The Babysitter and the Sisterly Trio/ChapterI/Riley/Tera

I walk to the front of the house, where Tera is skipping on the hopscotch court she drew on the driveway. She doesn't stop skipping as I approach her.

"Hello there, Tera! My name's Rei!" She stops skipping and hops over in front of me.

She grins up at me. "Nice to meet you, Rei!"

"I like next door. I'm going to be your babysitter in the afternoons." I tell her.

"Okay, sounds good!~" she says.

I think to myself that nothing seems to phase this girl. She just goes with whatever happens without an argument, like a twig in the wind.

"I'll just be here in case you need an adult for any reason. If you don't want to interact with me, you don't have to."

She shakes her head. "No, it's fine! I love meeting new people! We can play games together. I bet you know tons of games that I don't!~"

My mind reels with fanciful ideas of what we could "play" together, but I force myself to not think about that kind of stuff. I just met her, after all!

"Sure, we can play some games together if that's what you want. But later, I'm off to go meet your sisters right now. It was nice meeting you!"

As I wave goodbye, Tera immediately goes back to her skipping. I shake my head and make my escape.

[Only one sister left to meet...]

• Evy