She was the only one in the entire Collins Family Tree with firey red hair. If you asked anyone in town to point you to the local redhead, all hands would point to Collinwood. Amanda Collins was only otherwise known as the little sister of Collinsport High School's star quarterback Jamison Collins. After leaving her cousin Sara at the Old House, she was left to walk the
lonely tree covered walk to Rose Cottage. Always walking with her books up in front of her like a shield, she silently slipped in barely noticed without a noise.

"Darling," Maggie was surprised. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I'm sorry." the girl looked up with her father's big blue eyes.

"Did you meet a nice boy today ?" Maggie made another attempt to crack her daughter's shell.

"No." The girl silently put her books down, sat down on her canopy bed and pulled her boots off.

"Sweetheart," Maggie sat by her. "There must be a boy you like." She saw a faint glimmer to her girls's eyes. "I knew it ! What's his name ?"

"He's no one." Amanda insecurely twisted one of her curly red locks around her finger.

"Well, invite him to the house." Maggie smiled. "I'd love to meet him."

"I can't."

"Why not ?" Maggie heard the timer on the oven go off downstairs. "Back in a minute,princess."

Amanda sighed loud enough as she pulled off her sweater and pulled on a loose t-shirt. She glanced at herself in the mirror a minute, turned sideways and wondered why all the guys went crazy for her cousins, Sara and Lizzie. Sara was beautiful and outspoken and Lizzie was often over-sexed and surrouned by boys. Maybe it was their blonde hair ?

Hearing voices outside, she turned, hid behind the curtain and watched as Jamison and William came down the path. The two of them were horsing around and imitating wrestler's movements. She gazed upon William even closer as he grinned, laughed and looked up to her window.

"If only you weren't my cousin........" Amanda whispered to herself as they came through the front of the house and headed straight to the kitchen. It had only been ten years since Rose Cottage had been restored for Quentin and Maggie to move in and raise a family, but both the boys together had the power to level it !

"Chicken !!" Jamison opened the fridge as he and William grabbed sodas and scarfed down anything small enough to be swallowed. Maggie watched them as she lowered the heat on the oven.

"You know," She replied. "That chicken might be better if you heated it in the microwave."

"Microwave ?" Jamison made a stupid face.

"Fire." William told him in a gutteral apelike voice. "Fire good."

They shoved the bowl in to the microwave and regressed back into apes. Grumbling, hooting and acting as their primeval ancestors, they bowed and worshipped the microwave as Amanda sneaked down the back steps. She giggled at their humor as Maggie stood in disbelief.

"William," Maggie spoke as she tossed a salad for tonight's dinner. "Are you in Jamison's band for the talent show tonight ?"

"No," Barnabus and Angelique's son spoke in his normal voice. "I'm doing something else with Amanda."

"That's sweet." Maggie looked up. "I was hoping she'd have a part."

The microwave went off as Jamison reached for the bowl. Burning himself, he chattered and shrieked like a monkey as he and William grabbed their food and went up the back steps acting as cavemen. Amanda tried to conceal her laughter.

"Cavemen gatherer good." Jamison looked at his sister. "Stupid little sister bad."

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.