Kin by Lesley Crewe

They always made her feel welcome and wanted. They were the only other adults that Lila was attached to.
    â€œLook at your hair!” Annie’s mother cried. “I love it.”
    â€œWhy do I have hair that looks like a fuzz ball and she has hair that looks like that ?” Annie grumped.
    â€œWhat you lack in the hair department, you make up for in other ways,” her father chuckled.
    â€œIn what ways?”
    â€œThey’re too numerous to count.”
    Annie showed Lila the new house. It looked a lot like the old one. Annie’s bedroom window looked out over the harbour.
    â€œAfter dinner we’ll go skating. I want you to meet all my new friends. There’s Erna Jean and Bernice, Edie, and Myrtle.”
    â€œYou’ve only been here a couple of weeks,” Lila marvelled. “You have that many friends already?”
    â€œYou know me. I’m not shy.”
    Lila sat on the bed and took a deep breath. Annie sat down beside her. “But none of them will be my very best friend. That will always and forever be you.”
    Annie always knew what to say.
    They sat down at the kitchen table and Abigail served them big helpings of corned beef and cabbage. It was delicious. Just as Lila forked in another mouthful, David came in the back door, chucking his skates and hockey stick in the porch. “Am I too late for supper?”
    â€œLook who’s here!” Annie cried.
    For a moment it looked like he didn’t recognize her. “Oh. Hi, Lila.”
    Lila didn’t speak; she had a big lump of meat in her throat and she didn’t want to choke. She nodded her head but that was it. David turned his back on her and washed his hands at the kitchen sink. She never would have known him from the back. He’d filled out and was a lot taller than she remembered from last summer. When he sat back down at the table, he didn’t say very much, and seemed to concentrate on his dinner. As everyone talked around them, Lila had the feeling that he was annoyed with her for some reason, and that got her back up. So she ignored him right back.
    He left as soon as supper was over, and didn’t wait to walk with them down to the rink. As they hurried down the main road of Louisbourg, Lila almost had to run to catch up with Annie. Annie had always walked too fast, but lately it was very noticeable as Annie had grown several inches and her legs were the longest thing about her. She seemed older and wiser than Lila, too. When did all these changes happen? Why couldn’t people just stay the same? Lila felt her breath become ragged so she stopped for a minute. Annie turned around and saw that she’d fallen behind. She ran back.
    â€œYou okay?”
    â€œWhy is David mad at me?”
    â€œMad at you? Why would he be mad at you?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    Annie dismissed it. “He just thinks he’s a big shot now that he’s fifteen. All boys are lunatics at that age. You don’t know that because you don’t have a brother, but trust me. They’re completely out to lunch.”
    Somehow that explanation helped. By the time they got to the rink, Lila had forgotten about David. It was the most exciting thing in the world to skate outdoors at night with music playing, and she didn’t want to miss a moment.
    Annie introduced Lila to her friends, and she was right. They were nice girls. Lila felt brave enough to talk to them because Annie was there. As her skates slid over the ice with that satisfying whoosh, Lila felt free. She didn’t have to think anymore. For the first time ever, she felt she belonged in a crowd. She was in sync with the people around her.
    But the moment didn’t last. Too soon she found herself bone weary and told the others that she would be in the clubhouse. Going from ice to a wooden floor was jarring. With her skates on, her legs were heavy and she was grateful that there was an empty spot on a bench by the