"So, what's going on in the outdoor world?" I asked Brian a few months later as we sat down to our daily tea.

"Um...well, I actually just didn't tell you this, but I made some friends," Brian said with his charming smile.

"Oh, that's great!" I rejoined. "But, I thought you didn't want to make friends because you always move?"

"Well, it looks like we're staying here," he answered. "Plus, if we do move, I'll have to tell someone about you to take care of you, so why not have it be someone I can trust?" He smiled again.

"Well, bring them over, I want to meet them," I told him. "How about tomorrow?"

Brian's face fell.

"What?" I asked.

"Um...that wouldn't be a good idea, because your family's landing."

"But...that's six months early!" I exclaimed.

"I know. Apparently, they were going twice the speed they were supposed to..."

"Well, that doesn't change anything, as long as they're trust-worthy," I told him.

"Are you sure?" Brian asked, and I nodded. "Okay, then...I'll go home and talk to them."

"Oh, do you think you could stop by the store and buy me something?" I asked, smiling sweetly.

"No more tampons," Brian warned.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. I just need some more hair dye, because I have major roots. Could you, please?"

"Sure," he answered, quite relieved. "Um...what colour?"

"Here..." I said as I took a pair of scissors. "Take a lock of my hair and get the closest colour." I looked at my now uneven hair. "Great, now I need to cut my hair," I muttered.

"Ah!"

"What was that?" Brian asked, somewhat surprised.

In walked Henry. "Oh, it's just Henry. He hasn't yet mastered 'Alex', so that's how he calls me."

"Wow, so you're actually getting somewhere with this experiment?" Brian asked.

"I wouldn't call it an experiment, since I'm against experimenting on animals."

"So, what would you call it?"

"Communication outreach," I stated.

"Oh, okay," Brian said as he tried not to laugh.

"I'm serious!"

"Ec!" Henry sounded.

"Hey, that's right, Henry!" I said, adverting my attention. "Now, put it together...Ah-ec."

"Ah..."

"Ah-ec."

"Ec."

"I'm going, Alex. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Brian," I said, not really listening. I wouldn't notice he was gone for about ten minutes. "Ah-ec," I repeated.

"Ah...ec."

"Yes! Now, together. Ah-ec."

"Ah...ec."

"Alex!"

"Wow, that was perfect, Henry!" Then I looked at him. "That wasn't you, was it?" He shook his head. "And you were going to take all the credit, weren't you?" He covered his face.

"Hey, Alex!" I recognised my sister's voice, and ran over to get my enchanted mirror.

"Hey, Jen!" I greeted my twin. "I wish I could hug you."

"I know, it's been so long!" Jen replied. "Um...we're landing tomorrow."

"Yeah, I just found out."

"From whom?" Jen asked.

"Brian," I answered.

"Alex, it's so weird not to have you always here with me," my twin confided.

"I know. Have Mum and Dad found out yet?"

Jen shook her head. "They're still asleep. I woke up early because I haven't eaten in six months and was starving. They should wake up in a half hour. What am I going to tell them?"

"Why would you know anything anyway?" I asked. "Say I escaped, and you're positive that I'm happy and safe. This is also why I didn't tell you where I was going, because you wouldn't be able to lie to them. It's the truth."

"Yeah, I know," Jen said. "Well, I should be going now. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Oh, and sis-"

"What?"

"You've got roots."

I sighed. "I know, I have to do something about it."

"Well, bye."

"Bye, Jen," I said, and she disappeared.

"So, why'd you bring us to this island?" I heard a voice from far away. I put on an invisible cloak and walked towards the voices. "It's overrun with monkeys. It's like Planet of the Apes or something."

"Planet of the Apes?" a second unfamiliar voice asked.

"Yeah, this series of movies started in the 1960's about apes taking over Earth and stuff. It's whacked," the first voice answered. With a snap of my fingers, I was walking beside them.

There were three new boys and Brian. The first voice belonged to a tall, blonde guy with baby blue eyes. The second was completely opposite the first- barely 5'0", with brown hair and brown eyes. The third had sandy blonde hair that I longed to run my hands through, and dreamy green eyes.

Henry dropped down from a branch to stand in front of them. "Ah-ec!" he pronounced in broken speech.

"See?" the first pointed. "They've already started adapting to our speech!"

Brian ignored them. "I brought you here because I want you to meet someone," he told them.

"This someone couldn't come to the mainland?" the brown-haire guy, the second voice, asked.

"No, she can't come off the island. "At least, not right now. Now, I need you three to promise not to mention this to anyone," Brian said. "It's very important that this remains a secret, but both of us are trusting the three of you with this secret. Now, you promise?"

"I promise," they all swore, obviously intrigued.

"Is that a house?" the third asked, and I snapped back into my yard and took off my cloaking spell.

"Alex?" Brian called out.

"In here," I answered.

"I've brought you some guests."

"Come on in," I told them, keeping in the back room. "I'll be out in a minute." I heard the chairs move, and then I came out. "I'm so glad you could come today," I told them, finally emerging. "Hey, Brian," I said as I hugged him.

"Alex, these are my friends Matt, Mike, and Stuart. Guys, this is my friend Alex," Brian introduced.

"Pleased to meet you," I greeted them.

"Likewise," Stuart, the dreamy one, replied.

"Okay, I get it, why you're a secret!" Mike, the tall one, said. "You're a fugitive...no, too clean to be a fugitive. You're the daughter of fugitives and you came here so the government wouldn't kill you, and now you're having a love affair with Brian!"

I laughed. "That's hardly it," I told him.

Matt, the short one, tried a guess. "Your parents exiled you from your house because you were pregnant!"

"Come on now, does this look like the figure of someone who's had a child before turning seventeen?" I asked. "Wrong."

"Aren't you Alexandria Greenwood?" Stuart asked. "I mean, royalty of England?"

I smiled. "How'd you figure it out?" I asked.

"Well, first of all, you have a British accent, not Australian. Second, I have pictures of you all over my walls, and I would recognise you with any disguise. Third, your true hair colour's growing back. But...aren't you supposed to be on a spaceship and landing today?" he asked.

"That's my secret," I told them. "My family doesn't know where I am, only my sister knows the truth. So, you have to promise not to-"

"We promise," they inturrupted.

I smiled. "Good. Now-"

"Ah-ec!"

Matt smiled. "Was that...a baby?" he asked.

"You found me out," I said. "Yes, that's my baby."

"I knew it!" Matt rejoyced.

"Although, I don't think you understand..."I went back into my bedroom and came back out holding Henry's hand, who had climed in through the window. "This is my baby, Henry."

"Ah-ec," Henry said as he crawled onto my shoulder.

"He's the talking monkey?" Mike asked, and Henry nodded. "That's remarkable that he can talk! Does he understand what I'm saying?"

Henry nodded. "Yes, he understands most words, through lots of practice in the last six months, but he can only say my name so far. Of course, this is good progress," I told them. "That Goodman chick from the 90's took six years to get her chimpanzee to say a few words."

"Well, I just wanted to bring them by, but we have to get to a track meet," Brian said. "I'll come by later to help you with your hair."

"Okay, thanks. I'm going to finish reading this book to Henry." I held up Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora.

"Oh, is that by Michael Nesmith?" Stuart asked.

"Yes, it is. You know his writings?" I asked.

"Oh, much more than that," he answered. "My mother's a huge fan, has been all her life. He was in a pop rock band and tv show in the 1960's, and then when they broke up, he formed a country music band, which was actually good and invented 'rock country', then he made a lot of award-winning movies, came up with the concept of music television, and then wrote books."

"Wow, I didn't know he did all that," I said. "I just found this book in my house's old library and fell in love with it. And I knew he was in one of those hippie bands in the 60's, but that's all."

"Oh, if you ask my mother about him, she'd give you plenty more information. But, I really have to go now. Maybe I'll come visit you again next week."

I smiled. "I'd like that," I told him. "Thanks, all of you, for coming."

"It was no problem," Matt said as they left. "Bye, Henry."

Henry waved back to them before climbing up a nearby tree and disappearing into the leaves. The boys walked down a now worn path and also slowly disappeared into the horizon.

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