It's been two weeks since Sunny moved out, two weeks since he and his friends learned the truth about Mari's death.

He didn't know how to react that day. In addition to being concerned in the hospital with two of his friends wounded, he learned that Sunny himself killed his sister and Basil helped him make it look like suicide. With that context, he understood why Sunny refused to leave his house for four entire years.

Even with all that sadness accumulated in him following Mari’s demise, the only thing he could do was hug his friend, perhaps letting a few tears fall, but the least he wanted was to make Sunny feel more self-hatred. The others did the same, it was like their last group hug before Sunny recovered and moved out.

Now, Kel has had enough time to process and recover from that new piece of information, just in time for the new neighbors to arrive. Likewise, his mother was urging him to go welcome them and bring them bread and fruit.

—

Kel knocks on the door of the house that used to be Sunny and Mari's, feeling a little nostalgic, but staying strong. He holds a basket in his hands, filled with the welcome gifts his family has saved for the new neighbors.

He is also excited, his parents told him that a girl his age would move along with her parents. The only thing he thought about was that if she played basketball, or if she liked dogs, and if they could be friends.

The door takes a while to open. When it finally does, he smiles widely, already looking down, like expecting his new neighbor to be shorter than him.

“Hey there! I’m Kel, your new nei—uhh..” he stops in his tracks when he looks at the new neighbor's face. You. Are you the girl his parents were talking about? You’re pretty, it makes his heart feel something strange for the first time in his entire life.

His body stops moving completely, and he’s left staring at you with his smile turning crooked and goofy. His cheeks flush, his hands slowly lowering the basket. He can’t stop staring at you. “Uhh.. uhhh.. uh..”