“Bye, OJ, see you later,” Jessica said, giving Jess a hug at the end of the cracked driveway.

“OJ?” Jacob asked, confused.

“We call each other ‘Other Jessica’, ‘OJ’,” she explained. Jessica actually hugged Jacob too, and then turned and ran back toward her house, waving in the doorway before disappearing inside. Jess turned back to Jacob and smiled.

“My house is this way,” she said, leading the way around the block. Her house was built into a hill, with half of the bottom story underground. It was a light pleasant blue, and had two cars in the driveway, and a motorcycle and dusty riding lawn mower in the carport. It had a large yard scattered with dogwoods, that had a stone birdbath and matching porch set that looked as if it hadn’t been touched in decades. A small burgeoning garden brightened the patch of grass in front of the front door.

“I should ask my grandma if you’re allowed in,” Jess said, motioning for him to stay in front of the side entrance in the carport. He waited as she ran inside. She returned a moment later and waved him inside. There was a computer directly inside the door, a china cabinet, and a small dining set. The kitchen was attached, separated by a bar. Then came the living room, all furnished in mismatched but comfy armchairs. Big TV, PS2, fish tank, stacks of movies and DVDs, side lamps. All in all, it was very cozy.

Jess’s grandmother was a small old woman around 80, at least five inches shorter than her granddaughter, with short brown hair with just a hint of silver coming into it. She was bustling around the kitchen with a pot on the stove, but stopped to smile at him. He smiled back, marveling at how much energy she had for her age. Jess pulled him down a small hall and into what he assumed was her bedroom.

It was small with pale walls. It had a Harry Potter calendar on the wall above a bed covered in pillows, along with a elastic crisscross note board, a Picasso painting and another one that he didn’t recognize. A tiny TV and a DVD player, a huge L-shaped corner desk, two bookshelves, a bureau, a closet, several instruments, a computer that was buried under clutter. It was all crammed in tightly, but there was a pathway to the bed and the chair in front of the desk was clean enough to sit on. Jess flopped down on her bed and Jacob took the chair.