Rhyme ~ an original story

chapter eight

"Ready to go?" Ms. Kelly asked the girl.

Rhyme reluctantly nodded her head.

"Have a nice evening, Mrs. Ballinger," Ms. Kelly said as the two walked out the door.

"Take care!" Mrs. Ballinger responded.

Rhyme followed Elise around the block to her car. The car looked very different from others that she'd seen.

"Step back a little so I can open up the doors," Ms. Kelly said while looking for her key fob.

She pressed a button, and instead of reaching to open the door, the doors opened on their own. Rhyme stared in awe as the doors moved upwards instead of out.

"Have you ever seen a Tesla?" Ms. Kelly asked as Rhyme sat down in the backseat.

"No," Rhyme buckled her seatbelt.

"Well, here's a first for you," Ms. Kelly started the engine.

The forty minute drive was fairly quiet, except for the radio.

Once reaching the house, Rhyme realized that Ms. Kelly wasn't rich, she just had a very expensive car.

The house was two stories and it appeared fairly small from the outside. As the two walked in, Rhyme noticed a beautiful sunroom off the kitchen with art supplies everywhere. Elise led Rhyme to the guest room upstairs.

"Here's where you'll sleep tonight. You can look around a bit, but if you want a snack or want to do some art, you can come downstairs," Ms. Kelly said before leaving.

Rhyme set down her backpack near the window. She looked around the room for a minute before walking down the hall. She spotted an empty lilac room. She entered the room and noticed it had a bay window, which had more room to sit on than the window back at the group home. Rhyme exited the room, wishing happiness to the little girl that would end up living in such a nice room.

The room next to it was painted sky blue and was fully furnished. A baby boy, probably only eighteen months, was sleeping in the crib. Rhyme carefully walked over and peered in. He had dirty blonde hair and a small smile on his face. He looked so peaceful and happy. The baby started stirring in his sleep, so she quickly left the room. Rhyme decided to head downstairs.

"Hey, I've got some cantaloupe if you want that. There's also cheese sticks and crackers, or there's homemade peppermint bark," Elise said.

"I'm allergic to peppermint," Rhyme mentioned, sitting at the kitchen island so she would no longer be standing in the doorway awkwardly.

Ms. Kelly frowned.

"They said you didn't have any allergies," she said.

"I've never had peppermint in their care," Rhyme said.

"Got it. Well, would you like cheese and crackers?" Elise asked.

Rhyme nodded her head. Ms. Kelly unwrapped a cheese stick and placed it on a plate next to six saltine crackers. She placed it in front of Rhyme.

"I heard you walking down the hallway," Elise started, causing Rhyme's eyes to widen. "No, you're not in trouble or anything. But did you see Brayden?"

"Yes," Rhyme guessed that he was the boy.

"Isn't he adorable? He's super silly too," Ms. Kelly smiled.

Rhyme fake smiled before finishing her food.

"So, do you want to sketch? I know that's really the only media you've done, but I didn't know if you liked to paint," Ms. Kelly said.

"I'd like to paint," Rhyme said quietly.

"Great! I'll get you an easel set up and grab a canvas," Ms. Kelly headed towards the sunroom.