Through Innocent Eyes

The Essence of Family pt. 2

Hours had passed, and my room was now a bright purple, with pink butterflies and yellow daisies painted on the walls.

The paint had dried, and Jessica and I were now working on decorating.

The new gold bedframe complemented the beautiful purple comforter and matching sheets nicely.

I had a gold vanity that held an empty picture frame which Jessica had told me, 'Would be essential due to me making new memories.'

With a little added decoration here and there, it was finished. Jessica and I took a step back and admired our masterpiece.

"Wow." I exclaimed, looking from Jessica to my room.

"Not bad, huh?" She asked, bumping my side with her hip.

I shook my head and laughed as Hope walked into the room and gasped.

"You like it?" I asked Hope, kneeling down beside her.

She nodded her head in amazement and ran for my bed, finding a way to climb on up.

Jessica laughed and stood in the doorway, snapping a picture of Hope and me.

..........

Dinner was ready on the table. It was a grilled steak, with salad and veggies on the side.

"Dinner looks great, dear." Mark said, waiting anxiously to put a piece of the juicy steak in his mouth.

"Thanks, honey." Jessica smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

Jessica sat down next to Mark, across from Hope and I.

"I just remembered! We have a soon-to-be twelve year old in our midst." Mark exclaimed, looking into my eyes with excitement.

I nodded my head, a smile spreading across my lips. "In six days." I said, taking a small bite of my food.

"Hmmm. We might need to do a little gift shopping soon." Jessica nudged Mark's arm playfully.

He nodded and took a bite of the delicious meat in front of him. "Delicious." He mumbled, nodding his head in approval.

............

It was Saturday, eight o'clock a.m., and Jessica was already awake.

She sat at the kitchen table on her laptop, sipping herbal tea.

"Morning." I said, yawning. "What are you doing?"

"Good morning, dear." She said, gulping down her tea. "I'm trying to enroll you into Eagle View, the middle school down the street before I miss the enrollment dates."

I nodded my head, taking the frosted flakes out of the cabinet. "Cool."

"Only five days until your 12th birthday!" Jessica exclaimed, smiling brightly.

"Yep." I tried to hide the ecstatic expression on my face. "And only 27 days until school starts." I said, loathing the idea of school.

I took a bite of my cereal, watching as Jessica pecked away at the keyboard.

"I want you to play outside today. Meet someone. Make a friend." Jessica looked up from her laptop and met my eyes.

"I'll pass." I laughed, shaking my head.

"Maya. You're going to have to get used to being around kids your age." She looked at me sternly.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Fine. I'll make a friend."

...........

After breakfast, I went back upstairs to my room and put on a yellow sun dress, and white flip-flops. I brushed my hair and my teeth, and walked down the stairs to the front door.

"I'm leaving now." I said, staring in at Jessica.

"Okay, have fun." She mumbled, not looking up from the screen.

"If you want to try and stop me, now's the time." I called to her, waiting for a response.

"Good try." She laughed, raising an eyebrow at me.

I heavily sighed, and walked out the front door.

..........

I decided to walk to the park. I'd gotten a glimpse of it on our way back from the store, and I figured there'd be some kids there.

The walk itself only took about a minute and a half, but finding someone my age took much longer.

I circled the park a few times, taking everything in. I was tired of walking, so I sat down under an oak tree.

I closed my eyes and let myself daydream a bit.

..........

"Hey. You can't sit here." A voice pulled me from my daydream.

I opened my eyes and was faced with another girl. She had golden hair, shining hazel eyes, and olive skin.

"Huh?" I asked, blinking a few times.

"This is my tree. You can't sit here." She repeated, placing her hands on her hips.

"Oh. Sorry." I sat up, moving out of the way.

"What's your name?" She asked, tilting her head at me.

"Maya. Yours?" I asked, smiling at her.

"I'm Sophia."

............

It was the morning of my 12th birthday. I'd played with Sophia every day up until today. She was coming to my party, and for once, I felt like I actually had a friend.

"Are you planning on playing with Sophia while I get things set up here?" Jessica asked.

"We don't call it that now. It's called 'hanging out'. We're too old to 'play'." I said, not looking away from my closet. "And yes. We're hanging out while you set up."

Jessica chuckled and came up next to me.

"Deciding what you're going to wear?" She asked, looking from my closet to me.

"Yea. Which one?" I held up two dresses. One was silver with red roses, and one was black, with white daisies.

"Hmmm," Jessica contemplated. "That one." She pointed to the black one with white daisies.

"Good choice." I smiled, hugging her tightly.

"Time to set up." Jessica smiled, closing my door behind her.

...........

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Maya... Happy birthday to you...

........

Hey Guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of "Through Innocent Eyes." Next chapter, you're going to witness a five year time jump! Yes, in the next chapter; sweet little Maya will be a seventeen year old! This chapter is dedicated to: DrewDunn! Thanks for following me! Keep reading, and don't forget to vote and comment! Xoxo- Mo.

~Andre~