One Mississippi, Two Mississippi

T-h-u-n-d-e-r-s-t-o-r-m

Anyone who has come in contact with Leaf Coneybear for more than 5 minutes could probably tell you that he was a weird kid. He ran around with a bike helmet and a cape attached to him, he practically lived on apple juice and gummy worms, and he just wouldn't shut up about how he was raised by the wolves (his house was situated near the woods in Putnam County, so seeing wolves was not an uncommon occurrence). He didn't mind being thought of that way. In fact, he quite enjoyed it. It made him memorable, so people wouldn't easily forget about him.

But these eccentric qualities got in the way at times, mostly because of how "old" he would act. The thing people would say to him most was that he needed to "grow up", and "start acting his age". He didn't understand what was so wrong about being a bit more carefree than other kids, or why he had to be in such a hurry to start acting like an adult. Physically he was 12, but mentally he was around 8 or 9, and he didn't see anything wrong with that.

But sometimes, when things got really bad, he'd start to feel a lot younger than that. It was usually when he found himself in really stressful situations. Things like loud noises, big crowds, and scary experiences sent him spiraling into overstimulation. He would feel like the world was rapidly growing all around him, everything towering over him like he was 5 inches tall. His fight or flight response would kick in, shutting down all reasoning and leaving him paralyzed. He would want to curl up into a ball, suck his thumb, and just wait it out until everything went away. It wouldn't normally get that bad, but sometimes it just happened, especially with things like arguing and scary movies. And thunderstorms. He hated thunderstorms.

Leaf had made a lot of new friends at the Putnam County spelling bee. He felt like he connected with all the kids he met there, but especially Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre. They were practically inseparable since the moment they met, and stayed the best of friends well after the bee. They would hang out almost every day, and you could say that Leaf was basically living at Logainne's, with how much he would sleep over at her house. It was a nice break from being around six siblings all the time, and Logainne's moms were always so nice and welcoming towards him.

It was a chilly April night. The sun had been blocked out by clouds the whole day, and a gentle rain had been steady for most of it. But as the night dragged on, the rain got heavier and the clouds got darker. Soon enough a loud crack could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

Leaf awoke with a start. His shaky breath could barely be heard over the howling wind outside. He bit his lip, frantically taking in his surroundings. He was in Logainne's room, in a sleeping bag, under 5 different layers of covers (he got cold very easily, and he needed something weighted on him to sleep).

Being in this familiar environment somewhat put him at ease, but his relief was replaced with fear as a bright flash of lightning, which lit up the whole room, was followed by another loud crack of thunder. He dove under the covers, shutting his eyes as tight as they could go. His body was shaking now, and the tears were getting choked up in his throat. It was happening again, he was getting smaller and smaller.

A third crack came, this one almost deafening. He couldn't help but release soft sobs, trying his hardest not to wake Logainne.

It didn't work, however, as the fourth wave of thunder came. It was the last straw, forcing Leaf to let it all out and sob quite loudly. This, consequently, woke Logainne from a very deep sleep.

"Wha- Leaf?" She mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, but quickly perked up once she realized he was crying.

"What's going on? Are you okay?!" She asked, concern prominent in her voice. She rushed to him, clambering off her bed and kneeling down to his sleeping bag.