The Inseparables
To say Stacy and Leslie were inseparable was an understatement. If you saw Stacy in the hallway, Leslie was never more than three steps behind, usually laughing at something Stacy had just whispered. They sat together at lunch, traded colored pens during art class, and spent every Saturday sprawled on Stacy’s bedroom rug trading stories, sketching in notebooks, and dreaming up characters.
Their routine was as comforting as it was reliable. Weekdays meant school and afternoon homework sessions; weekends meant endless hours of freedom. But on a breezy Tuesday in October, the rhythm of their routine hit its first real obstacle.
Leslie met Stacy by the lockers before the first bell, clutching a permission slip with a worried frown.
"Stacy, guess what?" Leslie groaned, leaning against the cold metal door. "My cousin Alma is coming to stay with us. For a whole week starting this Friday."
Stacy smiled, shutting her locker. "That sounds fun! Is she older or younger? What grade is she in?"
"She's a freshman, same as us, but she lives three hours away," Leslie explained, her tone shifting from casual to hesitant. "And... well, that's the thing. For some reason, Alma doesn’t really like you. Or, at least, she never has."
Stacy blinked in surprise. "I've never even met her!"
"I know," Leslie sighed. "She’s just... complicated. Whenever I talk about you on the phone, she gets this weird attitude. But don't worry. This is our weekend too. She's arriving Friday night, but Saturday afternoon is still ours. We planned that movie marathon, and nothing is going to change it."
Stacy nodded, shaking off the strange knot in her stomach. Leslie was her best friend, after all. How much trouble could one visiting cousin cause in seven days?
