Leah steps into the sandbox, only to see that the children are being supervised by a very bored teen. A teen that Leah knows very well: her best friend, Tonya. Tonya glances up for a split second when Leah arrives, but immediately returns her attention to her phone. Knowing Tonya, she’s only watching the children because Mrs. Prince forced her to. Hopefully, Tonya’s apathy and general dislike of children will prevent her from recognizing Leah.
To her surprise, Leah enjoys her time in the sandbox. The children are more than happy to let “Hailey” join in their play, and don’t question Leah’s claim that they’ve seen her at daycare before. Eventually, Mrs. Prince tells Tonya to bring the children inside. Tonya grumbles and puts her phone away.
“All right, rugrats, I guess it’s time for cake and whatever.” The children and Leah stand up. “No sand’s allowed in the house, though.” Leah isn’t surprised. Mrs. Prince is notoriously fastidious. The children leave the sandbox one at a time, have any sand brushed off by Tonya, and then go inside. Leah is the last.
Leah holds her breath as Tonya roughly brushes her clothes. Tonya peers closely at Leah’s face, looking for stray grains of sand. Recognition flickers in her eyes.
“…Leah?” Tonya whispers.
“Me Haiwey,” Leah corrects quickly. Tonya doesn’t seem convinced. Panicking, Leah does the only thing she can think of to prove she’s as young as she looks.