"Hey, Lils pass me the syrup," Azalea requests as she sucks pancake grease from her thumb. Lily passes her the syrup and I dig into my own helping of pancakes and sausages.
After the movie night, we wished each other a good night and separated to our respective rooms. My attempt at sleep was miserable. I tossed and turned, my stomach churning with stress. I dreamt only of the troublesome circumstances that would lead to my dismissal from the house. Would I blow out a window? Would I set fire to the kitchen? Would I cause a rather unnatural amount of water to well up in the shower and almost drown or perhaps actually kill one of the Natumans?
Lily shakes my arm in an effort to return my attention to the present conversation. I face her with my brows furrowed, awaiting an explanation for the aforementioned shaking.
"So what do you think? Would you like to go shopping with us today? It'll be just us girls," Lily gushes. She turns to her father with a smirk who sticks his tongue out, muttering something to the effect of "I don't wanna go shopping with you anyway," before forking a sausage and placing it into his mouth. I giggle before realization hits me. I have no money.
I embarrassedly lower my head and fix my gaze upon my fingers, fidgeting with them as I respond. "I don't have any um- er- well," my hands begin to shake as I become more hesitant to describe my financial situation, "I have no money. I am completely broke." I finally look up to see what kind of disgust will be laced within their expressions. I can almost hear it now. I knew a shoe would drop soon and this must be it. Time to be relocated.
Only, I'm not met with looks of disgust and whispers to and from themselves. I'm met with three people who look genuinely confused and empathetic.
"Ophelia," Azalea's eyes bore into mine with a kind but stern look only a mother could conjure "we don't care that you have no money." She studies me for a moment and a grin spreads upon her plum-colored lips. "In fact, we kind of knew we weren't going to care for a child with money when we chose to foster." A light chuckle escapes all of the Natumans and my cheeks begin to flush with color. I lightly smile to myself and look back down to my hands. I was wrong, and it feels so nice to be wrong this time.
I look back up to the family who are all waiting for me to speak, except for Lily who has begun to dig back into her sausages. She stops mid-bite and slowly looks up to her parents looking disapprovingly at her and raises her arms in a defensive manner. I unsuccessfully attempt to hold in a chuckle and earn a death glare from Lily; which makes me laugh even more. Soon the entire table erupts in laughter and we all finish breakfast in a momentary daze of joy.
I finish my plate and leave it at the table for Mara, the housekeeper. I was told by Lily before breakfast that she likes to scold anyone who "does her job for her." Personally, I'd rather shit nails than get on that woman's bad side. She looks like she'd spit in my food if I were to piss her off. No, thank you.
As I'm about to set up the second set of stairs that lead to my particular hallway, Lily takes my hand and makes a run for it. We make a beeline directly to her bedroom where she sits me down at a vanity stool. Her room is about as spacious as mine, slightly bigger. The only difference to note is the obvious one of color scheme. Her walls have been painted a lively light yellow with various Lily flowers making the same design as the flowers within my room. I can see that the Natumans have an eye for design.
I look back over to Lily who is currently rummaging through the large, light-up vanity in front of me. She places multiple makeup products on its surface before sitting on a stool opposite to mine and taking my hands in hers, looking me in the eyes as she does so.
"I can tell from the way that you interact with us that you've never really had a family that treated you the way you deserved, or even decently. I just want to let you know that I plan on being the sister you never had until you leave or do whatever it is that foster kids do when they age out or get adopted." I listen intently and try not to let a stray tear roll down my cheek. She is right, of course. The Natumans have been a surprise from the beginning. Lily became one of my best friends in what felt like mere seconds, but it had truly only been a little over 12 hours. The comparison isn't far off.
YOU ARE READING
The Elementals: The Chosen Child
Fantasy17-year-old Ophelia Falls has never had an easy life, or a sense of normalcy within it. As an infant, Ophelia was mysteriously discovered in a basket beside a tree in a busy park. Since then, she's been placed in one broken home to the next via fost...
