Free Red Sun by Raven St. Pierre

could take them to the truck.  When I got over to her, she smiled.
                  “We should hang out today, Solei.  I like you.”
                  “Sounds cool to me.”  I thought about the miles and miles of forest that separated us from civilization and wondered what she had in mind.  “Where’re we gonna go.”
                  She shrugged.  “Maybe when you take a break we can go down the road.  There’s a custard shop that I think you’ll like.  What time do you usually get lunch?”  She asked.
                  I was excited to finally be able to visit some place other than the house and Ruthann’s shop.  A change of scenery would be great.  “Mmm…..like twelve thirty usually.  Are you gonna be back by then?”  I asked, trying to conceal how much I was looking forward to hanging out and feeling normal again.
                  “Should be.  I’ll just drop Uncle Lou off at home and come by here and pick you up.  We don’t have another delivery until like two, so that’ll work out perfectly.” 
                  I smiled again and finished helping her with the flowers.  My dad would be glad to hear that I was actually giving someone other than Tarik a chance for once.  It’d been quite a while since I had a friend that was a girl, so I was honestly looking forward to getting to know Kaya better.
                  At 12:27, I was itching to go.  Ruthann smiled when Kaya pulled up and I perked up like a dog whose owners had just come home. 
                  “Go.  Have fun,” she insisted.
                  “Thanks.  I’ll be back by one.”  I grabbed my purse from beneath the counter and ran for the door.
                  “One fifteen is fine, just enjoy yourself.”
                  I smiled at Ruthann one last time and then jogged to Lou’s truck to meet Kaya.  The radio was blaring when I climbed in and she didn’t bother turning it down, instead she just waved and kept singing along with the radio.  My window was down and I felt free for the first time in a long time.  The wind was blowing in my face and if I closed my eyes, I could imagine that I was anywhere I wanted to be.  On this day, I was back at home in Chicago breezing down the paved streets past the tall buildings.  When the car came to a stop, I opened my eyes and saw that there was still nothing surrounding me but trees and dirt roads.
                  “I come here like every day,” she said as soon as the car was off.  “You’re gonna love it.”  She unlocked the door and waited for me at the entrance.  Because I hadn’t been there before, I let her order for me and went to the table nearest the window.  Kaya came back carrying two huge bowls of custard and two spoons.  She set one in front of me and didn’t waste any time before digging in. 
                  “You getting used to living around here yet?”  She asked, wiping the side of her mouth with a napkin.
                  There were so many unfamiliar things surrounding me that I could have very well been on another planet.  After all, the people were different, the houses were different, and even the trees were different; much taller than the ones near my house.  I thought about the question.  “Mmmm…..I’m getting used to it, but still feeling a little out of place, you know?” 
                  She nodded.  “I get it.  It’d probably feel weird to me at first too if I had to move away.”
                  Out the window, I stared at nothing in particular, because there was nothing in particular to stare at.  I think that’s what bothered me most.  “ You like living out here?  I mean, do you ever wish you lived someplace else?  Like in a city or something?”
                  Kaya didn’t even have to think about my