The Brooks Bunch

High School Reunion

Ariana

"Alright, mom, lets talk."

Ariana looked at her eleven-year-old daughter through her bathroom mirror and raised her eyebrow. "Lux. What's up?"

The younger girl grinned happily at her. "Funny you should mention that." She quipped, crossing through the doorway of her mother's bathroom and pulling herself up onto the counter, swinging her legs and watching, as her mother got ready.

"You mean your name?" Ariana laughed, placing her mascara down, finally finished with her make up. She reached up and undid her bun, causing her long brown hair to fall to her shoulders and down her back. She reached over and plugged curler into the outlet.

"Yes, exactly." Lux smiled, her eyes sparkling. "I want to change it."

Ariana looked bewildered at her daughter's reply, both eyebrows shooting up to her hairline. "What? I thought you loved the name Lux."

"I do," Lux was quick to reassure and she slipped off the counter, clasping her hands together. "which is why I want to change my name to Lux."

"Ohhh." Ariana trailed off then smiled sweetly at her daughter, cupping her cheek. "Forget it."

Lux moaned loudly. "Momma, please!" She begged, clasping her hands tighter. "I hate the name Alexandra!"

Ariana frowned as she picked up her curling iron, "Well I happen to love the name Alexandra," she raised her eyebrow, looking at her. "that's why I named you that."

"Well-"

"MOMMA!"

Ariana dropped the hot curling iron at the loud scream and it almost hit her feet, but she quickly jumped out of the way, pulling her daughter with her and sighing in relief when neither of them got hurt. She leaned down and picked it up, shutting it off and placing it on her sink as her other two daughters came running into her bedroom.

Lux was on Ariana's heels as she walked into the bedroom to meet the two little girls.

Five-year-old Abigail was quick to speak up before her big sister, running to her mother and clutching her pink silk robe, tugging on it and pleading. "I didn't do it mommy!"

Ariana looked down at her toddler, perplexed, then looked at her older eight-year-old daughter who was almost red with anger. "Didn't do what?"

"Look at what she did to my doll, momma!" Harper practically screamed, holding what was once a plastic replica of a young girl, complete with pink and frilly clothing, blue glass eyes, and long locks of artificial blonde hair, was now covered in mud. The poor eight year old was so red and had tears pricking at her big brown eyes.

Ariana looked at the doll in shock for a moment before looking back down at the little girl who seemed to be trying to take cover in her robe. "Abi, baby, did you do that?"

"Yes!" Harper answered instead, stomping her foot. "She did!"

"Harper, I asked your sister." Ariana replied calmly and sat on her bed, pulling her little girl onto her lap. "Abigail?" She said when the child kept quiet and instead focused on Ariana's "AHA" necklace, that obviously stood for "Alexandra, Harper, Abigail," playing with it. Lux didn't really like that necklace - mainly because it insinuated that her name was Alexandra.

Which it was. Her birth name. But she hated it so much. When she was just learning to speak, she couldn't say Alexandra, and kept saying Lux. Ariana had tried to have her say Alex, which works for a while. Until she began pre school.

On her first day, a little boy asked her what her name was and she replied with Alex. He made fun of her, saying that was a boys name and that she herself was a boy.