Chapter Thirty Three
(Friday.) It was a day before homecoming, and Robin still didn't have her dress. She wasn't particularly worried though, as it wasn't really her own fault, since she'd been asked on such late notice, and she also had a lot of pretty gowns and dresses she could pull off as homecoming dresses. No one would criticize her for wearing last year's prom dress, since no one knew her last year. She wasn't really depending on looking like the best-dressed there, she'd rather leave that to Stacey so they didn't have another run in with each other. Even if it weren't for Stacey's borderline sociopathic outburst just a week ago, she wouldn't have wanted to make a big fuss out of her dress and hair and makeup anyways. Besides, Robin considered herself a fairly well-dressed, fashionable person, so it wouldn't take four salon trips and three thousand boutique outings just to find the right dress and look.
Anyway, she wasn't particularly worried about that today. After all, it was the homecoming game, meaning she still had a day and a half to get herself a dress. She was dressed casually, in jeans and a t-shirt that said "FENWAY HIGH '87" with a picture of the Lochness monster, their mascot, on the back. She wore the UCLA sweatshirt her dad had given her around her waist, and her hair was in a light curl. She was on her couch with her feet sprawled out, waiting for her friends to pick her up, browsing aimlessly through television channels.
The whole week was themed around homecoming, nicknamed "HOCO Week." Students were a lot more cheerful the whole week, as pep rallies happened almost daily in the gym. Monday was decades day, and Robin dressed up as a seventies "hot mamma", which gained a lot of unwarranted attention, mainly from Feldman. Tuesday was costume day, and Robin was a Pink Lady from Grease. Wednesday was culture day, something they had never had at Robin's old school, and she bought her Ethiopian flag to school and wore the flag colors, and not one person judged her or looked at her funny. Thursday was color wars, where each grade was given a different color to wear in "competition" with each other. Lastly, Friday was school spirit day, where kids dressed in the school colors, which were blue and green. It was a fantastic week, and every day, everyone (esecially River) had something sweet to say.
But what stuck out to her was the fact that on culture day, River brought both a German flag and a Venezuelan flag, and carried it around for part of the day. When Robin asked him why, he said it was because he had lived in a lot of different places over the years and only recently settled in Boston, but that he most closely associated with Venezuela because he had lived there in poverty with his family and sang on the streets for money with his siblings. It was an endearing story, and made Robin feel like maybe she judged people too fast, just like other people judged her too fast, based on looks. It was overall an interesting week, and Robin wished her school had done the same. She was almost overjoyed that she had moved to such a different place, around such a different community and different people.
"Aw, Birdy, your last homecoming game!" her mother squealed, coming out of nowhere with a rusty polaroid camera clutched tightly in her hand.
Robin rolled her eyes and flipped over on the couch, hiding her face with her hands and groaning,
"Mom, no flash photography."
"Oh you shush," her mother growled. She then began to whine. "Come oooonnn, Birdy, it's your last homecoming game, I wanna make it count! One for the books."
"Mom. Leave. Me. Alone."
Her mother sighed obnoxiously, but then seemed to perk up once a lightbulb went on over her head,
"Okay, if you don't let me take pictures now, alone, I'm just gonna force your friends to get in them once they arrive."
Robin hopped up off the couch abruptly, nearly falling off of it, and shouted,
"I'm up, I'm up!"
Not only did Robin's mother not know that all her friends were white, but the fact that Robin's mother would be utterly embarrassing made her gag. She shuffled over on the other side of the couch and smiled unsteadily towards her mother, who cheered and smiled wide from behind the camera. She put her face way too close to the lens and squinted harshly as she pressed down on the button, murmuring,
"Say cheese."
"Cheese," Robin flatlined.
"Ooh, ooh, now say 'gooo Lochness!'" her mother nodded enthusiastically and waited, only to catch a picture of Robin staring at her defiantly with her hand on her hip.
Her mother frowned,
"Oh, alright. At least I got that one."
The both of them began to laugh as her mother shook her head, and they wrapped each other in a hug.
"Oh, you have fun, Birdy," her mother smiled warmly.
"I will."
Not too long after, the doorbell rang, and both their heads tilted towards it.
"Ooh, wonder who that could be!" Robin's mother trilled. When Robin gave her the death glare, she nodded. "I should probably go into the kitchen. I might've left something in the... oven."
Robin waited until her mother was out of sight and not trying to take a peek to open the door. She smiled immediately, expecting to see River waiting for her and the usual rest of the gang hooting up a storm on the curb in the car, but she was met with a different familiar face.
Amandla?
"Hi!" she chirped, extending her arms out wide to embrace her.
Robin was taken aback by the way Amandla fell into her arms and hugged her tight. It sort of seemed like she was regaining a friend, or speaking with an old college friend ten years later. It felt reminiscent, nostalgic. That was mainly because the last time Robin hung out with her, she left suddenly because of Corey being with a new gal who he didn't even want anymore, and for a short amount of time too. It felt like they had grown closer among this time.
"Hey!" Robin said after pulling back, trying to sound more excited than sad. She turned around to face her mother, and called out. "Alright, bye mom!"
Her mother excitedly said goodbye and the two girls stepped out the door and turned around. As soon as they did, they were hit with the sound of the radio blaring and cheers and laughter erupting from all over the place. Robin smiled to herself, a warm feeling growing inside of her at the sight of the people she truly considered her friends, and walked towards the car with Amandla behind her. The only thing that striked Robin as odd was the fact that Elizabeth was nowhere to be found, but meanwhile, Corey was in the car seat with a smile imprinted on his face.
That was weird. Corey hadn't broken up with Elizabeth and yet, here was Amandla, hanging out with him casually as if nothing had happened between them. She guessed she'd find out later.
"Oh, uh, there's not that much space, you're gonna have to squeeze in or sit on River's lap," Feldman commented.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Robin replied bleakly. But she started to look around inside the car and realized he was right.
Feldman was driving, Corey was in the left back seat, Amandla had already sat in the middle seat, Heather was sitting on the right back seat, and River was in the front passenger seat. Her face paled of color and she stopped in her tracks, staring dubiously at everyone in the car just then. It was as if they were all a part of some conspiracy and had planned out a seating chart just so Robin would have to be closer to River, who they all thought should be an official couple.
"We're waiting," Corey sang, raising his eyebrows.
River glanced up at Robin with a sheepish look on his face, and gave her a shy smile.
"Fine," Robin grunted, giving in as per usual. River opened the car door for her and
unbuckled his seatbelt, which made Robin cringe, although she still got into the car and sat comfortably on River's lap. "Isn't it illegal to sit on someone's lap in a car... you know, no seatbelt and all?" Robin asked nonchalantly, trying not to sound like a worry wart.
"Don't worry, I got you," River replied, and his arms tugged around her waist, pulling her in closer to him from her stomach. She resisted the urge to smile at River's instinctive protection movement, and hung her head.
"Alright, that's what I'm talking about!" Feldman called out. "Let's move."
The car lurched forward and, as expected, Feldman drove at an obnoxiously fast speed. He blasted the music even louder, but it wasn't all that bad.
At some point during the drive, Robin turned to face River and asked in a low voice,
"Am I crushing you?"
To which he responded,
"No, love. You're light as a feather."
Now that made her heart go aflutter.
The wind was blowing through their hair and they were all singing along to some hip hop song that no one knew the lyrics to until it actually started playing. It reminded Robin almost too much of nights in her hometown, surrounded by friends and love and music and people who cared about her as much, if not even more, as she cared for them. It was all so intoxicating, even when they pulled up in the parking lot of the football field.
They were playing a school called Charlestown High. Historically, Charlestown was a lot different from Fenway, known for its history of violence and racism, but luckily Robin didn't know that since she'd only been living in Boston since August. But tonight, there was a feel of friendly competition and warmth in the air despite the chilly temperature, and Robin didn't see a problem in sight. They all stepped out of the car and already there were tons of people there, they were just on time.
"I'm gonna go try and find us seats," Feldman said as he got out of the car, leading Heather to scoff and roll her eyes,
"No need, let's just stand way up front on the grass so we can actually see."
"No way, our legs will get tired."
"No, your legs will get tired. And we can just sit on the grass if we don't wanna stand," Heather argued. Robin made a face, scrunching up her nose. She wasn't quite too keen on the idea of sitting on grass and getting her butt wet and green. Heather must have noticed, because then she smiled. "It's okay, Feldman has a blanket in the back, we'll be alright."
As they got more organized and took out the blanket Feldman had in the trunk of his car, Robin shuffled in closer to River.
"Hey," he said, smiling over at her.
She smiled back. Surprisingly, despite the fact that Robin was on him for the entire ride, nothing awkward happened and it didn't make things seem any weirder between them. Key word, weirder.
"Hey."
He put an arm around her shoulder and got closer to her face,
"So, your first and last homecoming game at Fenway High. How's it feel?"
She shrugged.
"Nice," she said, but that was an understatement.
She felt enlightened, happy, and all snuggly and warm inside. Having friends in life was so underrated, and yet so important. Family always came first, but friends were there for you when no one else was. And at this point, Robin was realizing that her friends, the old ones back in Georgia and the new ones here, were especially important to her.
"Really, just nice?"
She chuckled,
"Umm. Fascinating. Endearing. Pleasant. Amazing. Breathtaking. You happy now?"
"Enchanted," he replied slyly, and she rolled her eyes in silent response.
"Hey, could you tell me why Amandla is here and Elizabeth isn't?" Robin asked, furrowing her brows and making eye contact with River, realizing how close their faces were together.
He cleared his throat,
"Well, Elizabeth got sick. And, apparently, Corey thought it would be a good idea to call Amandla up."
"No way," Robin raised her brows.
"Yeah, it's a douche move. Do you know what's even worse? Elizabeth doesn't even know who Amandla is. She saw her at that movie night thing, but Corey never explained anything to her. I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know she was basically a rebound," River explained.
"That's... pretty shitty," Robin raised her brows.
"Eh, Corey would never do anything shitty with bad intentions. He's just that person that does shitty things and doesn't get that it's a shitty thing to do. You know? Like if Elizabeth were to confront him, he'd have no idea that he was doing something wrong. And the kid is just confused. He doesn't know what's going on with his love life."
"I guess. They're just here as friends though, right?" Robin gestured to Corey and Amandla, who were quietly talking to each other with soft smiles on their dewy faces.
"Oh, yeah, for sure. Cor knows that much," River nodded.
"Okay... well, I was just confused. You guys didn't give me much of a memo," Robin scolded.
"Hey, we didn't know either. She kinda just came outta nowhere, she was with him. It was weird," River furrowed his brows.
"Welp, everything's locked and loaded. Let's go!" Heather broke up their conversation, and subsequently they all filed down the stadium stairs and to the bottom.
Not long after they had all situated themselves on the blanket on the ground directly in front of the field, all cuddled up in some way or another (Feldman's head on Heather's lap, Amandla sitting a little too close to Corey, and River sitting next to Robin with her hand on top of his), the marching band got louder and came out onto the field, crossing the field and amping everyone up. The mascot came out too, whichever poor 9th grader was dressed in a Lochness monster costume with a poorly sewed on tail. It didn't matter, everyone was excited and screaming at the top of their lungs. Eventually, the cheer team came out and the marching band marched off the field while the cheerleaders skipped on.
They got in formation, Stacey, the captain, at the front, hands placed confidently on her hips. They waited for the marching band to start, and then Stacey turned around and signaled the others to start, her hand up in the air. They all formed a straight line, with their hands on their hips and each of them marching up and down in place. Stacey started the cheer, speaking through a loud bullhorn,
"We're Fenway, we're where it's at, we'll beat those Charlestown cats, we're blue and green and proud and strong, come on peasants, sing along!"
Everyone, with no indignation at being called a peasant by Stacey's original cheer, sang along to the proud school song they had:
"We're the Lochnesses,
The mighty Nessies
Our players are strong and always ready
We're more than just inclined
To win the fight!"
Robin looked around in confusion while everyone sang along cheerily, even River, who she didn't expect to have as much school spirit as he did. When the song was over, the marching band resumed and the cheer squad did a whole routine of tricks, moves, dances and more, including twirls, flips, and stomps. Everyone watched them in admiration, but Robin couldn't help but feel a bit scorned at Stacey with her perfect cherry red hair and festive blue and green hair tie. She wanted to believe that Stacey was just kidding last week when she'd confronted her, but a nauseated part of her knew she wasn't. She wasn't worried anyway, it wasn't like she was begging for popularity.
The cheer team stopped after a couple minutes, and then the football teams were given time to run on the field and show themselves off, and then both teams got up in huddles to discuss their game plan once again for the win. The game was confusing to Robin, as she was never very interested in football. She just followed along whenever their crowd booed or cheered, and eventually, the dwindling two hour game was coming to a close. There were only thirty seconds left on the clock, and the quarterback from the opposing team had the ball and was planning to pass it to another team member so they could get a touchdown, meaning they would win the game.
All was looking lost, until someone came from behind him and sacked him, sending him toppling down to the ground, the ball falling out of his hands. The mystery Fenway High player passed it over to who Robin could easily identify as Dennis, and Dennis, who was near the other side in plain sight, caught it with vigor. He ran fast, feeling the wind against him and hearing the pounding of football players' feet behind him, and he made it onto the other side with just five seconds remaining. He had just avoided the nick of someone's hand against his foot, and fell onto the opposite goal line.
The buzzer belched, and everyone on the Fenway side of the stadium, so a majority of people, lurched up out of their seats and celebrated in some fashion. It was a blur- hands were in the air, people were hugging each other, kissing, in some extreme cases, crying. But Robin mostly admired what was happening on the field. The cheerleaders were all screeching and squealing, doing disarrayed jumps and kicks in the air, hugging each other, smiling at each other, screaming in each other's faces. The football players were all gathered in a huddle, all of them attempting to hug each other and yelling in victory, trying to start brawls with the other team's players which their coaches strictly prohibited. Robin was astonished at the abundance of community and school spirit around her, mostly because she had never experienced that at her own previous school, let alone been to her own school's football games.
Robin stood up when she noticed her own friends standing up on the blanket, scrunching it up and making it smaller as they hopped around and danced on it.
"Wait, did we win?" Robin turned her head, asking River.
"Yes, look at the scoreboard!" River cried happily, pointing towards the glowing scoreboard which read the home score versus the visitor score.
It was a close game, but luckily, their team was able to pull through, and everybody was ecstatic. So ecstatic, that Amandla suggested that they run out onto the field and congratulate them. There was no debate, since everyone was so wrapped up in the fact that they had won that no one was going to drag them off of the field. So, hand in hand with River, Robin led the way to the middle of the field where their team was celebrating.
Once they got closer, Amandla took off in a run, and they followed lightheartedly. She patted Dennis, who had scored the touchdown, on the shoulder lightly, and he turned around. She gave him a whole-hearted smile, her eyes bright like she was greeting an old friend.
"Hey! You did so good out there, congrats," she enthused, that big smile still on her face.
Robin noticed Dennis' face seem to drop, and his smile disappeared as another expression took over his features.
He looked a little bit taken aback, like someone had just told him news he wasn't ready for, but not necessarily bad news. And then he just stared at her as if he were listening intently to something that she was saying even though she wasn't speaking. It took a while, but then he broke out into a smile, his dimples showing, except he was struggling to maintain eye contact with the also smiling Amandla.
"Oh, uh, yeah, thanks," he smiled, shaking his head to himself.
He had already taken off his football helmet, and he was scratching the nape of his neck. Amandla frowned playfully, nudging his shoulder, again like she knew him.
"Hey, you don't seem all that excited for someone who just won homecoming. Did you hit your head real hard?" she joked, eliciting a laugh from him that then elicited a snort, which then elicited a blush to spread across his cheeks. All the meanwhile, she was just smiling at him and shaking her head. "Well, you did great anyway. Hey, you won the game!"
Robin raised her brows at the way Dennis was acting. It could only mean one thing- he was struck by Amandla and was now going to put her through hell because he liked her. It happened to the best of us, Robin knew, and if Dennis tried anything, she wouldn't hesitate to pull Amandla aside and let her know the facts. She watched, scrutinizing Dennis' every action, while everyone else socialized with other football players or cheerleaders or amongst themselves.
"Uh... I'm- I'm Dennis," he introduced himself and offered his hand, apparently not having some sort of pre-devised pickup line to use on her.
"Amandla," she responded, shaking his head. "So, Dennis, senior, huh?"
"Oh, uh yeah. How'd you... know?" he asked.
"I guessed. I'm a junior. I don't go here, though," she shrugged.
"Yeah, I can tell, I would've noticed you by now," Dennis furrowed his brows and looked her up and down. "I mean, since you're like, really pretty and-and you look... really nice. I- I mean, like, you know, not to say that that's like the most important thing on earth, but I'm saying you look... you're just... really... nice."
"Thanks," Amandla raised her brows slightly, picking up on his awkwardness, and he shook his head, scrunching up his face.
"Hey, look, you wanna go with me?" he suggested abruptly.
"Go with you where?" she asked, making a face.
"Like go with me?"
Amandla seemed to think it over, but then a gruesome grimace took over her features and she looked at him in disgust,
"Are you asking me if I wanna do it with you? Because the answer is no."
"No, I'm not- what?" Dennis stuttered, seeming taken aback at the idea of there possibly being a girl who didn't want him. He shook his head, regaining his focus. "No, I'm asking... it's... oh god, I'm asking if you wanna go together, as in, you and me? Me and you?"
Amandla raised a brow skeptically, took a step back and looked Dennis up and down. His face was dirtied, and so was his football uniform. He looked sweaty and pretty darn gross in the moment, but something was endearing about his awkward and shy attempts at advancements. She didn't even really figure that he probably was not like that all the time, and that he was otherwise arrogant and ill-tempered until he saw the next chick he wanted to bag. So, she transformed from skeptic to welcoming,
"Well... you seem nice enough. But I don't know you."
He smirked, the cocky Dennis re-emerging from the waste,
"Get to know me then."
Amandla shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully,
"Okay, mystery man. I will get to know you."
"I bet you will."
With that, they locked eyes and smiled flirtily at each other, each of them walking in the same direction, the opposite way from Amandla's friends. Robin's mouth dropped open, in shock, but not necessarily surprised. She just didn't think Amandla would be so quick to leave with a stranger, or that she would abandon Corey when he had brought her here and it seemed exactly as if he was trying to get back with her, or the fact that she wouldn't be able to see right through his cheeky behavior. In a last resort, and first attempt, to get her back, Robin called out her name,
"Wait, Amandla, do not go with him!"
Amandla turned around with a goofy look on her face, as if she had lost all common sense, and the rest of their friends turned to face the both of them walking away together.
"What? I can't hear you, it's too loud! You guys have fun!" Amandla called out, blowing a kiss to the whole gang.
Robin's heart would have usually dropped, or she would have felt some type of need to protect her. But in all honesty, she was just glad Dennis was off her back and onto someone else, even if that someone was a friend.
Robin turned around, already having given up, and shrugged.
"Welp, that's the end of that," she quipped.
Meanwhile, Corey looked beyond discouraged, like someone really had just told him bad news. He blinked slowly, licking his lips.
"So wait. You mean to tell me that this piece of shit just walked up on my girlfriend... and she accepted?" he crescendoed from a questioning murmur to almost a shriek.
"Woah, your girlfriend?" Heather pretended to choke, laughing loudly.
Corey shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples,
"Wait, I mean... my..."
"You mean your nothing!" Heather sang. "Look, I know you're confused and stuff, but right now, you're being a dick. I mean, first you move on from her within a week, then you want her back even though you moved on almost as soon as she broke up with you, then you invite her to a homecoming game when you have a girlfriend? And now you're mad that she's letting some asshole football player deliver her goodies to him in the backseat of a Trans Am? Man you're an idiot."
"Hey, hey, don't you say that," Corey barked.
"What? The truth?" Heather pursed her lips, waiting on his answer.
"No, the... 'deliver her goodies' part. That was disturbingly clever," he murmured, shaking his head. "Ah man. You're right."
"I'm always right. Right, Feldman?" she smiled, leaning into Feldman's shoulder and looking up at him.
He defied,
"Uh, no?"
River, catching the venomous look in Heather's eyes and the way her mouth looked like it was about to yell, overlapped him,
"Feldman, Feldman. She's always right."
"Hmm?" Heather hummed, looking up at him with bright round eyes.
He got the memo, and nodded,
"Riiight."
The gang all unloaded by the end of the night, and Feldman pulled up in front of Robin's house in the still of the night. Her parents were probably asleep by now- early birds, she called them. Her name was Robin because her parents had always been early birds, and could recall hearing them chirping every morning when they woke up together before they had children. Rather than obnoxious or a warning that the sun had risen, it brought pleasurable memories to them. And of course, her name was Robin because of the song.
"Alright, thanks, Feldman. I really appreciate it," Robin said, hopping out of the car and closing the door softly shut.
"Agreed, my comrade. We should do this again sometime," River said in that weird out of the usual dialect of his.
"Uh... agreed, amigo!" Feldman smiled, again with the bad Spanish.
"Right... it was fun tonight, see you tomorrow at homecoming!" said Robin.
He nodded and then zoomed off, despite how quiet, still and dark the night was, he was always aflame. Robin waved goodbye to River who was on the other side, and took her keys out of her jean pocket, walking up towards the door.
But River stopped her and called her name,
"Wait, Robin."
"Yeah?" she turned around to face him.
He nodded towards his house,
"I wanna show you something."
She groaned,
"River, I gotta go home, can't it wait?"
"Nope, I want you to dream about this. It won't take long, I promise. Just come with me."
Her nostrils flared in annoyance,
"Ugh, alright, fine. But you so owe me one."
"Yeah, yeah, enough chit chat," River proposed.
Walking across the street, she followed him inside of his house and waited for him to open the door. When she did, no one else was awake, just them.
"Okay. wait here," he whispered, so as not to wake anyone up.
He left her there, and she ventured into the living room which was to the right of the entrance hall, and sat waiting. He came back not too long after, holding something in his hands. It was a dress. White, satin, with gold details around the waistline and a plunging neckline. It was long and flowy at the end like a maxidress, and its straps were thick, thinning as they ran along the back. It looked smooth and brand new, and Robin had no clue why River was showing it to her.
"That's really pretty, actually, it's beautiful," Robin surveyed it with curious eyes, stepping an inch closer to River.
"Ah ha, see, I knew you'd like it," River grinned.
"Yeah, I do. But why are you showing me it now? Is it something important?"
River scoffed as if she were being silly,
"Because, Robin. It's your's."
Robin was taken aback, literally taken aback. She took a step back and shook her head, her hand gently clutching her chest. She made a face at him and looked from him to the dress,
"I don't... I don't get it."
River let the dress lower slightly,
"Well, you said you didn't have a homecoming dress, and even today during our ride to the game you said you didn't have a dress. So I wanted you to have one."
Robin stammered a few times, trying to gather her thoughts before she spoke,
"River, you didn't have to... really, I was just going to take a dress I already had. It's not like anyone would notice."
River scoffed indignantly,
"Now where's the fun in that? You wearing a dress you've already worn on such a special night? Bullshit. You're a bullshitter, you know."
Robin laughed softly, but then she shook her head, becoming serious again.
"I'm serious River. I can't accept this. It looks so... expensive," her eyes widened.
"Oh you're accepting it. It was my mom's in the sixties, or around that time. She wore it to homecoming. Senior year. Just like you," he quipped charmingly. "All we did was sew on the gold details and fix the neckline a little bit. The whole family chipped in. Rain, Liberty, Summer, Leaf, me... mom, dad. Everyone."
Robin frowned, not because she was sad, but because the idea of anyone caring that much was overwhelming. She fought back glassy eyed tears and gulped,
"Wow."
"Yeah. So, here," he shoved it into her hands, and she clutched it like it was a baby. "'S your's."
Her lip trembled as she looked down at it, and she couldn't help but burst into tears, enveloping River in a sweet embrace as she dug her chin into his shoulder. He stumbled back, a little bit taken by surprise, but hugged her back and smiled. When she pulled away, she was wiping tears.
"God, I probably look like a total drama queen right now. But in good reason. Wow, River this is beautiful. And like... so thoughtful. I'm extremely grateful."
He tucked his thumbs in his back pocket, and leaned back and forth on the balls of his feet,
"Yeah, well."
Robin smiled again, looking down at the dress and then at him.
"Really, thank you. I have to repay you."
"Repay? No need. This isn't a gift, Robin, it's more of a... necessity. Prettiest girl needs to have the prettiest dress."
She laughed to herself and rolled her eyes playfully,
"Shut up."
There was a moment of silence between the two of them until River broke it,
"Well. Goodnight, Robin."
She suddenly leaned in and kissed him, not for long, and not a quick peck either. She pulled away though, and smiled, giving him an assertive nod,
"Goodnight, River."
As she stood in front of her bed with the dress in her hands, she smiled down at it, careful not to start crying like a big elephant again and ruin the dress. There was a lot of beauty to see in the world, and in people, she was realizing. And it started here. Maybe people weren't so bad after all.
this chapter is choppy around the middle but really sweet and i hope u guys liked it. and hey i updated ontime!!! hehehe love yall!!!