Chapter 1: "Back Home"

Folded clothes laying on an un-kept bed-- in fact, the entire room wasn't exactly in order. Mainly clothes thrown about, left to lay wherever they had landed. Tunes from a stereo played just over a common voice' tone. A young girl sitting on the bed, fell to her back atop the folded clothes. A depressed sigh floated to the ceiling. Her eyes peered upward as if watching it. Playing with the beige curtains before tip-toeing across her bare navel, a cool breeze let itself in from the open window. Twice, a knock sounded on the nearly closed door before it was opened by a man. He appeared to be somewhere within his mid-to-late thirties. With a subtle wave of a hand, he gestured with a displeased smirk at the cluttered room. The girl rose her hands to her cheeks in an embarrassed fashion. She was eighteen year-old mullato with short hair and light skin. The man was Caucasian with shoulder-length blond hair.

"V-e-e--" the man sung with a touch of annoyance.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I just barely laid down right before you walked in" the girl said as she rose up to a sitting position.

"Yeah, I'm sure" the man replied as he walked a few feet into the room. He tapped a bobble-head toy that stood on the dresser to his left. "If only you were as fast at cleaning as you are on the track." The girl frowned playfully. "Too much to ask for, I guess."

"That's a low-blow. I'm--" she looked around her room. The obvious lie to come mixed with her embarrassment, made the sight of her messy room ten times worse in her eyes in that instant. "--a-almost... done." Her staggered reply and nervously large smile made the man laugh loudly.

"Okay, okay. I'm not gonna play the harsh parent card. I'm too cool for that" he said tapping the bobble-head again just as it was about to stop.

"Way too cool" she added, obviously trying to keep the heat of a possible parental crack-down off her neck. "If you were any cooler. Y-you-- you'd freeze the water at the beach." The man' proud demeanor was embellished by her sweet-talk. He puffed his chest out only to shatter the moment with a choked cough. He pounded his chest to get the cough in check.

"Alright, now. Come on" he said clapping his hands twice. "Now that you brought up water, I really want you to get this done, so we can go to the beach before we skip city."

"Okay. I'm on it" she stretched and sighed. "And that's an obvious lie" she threw in making the man' face sink. "We were goin' to the beach, regardless. You'd just feel better about it if I got this done first." The man' eyes narrowed.

"Touché" nearly rendered speechless he retorted knowing he was caught. The girl chuckled as she then stood on the bed with a hand raised to her brow.

"I shall not rest until this room has reached the 'spot' of 'less'." The man rose a hand to his brow as both then saluted.

"Carry on, private" he said with a military mocked tone before walking out of the room in the same fashion with the girl promptly getting back to her duties. With a smile strapped to her face, she cranked up the music and showed some vigor in her efforts.

The hours flew by as the two were now surfing at the beach. On this November day, the weather was quite chilly, but not cold enough for these two to pass up the waves. The man surfed on a decent wave as the girl sat a ways away on her surfboard and cheered happily.

Hey, what's up. I'm Venelope. I know, it's kinda odd, but my parents aren't exactly the common type. My mom' aunt was named Penelope. She meant a lot to my mom. When she passed, my mom was so broken by it. That's what my dad told me, anyway. So, to kind of 'inherit' her spirit, my mom named me Venelope. Similar, but different.

My hometown is Billings, Montana where my parents live. For the last six years, I've been living here in Laguna Beach, California with my uncle, Danny. He's a big kid and loves the waves. He's also an awesome artist. He owns a small shop where he does custom art on surfboards-- any kind of board, actually. He's been commissioned several times by the city and a few others to do murals and other cool stuff. My dad calls him a surf-bum. It fits. I call him that from time-to-time, too. He taught me how to surf-- still teaching me, rather. I suck compared to him, but I'll catch up.

I was forced to clean my room because we're packing to go visit my parents. My uncle is just as messy as me, so it's hard for either of us to get into a cleaning mood. I graduated early from high school, so until I find a job, or go to college, I have all the free time in the world. What better way to spend it than with family, right? We stayed at my parent' house the week leading up to Thanksgiving and a couple days after it. We never miss a holiday, and if we do, we make up for it by making our own holiday at some resort or theme park.

Danny paddled over to her after catching a few more decent waves.

"Good run" she asked.

"Always" he replied with eyes still on the waves. "Have you thought about what your mom and dad said during our last visit"? She nodded lightly in response, keeping a faint smile. "So, where are you with it? Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to pressure you on your decision, but if you do decide to go back home for good... your uncle would be okay with it" he said with a smile just bigger than the one she was wearing. She lightly smacked the water's surface with her fingertips. The sound of the ocean filled the scene as they fell silent for a moment.

"I... I wanna go back, but I... I-I don't know if I wanna stay" she said eyeing her board while lacing and unlacing her fingers. "I feel like I haven't matured at all. Those same feelings from when I first came to live with you are coming back" she added with a mildly saddened frown.

"It's not always bad having a strong feeling to NOT wanna let somethin' go" Danny said. "I remember when my goldfish, Archie, died" he added. Her eyes moved to him without moving the rest of herself. He inhaled deeply before biting his lip. "I kept his bowl just the way it was after he passed... for six months". Venelope' head now upright with a comical expression filled with skepticism. He inhaled again with a shake of his head, biting his lip a bit more deeply.

"Unc..." she said quietly as he then faced her. "You never had a goldfish". His eyes rolled around as he thought hard, trying to find validation for his story. A smile started building on her face from Danny' confusion. She broke out into an inaudible laugh, her shoulders quaking as she covered her mouth.

"Naw, naw, I had one. Yeah, Archie" he finally retorted after a drawn out moment perplexed in thought. He was far from convincing with his eyes still rolling about. Her laughter erupted.

"No. No, you didn't! That's the dumbest, fake sob story I've ever heard" She said as clear as she could thru her laughter.

"How you gonna-- How you just gonna write off my story as phony? It's as true as this water we're on" he defended as she fell to her back, laughing until she had to hold her sides from the cramping pain-- and, then - Splash! She rolled into the water, and surfacing, her laughter didn't falter as she hung onto her board. Laying her cheek on it, her body continued to quake. "I ain't tellin' you another one of my childhood stories! That's just plain rude" Danny said turning his upset face away from her.

"'cause it ain't true! Drop the act" she said still laughing. Danny flipped her board over before heading to shore. She got herself right again, but couldn't stop laughing. "You can't just do that to me and run off--" Cutting her off, her heart thumped strongly, as if someone had given her a solid strike in the back. The sudden feeling nearly froze her. She couldn't even hear the ocean anymore.

"Get to shore" a voice whispered. Venelope looked around for the speaker. As she did, her nervousness became fear as she saw no one else around. Danny had already made it to shore.

"Don't look down" another whispered voice snickered. The mischievous tone distinguished it from the first once, which was softer and had a feel of concern to it. Her fear began building into a panic as she paddled to shore as fast as possible. Though she reached the shore safely, frightful jitters trembled all over her body. Looking back at the water, she wondered where the voices had come from. She wasn't going to write herself off as crazy at the drop of a hat. Things like this had never happened before. With no one else on the water, she couldn't help but assume such. Was she losing it? Dizziness laid over her and made her knees give-out for a second. She used her board as a crutch and caught herself. Placing a hand over her face with closed eyes, she tried to get herself back to normal. However, closing her eyes made the dizziness worse as it made her focus on it. Everything was spinning in the darkness beneath her eyelids. Danny walked over to her a moment later.

"You all right" he asked noticing her odd body-language. She looked at him as her head wavered, much like the bobble-head in her room. The dizziness grew stronger as she slumped down to her knees. Danny reacted instantly and grabbed her by the arms to help lower her slower. "Hey" he halfway shouted with concern.

"I'm so-- diz-dizzy" she replied with a choked stammer as if about to gag.

"Take it easy" Danny said as he helped her lay on her back. Her eyes rolled to the top of her head. "Hey. Hey, V" his tone worried and scared. He continued calling her, but just like the waves, his voice faded away in the blackness. She blacked out. The mischievous snicker sounded again amidst her fleeting consciousness.

"I know it's in your nature to be malevolent, but why do you have to be so... malevolent" the soft voice asked in the darkness to which the mischievous voice scuffed un-caringly.

"I did the same thing you did, just in my own way. She's safely on shore because of me" the wicked voice retorted.

"Because of you" the soft voice disputed with a raised tone.

"Me inducing a teeny, tiny bit of fear got her to safety, promptly" giggled the wicked one. "People use fear in one of two ways: it either makes them run, or freeze. We have ourselves a runner" it giggled again.

"...whatever" the soft voice said quietly, though obviously annoyed. "...she's waking up" it redirected leaving the argument.

Venelope' eyelids fluttered before staying open. She was now lying on a hospital bed. She looked at the open door as she slowly regained her senses completely. The footsteps of nurses passing by came to ear, then indistinct talking. She sat up as Danny then walked into the room.

"I thought I heard you moving around" he said as he came to stand beside her bed. "You feelin' okay now" he asked to which she nodded. "You sure" he asked again as he lowered his posture so he was looking up at her. His goofy smirk mixed with the worry in his brow made her chuckle.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm good now" she confirmed with a smile. "So, what--what happened" she asked scratching her nose with a sniff.

"The doc said you were dehydrated, most likely" Danny answered.

"That's never happened before! I drink plenty of water..." she replied with a strong disbelief. Danny shrugged having nothing else sensible to add. She was about to say something else, but stopped herself instantly. She was about to tell her uncle about the voices she heard. She kept her eyes on her lap as she tried to recall the incident. She couldn't remember what the voices had said, but she knew she remembered hearing them. She couldn't tell her uncle about something like that, no matter how down-to-earth he was. "...uh... how long do I have to stay here" she asked with her eyes still on her lap.

"The IV's look like they've done their jobs" Danny replied. "Doc said as long as you feel good enough to leave, you can" he smiled. "AND for you too stay well hydrated for the rest of the day" he added holding a small paper cup of water out to her. Both smiled as she took the cup.

Minutes later, they stepped outside to find it was now night time.

"No way! How long was I out" she asked with eyes wide open. Danny stood beside her with his hands in his pockets as he churned his lips about before spitting out a sharp sigh.

"Um... you blacked out around 1-- 1:30'ish or two, I think" he answered as she faced the sidewalk as if searching for further confirmation. "So, you were out for a bit. The sun doesn't set that early" he said stepping off the curb before turning to face her. She then followed behind him to the car.

The street lights streamed in her eyes as she slumped against the window. She couldn't get the thought of hearing voices out of her head. Glancing over at Danny, she looked back through her window as soon as he looked at her.

"You hungry" he asked with his eyes back on the road for a few seconds before looking at her again. Stopping at a red light, she stared into it before blinking to closed eyes. She sighed softly and remained silent until they crossed the intersection and were a ways down the road.

"...I don't like blacking out" she said just above a whisper. "It's not fun." She looked at him as both grew smiles in the seconds to come.

"I'd assume it isn't" he replied gripping the steering wheel tightly before relaxing with a sigh. "Look, I'm starving! You had me worried, Black-Out Beauty, and making me worried, makes me hungry. Very much so" he joked as she started chuckling from his playfully raised tone. "Yeah, you can laugh, but if we pass up one more restaurant, one of us is going to sleep hungry tonight. That ain't gonna be me" he added trying to sustain a serious face. She propped up with some vigor before looking around for a place to dine in.

"Okay. Let's pick our poison" she said.

"It's gonna take some highly venomous stuff to satiate this hunger" Venelope laughed loudly at his reply.

"Ooh, ooh" she exclaimed excitedly as she pointed out the window.

"Alright, monkey" she frowned from the comment as he chuckled. "Ooh, ooh" he mocked which made her smack his arm. He continued mocking her and made himself laugh.

"Stop it! You're being a real punk. I just had a... a life-threatening episode, and this is what I get from you" she said playing quite the pathetic victim.

"YUP, I'm your uncle" he replied without a moment' hesitation and with the straightest face a person could possibly make. Her jaw dropped with a big smile. "I'm supposed to, and I'm allowed to more than any other to kick you while you're down. Helps you get up stronger." She dropped into her seat with folded arms. Her expression wavered between a smile and a frown. "I just had a life-threatening experience" he mocked like a valley-girl. "Like, OMG. Freakin' drama queen" he finished in his own voice. She laughed before kicking his thigh. "Alright, if we crash, then ain't nobody eatin'!"

"Then, leave me alone" she pouted as he chuckled from her expression. She tried to be serious, but her smile won over. They pulled into the parking lot of a nice diner seconds later. Trying to trip each other on their way to the restaurant' door, she fell to her rear losing the battle. Danny laughed obnoxiously as he crouched and pointed at her. She quickly rubbed her rear before springing to her feet and giving chase through the doors.

After a good time and meal, they arrived at home about an hour and a half later. Now in her night clothes, she stood in the bathroom staring into the mirror. The door slammed shut with a loud bang that made her jump. An instant sweat broke out onto her face as her chest pumped with each breath. Trying to open the door, which seemed to be welded shut, she screamed for her uncle.

"Shut up already! Geez" Venelope froze. She felt as if she turned her neck, it would shatter like glass. The voice that sounded was the same mischievous one she had heard at the beach. Just as she was about to turn around, a warm hand touched her shoulder. Instantly, her fear was gone. She soon felt as warm as said hand and, quite happy. A blissful unknowing that just felt... good. "Still gonna baby her" the wicked voice exhaled sharply. "...I'm gone."

"...good" the soft voice said to herself. "Venelope, wake up now. It's okay" it added.

"Wake up! V, come on! Hey" it was Danny, shaking her awake. It was morning now. Danny had a firm grip on her arms and had been trying to wake her up for some time. "You were goin' berserk, then you just stopped on a dime out of no where" he said full of worry and a complete lack of misunderstanding. She sat up as his expression remained the same - dire and confused. "You're really startin' to scare the hell out of me, V. What's really goin' on" he asked calmly. To her, his voice, though clear, sounded smothered as if she had earplugs in. She took a deep breath. "V, Say somethin'" he added as she groaned from the grogginess as things cleared up.

"I'm good" she said quietly with an air that lacked assurance.

"Yeah, my ass, you're good" he protested wiping the coat of sweat from her forehead. "Sweatin' like a pig on a spin-up. I'ma get a wet towel. Don't move" he said sternly. Looked at her for a moment, he stood idle before leaving the room. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his head as he turned the corner.

Venelope, with a crooked neck, blankly stared at her palms. Taking a deep breath, she placed her feet on the floor while still seated before exhaling slowly. It pained her to not be able to remember a thing from that dream. Was it a dream, she thought over and over. She didn't even remember falling asleep, or walking into the house last night.

Danny returned, handing her a bowl of water with a face towel in it. He leaned against her dresser with folded arms. Placing the bowl beside her after wiping her face, she nervously looked at her uncle.

"I don't remember when we got home" she said with obvious hesitation. "I don't remember leaving the restaurant... but I... feel like I do..." she added scanning the ceiling. "Can I get some sort of clarity from you, Unc?" she spoke clearly with a comical tone and a light shake of the head. "You're in statue mode right now, and quit looking at me like that!" The strength in her voice made Danny chuckle. Breaking the ice, as it were.

"You're freakin' me out, you know" he replied as she lowered her eyes. "Well--" He cleared his throat. "--we went to the diner. You handled two number 1's, on MY dollar, I might add" she smiled faintly as he continued. "--then, you just crashed. I'm talkin' face-down on the tray" she scoffed at his words with a disbelieving smile.

"You're lying" she laughed as he gestured with his hands that his words were true.

"Your friend Rosey was workin'" he continued with a raise of his shoulders. "She even took a picture or two of you" he added. "THAT's undeniable proof! I bet your friends are goin' crazy right now online." She threw a pillow at him cutting off his rant. Catching it, he placed it on the dresser and sat on it. Jumping up quickly with a shout to get him off of it, her legs gave-out as she dropped to her knees. Danny got to her instantly. "Whoa, take it easy" he said with concern as he helped her back to her bed before leaning back on the dresser.

"Ah! I'm sick of this already" she screamed. "I don't like feeling like this! Now I'm nervous, weak, with a possible online embarrassment to deal with later... and pissed because I can't remember anything!" Her enraged tone slowly lowered throughout as she didn't want to be yelling at her uncle in that fashion. "Anything else happen" she sighed as Danny then took the bobble-head from her dresser in hand as he tried to think of anything else.

"Um... well, since you were kissin' the tray--" he said nonchalantly with a playful intention, but such only earned him a searing scowl of a stare from his niece. Stopping himself, he cleared his throat before continuing with seriousness. "--I had to carry you out of the diner into the the car, out of the car and into the house... I thought track runners were supposed to be light." He couldn't resist putting her thru the wringer. Grabbing another pillow to throw-- having several, so 'ammunition' was abundant-- BUT a second thought quickly raced thru her mind as she sat it back down. "Yeah" he chuckled. "I'll sit on that one, too" he laughed.

"I hate you sometimes" she said with a grumpy tone.

"Let's go get some breakfast" he proposed. She nodded as he then sprang from her dresser with a loud fart.

"Ah! No! You're nasty" she screamed.

"Hey, hey, it could've been worse. I could've dropped that on your pillow" he laughed.

"You stink" she said kicking in his direction.

"I stink, huh? Alright" he replied as he calmly reached for the pillow atop her dresser. She quickly jumped up and fought him to get the pillow back, but he backed into her and farted again. "Yeah-ha-haa" he laughed triumphantly as she jumped about in a disgusted girly fashion. Planting a strong kick on his butt that made him leap in pain out the door. "Ow! You didn't hold back" he yelped playfully.

"I sure didn't" she shouted tailing him down the hallway delivering more kicks and punches to his back.

"Buy your own breakfast, then" he laughed.

"Naw-uh! That ain't fair" she screamed childishly.

On the road a couple days later, the two were now heading to Billings. It was a fairly long drive, so they switched off, each driving half the way. Venelope drove first and was now sleeping in the back seat with her headphones on playing. Danny snacked on some chips as he turned up the radio a bit and vibed to the music.

Venelope dreamed - walking on sugar-like white sand thru a vast space of nothingness. The area was shadowed, faintly lit like the glow just before dawn. Stopping, she noticed another set of footprints beside hers. She was confused, but had a faint sense of understanding, too. Like, there needed to be another set. She looked around as some footsteps came to ear close by. Moments later, she was able to locate the direction from which they were coming. The steps slowly sounded wetter, as if stepping in a very shallow puddle. She then noticed water WAS on the floor, which wasn't there a moment ago. And, a floor? A marble one. The sand was gone. The footsteps came into sight. Oddly, that's all it was - footsteps. There was no one there, only small splashes and ripples which stopped just over several feet away. Venelope peered into said direction with narrowed eyes, focusing as hard as she could. She stood quietly, her mind filled with a blank anticipation and a dash of fear.

"Please... don't be afraid." It was the soft voice again, though a shutter of fear still raced across Venelope' body. A calmness fell over Venelope as she slowly began remembering the times the voices had spoken. Though they were fragmented, and she was still puzzled, she didn't feel out of place. Mustering some confidence, she cleared her throat to speak--

"N-- No. I'm not..." Venelope replied, though still hesitantly. The silence broke as two more steps from the voice' direction sounded.

"Good. I don't want you to be" the voice replied warmly. "I'm sorry for making you uneasy those times before." It added. Venelope was now relaxed and comfortable.

"..are you just a voice, or... or is there something more to you" Venelope asked as two more steps were taken from the voice' direction.

"Are you ready to see me" it asked cautiously. Venelope swallowed loudly while anxiously opening and closing her hands.

"...yes" she answered just above a whisper. A subtle light began to shine from where the footsteps had stopped. The building light outlined a pair of feet as it continued to fill such in-- as if a glass container was being filled with liquid light. The sparkling light glistened in Venelope' widened eyes as it grew brighter and brighter. Up to just below the knees, legs now stood with the rest of the body slowly materializing upward. A white dress-- almost silver-ish, came into sight and reached the knees. A short, beige top that exposed the mid-driff had long sleeves that hung down to calves. Bare shoulders up to the tip of the chin could now be seen. Lips, cheeks and now the nose. Venelope was astonished to finally look upon the entire being. Earrings chimed as the 'voice' smiled warmly, though its face was still too obscured by the brightness.

"I'm glad we could finally meet. It will be easier for us to talk in the future, but I have to go now" the voice smiled.

"Huh? Why" Venelope asked as she took a step towards the figure made of light. "Why can't we talk more right now" she added as the being smiled bigger at Venelope' enthusiasm.

"...Because of your mother" the being answered, causing Venelope to rear back in confusion.

"...My mother--" Venelope tried to ask before-- WHAM! A loud smack sounded as Venelope shot wide awake. Her mother, Lauri, was outside the vehicle laughing loudly with her hands on the window. They had arrived in Billings. It only took Venelope a split second to come to her senses, before quickly getting out and hugging her mother tightly. They laughed, rocking each other in a circle with snow and dirt crunching underfoot. "Mom~maaa" she shouted happily.

"God, I missed you so much" Lauri said holding her daughter' face. "I couldn't resist scaring you awake after your uncle said you were out here sleeping" they laughed. "I ran out here as fast as I could to make sure I didn't miss my chance" she added before kissing Venelope' forehead. "I had to slow down on those steps. Almost busted my ass. That ice ain't no joke." Lauri chuckled as they walked towards the house arm-in-arm. "You got that California tan" she said lifting one of her daughter' arms. "I'm a little jealous. Gonna have to go down there and get me one" they chuckled.

"That's my momma" Venelope thought to herself proudly. "Wow, you've really been on it" she said aloud referring to her mother' slimmer physique as she stepped away to get a better look. "I'm proud of you, mom" she smiled widely.

"Thank you" Lauri replied with some sass while flaunting her stuff. "I been at the gym, girl. Gettin' my sexy back" they laughed. "Well, making it better, I should say, 'cause I never lost it" she said twirling around once more as Venelope danced around with her. "Where do you think you got your athleticism, good looks and smarts from" she added leaning towards Venelope.

"Dad said that was all him" she answered as her mother reared back and frowned with an offended and surprised disappointment as Venelope went sheepish. Now arm-in-arm again, they continued walking.

"Please, baby" Lauri said nonchalantly, but oh-so confidently. "Your dad was a C-student, couldn't do a lay-up, and he only landed me 'cause he could make me laugh." Both chuckled as heavy footsteps then came to ear from the wooden porch. It was her dad, Ray, making a quick walk to her with a warm smile. Venelope ran to him as he picked her up and hugged tightly.

"Dad" her child-like tone smothered from pressing her face into his shoulder.

"MM" he grunted with one more squeeze before setting her down. "My baby girl's back" he said with a subtle yet clearly joyful tone. He was six-foot three to Venelope' five-foot seven, so he had to hunch over to look her eye-to-eye. "It's colder around here when you ain't around" he smiled shaking her chin liking. His daughter was as much a girly-girl as a tomboy, so he always played accordingly to how she was behaving at any given time. Though the chin shaking thing, he had done that since she was a baby, and it just stuck. Became their 'thing'.

"I keep you plenty warm enough" Lauri said intervening with a stern voice while keeping a warm, sassy smirk. Ray took her under his arm as Danny walked out of the house onto the porch. He had to use the bathroom after drinking a six-pack of soda during his half of the drive.

"Why you always gotta try and start somethin'" Ray said to Lauri as they pecked a kissed onto each other' lips.

"Hey, things haven't changed between us, Lauri" Danny said leaning against the porch, causing Ray and Lauri' eyes to narrow. "If little bro is messin' up, you know you got me whenever you need me" he said trying to sound as suave as possible before quickly running off the steps as Ray scooped up a snowball and gave chase. WHAP! "OW" Danny yelped as the snowball stung his lower back. "You didn't hold back" he shouted as he and Ray wrestled around. Danny was a couple inches shorter than his younger brother, but he still had a fair weight advantage over him, being a surf bum, and all. Ray, on the other hand, was quite sturdily built and fit. The type of man that just looked strong.

"Go ahead and keep that up and bust ya asses" Lauri said to the two as Venelope, on queue, slipped onto her rear that same moment. "Now, what is wrong with you" Lauri exclaimed at her clumsy daughter. Venelope got to all four, nervous to stand and risk another fall. "If I can stand on this snow and gravel and not fall--" she tried to add, but stopped as Venelope cut her off.

"You gonna serve me right now, mom? Really" Venelope looking up at her with shaky arms. "I could use some help and not a lecture" she added as Lauri pointed at her with an assertive look.

"Interrupt me again" Lauri said halfway playfully as she went to help. More footsteps sounded from the porch as Venelope looked over to see a young man her age standing there.

"I got'er, L" the young man said as he cleared the steps with a leap. It was her cousin, Travis. "Not here five minutes..." he said to Venelope with a smile as he helped her to her feet. She dusted herself off before giving him a hug.

"What have you been doing, cuz" she asked. "You're, like, buff." Travis was unable to reply as Danny and Ray bumped into him before standing beside him.

"It's cold up here" Ray said. "Need some meat on your bones, or... a hot woman--" he added stepping over and giving Lauri a kiss "--when things get real cold."

"That's right" Lauri agreed proudly.

"I'm, like, RIGHT here" Venelope said with averted eyes. Seeing the flirtatious acts of one' parents was something no teenager wanted to experience.

"You think-- you honestly think I'ma let you do that to my woman while you're RIGHT in front of me" Danny said to Ray with all busy.

"Back up" Ray said matching Danny' attitude. "You just loss one fight. Don't lose another one" he added as both pushed their chest out looking eye-to-eye.

"Please. I went easy on you" Danny replied. "I ain't gonna embarrass a man in front of his family. Not on the first day, anyway, I won't" Danny said raising his chin obnoxiously. Ray oo-ed in Danny' face childishly.

"Sounds like a challenge to me" Ray said looking at everyone. "Is that what it was? Was that what I think it was... huh" he barked.

"You got snow in your ears, or somethin'" Danny asked with his chin still raised as Venelope and Travis chuckled in the background.

"Not at all, but Laguna' got your head all watered down" Ray fired back. "We hit the ice up here, not the waves."

"I taught YOU how to board" Danny said pressing his index fingers into Ray' chest. "You ain't sayin' nothin', little bro" he laughed as Ray smacked his hands away.

"Things have changed. I'm the king now" Ray said putting an arm around Travis' shoulders. "Me and this young man own these mountains, from the top to the bottom. Am I lying, Mr. Travis?"

"He ain't lying" Travis smirked in agreement.

A girl Venelope' age was now walking up the driveway towards them. Recognizing the girl - Evette, Venelope scuttled towards her trying not to fall again.

"You're back" Evette squealed excitedly as they hugged. "What was that penguin walk you were doin' just now" she laughed.

"Don't start with me" Venelope frowned playfully. "I already fell once" they chuckled.

"You lost your snow feet already... again? Well, I'm gonna help you get'em back" Evette smiled. She was flushed with joy to see one of her best friends again. They walked arm-in-arm back to the others who were making their way into the house. "How long you down for" she asked.

"Awhile" Venelope nodded.

"Like, 'til Christmas awhile" Evette asked as they reached the porch.

"That's the plan. Maybe a little longer" Venelope replied as they reached the top step and stopped there. "I graduated early, so I have a grip of free time" she added.

"Awesome, and congrats" Evette said brightly. "We can really catch up now" she said without her smile diminishing.

"Excuse me" Lauri said to the two from inside the house. "Do y'all pay rent or any of the bills here?" The two bit their lips as they scurried into the house. That was their queue to get inside and stop letting the heat out any longer. "That's what I thought" she chuckled as Venelope hugged and kissed her cheek.

"Good to see you, Lauri" Evette said as she closed the door behind herself.

"You, too" Lauri smiled.