Back outside, a peal of laughter and giggles broke through the calm silence. Startled, a stunning crimson red cardinal few off. "Such a beautiful bird," the source of the laughter sighed. Her companion nodded in agreement.

"Look at this landscaping," he stated, elated. "It's so wonderful!"

"If you say so," she laughed, tossing her brown curls flirtatiously over her shoulder.

"I thought I heard something," Maria's cheerful voice rang out.

"Hi!" the female newcomer exclaimed, waving a perfectly manicured hand to Maria, "I'm Kim."

"And I'm Luke," the guy smiled, his green eyes sparkling like deep pools of clear, fresh pond water.

"Nice to meet ya'll," Maria smiled. "My name's Maria. Com'n in, I'll introduce ya to Kev. I'm afraid he's scared off the other two girls, they retreated to their rooms." she paused. "Ok, he didn't scare them. He angered Ashleigh and upset Kristin, but ya get the point." Kim and Luke nodded warily, quickly following Maria into the house.

~

Kevin looked up curiously at the newcomers. "There are other males!" he laughed triumphantly, shaking hands with Luke. He looked Kim over, of course. He noted her seemingly perfect appearance: curly hair, tiny waist, shining brown eyes, just over 5'7, pretty much everything society deems as the ideal woman. He gave her an appreciative smile. "Hey there beautiful, how are you?" he asked, winking a little. Kim turned a delicate shade of pink.

"Now what's wrong with this guy that already those other girls hate him?" she asked, smiling flirtatiously at him.

"Let's just say he didn't approve," Maria explained softly, finally understanding the other girl's feelings.

Kevin just shrugged, "I guess you could put it that way."

Luke nodded thoughtfully while Kim, thinking in the views of "fashion" and the "in" thing, started judging the girls immediately, though she knew absolutely nothing about them, not even their names.

**Chapter Five**