Some time at Diana’s house again.

We got together at Diana’s house on Sunday. For once, it was my turn to pick everyone up, even Sarah. Her house was far out of the way, so it would’ve been more efficient for her to drive her own car to Diana’s place, but I went to pick her up anyway. It was so I’d be the one to take her home later, too. Didn’t want her to be the only one going home alone. Besides, I liked driving my van. It was seriously a surprisingly smooth experience. And on top of it all, it was high time I started paying back the girls for all the times they drove me places.

It wasn’t only driving. I was finally starting to be able to pay them back in other ways. For example, knowing that the expenses for the house were covered, I could use my own money to buy other stuff, like the ingredients for that day’s lunch.

Yeah, we were going to Diana’s house early. The plan was to spend most of the day there but not stay over. She had to work the next day, after all. We didn’t have school, though. God bless.

“Oliver, what’s with this blanket?” Grace asked me, noticing the fleece cloth on the seats at the very back. “You’ve had your van for a few days and you’re already filling it with junk?”

“Please don’t be like Mila,” Alice said.

“Hey!” Mila exclaimed.

“Ah. Please, don’t touch that. It’s Cake’s blanket. I want to have Red smell it.”

“Oh, good idea,” Alice said.

“Yeah! You want to introduce them soon?” Noelle asked.

“I don’t know if soon, but eventually. The last thing I want is to have her dog hate my cat.”

“Having met both, I get the feeling it’s gonna be the other way around,” Sarah said.

“Ugh. Likely.”

We got to Diana’s house and she opened the door right as the girls were getting out of the van. Red, her young German Shepherd, sat at her side with his tail wagging and his front paws stomping the ground.

“Stay,” Diana calmly told the dog, and the dog obediently stayed put.

We got the groceries out, greeted Diana and went to the kitchen to leave the bags there. As we did, Red followed me while trying to sniff my pocket. Only once we had everything in order did Diana give the OK.

“Alright, give it to him.”

I got a big treat out of my pocket shaped like a classic bone and gave it to Red, petting him as he ate it.

“Wow, she’s got you both well trained…” Mila commented.

I blinked, let that sink in for a moment, then shrugged it off.

“Haha. And he doesn’t even mind,” Alice said, chuckling.

“So, tell me. How are your first days of freedom going?” Diana asked us.

“It’s amazing!” Mila said, running to Diana and hugging her. “No tests to study for, no homework, no need to wake up early, no more uniforms ever again…!” She let out a long, dreamy sigh. “I’m so happy I could cry.”

Diana chuckled and patted Mila’s head. “But I heard you were crying on graduation day.”

“It was sad!” Mila argued. “But I’d rather think of the positives.”

“I hate to agree, but I do,” Grace said, going over to the couch and sitting down. “Not having to study every night is so freeing I’m afraid I will lose the habit if I don’t do something else.”

“And I agree with her on the uniform thing,” Sarah said. “I was never a fan.”

“I thought they were nice,” Noelle said. “I’ve seen worse uniforms. Ours were pretty comfortable, if cold during winter.”

I made one last trip back to the van to get Cake’s blanket. As I was locking the door, though, I noticed an older woman looking my way from across the street. White hair, some wrinkles on her face, a bag of groceries on her hand.

I was a little put off by how intently she was staring, like she was examining me or something. Our eyes met and it was impossible to ignore her, so I smiled, nodded my head and went back into Diana’s house.

“Do you know that lady?” I asked Diana.

“What lady?” She looked out the window and let out a frustrated sight. “Ah. Her.”

“You don’t sound pleased,” Alice said.

“Yeah. That’s The Hinge.”

“Oh, so that’s her…” I said.

“The Hinge?” Noelle asked.

“A neighbor who is either gossiping at her door or looking out the window for things to gossip about. You’ve all come here enough times that she has definitely seen you, but this is probably the first time she’s gotten a good look at Oliver.” Diana sighed again. “I can’t even begin to imagine what stories she’ll come up with.”

“Can’t be anything wilder than what is actually happening,” Sarah said.

“Maybe, but still, I’m a bit worried,” Diana said. “I don’t care if people talk behind my back, but I don’t want them to come looking for answers here. It’ll be awkward.”

“I have a solution,” I said in a very casual tone. “You should just move in with us.”

“Oliver…”

“I’m just saying, it’s an option.”

“Putting aside whether living with us is a good idea or not, do you feel bad leaving this house? It was your dad’s, right?”

“It was, but I didn’t grow up here. I don’t have that big of an emotional attachment to it. Still, I don’t think I could sell it.”

“Renting it is always an option, too,” Grace said. “And if you get sick of us… Well, first we’ll cry, but you can always come back here.”

“Mmm… That sounds a bit too…”

“Wishy-washy?” Noelle offered.

“Yes. I suppose leaving options open is smart, but it also says you’re not willing to commit.”

Mila crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Does it?”

“Alright, we better drop this for now. I was just joking. I don’t want to push Diana, even if the offer is 100% serious,” I told them.

“Yeah. And actually, I had something important to tell you all,” Sarah said. “Remember how my parents said they’d have a graduation gift for me but kept it a secret?”

“Oh, yeah! Did they tell you what it is already?” Noelle asked.

“Yep. A weekend at a hot spring resort with all of you. The reservations are paid for. It’s the next weekend, and while we can move it if we have to, cancelling means only a 50% refund.”

“W-Wait, all of us?” Noelle asked, her jaw dropping. I’m sure I was making much the same face.

“Yep. A reservation for seven people. Diana’s obviously included.”

“B-But that’s…”

Diana swallowed. “It’s too much,” she finished for me.

Sarah shrugged. “Some of you got jewelry, Mila got an expensive phone, Oliver and Isabelle got cars. I got a paid vacation with my favorite people. So? What do you say? You guys in?”

Saying no would’ve been the biggest waste in the world. We were in.

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