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Hello! Welcome to Stories Podcast. I'm your host Amanda Weldon.

Today's story is called Keep It Chill, da Fadil. An original story written for you by Daniel Hines.

Today we'd like to say a special thank you to Lila and Logan and their family from Burlingham, Molly, Sam and Henry and their family.

Oliver James and Charlotte Marie and their family Owen and Graham and their family from Madison, Wisconsin,

Calvin and Kennedy and their family Alma and her family from Arlada, California, David, Judah, Ella and Anna and their family, Milo and Luna and their family,

and Zoe and Beatrix and the rest of the Diamond family. Thank you so much Beatrix, Zoe, Luna, Milo, Anna, Ella, Judah, David, Alma, Kennedy, Calvin, Graham, Owen, Charlotte Marie, Oliver James, Henry, Sam, Molly, Logan and Lila.

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Keep It Chill, da Fadil.

Maya's diary. Keep Out. April 7th.

Dear diary, this place is terrible and I hate it here. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I hate it three times. I hate it a hundred times. It's even worse than I thought it would be. I'd rather be living in the woods with a family of rabid skunks than be in this house.

Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic. Let me start over. We moved in with Cliff this week. I know I should have been prepared. My friends, Maddie and Rachel, they warned me over and over. But did I listen? Of course not. Then after three very quick years, Cliff and Mom got married earlier this month. Once that was out of the way, it was always the plan to move into his house. And well, here we are.

I guess I just thought it wouldn't happen. Or maybe just that it wouldn't happen so fast. Time is weird, isn't it? I was dreading having to leave the little apartment where Mom and I lived together for the past ten years. I was dreading it so bad that the days passed like a TV show in fast forward when your dog sits on the remote and you can't get it out from under him.

You're frustrated and your show is getting ruined, but you're not allowed to be mad because the dog just looks so happy to be on the couch with you. So upsetting.

On the other hand, when you're really looking forward to something, like say summer vacation starting, every day seems to drag on and on. It feels like it'll never arrive, like someone is pasting extra days onto the calendar. They're like, oh, that? It's just the triple of June.

Everyone knows that June has an extra triple tucked away in there. Yeah, yeah, triple isn't a real word. Since this is a new diary, I filled my old one again. I guess I should explain in case I ever get famous and someone reads these or something. I like to make up words. It started when I was just learning to write and didn't know any better. I thought making up words was the kind of thing any old person could do.

Back then, I had words like throshell, which is what our old washer did when there were too many towels inside. Or there was prickly, which is the word I used to describe the feeling of really having to use the bathroom. Don't worry, I grew out of that one.

Anyway, I'm writing this in my new room at Cliff's house. It's nice enough, I guess. It's definitely bigger than my room at the apartment, and I got to paint it whatever color I wanted. I chose this cute, earthy pink that the paint store called Happenstance, which is just as made up a word as anything I've ever cromulated.

With the paint, I also got a new bed and some posters on the wall of some good artists and bands I like. I also got to put my vanity right in my room, just like Maddie and Rage have at their houses, which is cool. But still, all the pink walls and posters in the world wouldn't make me happy to be here.

I used to write a new song practically every day in my last diary, but I just can't hear. It's like this place is just smothering my creativity. I don't know.

Since I can remember, it's been just me and mom on our own. Sure things were tough sometimes, but we always had each other. Cliff is nice and all, and I know mom loves him, but why did they have to go and get married?

...