Chapter 5

As usual, when I woke up, Jenny was already up and about. The sun, friendly and warm, streamed through our window right onto the middle of the floor where I had slept. This was the best way to start my new life, being kissed awake by the hottest ray of sun I had ever felt.

Jenny was busy unpacking our stuff. She seemed to have divided the room in two, putting what she had unpacked of my stuff into the half furthest from the door. This suited me perfectly, as Jenny knew it would. My guitar was already out and ready, as well as my computer and anything else music related. The only thing she hadn't touched were my clothes, and a look around showed she had the same priority with her own unpacking.

She looked over at me, somehow sensing that I was awake, and gave me a smile. I smiled back as she walked over to our makeshift bed. The boys were already awake, she told me as she took my hand. We should join them for breakfast. I laughed at the thought, realizing that we were still dressed in the outfits we had fallen asleep in and obviously looked like we had just woken up. This would not be the best first impression, but chances were very slim that the boys were presented any better than we were. So I went downstairs with Jenny to meet them.

I turned out to be right. The three boys also looked like they had just gotten out of bed themselves. But before I gave them much attention, I glanced around the downstairs area, seeing it in daylight for the first time, and saw what Jenny meant when she said the place needed a woman's touch. The place wasn't messy, or even really unkempt (at least there were no caked-on dishes anywhere to be seen), but it still lacked a sense of warmth and welcoming. It was more of a place to hang out rather than come home to.

I knew this would never do for Jenny, but before I could wonder what exactly she would do to improve the place, I heard her introducing us to the boys. That's when I really noticed them for the first time.

Danny was the tallest and looked like the oldest, but not by much. I always thought I was pretty tall, at least for a girl, but if we stood up face to face, I would be staring at the base of his neck. He had wild and shaggy red hair, and I couldn't tell if it was intentionally tussled or if he just hadn't watered down his bed head yet. As tall as he was, he seemed to be the most shy of the three.

The one Jenny talked to first, and the one that seemed the most genuinely interested in talking to us, was almost certainly the one who had left the note on the front door last night. I was right. Steve was my height, and even though he had his pajamas on, he was obviously well manicured. His demeanor was very polite to match his cultured appearance. He seemed trustworthy, almost. Something made me want to keep my guard up around him. Except I wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't just because he was male.

The last boy was already sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal in front of him, but he didn't seem to notice. He didn't even seem to notice Jenny and me. He had a book in front of him, a massive and thick one. The page I saw was littered with numbers, and the first impression I got was that he was a college student cramming for a final. I knew almost immediately that he would be the one I would get along with the best. His name was Andy.

After formal introductions were made, the small talk began. Jenny made a bowl of oatmeal for me and one for herself before joining the table. I took the seat across from Andy. Jenny sat to my left, Steve to my right, and Danny retired to his room after he made his pop tarts.

Jenny did most of the talking, as she almost always did in situations like this. I was never very good at talking with strangers, and even when Jenny was there to make sure I don't feel left out and left behind, I never contributed much. It's not that I didn't have anything to say, I just didn't think anyone would actually care.

Steve gave the basics of the other boys in the house. Jenny was captivated, naturally, but I didn't much care. As they talked about who worked where and which people preferred which house chores, I spent most of my time looking at Andy. His eyes, blue like mine but not quite as intense, never left his book except to pay attention enough not to spill his cereal as he ate. I finally figured out what he was reading too, a book on entry-level calculus. And just when I was about to ask him how his classes were going, I felt Jenny nudge my knee with hers under the table. Earth to Nesa, she said, Steve asked you a question.