*Ring Ring Ring!* The school bell rang to signal that school ended. I was looking for Eliana, then I found her at the entrance. “There you are!” I said, breathing heavily.

“Why are you breathing so heavy?” she questioned.

“I was looking all over for you, silly!” We started laughing and snorting. People started staring at us, but we didn't care because we were just enjoying life. She looked at me.

“Hey, are you alright from what happened earlier?”

“Yeah. I'm fine. It's in the past and now we shall focus on the future!” My dad’s bright, shiny red Silverado pulled up. “Hey girls!” he called out to us.

“Hey, dad!” I called back. We ran across the pickup area and jumped into my dads truck. Eliana shook my dad’s hand.

“Hello sir!” she said joyfully.

“You can call me Mr. Bryce,” my dad replied.

“Ok!” We started pulling out of the pickup area and head to the mall.

When we arrived at the mall, it was closed. It was doing some redesigning. We were disappointed, then I had an idea. “Since we can't go to the mall, we should go back home and hang out!” I insisted.

“That's a great idea!” my dad agreed.

“Ok!” agreed Eliana. We drove to my house. “Wow! Your house is so big!” I could tell by her facial expressions that she was in awe. We got out of the truck and head into the house. My mom welcomed her in.

“You can call me Mrs. Richelle.” my mom said.

“Alrighty!” she replied. We walked upstairs to my room. Then all of a sudden, Naddie popped out of nowhere!

“Boo!” she screamed. Eliana and I jerked away then started laughing. “Who is this, Heart?” she asked.

“This is my bestie, Eliana. Eliana, this is my little sister, Naddie.”

“Hi!” Once Eliana spoke, she ran up to her and hugged her. After that, Genesis came out of her room.

“Does this dress look good? Do I need to wear something else? I think I need more makeup. Is my hair a mess-” I stopped her right there.

“Gen, you look good. And by the way, this is my friend Eliana. Eliana, my older sister, Genesis.”

“Hi! It's nice to meet you, Genesis!”

“It's nice to meet you too.” My sister gave her a warm smile. When we got to my room, I shut the door to block out all the nuisance downstairs.

“Your family is so kind!” My face started drooping and Eliana started noticing it. “Um… What were you going to say earlier?” She was puzzled because she didn't know why I get sad every time someone mentions the word, ‘family.’

“This was when I was five…” I started. “It was my first day of kindergarten. The whole day was fun. When the bell rang, I stayed with my teacher until my mom came to pick me up. But she never came. We called them to see what's going on and the voice on the phone was the police officer’s voice. He said ‘Your mother and father were in an accident. Go visit them in the hospital.’ So my teacher drove me to the hospital.

“When we got there, the doctors told us that my mother had not made it. The reason my mom died because of my dad. This was all my dad’s fault. If he weren’t drinking and driving, I still would've been in Albuquerque. After that, they sent my dad to jail for manslaughter.

“That's when I was moved into foster care. Every three months, they would switch me homes. And I never had any friends. Then, came this family. They were looking to adopt out of state. So I’ve been in this family since I was 7.”

“Wow.,” she said, in disbelief. “I'm so sorry that you had to go through that.” I started crying then she hugged me.

An hour went by and Eliana’s mom came to pick her up. “Bye, Eliana!” I called out. She rolled down her window of her 2018 Chevy Cruze.

“Bye, Heart! See ya Monday!” she waved out the window. I went upstairs and did my nightly routine. After that, I continued reading my favorite novel, then trailed off to sleep.