A frog hopped twice, maybe three times, and paused as if hiding at home base. This rock was stable; a place to hide, though unsheltered. The sun beat down, grabbing the water off its back. Do frogs need to stop to catch their breath? This one did, Andy thought. That's exactly what it was doing. He looked so warm, the frog. Even cozy. Andy felt cozy and warm in the fleece pull over he had snuck from his parents closet before heading down to the creek. He had thought to run past Chris' house and beg him to come along, but he knew now that that would have been wrong. He wanted to be alone. He and his new friend Cecil, the frog, were alone now, though each was looking right at the other. Hiding in plain sight. No predator would look for them here.

With a soft sigh, Andy decided to confront his new friend, "Run from the missus?" he giggled. "Maybe a bossy older sister," he added earnestly when Cecil didn't respond. "You know, Cecil," Andy paused to test the frog's reaction to his name, realizing he had, until now, only used it in his head, "you're a smart guy-- frog." Andy looked up at the sky. There were so few clouds. Everthing above him was blue save the blinding orange and yellow sun.

"Ugh." Andy fell back on the grass, ignoring the sting of the hard landing. "It's good to see you again, mate." It was fine to aknowledge their previous encounter, right? Even if Andy had, just now, made it up? "You know, that story you told me last time about the gold hidden in the cave under water? I don't believe it." He paused, awaiting Cecil's rebuttal. "Well I'm going to need some proof, aren't I?"