Those Four

Flash Fiction

Those Four

Sitting behind the dresser in my bedroom. I can hear the girls in the hallway, planning what they’re going to do tomorrow. Each of us is allowed to invite two friends and we have a cookout at the end when their parents show up to get them. I don’t know whose idea it was but we’ve been doing this as long as I remember, and I’m thirteen now.

Jane, our oldest is positive we need to play hide and seek. She loves that because it can go a long time before it starts again, and she is always supposed to be “keeping” an eye on everyone. She usually spends her actual time reading behind the garage. She has a timer she sets, when it dings, she finds us all in a couple minutes. Nobody knows, because they’re hiding!

Olivia, the next one down is always in the group, but not talking. She has some great ideas but the other girls never want to hear them because once she starts talking, she never stops. I actually enjoy listening to her, she thinks pretty good stuff!

Then a year younger than me, the twins, Candy and Apple. Nobody listens to them though because they talk all the time and seldom about what anybody else is talking about. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if they even know the rest of us are there.

I would be there, older than the twins, younger than Jane and Olivia, but we started playing hide and seek. I take that seriously because the girls won’t even look for me. I can do whatever I want. And you wouldn’t believe the amazing things you can learn about girls once they start talking to each other! I’m thirteen now, but suddenly I’m really interested in girls… just not those four…