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seventeen

Seventeen

"Get up, princess, we gotta meet your teacher," Kemper's eyes fluttered open to see Luke knelt down next to the edge of her bed. He kept a smile on his face as Kemper whined, not wanting to get up. The smile hadn't left his face since he and Sierra adopted her. Things hadn't changed much at the house, but Luke and Sierra were less worried. There wasn't anything weighing them down or any worries about the adoption process going wrong, everything was normal. "You can wear that pretty dress you've wanted to wear," Luke reminded her.

"Skirt," Kemper mumbled.

"You want to wear a skirt?" he asked and she nodded. "You can wear a skirt, but you have to get up. I'll have mommy do your hair," he said. "Or I can do it,"

"No," Kemper giggled, "you can't braid,"

"I'll learn and prove you wrong," Luke chuckled, lightly tickling her, which made her burst into fits of giggles. "Get up sleepy head, we have a busy day,"

"Ok," Kemper finally agreed, pulling herself out of bed. Luke left, letting her get ready and pick out her own outfit (she changed her mind back to the dress). Once she was dressed she went to Luke and Sierra's room to see Sierra getting ready.

"You look so pretty," Sierra complimented with a smile as Kemper hugged her waist tightly.

"You do too," Kemper yawned.

"Thank you, bug," Sierra rubbed her back. "Are you tired?"

"I didn't sleep well,"

"I can tell," Sierra frowned.

"Can Petunia sleep with me?"

"I'll have to talk to daddy about that," Sierra said.

"Can you please tell him it's ok?" Kemper asked, making SIerra laugh.

"We'll see," she said and Kemper nodded. Sierra finished getting ready, then quickly braided Kemper's hair. The two went downstairs where Luke was drinking coffee.

"You said you weren't wearing the dress," Luke gasped as Kemper came down.

"I changed my mind," Kemper giggled.

"Well you look beautiful," Luke smiled.

"You look beautiful too," Kemper grinned, making the adults chuckle. AFter a quick breakfast, they left for the school. There was a private school they signed her up for, and one where Kemper could be in a small class until she was caught up and ready to be around a lot of people. The program was for kids who struggled in school or had mental health problems that prevented them from being in large classrooms. The program was perfect for Kemper, and Ashton had signed off on it to get her into it.

"It's a big place," Kemper frowned as she held Luke and Sierra's hands.

"THe hospital is bigger," Luke reminded her, "and you stayed there,"

"But I was alone,"

"Not all the time," Sierra reminded her, "and you will be in a small class with four other kids,"

"Will they like me?"

"They will love you," Luke reassured her, though he knew that wasn't a promise. But to him and Sierra, who didn't love Kemper? She was sweet, kind, polite, and funny. Anyone who didn't see that was insane. When they made it to the office, Luke signed the three in as a woman entered with a smile.

"Hi, you must be Kemper," she grinned with a bright smile. "I'm Mrs. Robinson, your teacher," Kemper didn't reply, but tightly hugged Sierra's leg to avoid any eye contact.

"I'm sorry-" Luke began to apologize.

"No need to be sorry, you must be her parents,"

"Luke and Sierra," Luke introduced the two, both shaking her hand.

"It's so nice to meet you two," she smiled. "The students are out at recess if you'd like to come see the classroom," they agreed and Sierra carried Kemper through the hallways as Mrs. Robinson talked about the program.

"I have a small class of four other kids, all who need some extra help in school. When they become more advanced or comfortable in the classes, we move them to a larger classroom, or they can go some days to the larger classroom and others stay with me. I do a lesson with the kids, then let some work on the work alone. They are allowed to work together to gain social skills, but they can also work alone, it's whatever they are comfortable with. The purpose of the program is to get the children more comfortable in a school setting so they can go to those larger classrooms,"

"That sounds perfect," Sierra lightly smiled. They entered a classroom with a couple of desks along with a larger table and rug.

"Kemper, what is your favorite candy?" Mrs. Robinson asked.

"Skittles," Kemper mumbled.

"What if you come to school and hang out with me and my class next week and we can have skittles?" she suggested.

"With mommy and daddy,"

"They have to go to work," Mrs. Robinson frowned, "so while they work you get to go to school with a bunch of nice friends," she smiled, but Kemper still wasn't on board. "Would you like to see all the toys I have?" she asked and Kemper nodded. Mrs. Robinson showed Kemper around the classroom and where she would sit, but the little girl was still weary about being in a room with a random stranger all day.