Page 14 of Rewind It Back

“You take a dance class?”

“Yeah. It’s helping me skate better.”

“That’s weird.”

Luke’s sister is still staring up at the house next to mine. Her eyes follow the roofline, watching where her roof connects to mine until finally, she looks down and her attention lands on me and her brother.

“Hallie!” Luke shouts, waving her over.

She holds up a finger, silently telling him to wait before refocusing on her house.

Luke shakes his head. “She’s so annoying sometimes.”

I don’t have a sister, but a lot of my friends think their sisters are annoying, so I guess that’s a common thing. But I’d love to have a sister. Or a brother. I don’t care. It’s lonely being an only child.

Finally, Hallie pulls off her headphones, draping them around her neck, and joins us on my driveway.

She looks exactly like the woman who walked into the house earlier, but a younger version.

“Hi.” She grins at me. “I’m Hallie Hart.”

Luke groans. “You don’t have to tell everyone your first and last name.”

She simply shrugs, completely unbothered. “I like it.”

Luke rolls his eyes at his sister.

“I’m Rio DeLuca,” I say, giving her my last name too.

She smiles bigger.

“Luke!” their dad calls from the front porch. “Come help your mom get the dishes unpacked.”

Their dad waves at me and I lift my hand to wave back. He seems nice.

“You don’t have to help too?” I ask Hallie.

“Nope. I packed them. Luke has to unpack them. How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“I’m eleven. Today.”

“It’s your birthday?”

“Yep. March eighth. When is your birthday?”

“August third.”

Her brows turn in, her head tilting to the side. “So, you don’t get to have a birthday at school?”

“No. It’s always right before school starts.”

“I usually get to have a birthday at school, but not this year. We drove here today from Minnesota.”

“That’s pretty far away, right?”

“It’s so far away. My friends are all there. But my mom said I get to paint my new room any color I want, so it’s okay, I guess.”

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