The Sun Will Come Out

Chapter 13

Jess's POV:
I waited anxiously outside of the school door by myself. Suddenly, I felt a small hand snake around my waist, squeezing me tight.

"Hey, bug," I said, leaning down to give them a proper hug which they returned eagerly.

"Guess what," they said excitedly.

"What?" I asked.

"I made a friend." They beamed at me proudly.

I put on my best shocked and excited face. "Really? That is way cool, Iris."

That was something my mom used to say to them when we were younger and Iris was so proud of a little moment or accomplishment, knowing it felt big to them.

I looked up when I heard a car horn honk. The next car in line was driven by a woman who looked exactly like Maya. I was confused at first, wondering where Carina was before I remembered that Maya's mom would be picking us up instead.

She waved at us, motioning for us to come towards the car. Iris ran up to it and got in without a care in the world.

I, however, took my sweet time to get there, putting this off for as long as possible. I heard Iris sigh slightly in the background, making me move fast as I didn't want to be annoying.

I opened the passenger seat and climbed in, avoiding eye contact with Maya's mom.

"Hi sweetheart," she smiled.

I gave a small 'hi' shyly in response.

"How was the first day?" I shrugged in response, mindlessly picking at the fingers around my nails.

"We both made new friends," Iris piped up from the back seat.

Katherine gave an exaggerated gasp. "What? Already? You two are so popular that everyone wants to be your friends, I guess."

"Apparently not everyone," I whispered, tears pricking at my eyes. I looked out the window.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"Some kid picked on Iris in class today and some girls were laughing at me."

"Oh, Jess. I'm so sorry. Kids are mean, but they're-"

"Just insecure about themselves," Iris and I repeated in sync.

"We know," I said. "Mama used to tell us that a lot."

She sighed with sadness, not saying any more about it.

"Do you want me to turn the radio on?" she asked us.

I shrugged my shoulders again, suddenly not trusting my voice. "Yes, please," Iris yelled from the backseat.

She turned on a random station that had pop and country songs playing in turns. Iris swayed their head back and forth to the music, not knowing the words to be able to sing along.

I continued to prop my head up by the window, closing my eyes and allowing myself to drift off to a small and light sleep.

Carina's POV:
All day, the only things I could think of were Jess and Iris. I had gotten a call from Iris's teacher while their class was at lunch. She informed me of Iris's brilliance in all of their lessons, especially math.

"Everything okay?" Jo asked as she came up to the nurse's station next to me.

"Everything is fine, Jo," I responded blankly.

"Is everything okay with the kids? With the baby?"

"Jo, everything is fine, I promise you. Jess and Iris went to school today and I just can't help but think about them."