Hopscotch (OTA)

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It was Saturday and Annie was still at the inn. There was still a lot to figure out about the inn and everything that was going on. The Peter Parker here had a girlfriend and it wasn't her mom. Annie didn't like to think about it.

She found chalk at the boutique. Chalk helped her think and helped her keep busy.

The parking lot was covered in flowers, trees, and chalk rainbows. There was something that might have looked like Spider-Man and next to him a woman next to him with red hair.

The pictures were abandoned for a game of hopscotch. She threw a rock on number 6 and started to hop.

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Annie was not scared. Her eyes went wide and she looked delighted.

"Can I pet him?" She asked excitedly.

Her parents always told her to ask first when it came to dogs.

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"Dante would like that." Miguel nodded toward her and Dante didn't need anymore encouragement to step forward, closer to Annie.

"Just be careful of his tongue. He likes to lick a lot."

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Annie giggled excitedly as she pet Dante.

"We're not allowed pets in the apartment, but I've always wanted a dog," she said. "I'm Annie!"

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"I'm Miguel." He introduced himself. "And I wasn't allowed a pet either. Dante's a street dog and my friend." He was more than that but not many people could see the real Dante.

Dante licked Annie's cheek and wriggled in excitement as she pet him.

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"A street dog?" She asked, still petting. "I'm glad he's your friend. He seems nice."

Annie changed to scratch behind his ears.

"You seem really nice Dante," She said, giggling.

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Dante's foot began to tap when Annie scratched him behind his ear. He liked this human.

"He's really nice." Miguel agreed and then added, "he can keep secrets, too. I tell him everything." It wasn't like any dog wouldn't keep secrets, too since they didn't talk, but that was different.

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Annie gasped. She crouched and looked Dante right in the face.

"Dante! You can talk?" She asked excitedly, expecting a reply.

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"He can't talk." Miguel admitted sheepishly. "Dante understands what you're saying though." That he firmly believed.

He thought about if he should admit it, then made a decision. "Dante can't talk but he is an alebrije. A spirit guide."

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Annie was a bit disappointed that Dante couldn't talk, but when Miguel mentioned he was a spirit guide, her interest piqued.

"Like a ghost?" She asked, petting him again. "But my hand doesn't go through him."

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"Sort of. I mean Dante isn't dead or anything like a ghost is." Miguel tried to explain what it was. "They are animal guides that protect families. Dante protects my family in the Land of the Dead."

Well most specifically, he protected Miguel but until he gets to the Land of the Dead, Dante helps Pepita protect them.

"They're sacred and came go to both Lands."

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"Oh wow!" She said, petting Dante with extra enthusiasm. "I've never met a sacred magic animal before. You're pretty cool, Dante."

Annie looked up to Miguel.

"And so are you, for knowing all that." She said. "How did you find out all this stuff?"

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"Well." Miguel ducked his head and then looked at Annie again. "I kind of went to the Land of the Dead last year. That's when Dante turned into an Alebrije. He helped me find my great great grandfather."

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Annie sucked in a deep, excited breath.

"You went to the Land of the Dead!" She said. "What's it look like? Is it nice? Can you visit it again? Is it dangerous?"

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"It was amazing!" Miguel said excitedly. "But I don't think I can go back. I think it was only a weird magical one time thing." He was okay with that, but he did wish he could see his ancestors again.

"It's not dangerous at all. Well, the place isn't but sometimes there's people that are mean. But mostly everyone was really nice."

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"People can be mean everywhere," She said sagely with a nod. "But that's really exciting. I wish I could see what it looked like. I've never been so somewhere that cool, except maybe here at the inn."

Annie wasn't sure how she felt about this place yet. She had mixed feelings.

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"My friend Mack is making a comic of my adventures with Dante in the Land of the Dead. When he gives me a page of how it looked I'll show you. If you want." Miguel offered. The page that he had made of Papa Hector, looked exactly like him.

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"Yes please!" Annie responded instantly. "I love comics. Did you know that my dad had comics about him before I was born? People used to make like, lunch boxes and stuff with him on it."

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"Really?!" Miguel's eyes got big. He didn't know anyone that had a famous relative that would have a real comic about them. "Wow, what did he do?"

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"He's a superhero!" She said proudly. "His name is Spider-Man and he'd go around stopping the bad guys."

Annie decided to demonstrate by kicking and punching the air a few times.

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"Spiderman?" Miguel furrowed his brow. Why did that sound familiar? Was that from Mack's world with Changers or had Liz talked about him?

"Does he change into a spider? Uh, I guess a really big one."

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Annie looked confused and then suddenly laughed. It wss bright and bubbly.

"Noooo," she said smiling. "He's just a guy. He wears a costume and can climb walls and using spider webbing to fight. He's really cool and never loses and strong and the best!"

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"Oh a superhero." Miguel understood now what she was saying. Then it finally clicked in to place for him about Spiderman. "There's someone here that can do the same thing." It wasn't connecting that they might be the same person. Miguel assumed that it was another generation since Annie had said her father.

"Peter."

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Annie giggled.

"That's my dad!" She said proudly. "Only he's a lot younger here then back home."

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Miguel's eyes widened at that. He hadn't been looking at his journal when Peter sent the message to all so he never 'got the memo'. Before he could stop himself, Miguel found himself asking, "is it weird to see your dad almost your age?"

It would be weird for him to see his parents as kids or teenagers.

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Annie looked surprised and then she looked thoughtful.

"He's still kind of old here. He's like, 16." She replied. "But he's a lot like when he's older already. He makes the same sort of faces and jokes and he's nice... So it's not really weird."

Annie halted

"It's more weird he isn't with Mom" she said. "I don't like him with the girl here.'

Annie knew Liz, but she was being a brat.