James tucked Journal in his underwear draw where nobody would look, [i]not[/i] underneath his pillow like [i]somebody[/i]. With a sense of security surging through his veins, he leapt off his bed and did a lame sort of tumble through the air before falling to his death on the floor that he never undeclared as lava.

"No! The floor is eating me apart! I'm burning! Must. Make. Way. To. Rug. Help!" screamed James.

His mom burst through the door. "James Peter Monroe what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Mom, please, help me to the rug! My legs are already burnt, but we can save my torso if you act fast!"

"Can you just please explain to me what in the world you are doing? The sun just came out and you of all people aren't out there," retorted James' mom.

"Oh come on, Mom. You of all people should know what I'm doing. You remember when it was raining and you told Isabella and I to play in the rain? Well we played the floor is lava. You know? You act like the floor is lava and you have to jump from sofa to sofa trying not to fall?" James tried to explain, but his mom was just nodding her head side to side. "Well whatever I was just staying in character but now that you ruined the fun I think I'll just go outside." His mom left the room muttering something about how he was already in middle school and needed to understand when to play and when to drop things.

With the fun spoiled, James changed his clothing into a more suitable outfit--old shorts and a loose green t-shirt--which he could get dirt on. He called up Ana to see if she could go out too, but James was left with a voicemail of her soft voice instead. He'd just have to go to her house and check the old fashioned way.

Heading down the stairs, ready to go outside, James heard Isabella picking yet another argument. "It's going to be like 500 degrees outside with the humidity and you want me to cover up!?" [i]I'm sure mom is having the grandest of days today.[/i] James hovered near the stairs for a few more minutes, waiting for Mom to cool down. Sometimes James thought he and Isabella gave Mom too hard of a time. Dad was hardly in the house anymore, being so bogged down with so much work, and Mom was still trying to go back to school to be a nurse. But none of that seemed to slow down Isabella or James from being the little kids they always were. They didn't stop arguing and they didn't stop asking things of Mom either. [i]I need to do something for Mom sometime.[/i]

After a few minutes passed, James bounced his way down the stairs only to see that Mom was no longer in the kitchen. He didn't feel like tracking her down so he just left a note on the granite countertop. "Out with friends digging more holes. Will come back with Isabella for dinner. See you soon. Love you." With his absence accounted for, he unlocked the front door and started his trek to Ana's house.