Beep

Raising his head from his comic, Lincoln looked over to the laptop on his desk. In the bottom corner of the screen, the request for a video chat had popped up. As he saw the avatar of the user, he immediately smiled. Throwing the comic to the side he got off his bed, quickly putting on some pants and a shirt before he accepted the request. A window popped up, showing a familiar girl in her room.

"Hey Ronnie-Anne" Lincoln greeted her as he sat down at his desk. "What's up?"

The girl in the purple hoodie shrugged. "Just bored. Everyone's busy with something right now. Bobby and grandpa are in the store sorting stuff, and Carl is trying to show them he can carry more than Bobby. Grandma and Aunt Frida are making dinner, which means grandma's making dinner while Aunt Frida makes photos of the food. Carlotta is watching Carlito and CJ, Uncle Carlos has his head in his books again, and mom is out for a walk with Lalo and Sergio."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "I get Lalo, but do parrots need to be taken for a walk?"

"No, but she wanted to get Sergio away from Bobby – keeps bugging him for some reason. So, here I am, with nothing to do but sit around in my room. Got anything interesting to tell me?"

After pondering for a moment, Lincoln shook his head. "Not really. Things have been rather quiet here-"

Suddenly, a loud explosion from Lisa's room could be heard in the entire house, followed by the sounds of Luna's guitar, Lynn's basketball bouncing through the hallway and Lola's car riding down the stairs.

Lincoln cleared his throat. "Well, relatively quiet."

Ronnie Anne chuckled. "I know what you mean. Someone's always making noise over here, too – hard to believe Saturday mornings used to be quiet for me."

Putting hios arm on the desk Lincoln leaned forward. "So, having accustomed to your life in a big family yet?"

"I'm still not completely used to it, but it's getting better." She looked around the little room that was her own. "Just trying not to think about how I went from having a whole house for myself most of the day to living in a closet." Getting a little closer to the webcam, she took a look around Lincoln's room through the webcam. "Come to think of it, your room also used to be a closet, right?"

"A laundry closet – sometimes, I can still find a clothespin lying around somewhere. But it's my own, so I can't really complain."

"Yeah, it's better than sharing room with my mother, I guess."

"Does she snore?"

"Worse, she is hoarding the blanket. AND she is rollin around all night, taking all the space!"

"Well, giving you your own room was really sweet of your family. And honestly, I'm kind of jealous of the fridge."

"Oh yeah, that's pretty neat!" With a swing of her leg, Ronnie Anne kicked the fridge open, and took out a popsicle.

"And how's life in the city treating ya?" Lincoln asked, leaning back in his chair.

Ronnie Anne sucked on her popsicle for a moment, before it popped out of her mouth. "Not much different from Royal Woods, actually. Though there are some things I had to get used to – like trying to get past the gang of cats when I go to school and on my way back home." She pulled up her sleeve, revealing some claw marks. "Guess I still have to practice that."

Though they were minor, the sight of her wounds made Lincoln cringe slightly. "Ouch! Well I hope you have better luck next time. By the way, how is your new school? Made any friends already?"

She rolled up her sleeve again. "Not really. Guess I'll need some time to settle in." She put her popsicle back into her mouth, and rolled it around in her mouth.

"Don't worry – they'll like you once they got to know you" Lincoln assured her. After thinking about it however, he added: "Just, um… try not to be TOO much yourself in the beginning."

Ronnie Anne frowned. "Thanks for the advice" she said, tossing her empty popsicle-stick away. "Hey, could you do me a favor and punch your arm for me?"

"Hard pass" he replied, both kids cracking a smile at each other. Lincoln however noticed the face of his friend was looking a little more thoughtful than usual.

"So anything new at our… I mean your school?" she returned his question.

His gaze wandering to the ceiling Lincoln pondered. "The same stuff as always" he eventually told her. "Boring math lessons, weird cafeteria food, and Rusty trying to land with some girl."

Ronnie Anne snickered. "Who was the unlucky one this time?"

"I'm not sure – I only saw his crestfallen look after school and didn't ask." Staring straight at her Lincoln cocked his head. "I didn't know you were interested in that kind of rumors."

Ronnie Anne shrugged. "Nah, I guess I'm just curious. I've been seeing this school and all those people almost everyday for years, and now… well, now I don't see them anymore."

It was then Lincoln what was wrong with her. "Do you miss Royal Woods?"

Slowly, she nodded. Feeling bad for his friend, Lincoln bit his lip.

"Well, you aren't too far away. You can drop by anytime on the weekend!" he suggested.

Ronnie Anne smiled, though weakly. "Thanks, but I can't just ask someone to drive me over every weekend. Also, I should really first try to settle in here instead of staying glued to my old home."

"Oh, right." There was a moment of silence, feeling somewhat uncomfortable for both of them. Suddenly, an idea struck Lincoln's mind. "Then how about I just report every time something interesting happens, at school or here in my house?"

The smile on Ronnie Anne's face grew a little bigger. "That'd be cool."

Just then, someone was calling out to Ronnie Anne from outside her room. "RONNIE ANNE, DINNER'S ALMOST READY!" they could hear the voice of her mother call out.

"Oh, mom's back" Ronnie Anne said. "Well, that's my cue."

"Yeah, dad should be about done with the goulash soon too. What do you have tonight?"

"Rather ask me what we don't have" Ronnie Anne laughed. "Grandma always is making a feast."

"Well, bon appetite!"

"Same to ya. And if anything interesting happens around your place, tell me."

"Will do."

"Alright. Smell ya later, lame-o."