🌟She's Special🌟

Picture Perfect

1 Month Later (Monday, March 8th, 2023) (Senior Picture Day) (7:02 AM) (Olivia's Perspective)
"Close your eyes for me, sweet pea." I just couldn't believe it! I was here doing Bella's makeup for her 8th-grade pictures. In a few short hours, she'll be taking a photo with her cap, diploma, and gown.
"That tickles a bit." She said while smiling.
"You've been extremely ticklish since I met you. I'm not in the least bit surprised." Bella opened her eyes again and I allowed her to look at herself in the mirror.
"It looks so good! Thank you, Mom!"
"You're welcome! Just put on your gloss and you're good to go!"
"Thankfully, I've already eaten breakfast so I won't ruin anything, but running for the train will be a different story."
"I'll drop you off, don't worry about that." Bella let out a small sigh and then smiled at me. I put the eyeshadow down and pulled up a chair next to my daughter.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Nervous?"
"And a bit sad. Mom, in two weeks from now, I'm going to know which high school I get into. It's like the end of an era. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a teenager."
"And that makes me sad because, what if that means my friends and I won't be together anymore?" I put my arm around my daughter.
"Honey, it's okay to feel sad about this and worry, but no matter what school you guys get into, you'll still be friends and have years and years of memories to fall back on. And about not being a kid, honey you're still a kid, you're still growing and learning, and I don't want you to worry about that."
"But people expect me to be mature and stuff. That's adult-like."
"No, that's not true baby girl, you turned 13 two months ago, No one expects you to be mature because you haven't go through those experiences yet..that'll test your maturity. Bella, you're fine. I promise." I hugged her.
"I can't sit here and promise you that you'll stay with your friends, because no one knows the future, but I can tell you that you just need to enjoy life as is right now, when we get there, we'll deal with that. Worrying will make you lose precious time, and that time can never be made up. Okay?"
"Yes, Mom. That helps. I've also been doing the techniques from therapy and they help a lot! I just kind of wanted to tell you." Sometimes, I thought to myself.
"That's so brave of you, sweet pea! Now come on, your Dad wants to take pictures."
"Bella?! Are you done?!" I raised my eyebrows.
"Aww, man!" We laughed together as we walked to our living room.
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The Trinity School (West 91st Street) (10:45 AM) (Bella's Perspective)
"Okay, Bella Benson, you're up young lady!" Kylie just finished taking her picture and it was my turn since we were going in alphabetical order. I put on the gown for the photo and stood in front of the podium type thing. I held the diploma and looked at the camera.
"Okay, big smile, big smile!" I put on my best smile because I really wanted this picture to come out well.
"Gorgeous!" The photographer exclaimed. They took about five photos, which I counted by the number of flashes. (Which sting by the way!)
"Thank you!" I said while taking the mock gown off. Another person went to get their picture taken as I sat by my friends. After we took our pictures we had to take a full class photo as well. This should be fun.
"Bella, you looked so cute smiling for your photo!" Sapphire told me.
"Thank you! I can't wait to see the rest of yours take yours."
"I heard that the people who edit the photos have worked in magazines and for celebrities! These are going to look so good!"
"They have to! These things aren't cheap you know!"
"Are you guys ready for spring break? It's going to be awesome! We're going to Aruba." Elle said.
"I can't wait! Thank goodness today is the last day!" It was true, we literally just came to school for our pictures and to pick up work, after we did those things we'd be dismissed. This is why I love private school!"
"Porter Caruso! You're up!"
"Porter go, go! Put on your best smile!" Georgie said. My friend, Porter got his braces off and he's excited that he finally doesn't look like a nerd anymore.
"Of course I will! I'm going to blind you guys with these dazzling teeth."
"He's such a ladies man! We're not falling for it, dude!" Hannah rolled her eyes playfully and we just kept talking.
"Considering there are about 65 people in our grade, this is going to take a minute. Anybody wanna play Minecraft?!"
"Me! I'm bored!" I watched as Jake went into his Minecraft house. How did you build that?"
"Skill. And 10 hours of my undivided attention."
"It looks so good! Let me join, heck!"
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The Trinity School (1:30 PM) (Kat's Perspective)
"Hi, Kitty Kat!" Bella hopped into the front seat.
"Hey, you look gorgeous Bella!"
"Thanks! I tried! I even let Mom put makeup on me." She said while widening her eyes.
"But I love makeup! So it's okay! I like mostly natural makeup though!"
"I can see. How was school?" I was tasked with dropping Bella home and buying her lunch. I didn't mind it since she's so much fun to hang out with.
"School was so much fun. We practically took pictures and hung out. I'm starving though."
"What would you like for lunch?"
"Can I just have some Chinese food, please? Is that okay?"
"That's just fine, honey." She buckled up and we were off.
"I got a few Polaroids today. I'm going to hang them on my wall before I finish up packing."
"Oh yeah, you guys are going on vacation. You guys leave on Thursday, right?"
"Yep! I can't wait Kitty Kat! It's supposed to be spring break and Mom and Dad's anniversary all squeezed together! I got them an anniversary gift, I hope they like it."
"What is it?"
"I don't like to ruin a good surprise!" I stopped at a Chinese place near Liv's home.
"You know what you want?"
"Yup!"
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My Beloved Bedroom (5:45 PM) (Bella's Perspective)
I got home from dance literally minutes ago, but I really wanted to hang those pictures up before I forgot! They give off good vibes and all of my friends were in them. I picked up the first photo of the day. It was of Hannah, Leah, Sapphire, and I.
"Okay, we need a pose."
"A pose?"
"Yeah! Let's do a peace sign." I angled my Polaroid camera and we got into position.
"Say Quadruplets!"
"Quadruplets!"

I thought it was an appropriate phrase considering how close the four of us are, it suited us perfectly! I hung the rest of the photos up on my pinboard above my desk and I smiled in accomplishment.
"It looks so cute!" Alright, next on my to-do list! Pack. Ugh, packing is annoying, especially when it required me having to do laundry. I wish we could go back to the days where Mommy used to handle it. Life was so much simpler then! You just wake up, grab your backpack, and head to the airport!
"Alright, I need some more shorts and skirts." Packing also sucks because I have a tendency to overpack and Mom makes me do it all over again! But I was doing good so far. I had to pack warm because we were going to a tropical place. So I made sure to pack lots of shorts, skirts, halter, and crop tops! We were going to Cancun! We've never been to Mexico before! I finished up packing and put my suitcase into my closet.
"Bella!" Leia hopped onto my bed and kissed me.
"Hey!"
"Hi! Bella, can we watch Netflix together and talk about how Jerry is better than Tom? And dance stuff too!"
"Of course." I put a cover over Leia and I played Tom and Jerry. We were about half an hour in now, and Leia couldn't stop giggling.
"See, Tom always bothers Jerry first? So that's why Jerry has to prank Tom back. He's so annoying."
"I agree, Tom is always bothering him. Kind of like how Noah always bothers me."
"Yeah, Noah is a little annoying when he steals my snacks! He eats too much." She rested her head on my shoulder.
"I thought Noah was your favorite?"
"No, it's you because you always talk to me and paint my nails and color with me."
"You're too cute. You're my fave too!"
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Family Dinner (Our Dining Room) (7:30 PM) (Wednesday, March 10th) (Olivia's Perspective)
Before every family vacation, we usually have a family dinner together.
"Bella, can you pass the garlic bread please?" Leia asked cutely. Bella made a wonderful chicken pasta for dinner tonight, and I have to say, Bella is an amazing cook. Part of that is because she loved helping me out in the kitchen as a kid.
"Of course." She passed the basket and Leia happily munched on some garlic bread.
"What time is our flight again?" Noah asked.
"6 am so that we would make it there for about ten and still have the whole day. So I'd like you guys to go to sleep early tonight."
"Okay! I'll go to sleep super early with Lolo! Is it okay if I bring Lolo with us?"
"Yes, you can bring her."
"So that means we have to leave here after four."
"That's super early."
"Well, if that's the case, I'm going to get ready for bed. May I be excused?" Bella asked.
"Yes, you may." She washed her plate and went upstairs.
"Liv, you took the passports out already?"
"Yeah, they've been in my travel bag for days." Leia made her way onto my lap and rested her head on my chest.
"You have to go to bed soon pumpkin." She didn't respond and instead looked at her Daddy. Noah cleared the table and I took Leia up to my room.
"Mommy, let's watch tv." She insisted.
"One minute, I have to grab your clothes from your bedroom.
"And my bonnet."
"Yes, your bonnet too. We'd gotten her hair braided yesterday and we needed to keep her braids fresh.
"Baby girl, what would you like to wear tomorrow?"
"Jeans and my fairy top." She said cutely. Leia had her box braids in two low buns and she was just the cutest little thing.
"Mommy, watch my tilt!" She showed me her favorite dance move and then giggled.
"You have such strong legs! Good job!"
"And a fan kick! And a pirouette!"
"Gosh, you're doing everything today!"
"Well, I'm good at everything. But, I really love jazz and ballet."
"You sound just like Bella when she was your age. She loved ballet so much, and focused on it for years."
"And Bella's a really good dancer! I wanna be just like her when I'm 13!"
"Well, listen to your teachers and you'll get there!" She is so cute! We then started to wind down for the night, as we were all ready to wake up in the morning and start our vacation. Leia crawled into our big bed and went under the covers. We watched a bit of tv before I had her go to sleep.
"Aww, but Mommy!"
"If you want to sleep here you have to follow the rules. Come on, let's go to sleep before Daddy comes or he's going to be mad at the both of us." She giggled and rested her head on my chest.
"You have big boobies, Mom." I laughed at her comment before giving her a kiss. She always finds a way to make something funny, it's her best quality.
"Alright, let's sleep now. Okay?" She nodded. She feel asleep soon after. I can't wait to start our vacation.