The Young Savior

Chapter 8

        "What about here?", those words continued to ring through Emma's head the rest of that day. Never in her life had she been asked what she wanted, had she been given the choice to control what happened to her life. All thirteen plus years of her existence revolved around adults deciding what happened to her and where she would go. It never mattered if she was in a home or situation she actually felt comfortable in, however rare it was. And now, someone who barely knew her, who had caught her camping out in a yellow VW bug, was offering her a home.

        Emma hadn't believed her ears at first, she wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not until Mary Margaret had began rambling about how it may not be as simple as her just staying but she was willing to try if that's what Emma wanted. To stay and not go back to Boston? Of course that's what she wanted! She just could not understand why? Why did Miss Blanchard, a woman she had only met a week ago and could count the number of times they had talked on one hand, want her? Mary Margret had eased her mind when she said she could take the weekend to make up her mind. Apparently, she had already talked to Graham before she had woke up and he agreed that the best place for Emma was with her until he could contact the proper lines. That didn't mean he couldn't push it to the backburner for a day or two, "He had other town business to attend to anyways.", she had said with a wink.

        So now, they were, walking down main street, headed to one of the shops that sold clothes. Mary Margret had offered to wash Emma's dirty ones for her but the girl had insisted she could do her own. When the load barely counted as a small one, the teacher had made the decision that a shopping trip was in the works for their Saturday. They had decided to walk since it was a relatively nice day with not even a cloud in the sky but just enough bite in the temperature to require a jacket. She had tried to argue that she didn't need one but it seemed you could take the teacher out of school but not school out of the teacher. After a look she was sure had been tested on many a students, Emma made her way back up the stairs to retrieve her sweatshirt. As they made their way to the store, they both had remained relatively quiet until Emma decided she needed to speak up.

        "Thank you again for your offer Mary Margaret."

       "Is that a thank you for the offer I accept or just a general thank you?", Mary Margret questioned with suspicious narrowed eyes.

        Emma smirked and turned on her heels to walk backwards, "More of a I want to make sure you know I really appreciate it so you don't take the offer off the table 'thank you'."

       "Offer remains.", Mary Margaret smiled both at the statement and the girl still walking backwards. Her smile only dropped when she realized Emma was about to collide into a man walking out the door of a store they were passing. "Emma! Look out...", she tried to grab the girl but it was too late.

       "Oomph", Emma ran right into the man. This was becoming a habit for her it seemed.

        Turning around, her eyes were huge, "I'm so sorry!", her eyes got even bigger when she realized exactly who she had run into.

        "Not to worry Dearie, accidents do happen." The man who spoke with some kind of accent smiled while seemingly studying her, enough to make the walls in Emma go up. "I don't believe we have met, I'm Mr. Gold, I own the Pawn Shop down the way."

       "Mr. Gold I am so sorry, I should have told her to watch where she was going. It won't happen again.", Mary Margaret interrupted taking Emma by the shoulders pulling her back a step. Emma could tell by the grip she was holding that Mr. Gold made the teacher just as anxious as she.

       "Honestly, Miss Blanchard, it was not a problem. I'll let you and...I'm sorry I don't believe I got your name young one."

       "Emma.", Emma replied, hoping that he would finally let them go.