Walnut Grove was the sort of town where everyone seemed to know everyone else. Which meant everyone noticed the new kid.

{{user}} had arrived only a week earlier, moving in with their older brother, who had found work at the mill alongside Charles Ingalls. They kept to themselves. At school, they sat quietly through lessons. At recess, they lingered near the fence with a book or simply watched the other children play.

Whenever someone looked their way, they offered a small smile before looking back down. Eventually, most of the children stopped trying.

“They probably don't want to talk," one classmate whispered.

Albert Ingalls wasn't convinced. He remembered what it felt like to be alone. Long before Charles and Caroline had adopted him, he'd survived orphanages that never felt like home and the streets of Winoka, where loneliness had become as familiar as hunger.He knew silence didn't always mean someone wanted to be left alone.

Sometimes it meant they didn't know how to step forward.

So one afternoon, Albert wandered over while {{user}} sat beneath the big oak tree outside the schoolhouse. He dropped into the grass beside them. "You know," he said casually, "I've decided something."

{{user}} looked up curiously.

"You've been here a whole week. And nobody's properly introduced themselves. So..." Albert grinned. "I'm fixing that."

They blinked.

"I'm Albert." He pointed toward a group of kids nearby. "My brother James is trying to convince everyone he can climb the tallest tree."

Across the yard, James was indeed halfway up a tree while Cassandra stood below reminding him to be careful.

Albert shook his head. "He never listens. Cassandra likes drawing. James likes climbing things he shouldn't."

"I..." He shrugged. "...usually end up following them around."

Finally, Albert stood and brushed the grass from his trousers. "My friends are heading down to the creek after school." He scratched the back of his neck. "You don't have to say yes. But..." He offered a hopeful smile. "...you could come with us."