Fortunately, we heard the car drive up and Derek started setting the table. It's the only time he ever does any work voluntarily-when food is involved. James came in the door first, a stumble of boy, soccer ball and a sports drink.

"I'm so hungry!"

My mom followed him, her purse on her shoulder and her sunglasses on top of her head, sighing as she stepped inside. "Please feed that child. He's driving me crazy."

Dad put the pork chops, still sizzling, on the table. I gathered up the green beans and salted them, putting them in a dish. Ice fell into glasses and silverware was thrown next to the plates and we all sat down like starving refugees.

Mom said the prayer, much to Derek's agony, because she doesn't rush through it like the rest of us. After we had all filled our plates my dad asked how soccer and football were going for the boys.

"I got a goal today," James said.

Dad gave him a fist bump. "Good job."

"I got a touchdown last Friday," Derek offered, his mouth full.

Mom rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, honey, we know."

"Just keeping the memory fresh," he said.

"You're so needy," I said His mouth turned in a nasty smile and I knew I was in trouble. "At least I'm not drooling over the new guy that moved in."

I smiled sweetly and blinked my lashes. "He has twin sisters. Very pretty."

That caught him off guard long enough for me to enjoy the moment before James said with disgust, "They're like, kindergartners."

Derek laughed, choking on his pork chop. He was probably thrilled that he could tease me about Ren. I wasn't too alarmed. It was only a matter of time before he met some girl who made him into an easy target, if I cared enough to tease him back. But I might be more kind about it than he was. Maybe.

I called Katie about going to Ren's house. She was of the opinion that he liked me, or he wouldn't have come to see me. I wasn't so sure. Kyle flirted with me all the time but I knew that was only for fun. Ren might be the same way. Besides, I was the only girl he knew so far. And I still didn't know if he had a girlfriend and I wasn't going to ask. Katie said she would ask for me.

Mom reminded us all that it was getting late so I went upstairs.

I put on a t-shirt and some pajama pants and turned out the light. Lying under the covers, I thought about Ren, how sweet he was to his little sisters and nice to everyone else. In the darkness I closed my eyes, thinking that I should get to sleep, but then I slid off my bed and knelt down to say my prayers. I thought about Ren, but I didn't mention him. It didn't matter. I'm pretty sure He knew.

CHAPTER FIVE.

Ren Dad and I shoved the bookshelf against the wall. We could hear the girls giggling down the hall in the bathroom as they brushed their teeth before bed. The girls' bedroom looked cozy in the lamp light, their toys arranged in baskets and bins around the room and their pink comforters pulled back and waiting for them.

I reached for the first box of books and opened it with the boxcutter. Dad held out his hand and I gave the cutter to him. We tried not to have more than one boxcutter out at a time so we didn't accidentally leave any lying around for the girls to get to. Watching out for them had become second nature to me. I was ten years old when they were born, so I kind of feel like I helped to raise them.

My sisters' Yurei had appeared to me the moment they were born, even before I saw them as babies. Jenny would be in college studying biochemical engineering. Jenny was in college for art and had no idea what she wanted to do. They were both pretty, and they had a strong bond with each other that I instantly envied. I still did, even though they were only five years old. Watching them grow up had made me wish I had a twin, a constant best friend. It made my peculiar loneliness even harder.

I picked up a handful of books and began stacking them on the shelf. I couldn't tell MacKenzie about her brother. Derek would suffer some kind of brain injury that would change him. He wouldn't be playing football much longer, I didn't think. I didn't know exactly when the event, whatever it was, would happen, but I felt like it was soon. She was so happy right now, and so unaware. Well, because she was supposed to be. I rearranged the books by size, my fingers lingering on the spines of the thick, childish books. Should I warn her? I knew I couldn't. I didn't even know what would happen, just that Derek would be different. His speech would be slower and he would have trouble finding words. I wasn't sure if he would be able to finish school. His Yurei had a strange innocence for a man his age.

My future wife's brother would be brain damaged. I shoved the books in a little harder than I meant to and Dad looked over at me. I ignored him and grabbed the next stack. I didn't want a future wife! I didn't want to get sucked into her life, but it was happening. Why was I so drawn to her? Would I have been attracted to her without having seen her Yurei? I would never know.

"One more box," my dad said, giving me a small smile. He still wore his button-down shirt from work, the crisp, starched sleeves rolled up. He wasn't a big man; I was already taller. He had the Tanaka features, the high arched brows and the thin lips. At the moment his eyes were worried.

He seemed to know that I always had something else on my mind.

"That didn't take long," I said, apologetic. I hated when they worried about me. There wasn't anything they could do to help.

"How is school?" he asked, his eyes searching my face. He had a strong analytical streak, which he sometimes used on me. Most people found his intelligence intimidating. They should. He had a way of picking apart problems and deciphering deception. His job was to turn around failing companies, and he did it by reading people and dissecting information. I knew I was a mystery to him, though. Mostly because what made me different was too far out of his experience. He couldn't even begin to know what made me tick.

"Good," I answered truthfully. "The teachers are good and everyone is nice."

"Make any friends?" He wasn't shy about digging into my life.

"Sure."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Who?"

Realizing he wouldn't be satisfied unless I threw something out there, I told him about Noah and a few others. I mentioned that I'd met the girl next door and she was in my Spanish class.

"They seem like a good family," my dad said, more to himself than to me.

"Yeah, they're nice," I agreed, putting the last book on the shelf.

He started breaking down the boxes. "I'm glad it seems to be working out," he said, referring to the move, I guess.

"Yeah, but let's not do it again for awhile," I said, half-serious.

He nodded ruefully. "I'll try."

Back in my bedroom my cell phone said I had a new text message. I checked it. It was Noah. He was going to ask Katie to Homecoming and wanted to know if I wanted to go to with anyone. Ha. Yes and no. I thought about everyone in the group. Noriko, Crystal and of course, MacKenzie. Crystal had already told us about BJ, the first guy in a long string of mistakes she would make, but I couldn't do anything about that. I could ask Noriko, but I knew that would hurt MacKenzie's feelings. She was already crushing on me, and as much as I fantasized about keeping my distance I didn't want to make her feel bad. It wasn't her fault she was in my destiny. Why not just go as a group? That would solve everything. I texted my idea to Noah and he said that would be a good idea, although he still planned to take Katie.

I lay back on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Avoiding Mackenzie was turning out to be impossible.

CHAPTER SIX.

MacKenzie I didn't need the alarm clock to wake me up the next morning. I even beat Derek downstairs to breakfast even though he usually caught his ride before I left.

His eyes were still puffy even after his shower and he mumbled as he sat down. He rubbed his eyes and blinked at me. "Whoa. You're up early."

"Not really," I denied.

"Yes. You are." Even half-asleep he couldn't resist the natural sibling instinct to argue. I was in a good mood so I didn't care.

I even let him have the last bowl of Lucky Charms without fighting about it.

I said good-bye to my mom as she came downstairs.

"Wow. You're up---"

"Early, I know. Bye Mom."

Walking down the sidewalk past the houses I felt like skipping. I hadn't skipped since third grade or something like that. The sun was shining and it was a little warmer this morning than it was yesterday. It was perfect.

I walked past the blue Victorian and slowed down, allowing myself a glance at the windows. No one was coming out, so Ren must not be ready yet, or maybe his mom drove him to school.

It didn't dampen my mood as I continued past his house, my heels bouncing as I walked.

I didn't get too far before I heard the sound of a skateboard. Ren rolled up behind me, balanced on the board with his bookbag slung over one shoulder and a piece of toast in one hand. He wore a white sweat-shirt with a hood, with a logo in faded blue on the sleeve.

"Hi!" I said, a smile suddenly jumping across my face. I had zero chance of looking nonchalant.

"Hey. You start out early," he said, smiling back at me.

"Not always."

He munched on his toast and rode beside me. I asked if his family had made any progress on the boxes and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. My sisters finished unpacking all their toys and my Dad and I unpacked their books."

"I would unpack my toys first, too. Smart move."

"I kind of did the same thing. I didn't even pack my skateboard. I carried it with me when we drove out here." He finished the rest of his toast in two bites and deftly hopped his board over an uneven crack in the sidewalk.

My phone buzzed and I checked out the text from Katie. Hi Hi Hows Ren?

I glanced over at him. He was watching me so I waved the phone.

"It's Katie. She says hi."

He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. "What's her number?"

I gave it to him and soon we were both texting her. His mouth quirked in a smile. "She wants to know if you have a boyfriend."

I blushed. "No, she didn't. She knows everything about me."

"Apparently not."

"Tell her I don't." Would he tell her whether or not he had a girlfriend?

We were busy for a while then, walking in silence and texting Katie. She gave me the amazing news that Ren did not have a girlfriend.

We stopped to cross the road and Ren picked up his skateboard, glancing over at me. I was finishing up my text to Katie.

"You shouldn't do that while you're crossing the road," he said.

"You can watch out for me," I said, still texting away like mad.

Maybe he wants a girlfriend, she wrote back. If only.

"That's really unsafe," he warned me again.

I almost laughed out loud because it was so ridiculous, but I didn't. He seemed pretty serious about road safety. We made it across alive and I complimented him on our miraculous survival but he just shook his head at me.

"Trust me, I've seen things change in an instant."

I felt a little guilty for being amused. There was so much about him I didn't know. He may have lost someone in his family or a friend.

"I'm always careful when it's just me."

"You'd be better be careful when I'm not around. I can't stalk you all the time."

A rush of warmth rushed through me.

"Well, I wouldn't want that," I answered, failing to stifle the smile that stole over my lips.

We walked the rest of the way chatting about random stuff but I couldn't help wondering if he cared about me enough to worry. It made my heart race a little faster and then I reassured myself that he probably cared about everyone.

We parted ways at my locker and he waved goodbye, promising to see me in Spanish.

In homeroom they announced that student elections would begin in two weeks. This meant there would soon be a campaign poster plastered to every available space on walls and lockers.

Kyle turned in his seat. "I'm running for vice president. Do you think I'll win?"

"Why not president?" I asked. I wasn't trying to flatter him, I just really thought he could win.

"Because Noah is running for president. We figure the two of us together would be unstoppable." It was an arrogant statement, but probably true. "You'll vote for us, won't you?"

"I will definitely vote for you!" I promised, without committing a vote for Noah. I've learned to keep my opinion about him to myself. Everyone seemed so quick to jump to his defense, especially Katie. She's had a crush on him since last year and couldn't see past his good looks and charm.

When I entered Spanish class Sr. Ruddy was at his desk, head bent over some papers.

I sat down and waited for Ren, which fortunately didn't take long. He arrived with Noah and Maddy, the three of them walking through the door laughing, Maddy between them, looking up at Ren. She was preppy perfect today, her hair pulled up in a sleek pony tail.

Ren saw me and waved, walking toward my desk until Noah called out, "Why don't you sit with us? We have an extra seat here."

The butterflies that had gathered in my stomach at the sight of Ren suddenly started doing backflips. I realized that Ren might have been sucked into Noah's vortex like everyone else.

"I already have a seat, but thanks, man," Ren answered.

I was pretending not to listen, but it was hard not to smile. He sat down behind me and tugged on my hair.

Turning around, I said, "You can sit with Noah if you want. I hear he's got class president locked down. It would be a good political move on your part."