Metamorphosis

Out with the old, in with the new

Chapter 24

Out with the old, in with the new

Paige lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. All week, Sara's words had been echoing in her head.

"Maybe you should be thinking about your own future, and how being around Mira is going to affect it."

Drumming her fingers on her flat stomach, she continued her inner battle. The three of them had been through so much the last twelve years. Was Mira's pregnancy really going to break them up?

Sara had basically given her two choices; continue to hang out with Mira and have no future, or ditch Mira and have a chance at a future.

She knew that Sara had always been obedient of her parents. If they said jump, she said how high, but to let them tell her to ditch her best friend was just wrong. Especially now, when she needed their help more than ever.

Her eyes slipped closed as she let her mind wander to a day, long ago, when a single sparkly crayon brought them together.

12 years ago, in Ms. Reid's preschool class, three small girls were sitting at a round table with a group of children, bucket of crayons and paper in front of them.

Four-year-old Paige's platinum blonde hair was in two low ponytails that tickled her neck above her red and white sundress.

Mira's sunny colored hair was in a French braid that hung halfway down her back. She wore a baby pink shirt and matching pants.

The top of Sara's curly brown locks were pulled into a half ponytail while the rest simply dangled above her shoulders slightly. She wore a light purple shirt and a long dark purple skirt.

Without looking up from their respective pictures, three little hands reached into the crayon bucket and grabbed the sparkly pink crayon at the same time.

Brown, Blue, and Hazel eyes all snapped up to the crayon.

"Gimme" Sara said, giving it a tug. Both blondes held it firmly.

"No, I want it," Mira pouted.

"Its mine!" Paige declared.

Ms. Reid walked up to the three arguing children.

"What's going on here?"

"I want the crayon!" the girls said in unison. Ms. Reid held her hand out. Reluctantly, they placed it in her palm. The teacher looked at it and smiled.

"I'll be right back."

Ms. Reid walked around the room and reached into each of the crayon buckets. She returned to them and handed each a pink sparkly crayon.

"There you go, enjoy."

Beaming, the trio said "thank you!" and continued their coloring.

Mira, being the curious tyke that she was, glanced over at Paige's picture. It was a crude drawing of what looked like a group of people in a bunch of different colors.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to a small bundle of colors near the middle.

"It's a picture for my mommy; she just had my new baby brother!"

As soon as the words were said, Mira's eyes looked up in interest.

"My mommy just had my baby sister! Her name's Marli." The little blue-eyed girl bounced happily in her chair. Paige gave a wide smile.