"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself." -Jim Morrison

The person had jaggedy brown hair cut close to its face and wore one of those undershirtlike tops with faded jeans cut off above the knees. He couldn't honestly tell whether it was a girl or a boy.
"Hi," he or she said, jerking his or her head toward the Perkins place. "We just moved in."

Jess stood where he was, staring.

The person slid off the fence and came toward him. "I thought we might as well be friends," it said. "There's no one else close by."

Girl, he decided. Definitely girl, but he couldn't have said why he was suddenly sure.