Prologue

He didn't want to be here, and he'd told his parents that, but they insisted that playing outside wasn't an option during a party they threw. "You dont want to end up looking like a pale egg, do you, Gaby?" His mother had so lovingly asked as she raised an egg in front of him, before cracking it into a bowl of pancake batter that morning. He'd turned to his father for support, only to find him nodding along to her words.

"I don't want to stay here," he muttered under his breath as he slashed into the water again. He looked at his parents, hoping it had gotten their attention, but they were busy talking to other grown-ups from around the neighbourhood. He pouted again and kicked the water.

This time, his father turned around.  

Mr Kins' eyes softened at the boy, his spitting image. He whispered something to his wife, before making his way over. "Hey, Gaby."

"I don't want to be here, Dad," Gabriel whined.

"I know, but you know how your mom is," Arnold sighed as he slipped off his sandals, squatted and trembled slightly as his legs sunk under the surface before he sat down next to his son.

"Loud?"

Arnold sputtered and glanced around. "Where did you hear that?" He whispered, though no one was around them. The adults stood chatting by the buffet of summer treats, while a few kids ran around the other edge of the pool, laughing and shouting. Gabriel only shrugged. "Ok,  but don't tell anyone that. It's our little secret," Arnold chuckled and winked.

A shrill cry diverted their attention to the children that ran around with water balloons filled with pool water. One girl, with tight beaded cornrows on her hair, ran to the edge and jumped high. "Cannonball!" She shouted before splashing so hard that water sprayed Gabriel's arm from the other far edge. She soaked the adults behind her, and the children cheered. Arnold nudged his son's shoulder.

"Do you know her? She looks around your age."

"Yeah. That's Lydia. She's in Mr Gold's class. She likes painting her nails like Mom, but she plays soccer, so she paints her nails again every Monday."

"Oh, is she your friend?"

"No." Arnold chuckled at his flat answer. Lydia's head bobbed above the surface and cheered along with the other kids, her voice highest.

"Again! Again!"

Gabriel frowned and he looked straight at his father's slate-grey eyes.

"She's loud."

Arnold snorted and burst into laughter as Gabriel looked on, confused. He heaved and fanned himself using his son's hat before he set it back on his head.

"Seriously, that caught me off-guard...Fine, if you don't want to play with her... But, try and swim around, to cool yourself down." He looked around and smiled. "I need to go help your mother before she explodes... Even though it's my party." He glanced at his son. "It's your party too."

"Mine?"

"Yeah! Remember that big building I showed you? The one I told you to stay away from at night? It'll be yours one day, so, this is your party too." His smile softened as he stared at Gabriel's little knees and feet kicking into the water. "Can't believe a decade passed... Didn't think it'd last this long, especially with you on the way..." He looked up to the seven-year-old's big pretty eyes, wide with wonder.

"Really?"

"Yeah! But you have to keep being the good kid you are, alright?" Gabriel nodded, the big summer hat bobbing on his forehead. "That's my boy!" He attacked the boy with tickles, and for the first time that morning, Gabriel laughed.

After his father ran off to the backdoor entrance by his mother's side, Gabriel remained seated, a smile on his chubby face as he played with the water. It no longer mattered that the music on the speakers wasn't his favourite, nor that the children flooded the only end of the pool that he could swim in.

All of it was his.

"Mine." He giggled at the word.

            Gabriel walked out of their kitchen onto the backyard, licking his hand of the ice pop that melted down his arm, but then he stopped halfway to his spot.

Two kids sat there; Lydia and a boy he recognised as part of her team. They splashed water on each other, kicking at each other's legs.

Gabriel stood rooted in place.

That was his spot. How dare they sit in the spot he and his father just sat? Other kids ran over; first one, then three more.

Go away! He yelled in his head, but his mouth dried. How could he tell them? Would they listen? What if they hated him? What if they hit him? He'd seen it happen with the older kids, the ones that told their bullies off to teachers. They got beat up at the playground all the time.

Confusion, rage and fear boiled up inside him until tears streamed down his pouting face. Mom, dad... He looked around but they weren't there.

Alone.

He loved being alone, but not now. Not here.

Anger took over and he wiped at his cheeks with sticky fists.

Mom said I should take what's mine. And that spot is mine.

He took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and took long strides, as he'd seen his father take in his fancy suits when he visited his office.

"...is mine." His mumbling made them look up. His heart raced.

"What?" Lydia asked.

"Th-that spot is mine!" He said, a little louder than he intended, but when the words escaped him, his face beamed with satisfaction. I said it! I told them!

"How do you know?" The boy beside her stood. "I don't see your name here." His hair a mop of tight black curls made him look taller than he was, and he spoke with a hint of an accent.

"Yeah." Another kid came up from behind. "Prove it."

Gabriel gulped hard.

"I- I sat there before!" He squeaked.

"I didn't see anyone here. Did you, Lydia?" The curly-haired boy taunted as he came closer. Lydia shook her head as she joined him.

"But it's mine! I sat there!" The foundation beneath Gabriel crumbled, and tears stung his eyes as the kids surrounded him, all eyeing him with sneers and wide expressions.

His gut twisted in fear, gut-wrenching fear that made his body tremble.

"I sat there too!"

"Me too!"

"Same!" The kids burst into laughter, and one kid snatched his hat.

Lydia. Loud Lydia.

A tall girl, the tallest in the group, towering over Gabriel.

"Hey, that's mine!"

"I don't see a name!" Lydia taunted and laughed as she held it above her head.

"Give it back!"

"Take it!" The curly-haired boy took it and held it above his head as well. Gabriel pouted, tears washing over his cheeks. His fear got replaced by a pure rage so strong his cheeks turned red.

"Give it back! Go away! I don't like you! You're loud! I'm telling dad! It's mine! He said it's mine! Everything is mine, so go away!" He huffed after the outburst, his fists burning, but only when the blood stopped thudding in his ears, did he notice the silence around him.

"Gabriel?" Lydia spoke up, a deep frown over her dark doe eyes. At the mention of his name, he spooked, and his breath got heavier. Either the hot summer sun or the deep breaths made his head spin.

Mom... Dad...

He turned to run but a hand caught him. He screamed and whipped around to Lydia.

"Are you Gabriel?" Trembling, he nodded.

"What?" A kid in the small crowd, his skin covered in freckles, exclaimed.

"This is the rich kid Mom talked about?" Another asked.

"He looks like a wimp." Someone laughed and the others joined in, but Lydia and the curly-haired boy just stared at each other, then turned back to him.

Gabriel reached for his face and watched the tears drip down his face. It's because I'm crying. They called me a wimp because I'm crying. The revelation shook him and he wiped his face furiously.

"Let's go, guys." Lydia let go and sighed. "He's right, it's his spot." Mumbles waved through the crowd.

"Stuck up."

"Selfish."

They trudged away, and someone bumped into him, but he didn't fall over. As he watched them leave, satisfaction filled him in place of the dread of the name. He smiled and giggled.

They left.

He got what was his.

Mom would be proud of him.

He smiled as he squatted at the pool's edge, but when he looked into the water, another reflection stared from behind him.

He whipped around, stumbling over the edge and into the water.

The sudden rush of cold shocked him and he gasped, taking in a mouthful of water. His feet struggled to find the bottom, but he couldn't.

It was the deep end.

His panic increased tenfold. He hadn't taken wading classes yet.

He flapped around, gasping. From a distance, above the bubbling and gurgling in his ears, he heard a scream and another splash nearby.

The water swallowed him, and his limbs got tired, unable to flap around anymore. His throat burned, but then arms wrapped around his stomach from behind.

Small but strong.

Light flashed in his eyes before he submerged again, but the arms never let go. He opened his mouth to scream, and swallowed another mouthful of water.

Warmth washed over his body, hot concrete on his back. It shocked his body awake and his eyes shot open to the blinding sun before he turned on his stomach and coughed so hard he thought his chest would burst. When his eyes came to focus, the curly-haired boy sat in front of him, both of them surrounded by people. He too panted and heaved, water dripping over his shaking body. A blanket wrapped around Gabriel's shoulders before he could speak and his mother squeezed his face into her bosom.

"Gaby! Oh, my baby!" She grabbed his face and kissed him over and over before tightening her grip on him. Her long dark hair tickled his cheek along with her laboured breath and he heard her fast heartbeat in his ear.

"Why did you jump in? You know you can't swim in the deep end!"

"I-" he croaked and coughed. "I fell in-"

"You want to scare me? Is that it?"

"No, I- I didn't-"

"Arnold! Where is that towel?!" Gabriel opened his mouth again but coughed hard.

Loud.

He sunk into her arms and glanced over at the other boy, who was also covered up in a man and woman's embrace and their eyes met. Brown, almost golden in the sun, stared into slate grey. Until a towel covered Gabriel's face and his mother rubbed the cotton roughly into his scalp.

           He didn't want to, but his mother told him to, so he couldn't disobey. Gabriel flinched when the boy looked up from the bench, but he steeled himself and sat beside him, fiddling with his light cotton sleeves. Maybe because it was his father's, but he had a bit more courage. Even though he looked ridiculous in boxer shorts and an oversized button-up shirt. His sun hat flicked dry, sat on his head, low over his face.

The boy still had a soft blanket around his shoulders, but his trunks were new and dry.

Their feet hang over the edge inches from the ground. Gabriel swung his feet, and the boy joined in silence. He swung faster, and the boy matched his pace but then sneezed and went out of sync. Gabriel giggled and the boy looked up.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"Yeah." The boy blinked and looked back down. "Mom said you jumped in to help after I fell in the pool... Thanks." At that, the boy's ears turned a bright red, and Gabriel stared. "Your ears are a funny colour!" He laughed and the boy frowned and hid his ears in his blanket.

"No, they're not!"

"Yeah, they are!" Gabriel pulled the blanket off his hair, where damp curls hung over his forehead. "See?" A moment of silent stares passed over them before the boy tightened his grip on the fabric.

"I'm sorry I scared you and you fell into the pool. I just wanted to say hi... And sorry for taking your hat."

"You were loud... I don't like loud people."

"Sorry."

"And you were mean."

"I said I'm sorry!" Gabriel covered his ears, and the boy retreated into his blanket again. "Sorry... Are you done?"

Gabriel smiled. He was scary before, but he looked nice now. Maybe he was wrong about the boy.

"I'm Justin."

"Justin." He rolled the name over his tongue, again and again, until Justin gave him a squint-eye look.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That."

"... I don't get it." Justin's stone face melted, and he chuckled. When he did, his face lit up, and his olive cheeks puffed up and shone.

"So, are we amigos now?" Justin asked with a grin.

"Amigos?"

" Sí! I told you my name, and I know yours... And I said I'm sorry for everything. That means we're friends, right?"

"That's how it happens?"

"Sí!" Justin turned around, fully facing Gabriel, and took both his hands. "Now we're friends!" Gabriel stared at Justin, at his hands, and back. His hands were tough for his age, his nails short and chewed. For the soccer goalie to have tough hands was fine, but his nails looked weird. Gabriel wanted to tear his hands away, but then Justin's grinning face made him rethink it.

A friend.

His first friend.

He grinned back, his heart thudding with excitement.

"Okay!"

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