Mom extended her hand, greeting the newest member's of the neighborhood. “And his name is? Maybe he and Audrey will be going to school with each other. Get to know each other.” she suggested.

The asian man took both his hands into my mom’s and bowed towards her, “Yah.. U-uh, my son is Jongin.” he tripped on his words.

“Obviously English wasn’t his first language.” Dana muttered, but made a noise of pain when I jabbed her in the side and told her to consider closing because the neighbors would think she uses it for more than just talking. Dana, laughing, bumped my side with her own. “Hoe.”

“I can’t hear what they’re saying guys, shut up!” whined Ahlee, not in the volume she was supposed to be in. No if the window are open, the loud noise would be heard from outside. I wanted to upper-cut each of them for blowing our spot, because now we were all being stared at by my mom and by my neighbor.

Mom squinted and then smiled as recognition dawned on her. “Come down and introduce yourself!”

My eyes scanned the two and the odd figure looming in back of his dad’s shadow. He didn’t look at me until I made eye contact with him, but it wasn’t anything but hostile. I rolled my eyes and turned around to glare at my two friends.

“You,” I pointed at Ahlee first, “You owe me breakfast in the morning.”

“Appa didn’t give me my allowance, Dree!” she faultered, still in that whiney octave.

“Figure it out, Lee.” I shouted back to her, walking out my room. I had to be like half way down the stairs before I felt like running back upstairs and hiding. It had to be up, though. The door revealed my mother and the guys in front of her. I glanced at Mr. Hostile for a boring second and looked to the side almost right away. Mom’s eyes were giving me a headache the way they were staring me down. I made a frustrated noise and mumbled, “Don’t give me a lecture now.”

“Why would I? In front of the neighbors?” she muttered back in a exaggeratingly surprised tone. “Sorry..my daughter is just shy.” she told the older asian male. He’d looked at bit chill and laid-back, just from the way he dressed. I wondered if I’d gotten some sort of stereotype of what kind of neighbor we’d be getting. Considering, especially where we live, not much fresh-out-the-homeland asians were running around here.

“Jongin.” The father of the boy knocked me from my thoughts, and the pair of eyes that I found. A stern glint appeared in his dark orbs. Jongin and his father have the same dominant eyes, I pondered. But why was he staring at me?

Did I have a on my forehead? “What?” I asked, and maybe it was a bit too harsh, since I hardly knew him. But the creep staring me made it even more uncomfortable to be there.

Mom called me sternly. “Audrey.” I turned back to her, saying, “Can I go back inside now?”

“You’ve got to stop retreating into your room, Audrey. I’ve told yo—”

“Should we really go there in front of the neighbors, mom?” I interjected her sentence which I most likely knew the end to.

“I wouldn’t mind.” the guy with the crossed arms and devilish grin on his face said. “Yah, Kim Jongin.” his father turned to his son to speak in their language; which probably is close to my mothers’ watch your mouth, Audrey.

During the slur of Korean, Jongin stared intently at the ground. I had to listen to my mothers angry whispers, and dumb suggestions to be open to new people and new things. Load of bull, is what I think. My uninterest is mirrored and I met eyes with my neighbor. He was barely listening to his father at this point, and surprisingly focused on me. And then Jongin smiled, as if to say: Parents, huh?

It’s the first time and the only time I’ve giggled to a joke that wasn’t even said.

With the moving truck driving off, it served as a message to tell me I had a lot in store.