𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭𝓼 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓭𝓮

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 3

AN: Here's a chill chapter. Nothing much happens in this chapter, but I thought my girl Lexi needed a break. 

CWs: None

Needless to say, I did not enjoy that round. The whole time, I was trying to avoid acting suspicious. All I received for my troubles was a burn and some bruises. Surprisingly, Mystery Boy managed to not get tagged within the first five minutes. He did meet his doom twenty minutes in, though.

So much for a perfect summer's afternoon, I grumbled internally.

I grabbed my worn-out book bag (I'd been to the library before coming to the park) and said goodbye to all my friends.

"Isn't it a bit early? You usually head home around six. It's only five-thirty." Asher's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Well..." I sucked in a breath. "I need to get some rest and process everything that happened. Plus, I'm a bit sore from my fall earlier."

Tabitha nodded in understanding. "Okay. Get some rest, girlie. You're probably still stressed out from earlier. I noticed you weren't playing as well as you normally do. Tomorrow will be better."

Tabitha was the "mom friend" of the group. She always made sure we didn't get into too much trouble and could tell whenever we were hurting. That was probably why we were close friends.

"Thanks, Tabitha."

I turned around, shouldered my bag, and started the walk back home.

•.¸¸.•'¨* •.¸¸.•*'¨•.¸¸.•'¨'

The next day dawned. I'd hoped a good night's rest would allow me to recuperate from my shock, but my plan had backfired the minute I laid down. All I could think about was the boy who disappeared.

Who was he? Why did he have an American accent? Why didn't he know about, oh, only the two most common playground games? Why did his clothes look slept in? And more importantly, how on earth did he pull off the whole appearing-out-of-thin-air trick?

I did not sleep at all. There was no way on earth I'd go to the park today. Instead, what I was going to do was take a nap.

Hopefully, the library books I got yesterday will keep my mind off this kid.

I grabbed a random book from the stack in my bag and began to read. It was Pride and Prejudice. For once, I was happy that I wasn't reading a fantasy novel. After my experience yesterday, I was starting to doubt that fantasy was so fictional after all.

"Lexi, it's breakfast time!" Mom called.

"Coming!" I replied, bookmarking my spot. I was only a few pages in. I hadn't even met Darcy yet.

I plopped myself down in a chair. A platter of steaming pancakes greeted my eyes. The first thing I noticed was that Dad was missing.

"Where's Dad?"

"At work. They were short today, so he was called in."

Dad worked at The Dorchester, a fancy London hotel famed for its celebrity guests. That's how we ended up in the UK.

"Oh. But isn't today his off day?"

Mom sighed. "Yes, but your father isn't one to say 'no' to stepping in to help. Anyway, have some pancakes, Lexi."

I plopped a pancake onto my plate and added some fresh berries. Then, I flooded the pancake and berries with a generous amount of maple syrup. After a few bites, I paused eating. I had to tell Mom about what had happened yesterday.

But what if she doesn't believe me? What am I going to do?

"Mom?" I spoke up. "I'd like to tell you about something."

"Sure, what is it, honey?" Mom answered.

"I'm pretty sure you were wondering why I came home earlier yesterday. Well, I saw something that I'm pretty sure is going to change my life forever."

I explained yesterday's events to her, making sure to include the fact that Macie had seen my mystery American boy, too.

After a long pause, she finally spoke. "Lexi, I have no idea what to do. I don't doubt that the boy you were talking about actually exists. However, the whole appearing-out-of-thin air could've just been your imagination. If I were you, I'd still head to the park anyway. I think some time with your friends should help you cope with this. In the meantime, I believe you've got some chores to do, as well as a nap to take. You look exhausted."

I had the best mom in the universe. Okay, I might be biased, but she was still amazing. After breakfast, I decided to hurry up with my chores so I could get in a couple of chapters of Pride and Prejudice before napping and hanging out with Park Gang.

I took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

I popped in my AirPods, cued up my musical theater Spotify playlist on my phone, and grabbed the dusting mitt. As "Seize the Day" from Newsies blared in my ears, I began to work on my chores.  

•.¸¸.•'¨* •.¸¸.•*'¨•.¸¸.•'¨'

In a couple of hours, I'd completed all the bothersome tasks dubbed chores. I decided that maybe re-reading Pride and Prejudice wasn't such a great idea and flopped myself down on the bed to try and get some sleep. That's when my phone went off. It was from Willow Sarratt. Her sister Matilda sometimes hung out with the Playground Gang. She just wanted to know if I was okay. She'd heard from Tabitha that I'd taken a tumble off the monkey bars. I assured her everything was fine and set my phone on my dresser. After setting an alarm to wake me up at two, I drifted off into the Land of Nod.

•.¸¸.•'¨* •.¸¸.•*'¨•.¸¸.•'¨'

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I reached over and shut my alarm off. It was two o'clock, meaning I had fifteen minutes to get ready and head over to the park.

I hope Mystery Boy isn't there. If he is, well, I have a few choice words for him.

I hastily did my hair in a messy side braid and picked out a navy blue t-shirt that read "Seize the Day." Yes, it was a Newsies shirt, but I didn't care. I was a theater kid, after all. Lacing up my black high-tops, I said goodbye to Mom, bolted out the door, and mounted my bike. I wouldn't let yesterday's events define me.

No, sir. Not today.