splotches covering her flesh as she stood from her bed, a blue, oversized hoodie that Tom let her borrow covering her form. Same nightmare. Same time. Different night. A few weeks ago, she had been found in the trash. The others made quick work of getting her a room. She knew she couldn't eat anything right now, not when they were treating her for refeeder's syndrome, but she could definitely go for some water. She wandered out the door and to the kitchen, being careful to keep quiet as she trailed across the floor. She pulled a chair to the cabinet and grabbed a glass, placing it on the counter near the sink as she attempted to get back down. She slipped off the chair, landing with a thud on the ground. She would've cried if she weren't afraid of waking anyone. She pushed the chair to the sink before the lights flicked on, causing her to jolt. She stared at a man in the doorway, exhaustion sinking in his eyelids, "...this is the third night, kid..." Tom murmured, "...Sorry..." she said, scratching at her arm again. Tom walked towards the sink, slippers dampening his steps, before he stopped the girl from scratching herself, "Stop that...you'll scratch yourself open..." he stated, before grabbing Tara's cup and filling it with water, "Sorry..." Tom sighed, "I get it hurts, but scratching will just make it hurt more..." he then picked her up and softly sat her at the dining table, placing the glass in front of the child, sitting next to her, "...What happened this time...?" He asked, Tara took a few sips of water, before wiping her mouth, "I had a nightmare...and then there...there was an owl a-at my window...it scared me..." she murmured, "Hmm..." he hummed, thinking for a moment, "Why don't we get you a night light and a reusable bottle tomorrow? That way you'll have water by your bed, and the light will scare off the owl," Tara nodded, "I-I'd like that...thank you, Tom..." she quietly said, "...Did the police...um..." Tom shook his head, "No. They haven't found your dad...and they wouldn't make you go back with him either, Tara...promise," Tara nodded, "Ok..." she finished with her water, pushing the cup away from her, then leaving her chair, "I'm gonna go to bed, now..." she softly said, "Alright...if you need..." he paused, yawning momentarily, "need me...you know where to find me..." he said, head in his hand, "Ok...good night..." she wandered off to her room, feet softly padding on the wooden floor. Tom sighed, turning his face into his hand, "...Why does fostering have to be this hard...?" he murmured. He listened to the sounds of the air around him: the fridge humming, the clock on the wall making soft tics, the sound of a branch knocking on the window from a gust of wind...he slowly closed his eyes, drowsiness pulling him to the abyss...before something shook his arm, "Tom...?" He opened his eyes, looking at the little girl who he had just sent to bed, holding a drawing, "Huh...? D-Didn't I just...send you to bed?" he asked, rubbing his eyes, "Huh? No...? You did last night." He blinked at the girl, confused before he turning to the clock, reading what he thought was suppossed to be 2 AM as 12:30 PM, "Oh...I must've fallen asleep," he murmured, before turning back to Tara, "Do you need something?" he asked, groggily carrying his voice with more effort than awake people needed, "I drew this," she said, handing him a drawing, "ok, bye bye," she then ran off. Tom watched as the child scampered off to the living room to watch TV with Maddie and Eva, before looking at the drawing. It was a poorly coloured drawing of him, the eyes smudged accidentally into one line, and the words 'Tahm iz kule' scrawled onto the bottom. The spelling was atrocious, and the handiwork was worse, but Tom couldn't help but smile, "...Maybe fostering isn't that bad..." he told himself. Edd entered the kitchen, walking past Tom to take a nosey peek at the page, "Aww, did Tara draw that?" Edd asked, "Yeah, just handed it to me," Tom said, standing from his chair, and pinning the paper to the fridge.
Buzzing filled the summer air, dragonflies darting across the lake ahead as they approached, the two youngest girls chanting "LAKE! LAKE! LAKE!" Tara fidgeted with the bottom of her tank top and one of the loops of her jorts. She stayed towards the back of the group next to Tom, whilst the two other girls were towards the front, walking faster than the rest of them, "Just stay in the bank, Tara. We're just here to cool off. It's boiling in the house, alone," he told the girl. She simply nodded. Tord held a remote control boat in his hand, not really much for swimming, Matt was carrying the supplies Edd had packed, and Edd was attempting to find sunscreen as they walked, "This bag is really heavy, Edd, please hurry," Matt urgently begged, "I almost got it, hang on," Edd said, finding the sunscreen stuck. He soon got the bottle, "There we go. Girls, come here! Don't want you getting burnt!" he rushed after the two as Matt collapsed under the weight of the 'over-packed' beach bag, "O-Ow..." He groaned. Tom lifted the bag off Matt, "Matt, this weighs 2 and a half kilograms." Matt raised his hand up, grabbing onto Tom and pulling himself up, "That's 2 and a half too much for me." Tom shook his head, carrying the bag the rest of the way. As they got set up in an empty spot near the bank of the lake, Edd was making sure the girls were sun-protected and sprayed with bug spray, "Yuck!" Maddie hacked as she accidentally inhaled it, "No more, please!" she said, "Do you want to be bitten up by mosquitoes?" Edd asked. Maddie thought for a moment before letting Edd continue to spray her, "Finnneee..." Tom looked at Tara, who stared at Edd nervously, "Well? Go on, you need sunscreen, too," Tom said, nudging her slightly, "But I don't wanna swim," she said, "Even if you don't plan on swimming, you still need sunscreen. The sun will make you sick," Tara looked down for a moment before nodding and running over to Edd. Once he was done with the girls, he sunscreened himself, sprayed with bug spray, then ran off with Maddie and Eva to the water, "Let's go!" he called out, "Yeaaahhh!!!" the two girls shouted back, running along with him. Tord had already found a place at the edge of a dock to drive his boat around. Tara, left behind, found a spot where a patch of dusty dirt was, beginning to play in it by making piles and sticking twigs through the tops, calling them 'castles.' As she played, she turned as a commotion riled up behind her, seeing Tom and Matt bickering with their neighbor, Edwardo, who happened to be there, Mark and Jon setting up the opposite way. She shrugged, not finding it unusual. Eventually, a little boy and girl approached her, "Excuse me?" the girl asked. Tara looked up, recognizing her as one of the neighbor's kids, Elyenor, "Oh, hello," Tara said, "Um, could we play with you?" Ellie asked. The little boy stayed quiet, "Oh, um, sure. I'm not really doing much, though," Tara said, shrugging, "That's ok. I just don't wanna be near all the fighting, but I don't have my floaty, so I can't go in the lake without my papa," Ellie said, sitting down with Tara. The boy did the same, "I'm Ellie. This is my best friend, Dillian." Dillian waved at Tara, still not saying a word, "Hi," Tara said, smiling softly, "Hmm...what do we play?" she then asked. The children thought for a moment before Dillian spoke up, "Daddy brought the beach ball...w-we could...um...play four s-square...maybe?" he meekly squeeked out, "Ooo! Good idea, Dill!" Ellie said, standing up, "What's four square?" Tara asked, standing as well, Dillian joining after, "I'll show you, c'mon!" Ellie said, before dragging Tara off to where Jon and Mark were, Mark walking off to grab something else from the car. Dillian followed quickly behind, "Joooonnnn!!!" Ellie shouted, smiling widely, "SlOw DoWn!" Tara said, having tripped and being dragged behind, "Oh, hey guys!" Jon greeted, "You kids need a drink? We don't have the cooler out of the car yet, so you'll have to wait until Mark gets back," Dillian kicked the dirt on the ground, watching the dust puff up into a thin smoke as Jon spoke, before looking up at Jon, "Do you have the beach ball, daddy? We wanna play foursquare," he said, much cleared then when he spoke to Tara, "Oh! Sure, just got it out!" Jon said, passing the boy the ball, "Thank you!" Ellie said, before rushing off, without Tara this time, and Dillian following suit. Tara lifted herself from the ground, dusting herself off as Mark shouted from the car, "Hailey! Come help me with this, will you?" Tara was swiftly clipped by an older girl with bright red hair, "Coming!" she called out, stopping momentarily when she noticed she knocked the other girl down, before continuing her sprint when she saw Jon taking care of it, "You alright?" Jon asked, helping Tara up, "Y-Yeah..." Tara mumbled, "Are you sure? We have bandages if you need them," Tara shook her head, "Alright then. You aren't one of ours, though. Where'd you come from?" he gently asked. Tara pointed over to where Edd and Edwardo were, Edwardo currently holding Edd by the color of his shirt, shouting something they couldn't hear, "Huh. Never seen you next door before," Jon commented, "I'm a foster," Tara stated. "Ah, that makes sense. Well, you should go have fun...don't know when we'll have to suddenly leave..." Jon said, looking back at Edwardo and sighing. Tara made her way to Dillian and Ellie, the latter having drawn a big square with four smaller squares inside it, "Ok! The rules are simple! We each stand in a box! Whoever is in the upper left square is the king and always serves the ball. The one next over is the queen, the one in the lower right is the duke, and the last square is the peasant. We probably won't be using the peasant square unless someone else joins us," Ellie explained, "Your goal is to get to the king space and hold it for as long as you can. The last person to touch the ball is the owner of the ball. We bounce it around, and if you knock it out of bounds whilst you own the ball, if you hit the ball more than twice, or if it touches the ground in your square, you lose and go back to the peasant space, ok?" Tara nodded, "But you just said we wouldn't use the peasant space," Tara said, confused, "well, yeah, but with less than 4 players, you just move up to the highest empty space," Tara nodded again, "Oohhh, ok. I'm ready then!" Ellie nodded, "You wanna be king first?" she asked, tossing the ball to Tara, "Oh, ok!" Tara then took her spot, serving the ball. She very quickly lost the king spot, moving down to the duke. She found it somewhat difficult to move past that spot, but despite constantly losing, she found the game fun. Soon, another child came to join them, "Hey! Millie!" Ellie called out, "Hey! You guys playing foursquare?" the girl asked, dressed in a one-piece swimsuit, a little skirt frilling around her hips, and flowing down to just above her knee. It was covered in princesses, "Yup! Wanna join?" Ellie asked, "We need a fourth," Millie nodded, running over to the last open space. It wasn't long until Tara was in the peasant space now. Ellie held her place firm in the king's space, taunting each time someone lost and laughing. Dillian kept up just behind her in the queen's space, and Millie never moved past Duke. Normally, with her typical friends, Maddie would've rage quit from how much she lost, and Eva would've left from feeling bad, leaving Tara to play alone. However, these kids, despite the competitive speech, seemed to play for the fun of the game. This was actually a lot more enjoyable than her typical play...however, soon Edwardo stomped past the kids, angerily talking to Mark and Jon. Mark sighed as Edwardo stomped off, "Kids! We're leaving!" he called out, "Awwww! But I was about to finally take Ellie down a peg!" Millie called out, "As if!" Ellie shouted, "Bye, Tara! Nice playing with you!" She said, running off. Millie walked a little sadly to the others, "Why do we have to leave nooowww!" she groaned. Dillian shook his head, "We've only been here for an hour..." he said, sadly, before turning over to Tara, "Nice to meet you, Tara," he said, before rushing off. Tara was left alone again. She noticed they left the ball behind. She quickly picked it up, running to where their car was, but it had already zoomed off. She looked at the ball, then the empty spot, back at the ball, before running back to the bank. Tom had noticed Tara's disappearance, "Tara! Taralani!" he shouted, looking for her, "Alaaani!" he shouted, louder, before spotting the girl running over with the beach ball, "There you are! Stay with the group, Tara..." he sighed, "Did those kids you were playing with leave that?" Tara nodded, "It's the neighbors!" Tara stated, "Well, we'll just give it back when we get home. Lemme see it," Tara handed the ball over, allowing Tom to pack it with their stuff, "Eva's getting a bit too hot, so we're going to leave early. Matt's buying ice cream after we get dropped off at home," Tara nodded, "Ok!" She looked over to Eva, who sat on a beach towel next to Edd, heaving, before quickly using an inhaler, breathing easier after the medicine settled. Maddie was being dragged away by Matt, carrying her under his arm, screaming and kicking, "I don't wanna go! I don't wanna!" Maddie shouted. As the girls were loaded into the car, the boot was struggling to close, "I think it's the ball..." Edd said, standing at the front, "I can't get the valve undone. I think they glued it shut?" Tom stated. Matt sat in the car, in the back with the kids, "Everything alright?" he called out, "This ball's been repaired so much we can't deflate it," Matt shrugged, "Just pop it?" Tom shook his head, "Can't, it's the neighbor's kids," Edd thought for a moment, "Just have the girls hold it," before hopping in the car's driver seat. The boot was slammed shut shortly after, and the car door was open, "Tara, you're in the middle, take the ball, please," Tom said, handing over the ball, "Ok," Tara held onto the ball, hugging it, her head barely sticking up enough to see over it. They dropped the kids off at home first, before Edd and Matt left to get ice cream. Tara, instead of heading back home, quickly ran next door, holding the ball over her head. She kicked the door a few times to knock, still holding the ball over her head. She stood, waiting patiently, before kick-knocking again. Soon after, stomping feet approached the door, and an angry voice opened the door, "What? What do you-" Edwardo stopped himself, staring at the child presenting the ball, "Oh, you were that, uh...that kid playing with Ellie, huh?" he asked. Tara simply nodded. Edwardo cleared his throat, turning his head into the house, "Mija! Are you sure you grabbed everything from the lake?" he called out, "Yup!" Ellie responded, "Then where's the beach ball?" Elyenor was silent for a moment, before calling out, running around, "Ah! Oh no!" she called out, "Relax, your little friend brought it back," Edwardo called out, taking the ball from Tara, finally, "Thanks, kid..." he said, before shooing her off and shutting the door. Tara quickly rushed back home, Tom waiting around the corner, "All done?" Tara nodded, "Alright, c'mon, Tord put The Return of the Insane Zombie Pirates from Hell on the TV. That new one you girls wanted to watch...the fourth one, I think?" Tara nodded, running back to the house to join her friends.