“Are you sure they’ll like the gifts I made ‘em?” Lenore fretted. “I mean, what if they don’t like ‘em, but feel as though they can’t tell me ‘cause they’re afraid they’ll hurt my feelings.”

“Lenore, trust me, they’ll like the gifts,” Brian assured her for the thousandth time. “Now, c’mon, let’s go find ‘em.”

They eventually found the other guys hanging out it Nick’s room. When they entered the room they spotted Nick and A.J. fighting over the Nintendo, while Kevin and Howie were both reading books.

“Hey y’all, wuzzup?” Brian drawled making his accent sound thicker than it was. “How y’all doin’ this afternoon?”

They all were about to shrug, until they heard someone, who wasn’t Brian, giggle.

“Uh, Frick,” Nick began with a questioning look on his face. “Who just giggled?”

“Name’s not Frick, and I just giggled ‘cause the Goofball’s been acting silly ever since we left my house,” Lenore grinned as she stepped out form behind Brian. “By the way, name’s Lenore.”

“You went to visit a twelve-year old girl Rok?” A.J. asked. “Why?”

“For you’re information A.J., I’m seventeen, not twelve; although, I will some day thank-you for knocking five years off my age, right now, I don’t,” Lenore retorted. “Just ‘cause I’m short don’t mean y’all gotta assume I’m only in, like, grade six.”

“Oh, sorry,” A.J. mumbled. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I’m not really offended, just sick of everyone thinking my sister’s older than I am, when in reality, I’m three years older, not her,” she replied. “Although, I will admit, some days I sort of wish that I were the baby.”

“Why do you wanna be the baby?” Nick queried. “What’s wrong with being the oldest in the family?”

“I dunno really,” she shrugged. “I just don’t really like the fact that outta all my friends back home I’m the second oldest and outta my cousins, which I actually see, I’m the second oldest. Then there are times where I am the oldest and have to do everything for everyone ‘cause of that fact. Seriously, just once I’d like to know what it feels like to be the baby.”

“Well, looks like you get your wish,” Howie piped up. “You’re the baby in the room right now.”

Lenore looked at him oddly, until realization came over her. “Cool.”

“So, whatcha hiding behind your back? Kevin questioned. “Something that only Brian’s allowed to see?”

“Uh, no,” she responded. “They’re actually for you guys; Brian’s already got his.”

She then passed each of them a book, which had been done, in their favourite colour (in Kevin’s case, colours).

“Hope y’all like ‘em,” she rambled. “I just finished ‘em the other day after working on them for months.”

A.J. finished looking at his first, got up off the floor, and hugged her. “Thanks for the poems,” he whispered in her ear. “They’re really sweet.”

She hugged him back. “Glad you like ‘em.”

Kevin and Howie thanked her for their books too.

Suddenly, Nick laughed. “Oh God, these are really good.”

“You like ‘em?”

“Well, duh!” Nick exclaimed through laughter. “They’re just what I need to cheer me up after a long day.”

“You don’t think my drawings totally suck though, do you?”

“Nah, I can tell you tried you’re best to get ‘em just right, therefore they’re perfect.”

She blushed, “Thanks Nick. You’re the first person who’s actually commented my drawings instead of making fun of them and laughing in my face.”

He stood up and hugged her, then kissed her cheek. “Whoever laughs at ‘em are just jealous ‘cause your drawings are better than theirs. If that ain’t the reason, well, then, they just don’t see art in the way I do and need to seriously get a life.”

“Gee, you sure know how to make a girl feel special,” Lenore smiled. “And here I always thought I was the one who was artistically challenged

“No one’s artistically challenged,” Nick told her. “They just see art differently than others, that’s all.”

“Anyhow, what are we going to do now that we’re all here and have company?” Brian queried, wanting to join in on the conversation. “Swimming is out of the question ‘cause she’s no bathing suit with her, so…”

“Why don’t we go on a picnic or something?” Lenore suggested. “Unless, of course, unlike me, y’all have already eaten.”

“That sounds like fun,” everyone agreed.

“How ‘bout we go to Mickey Dees, order our stuff, then go to a park to eat it?” A.J. piped up. “This way, it won’t take forever to get the food ready.”

“Okay,” everyone replied.

They went to McDonald’s and ordered their food to go. Once they’d left there they found a peaceful park, with barely anyone there, and enjoyed a quiet lunch (in Lenore’s case, brunch).