Sunny and Lize had hit it off with the little boy, an adorable little seven year old named Julian, and they had to present him to Jack. Sunny marched him forward, hands on his shoulders, while Lize blazed the trail. Their ice cream had been mostly devoured. "Jack! This is Julian! Can he come over some day and play?" "Yes, please, Jack? He's good, I can tell." The little boy stared with innocent fear at the woman who must have looked brashly intimidating - professional dress, crazed hair, sharp eyes. Jack, however, offered a smile. "If Julian doesn't mind him being corrupted by two masterminds, I don't see the problem." The girls gasped with pleased anticipation.
That was when a voice cut through. Jack turned and looked, seeing a familiar face. Oh. Great. More people from Hogwarts. It wasn't enough that she had run into Ariel, her first crush, or Ariel's best friend. Jack did not like seeing people from school, for the Hogwarts years had not been kind to her. Before she had made friends, the years had been lonely and angry. Once she had friends, everything had become complicated, and twisted, and wrong. The pranks were fun. The classes were good. The social scene had been one major bummer.
Jack thought she remembered the girl. She was pretty much certain that her name was Kiera, but that she usually went by something else. Jack could not remember. She had not been plugged in with the social side of things during school. Still, she allowed a small smile of recognition, though the smile was not very big, and it lacked the sincerity that she had given the kids. "Kiera, right?" Jach shrugged. "Y'know, work. Um, this is my niece Sunny, and her best friend Charlize."
Charlize piped up, "And this is Julian."
Sunny stepped forward and offered a sticky hand. "Nice to meet you."