“How was Shaun of the Dead?” Danny asked when Jesse sat down at the booth.

“Better than I expected! It’s a great movie; really funny,” Jesse said. “I think you’d love it.”

Peter, Celeste, Danny, and Jesse had all agreed to meet up at the hotel on Wednesday. Peter called them and asked them to go out for coffee. That way they could make more plans to hang out. It was a little out of the blue, but Jesse was happy to come.

“Maybe we should all go together sometime,” Danny said. “Then again…that’s an R rated movie, right? Technically, Noa and Rion are too young… Maybe they could get permission or something?”

“I’m not sure I’d be into a zombie movie…” Celeste said. “I might pass.”

“It’s more of a comedy,” Jesse said, “but that’s fair.”

“And how about your birthday. Did you like your presents?” Peter asked.

Jesse smiled. “Yeah. Thanks, guys.”

Celeste had given him a scarf that she’d knit herself. He had a feeling she must have been working on it for a better part of a month, so he’d really thanked her for it. It even matched his friendship bracelet, though he hadn’t commented on it to Celeste. He was too worried he’d tear up if he did.

Danny had dropped off an apple pie that he’d made with his dad and Jesse had never been happier that they moved back to town. Danny’s dad had legendary baking powers and apple pie was Jesse’s favourite.

Peter had gotten him a set of headphones. They were really nice quality, and he was a little scared to ask how much they cost. He was sure he was going to use them for everything now. Noa had dropped off his gift with Peter – some really detailed dragon drawings. They were cool and coloured with metallics so that the scales glittered. Jesse decided to see about framing them.

Rion’s gift had been left in the mailbox and when he opened it, he found a journal inside. He wished he could thank him for it, but he hadn’t had a chance to see him since.

Of course, his parents had surprised him the most by getting him a cell phone.

Since he was working at the lake and some new cell phone towers had gone up, they decided to get him one so that they could get in contact with him even if he wasn’t at the store. Jesse appreciated it and fiddled with it often, kind of impressed that there was a camera and a little notepad feature built into it. Flipping the phone open and shut was quickly becoming a habit for him. It made him feel cool.

It was a pretty big birthday for him, despite the fact that he hadn’t done much other than go out to see a movie. It was nice having people stop by and wish him well.

“Glad things worked out,” Peter said.

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “So, we’re going to plan another get-together?”

Danny nodded. “Since last time was kinda…not so great, Peter wanted to arrange something else for next weekend, as long as everyone is free.”

“I feel like Noa and Rion need this,” Peter said. “Noa’s completely changed since he started spending time with Rion. He’s not back to his old self but he’s opened up more than he has in years. And Rion’s struggling and needs support. If we have regular get-togethers, I think it will help them both.”

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “Sounds good.”

“Same here,” Danny said. “My weekend is totally free.”

“Mine too,” Celeste added.

“Perfect,” Peter said. “Then we just need a date and time. I already called Rion. He said he would be free this weekend. He even offered to host us, but I was thinking we could get together at my place again. I don’t want to keep hanging out at Rion’s if his dad is hardly ever home.”

“Yeah,” Danny said. “We could maybe ask him to bring some of his games over, though. I mean, I like watching movies, but we shouldn’t do the same thing every time.”

“That’s a good idea,” Celeste said. “I might not really be into games, but… I know how much Noa and Rion like them.”

Peter hummed in agreement. “I can ask. If not, we have games at home. There’s some at the store we can rent too. It’s fine.”

“Sounds like a plan, then,” Jesse said.

“Oh. Um… There was one more thing,” Celeste spoke up. “It’s about Sarina…”

They turned to her. She shrunk down in her seat.

“What about her?” Danny said.

“She phoned me the other day… We had a talk. I think she’s feeling guilty. It sounds like she’s having a hard time.”

“She kind of brought that on herself,” Danny said.

“I hope she feels guilty,” Peter added. “She should, after everything she’s done.”

Jesse agreed with them, but he did feel a bit bad for Sarina. She must be hearing about how the rest of them had reconnected. There weren’t any secrets in Misty Meadows. It had to be hard for her, knowing that they were doing things together while she was left out.

But Sarina hurt Rion. She attacked him. That was never going to be okay and none of them could ignore it.

“I know she should feel bad, but… I don’t know,” Celeste said. “I’m trying to be sympathetic, but it’s hard. It sounds like Monique’s been giving her a tough time too.”

“Monique?” Danny said and then grinned. “Yeah, that sounds like her. Good. I’m glad Sarina is still hanging out with her. Monique’s the type of person to speak her mind when it really matters.”

Jesse sat straighter, blinking. “Wha…? Did we know the same Monique? Isn’t she that shy girl who almost never speaks?”

“You clearly never saw her get mad before,” Danny said with a laugh. “She’s been friends with Sarina for forever. We hung out a lot as kids. She was always super, super shy, but when she got pissed, she would explode like a little volcano.”

“She’s more outgoing these days,” Celeste said. “And she’s got very, um…goth fashion now.”

“Goth? Really? Huh,” Danny said. “Wonder if she’s into the music too, or… Well, it’s good to hear that Sarina’s got at least one decent friend.”

“But it sounds like Sarina isn’t getting along with her,” Celeste said.

“It’s probably because Monique is being honest with her. Sarina just doesn’t want to hear it,” Danny said. “That’s what good friends do – they don’t bullshit you. It’s like… That’s why I had to break things off with Sarina. I couldn’t just pretend that I was okay with how she was treating Rion.”

“Yeah…yeah, that’s true…”

“I don’t care what Sarina does as long as she isn’t beating on anyone,” Peter said. “If she feels guilty then good. Maybe she’ll smarten up.”

“And if she does, maybe she can actually apologize to Rion on something,” Danny added.

Celeste opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it and glanced away. Jesse frowned, wondering what she was holding back, but he didn’t have a chance to ask.

“Either way,” Peter continued, “Sarina is on her own. She’ll have to figure herself out. I want to focus on Noa and Rion. I think what we’re doing is working and we need to keep it up.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “I mean, I can tell that they have a lot going on, but they seem to be doing better. Like, we’re able to have actual conversations with Noa.”

“He used to only nod or shake his head to questions and hide away in his room,” Peter said. “Now, he’s actually saying yes and no. Even if his responses are short…. It’s a huge improvement.”

“I noticed that too,” Jesse said. “Rion really opens him up. Like, when you guys came over to give me my birthday stuff, Peter. Noa wished me a happy birthday. He didn’t say much else, but… Last year, I don’t think he would have agreed to come over.”

Peter nodded. “He also talks a lot more the second Rion is in the room. And even last time… He pulled Rion aside to try and help him after his panic attack. It’s progress. And if it helps Noa, it’s probably helping Rion too.”

“Yeah,” Danny said. “But is it just me or does Rion seem… I don’t want to say that he seems off or whatever. If he’s having panic attacks and stuff, I’d expect him to be, you know, not feeling his best. But doesn’t he seem kind of…unhappy? No, that’s not what I mean. He’s like… A good thing will happen, and we’ll all be encouraging and stuff, but he’s just all tense, and… Is that just me?”

“No, it’s not just you,” Peter said. “But there’s no way to know what’s going on in his head. I only know what I’ve seen and based on that… To me, it seems like he’s overly paranoid about anything that could hurt Noa. Like the friendship bracelets.”

“I noticed that too,” Jesse said. “I don’t want to say that he might have depression, but… Peter, you said you talked to him about seeing someone, right?”

“I did. And he said he’d think about it,” Peter confirmed. “My dad offered to talk to Mr. Blum, actually. We had a long talk. I, uh… I told my parents everything and they weren’t too happy…”

Danny cringed. “Ooooh, like…about Sarina and…?”

“Everything,” Peter said again. “Yes. They know about Sarina, and they know about the panic attacks and even the whole thing that happened at the lake. Mom was upset that I didn’t talk to her sooner.”

“So, your dad is going to talk to Rion’s dad then?” Jesse asked. “About therapy and all that?”

“Yes,” Peter said. “My parents think that even if Rion doesn’t want to go, his dad should still know what’s going on. He probably doesn’t know about Sarina and her bullying, and… Dad says he’s worried about Mr. Blum anyway. They hardly see him these days.”

“I think it’s a good idea for your parents to talk to him,” Jesse said. “They know each other better.”

If Rion’s dad knew what was going on, maybe he’d be home more often. And if Rion would seriously consider some kind of therapy… It made Jesse hopeful that things could work out.

Of course, it would take time. These things were never fast. But admitting there were problems and learning how to deal with them… That would be a huge step in the right direction.

“I guess we’ll have to see how that goes,” Danny said and grinned. “But for now, we’ll worry about hanging out. And hey, if Monique is cool, maybe we could do something with her too.”

“You… Really? You think so?” Celeste spoke up. “It might upset Sarina.”

“There’s nothing stopping us from hanging out with her friends,” Danny said. “I mean, you don’t have to reach out or anything. I can do it myself. Actually, I might like having a conversation with Monique and getting her perspective. We haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“Okay,” Celeste said, blinking. “I mean, I don’t talk to her much, so…”

“That’s cool,” Danny said. “I’m kind of busy this week but maybe next week… Or Sunday. If she’s at church, I’ll see if I can talk to her.”

“Maybe… Don’t invite her to anything right away,” Peter said. “I’d like Rion’s opinion on her first. If she’s done anything to him, I think we should know about it before we start trying to socialize.”

“Oh, yeah. For sure,” Danny said. “We can ask Rion about it this weekend. It won’t be a problem.”

“Hopefully,” Peter said. “I just don’t want to put Rion in a position where he’s forced to interact with one of his bullies.”

Danny pursed his lips. “I don’t think Monique is like that. But if she is, we’ll know and we can handle it.”

“One thing at a time,” Jesse said. “We’ll do the get-together and then see about Monique.”

Peter nodded. “Right. One thing at a time.”