| Episode: | Season 1, Episode 1 – Chaos! At The Gala |
| Location: | Residential Park |
| Written By: | Addison Morgan Riley Bennett |
| Date: | 08/30/2026 |
| Word Count: | 1,081 |
Riley sat on the small park bench, her feet dangling beneath her while she kicked them slowly back and forth. There were a few times the ten-year-old happened to look up, able to see the top of the skyline from the other two petals of the station. The young girl’s vision returned to the surface of the small reflection pool at the center of the park.
“Hi,” Addison said. She tilted her head slightly, “You haven’t been waiting for very long have you?”
Riley smiled warmly, “Nah,” She answered. The girl slid over slightly so that Addison had some space to sit down next to her. “I heard what happened at the gala, are you alright?”
Addison shrugged as she sat down on the park bench next to her best friend. “Yeah I’m fine,” She answered. Addison hadn’t really thought too much about what happened, and her mother had made her sit with some young woman shortly after it happened.
“I was late because my Mom thought I needed to sit down and talk about my feelings with someone,” Addison admitted rather sheepishly. A slight frown appeared on her otherwise neutral face, and she shook her head. “What do you think about it?”
“Sounds scary,” Riley said with a nod. She wasn’t looking toward Addison when she spoke, and she was certain that if it came down to it Riley couldn’t do what her best friend had done. “Did they say what happened to him?”
“Died,” Addison mentioned with a shrug. “Mom tried explaining to me that it would take a few days for them to figure out exactly how. But, I guess shoving a steak knife through someone’s back will do that sometimes. I must have good aim,” She said with a nervous laugh.
Addison finally looked toward Riley, “I just kinda did something. I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, the wrong thing, or…” Her voice seemed to trail away and she fell silent.
Riley turned and looked at Addison for a moment before leaning over and hugging her best friend for a moment. “From the sounds of things, I’d say it was probably the right thing to do?” The ten-year-old questioned and released her friend. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Addison thought about the question, she really considered it for a moment, and then she shook her head. “No not really,” She answered. “Maybe in a few days I’ll wanna talk about it. But, after that weird conversation with the woman at the hospital I feel like I’ve talked enough to last a lifetime.”
Riley grinned when her friend said that, and she nodded. “So, would you like to know how things went with my Mom instead?”
Addison could see there was something there in the girl’s eye, and she nodded her head almost at once. “Yeah, let’s talk about that instead.” She suggested, since at least one of them was ready to talk about something important Addison saw no problem. The eleven-year-old leaned back onto her wrists and twisted her body slightly.
Riley didn’t know if she actually wanted to talk about it or not, but since Addison was willing to listen Riley went along with talking about it. “Well, at first everything seemed normal I guess.” She shrugged and looked away as she remembered the visit from the other day. The waiting room at the prison had been okay, and she had Todd with her.
“She seemed so calm, so…” The girl couldn’t find the words and shrugged as she scrunched her face and furrowed her brow. “Then she started talking to something or someone that wasn’t really there. And, then she started threatening us. Mainly threatening Todd.” Riley said.
Addison felt her heart sink in her chest when the girl said this, that it had started so calmly only to go sideways like that. She wanted to reach out and comfort the other girl, but there was something on her friend’s face that Addison couldn’t quite place. “What was she saying?”
Riley looked at her older friend and shrugged, “Just a bunch of nonsense.” She said, “It didn’t sound like her when she started spouting off like that. It was just really weird.” Riley turned and looked at Addison for a moment, “Dad doesn’t want us going anywhere near her. And, I think it really hurt my brother.”
Addison wasn’t sure if she blamed Riley’s father or not. What she did know was just how nervous Riley had been right before the visit. Now Addison understood why, but she said nothing about that choosing to comfort the other girl for the moment. “Why did they make you go if that’s what was going to happen?”
Riley shrugged, “I don’t know.” She answered honestly, “Dad said it had something to do with how my Mom was going to be getting to go home soon. They wanted us to reconcile with her, and all it did was trigger her.” The ten-year-old pointed out.
Riley continued to look at her feet for a moment before her eyes eventually drifted back toward Addison and she sighed again. “I don’t think she’ll be coming out any time soon now though. Not after that.”
Addison wondered what would happen now, “At least you still have your Dad?” She asked trying to sound somewhat reassuring.
“Yeah,” Riley answered.
Addison watched her best friend, and this time it was her turn to hug the other girl. It sounded like both of them had a really bad day at the same time. She released Riley, not saying much else because she didn’t really have the words to say. “Do you wanna go for a walk around the park?”
There was some part of Riley that just wanted to sit there and look at the reflection pool, listen to it lapping the edge. But, when her friend said something about a walk, she thought maybe that sounded like a better idea. “Sure,” She said with a shrug and hopped up.
Riley reached out, taking the other girl by the hand and starting toward the path. “You know,” She said softly while looking at her feet. “I think we need to talk my Dad into a shopping trip in the upper district.”
Addison laughed, the strain of their conversation seeming to release in that moment. “I like it.” She said with a devious grin. At least they still had each other, that was all that really mattered in the moment anyway.