That gets her thinking. “I don’t know. Let’s go inside and see if we can find a web there.”
I nod and follow her into her house.
She starts crouching down in the living room.
“Where is your bedroom? Should we start there?”
She stops and looks at me with eyes that could kill. “This is my bedroom.”
“Oh.” She
doesn’t have a bedroom, either. She’s just like me.
“Is that a problem? Can we not be friends because I don’t have a bedroom? I’d like to see your bedroom then if you are too good for me.”
I smile. I like how strong she is. She isn’t embarrassed that she doesn’t have a bedroom.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because I sleep in the living room, too. I don’t have my own bedroom either.”
She smiles. “That’s what I thought.”
“Do you have any siblings?” I ask, sometimes kids have to share their couch with other kids.
“No, you?”
I shake my head.
That makes her smile more.
“Good, that means you need me to be your friend.”
“I don’t need you to be my anything. I don’t need friends. I already have plenty of friends.”
“Liar.”
I frown. “I’m not lying!”
She takes my hand. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone that I’m your only friend.”
I roll my eyes. There is no winning with this girl.
“Let’s find this spider,” I say.
She nods.
We both crouch down and search around the ten-foot by ten-foot square that is the living room.
“I found it!” she squeals.
I crawl over to where she’s staring in the corner.
“You found the web and the spider, hunter.”
She wrinkles her nose and sticks out her tongue. “Don’t call me, hunter. My name is Liesel.”
“Nope, your name is hunter.”