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I woke up with the sun shining through the window next to my bed. The digital clock on my bedside table told me that it was 7:03, exactly one hour and three minutes later than I'd woken up every morning of my life before arriving here.
I stood up and smoothed the blanket down over the mattress and adjusted the pillow on top of it. I changed from my light blue pajama pants and matching t-shirt and into a pair of jeans and a white tank top. I'd also slipped into a bra, which I'd never worn before coming here.
Miranda had been teaching me everyday terms, like the different names for clothing and modern lingo that people spoke with.
Today marked two weeks that I had been with Miranda and Victor and they'd been more than hospitable. Not only did they fill my closet with clothes, but they showered me with more attention than I'd ever been given before.
This life was so different. Never before had I known such gentle and kind individuals. -Well, I supposed I did know them, but I still had no memory of that.
A lot had happened in the two weeks that I'd been staying here. Samantha and Angela were frequent visitors here, even more so than Liam. I had yet to meet his fiancé as she was out of state for work, but he assured me that he would bring her to the party being thrown for me.
The party planner, Carol, who was also my grandmother, had come to visit just days after I'd come. She was in hysterics, nearly hyperventilating at the sight of me. She came every few days to drop by, and luckily, she was slightly more calm with each encounter.
Along with the many family visits, I'd also taken my intelligence assessment. Vanessa, the FBI agent that had helped me, handled everything. She scheduled everything. I was tested a few days ago and was told that we would need to wait for the results.
I made my way down the stairs, letting my eyes roam over each picture hanging on the walls. I found myself doing this often. At the base of the stairs there was a small table standing along the wall, it's surface covered with picture frames and knick-knacks. I would stop in my tracks and look over each photo.
I was in a lot of them; a younger version of me. In one I was smiling widely into the camera dressed as a princess. In another I was standing next to Liam at one of his soccer games. In another I was sitting on the front porch with my parents. I felt a dull sadness when I found that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember any of these moments.
I moved out of the hallway and into the kitchen. I knew that Miranda would be up soon as she was naturally an early riser.
Just as suspected, Miranda entered the kitchen not even ten minutes after I had. She smiled as soon as she saw me.
"Good morning." She said, coming over to my place at the table and hugging me. I'd become familiar with her physical contact and I didn't mind her hugging me anymore.
"Good morning." I responded.
She pulled a tray of dough from the refrigerator that she had prepared the night before and set it on the counter. She had decided that today would be a nice day for her homemade cinnamon rolls and I was eager to try them.
She was a very talented pastry chef, from what I could tell. She made sure to make something new with every meal. She'd said that she was making up for the fact that I'd never indulged in such pleasures.
She dove into preparing breakfast and started up light conversation, asking me how I'd slept. I stood next to the counter and watched her work as we talked.
Only a few minutes before breakfast was ready, Victor came into view. His hair was stuck up in random directions and he was still in his plaid pajama pants and dark grey shirt. Miranda, like me, had gotten dressed. She was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a red v-neck shirt.
"It smells incredible in here." Victor commented. He stepped in between us, pressing a kiss to each of our heads.
I smiled slightly at his action. The longer I stayed here, the more comfortable I was becoming with them. I was beginning to enjoy their occasional actions of endearment.
I helped Miranda set plates of food on the table and we all sat down to eat. Along with the cinnamon rolls, she'd made bacon and cut up some fresh fruit on the side.
Like I'd suspected, it was delicious. Before coming her, I had never known that food could hold so many flavors. I was taught that we ate for nutrition and to gain strength. Food wasn't here for our enjoyment.
Miranda definitely proved that statement wrong.
We were just finishing up when the doorbell sounded. I put my guard up immediately, mentally noting that we weren't expecting visitors today. Samantha did tend to show up without notice, but she never used the doorbell; she just came in.
I had become more at ease, yes, but my defensive instincts weren't exactly something that I could just turn off. My mind was always on high alert for the slightest sign of trouble. I couldn't help it.
I helped Miranda clear the table as Victor announced that he would see who was at the door. I quickly placed the plates in the sink before following after him. I entered the living room just as he opened the door and stopped at the sight.
"Vanessa," Victor said in surprise. "Is everything alright?"
She smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Of course, everything is fine. I'm sorry to just drop in like this, but Bella's assessment results came in yesterday. Are you busy?"
Victor shook his head and stepped aside, waving her in. "No, not at all. Please come in."
Upon entering, Vanessa glanced around before her eyes stopped on me. They lit up in recognition and a grin formed on her face.
"Bella, you look great. This new home life is treating you well, I see." She said to me.
"Thank you, Vanessa." I replied.
"Why don't we all have a seat?" Miranda said, gently guiding me towards the couch.
We all sat and Vanessa set a Manila envelope on the coffee table in front of us.
Vanessa placed her hands together. "Let's just get right into it, shall we?" We nodded in response. "So, as I've already told you, Bella was given a series of tests to develop a basis of where she stands academically. With the way the digital system is set up, the more answers you get right as you go, the harder the questions become."
She looked at each of us to make sure that we were still paying attention.
"With this testing format, we usually find that the longer you take on the test, the better your score is. The people with the highest scores took a time ranging from and hour to ninety minutes." Vanessa looked at my parents. "Bella finished her test in twenty-eight minutes."
My parents both looked crestfallen. "Are you saying she scored low?" My father asked.
"Actually," Vanessa continued. "Bella did very well on her test. She received a score higher than most high school seniors. She actually passed what would be her high school exiting exam."
Miranda's face washed over in confusion. "High school exiting exam? But she never went to high school."
"Well, no." Vanessa agreed. "But, she was given the same test that students in high school would. It starts with the basics and moves up to determine your skill level."
Vanessa gave my parents a moment to process before continuing. I was slightly confused. It sounded like good news to me, but they didn't seem very happy. I thought I was supposed to pass these tests.
"Not only that," Vanessa went on. "But she was also given a standard SAT."
"Hang on, I didn't know they were giving her that test. She wasn't prepared for something like that." Victor said defensively.
"Well, Mr. Price, as it turns out, your daughter was more than prepared for this test. She got a perfect score. A 2400." Vanessa said.
I wasn't familiar the SAT test that they were discussing. I took a series of exams that day and, honestly, I didn't know the difference between any of them.
"A perfect score?" Miranda asked in shock. "Are you sure?"
Vanessa leaned forward and opened the Manila envelope, handing it to my parents. They eagerly looked over its contents.
"Never before have we come across something like this." Vanessa said. "Victims of abduction are usually never educated. They score fairly low on these tests, especially long-term childhood abduction victims. Bella, however, got fantastic scores."
"And on top of that, according to the results she has an IQ of 149." Vanessa said.
"What does that mean?" I asked. IQ, I'd earlier learned, stood for intelligence quotient, but no one had explained to me what the numbers meant.
"Well, the average person your age has an IQ of about 100." Vanessa said. "Gifted people have IQ's of about 125. But you have what we call a genius IQ."
"Unbelievable." Victor muttered as he flipped through the pages of the folder. "How is this possible?" He asked a bit more loudly.
"I'm glad you asked." Vanessa said with a smile. "We had the same question after receiving these scores. We looked over the scores of the other children and teenagers found with Bella, and we found that they had similar situations. All of them, ages 12 and up, have IQ's ranging from 120 to 150."
The creaking of floorboards in the kitchen momentarily stole my attention. I glanced over and saw the shadow of someone listening from the other side of the door frame. It was Samantha.
"With scores like these," I brought my attention back to Vanessa. "Bella could be accepted into virtually any college she might want."
"College?" Miranda exclaimed. "She isn't ready for that- she just." She stopped and shook her head slowly, taking a deep breath. "We just got her back."
"I understand that, Miranda. So, what I was going to suggest was that you place her in a few community classes, so that she can get a feel of the social world." We listened carefully to what Vanessa was saying. "What we did notice is that she isn't comfortable in social settings. She doesn't know how to join into casual conversation. She probably won't like college very much until she learns those skills."
Miranda looked deep in thought. "I guess it's something we can think about."
"Wait!" Miranda gasped and we all looked to Samantha who had just burst into the room. "Mandy-"
"Samantha! What are you doing here? You almost gave me a heart attack." Miranda held a hand to her chest as she stared at her sister.
"Well, I was going to stop by for a visit, but I saw the SUV parked in your driveway. So, I came in through the back door so that I wouldn't interrupt, but then I heard you talking about Bella, and as the godmother, I thought I should be included in this conversation."
Miranda looked at a complete loss for words. "How long have you been standing in there?"
Samantha shrugged and walked forward, plopping down on the couch next to Vanessa. "Long enough to know that you won't have to pay for college." She let out a laugh.
Miranda rubbed her forehead tiredly. "I'm sorry, Vanessa, this is my sister, Samantha."
"It's nice to meet you." Vanessa said, shaking Samantha's hand.
"You too, but I do have something to say about this." She turned to Miranda. "Mandy, Bella doesn't need community classes. Just put her in school with Angela. She'll get all of the social experience that she needs and she'll have a family member there to help her."
I glanced around the group and everyone seemed to really be contemplating this. I started to imagine how school would be. Would it be difficult to adjust? How did school work?
I was curious. If going to public school with my cousin would help me feel normal here, I was more than willing to try it.
"I would like that." I said quietly. They all turned to me.
Samantha grinned widely while Miranda grabbed my hand. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Yes."
She looked back at Victor. "Well, the new school year is starting soon. I could call the principle tomorrow."
"That's a great idea." Samantha said.
Vanessa gave a nod of approval and began packing up her things. "That's all I had to speak to you about. I'll be back again to check in with Bella, but if you have any questions before then, feel free to call."
"Thank you." My mother said as she walked Vanessa to the door.
Before leaving, Vanessa turned to me with a small smile. "Good luck, Bella."
~ ~ ~
Hey guys! So I'm sorry this update is kind of short and kind of boring:/
But, I have the next chapter almost finished and it should be up tomorrow! After this chapter, things are definitely going to be picking up, so please stay tuned.
Thanks so much for reading :)
Until Next Time...
~Lori~