“Oh, umm…sure, I’d love to help.” He said. “Let me just get my shoes on…I’ll be right there” He told her, and rushed inside to find his shoes.

He thought this was amazing. He’d been nervous about going next door and ringing the bell for an introduction, and just like that, the red haired girl shows up and introduces herself. “Luck is on my side today” he thought.

He quickly found his shoes, slipped them on and ran back out the front door. The girl was still waiting for him right where she’d been standing.
“Ok, ready to help.” He said.

“Great, come on.” She replied, motioning for him to follow her.

They walked across the yard and up her front steps. The girl held the front door open for him and her mother was standing just beyond the doorway.

“Hi there, you must be the boy next door?” the girl’s mother said. “Welcome to our house, please come in.”

“Thank you” the boy said. “I’m happy to help you out…anything I can do.”

“We just want to move this sofa and love seat to the other side of this room” The mother said, pointing to the living room to the left of the front entry way. “I’m sure my daughter and I could have done it together but I’ve been lifting so many boxes since we arrived that I’m just a bit sore today.” She added.

The boy and girl each took an end of the sofa and moved it to its new location, then did the same with the love seat. The whole task took less than 10 minutes.

“Is that all you needed?” The boy asked when they had finished.

“That’s it for now…would you like something to drink…coffee…tea, water?” The mother asked him.

“Oh I’m fine thanks” He replied.

There was an awkward moment of silence as the three of them stood in the living room looking at each other.

“So…um, where did you move here from?” The boy asked, desperately trying to break the ice.

“Glendale” the girl replied. “We were in a smaller house before…mom got a promotion and we wanted a bigger place.” She added.

“Well you’ll like it here, this is a nice neighborhood, easy to walk to school” The boy responded. “Oh god I sound like an idiot” he thought to himself again.

“Yeah I guess we’ll be going to school together next week…” The girl said. “Can I walk with you on Monday…so you can show me around?” she asked.

“Oh Yeah absolutely!” He practically shouted. Now he felt really stupid, he didn’t want to sound over anxious but he sure had. “I mean…yeah,
I’d be happy to…” He said.