Young+Authors

As I turned on the TV in the living room, I started to hear some muffled voices. It seemed like it was coming from the kitchen. I turned the volume down to see if I could try to make out the words. The voices belonged to my parents. I could tell which voice was my father's and which voice was my mother's. My father had more of strong and sharp voice, while my mother's voice was quiet and delicate. My back felt a little lighter when I recognized the conversation to be battle free. Then the door burst open. My father's muscular arm was resting on my mother's small shoulders. It looked like someone could just walk up to her and snap her like a twig. "Honey," said my father. I quickly turned my head around, trying not to be too knowing about what they were going to say. My brown hair was flapping alongside my big, round ears. They were just going to say that my birthday's coming up and that they're not going to be able to get me the dog I wanted. And then we'll all go in silence trying to forget about what just happened. "Honey," my father said again. "Me and your mother, well...we all know that your birthday's coming up and how much you wanted a dog. Well," he paused for a moment and then he started to talk again from where he left off. Except before he began, he moved towards the sofa and plunged his body deep into its creamy colored surface. My mother walked quickly towards the sofa and sat down beside him, except she didn't sink down. It actually looked like she was floating. "We're not going to be able to get you a dog." Silence started to grow and you could tell that my mother was getting nervous, not knowing how I was going to react to this. Her hands were shaking. But as I had pictured it, we all just sat down to watch the // CNN news //, in // silence //. What did I tell you? But then something very unexpected happened. The weather guy on the TV started to point out a big tornado that was going to hit Cleveland. I didn't really start to worry because I knew that there was more than one Cleveland. But then he said Cleveland, Arkansas. Then I started to freak. My mother started to breathe a little louder and heavier than normal. Her curly, brown hair was blowing up and down from the wind she was making underneath her breath. But then at the same time, she tried to soothe us all. "Don't freak out, don't freak out. I mean, what are the chances of a tornado actually... // hitting //?" It seemed as if she was trying to calm herself more than she was trying to calm me. Of course, my father wasn't scared because // apparently //, he knew // exactly // what to do. I turned my head back to look at my mother to see if she was okay, and I found my father's hands, yet again, wrapped around my mother's shoulders. The image of her snapping and the twig started to form in my mind again. "Let's just all go downstairs in the den. Don't worry, it's probably not going to hit anyways. I flipped my brown bangs back. My bangs were always getting in the way of everything. Even in a midlife crisis like this one. My mother walked pretty fast, almost as if she was running away from the world. As I started to get closer to the stairs, I stopped and grabbed my jacket. Then I felt my father's hand, gently lay on my back. It felt as if he was starting to get a little worried, too. Then all of a sudden, something happened.  We hadn't even started to walk downstairs when the windows in the living room started to shake and then they all shattered. Pieces of glass were flying everywhere. I grabbed the jacket that I had in my hands and wrapped it around my face. Then I felt a cold breeze on my back. I took a peek from behind my jacket to see where that was coming from. The roof was completely torn off and I saw papers and all sorts of things flying around me. I couldn't see my parents from behind all the smoke. It felt like my feet were beginning to lift off the ground. I wanted to scream but fear was wiping away my strength to do so. I looked down and saw that glass was shattered everywhere on the floor. I didn't have any shoes on, so I tried to walk around the pieces. But then the wind got stronger. This time it lifted me up, onto the front lawn. I looked around to see if my parents were anywhere near. But all I saw was upside down cars and piles of brick and tree branches falling on peoples' homes. It was terrifying. But then, I didn't care. I screamed as loud as I could. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHH!!!, HELP ME! SOMEBODY!" I turned to see if anybody heard me. Then I saw a pile of bricks starting to move. I ran towards it, hoping to see my parents. I stabbed my arms straight through, not caring how much it hurt getting all scratched up from the corners of brick and glass. I pulled my arms back. I saw tons of scratches and a couple of them that were good enough to become scars, but I didn't care. I was furious when I found out that the only thing that was moving the pile was the wind. "I WANT MY PARENTS," I screamed even louder. I fell down to the ground and broke into heavy tears. "// Someone h-help m-me. //" I didn't have any more strength left to say it any louder. I started to walk towards the street. Or well, what was left of it. Houses and condos were all now at the depths of the ground. I didn't see anybody on the streets, just bricks of all colors and rocks of all types. My face started to get warm from the tears that were forming in my eyes. I needed to find my parents. And nothing is going to stand in my way. **__ Chapter One- The Perfect Stranger __** // 11 years later // "I understand that you need help finding your parents, but you have to have a parent or in this case, a legal guardian to be with you to fill out all this paper work," said the lady at the front desk. "I mean, we could put up posters on every block. But we won't be able to get DNA tests, and things like that. I'm sorry." It's been five years and I still haven't found my parents after the tornado. "But I'm 17. Isn't that close enough to an adult." I tried to make the cutest puppy face that I could ever imagine. I guess it didn't work. "I'm sorry, but the law states that you must be 18 years of age or older to be considered as an adult. I guess that there are only three options. Either you get emancipated or you wait another year or so. Or well you could just bring me a legal guardian to sign all this paperwork. I'm sorry, other than that; I won't be able to help you." I was getting mad. But then I also wanted to break down into tears. "Bu-" I started to say. But the lady interrupted me. "I'm sorry, as I said; I will not be able to help you." She got up from behind the front desk and literally began to push me out the door. I began to walk down the sidewalk, tears running down my cheeks. But as I turned the corner, I ran into somebody. "Hey, you look a little familiar," said the old lady. I quickly wiped my tears so she wouldn't ask me any questions. "Are you related to-" she began to speak but didn't finish her sentence. She looked a little lonely, like me. She had on a wrinkled, magenta skirt and a green camp shirt with a flower pattern sweater wrapped around her neck. "Oh, never mind. I'm a little crazy you know," she said. Quickly replacing the sentence she had begun earlier. She gave a small chuckle. "You look a little troubled, you know. Like your heart has been shattered long ago and you are looking for all the missing pieces," she was beginning to freak me out a little bit. "Excuse me but are you some sort of psychic or something?" I knew that, that couldn't be possible, but I just needed to know. "Oh, no dear. It's just that you looked like you were in a rush to nowhere and tears were running down your face." With that, she reached into her purse and pulled out a fresh tissue and wiped my face with it. "Oh...sorry," I said, pulling myself back. "Can I get you a coffee or something? I just finished running my errands and I just so happened to have no more plans for the day." She gave another small chuckle to herself. I felt a little bad every time she did that. I always kept forgetting to laugh along. "Well," I looked around, trying to figure out an excuse // not // to go. But when my eyes met up with hers, it felt like she had gone through the same thing I was going through right now. "Sure." "So what's your story?" asked the old lady. I began to shuffle my hands and feet. "Well, back in 1990, a big tornado hit Arkansas." "Ooh, yes. I remember. I lost my puppy in that one." I took a sip of my coffee and waited a couple seconds to see if she was going to say anything else. My throat was starting to burn. I didn't realize how hot the coffee was. But she didn't. I wish she had though, I felt a little uncomfortable talking about the tornado. I continued anyways. "Well, the tornado hit and when it left, I couldn't find my parents." I felt a huge sigh of relief when I said it. I just needed to get it all out. I knew it was a little too short, though, but it was going to have to do. "Oh, that is just so horrible. Oh sweetie, come here." She reached over the coffee table and gave me a hug. "Yes," I said. Tons of times. I even tried to go to the police station today to see if they could help me. But they told me that I needed a // legal guardian //." "Do you have one?" I started to get scared, not knowing where this would go.  "Well... no." It felt like something bad was going to happen.  "You don't? Well, I might be able to help you, you know. I mean, I am like 74 years old," and yet again, she gave herself another chuckle. "You can? Oh, Oh, thank you. C-can we go tomorrow, they said that you'll have to sign some paperwork and stuff. I'm not really sure why though, probably to give them information about my parents. But don't worry, if they ask you anything about them, I'll try to answer them for you." I knew I sounded too desperate, but I was pretty much willing to give anything a try. Tears of joy started to trickle down my cheeks. "Well, then, I guess it's a done deal then," said the old lady. She reached her hand out for me to shake it.  "By the way, I didn't quite get your name," I asked her, shaking her hand.  "Oh, sorry child. My name is Sue Marshall. And yours?" she had already pulled her arm back and set it on table. "Oh, mine is Jamie Rice. I know, it's a weird name bu-" I began to say. "Oh no, it's quite lovely actually."  "Thank you."  We both got up and left // The Coffee Place //. A little bell rang as I opened the door for Sue. It kind of reminded me of // hope //.
 * __ Introduction __**

**__ Chapter Two - Why me? __**  I walked out of the house just for a few minutes to pick up the daily newspaper on the front porch. Sue had let me stay over her house last night. She was a very nice lady. Right now, she was making me some hotcakes with bacon and eggs on the side. I walked back inside; I was surprised to see that she was squeezing fresh juice into my glass. "You don't have to do all of this for me," I said. "I mean, first of all you agreed to be my legal guardian. And now you're making me hotcakes and // freshly // squeezed orange juice. No one has ever made a big breakfast like this for me, before. Not even my own mother." I felt a little guilty after what I had said about my mom. I wish I could have taken those words back. But luckily, she didn't seem to notice. She just continued the conversation. "Well, I always make big breakfasts and meals for my guests." "Oh." It was very nice of her to do all this, but I still felt like I was taking advantage of her. "Well," Sue was waiting for me to sit down, I guess. So I did. I took my first bite of my breakfast, and I suddenly felt like I was in another place. Kind of like... // Heaven. // I sat there and let it dance among my taste buds. "Oh my, these are really good Ms. Marshall.” "Oh thank you. And you don't have to call me that. Just call me Sue." I didn't answer back. I just made a mental note to call her that the next time we talk. When Sue sat down, her black hair bounced along with her delicate body. I wanted to reach out and touch it; it reminded me of my mother's hair. I didn't know why, though. My mother's hair was dark brown, not black. She grabbed a fork from the center of the table and began to eat her hotcakes. Her veins were popping from her hands as high as Mount Everest, purple and blue. Just like my grandmother's when she was in the hospital, all pale-faced.  I wanted to talk to her more about my parents, to get the story more clear and movie-like in her mind. I mean, she was a forgetful old lady. Or should I say, mature. But I guess she got to the subject pretty quickly, well, not the kind of thing I wanted to talk about. "So, I suppose you should be enrolling in school pretty soon. It // is // August, you know?" She waited for me to look up and catch my eye. "Oh, yeah... about that. Umm, I don't really have any school clothes. All I have is some old jeans. They'll only last me about, // say //, another week or so." I couldn’t help smiling to myself. I mean, it was a good excuse to get out of talking about school.  "Well, there's no problem in that. I suppose I could take you to the mall. I think they're having some back to school sales already." My face start to tighten up while her's just, well, let's just say that it kind of hung there. "But, but wouldn't that cost a lot of money?" I had set down my fork and literally started to twiddle my thumbs. I could have sworn I felt a drop of sweat dripping from my forehead. I didn't want to go to school. I won't have any friends. No one to talk to, but I didn't want to tell her that.  "Oh no, the advantage of being an old lady is-" she lowered her head more towards my direction. "I'm on // welfare //." she gave herself a small chuckle, and this time, I actually remembered to laugh. I mean, don't get me wrong or anything, she's a nice lady. But I'm just not that big on jokes.  "Well, great then," but I sure didn't feel great.

**__ Chapter Three- New me __** "MOOOOMM, NO. COME BACK!" I quickly sat up in bed. "Oh, good. It was just a dream." Oh it was horrible. I was just walking down the street with my parents, and then a huge tornado came out of nowhere. Except it seemed more like a black hole. It started to take my mom, and then my dad was just gone all of a sudden. He wasn't anywhere near me anymore. Oh, I was so scared. "So what's your style?" Sue and I were at the mall, trying to figure out what would look good on me. I'm guessing that nothing pretty much would actually look good on // me //. You know, for an old lady, Sue has so much better style than me. "Well, I like jeans and shirts," I said, trying to be a little more helpful. "I can see that." I guess that didn't work then. "You know, I used to study fashion when I was 20 years old. Oh, I remember those old days. I had more style than a // Seventeen // magazine itself. But whatever happened to her now. To me, she just looked like a big ball of // retro //. I think I should call her the // Rubik’s cube //. But I feel kind of bad about it. I don't want to be mean to Sue. She's just so humble. Well, what the heck. I guess I could go for another style. "Uh, turn around sweetie. I want to get a good look at you." I twirled around in a not so flattering way. I made my head just kind of hang loose with my hair all tussled up. I think I did a pretty good job at making this a little more difficult than it should have been. When I stopped spinning my fair 360º, I noticed that she had her hand in a fist with her head resting on it. Her hair looked like statical electricity (if that's what you call it), from her hard thinking. Then her face grew into a smile. "I know what we can put on you. Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!" she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ladies department. I didn't realize Macy's was so big until now. "I figured we could get your hair trimmed, I mean, if that's okay with you?" she waited for me to answer and I figured, what the heck. What if I actually turn out... kind of, well, good?  "Um,.. sure," oh what have I done? What have I done? Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! I think I'm going to be doomed for the rest of my life. Oh my gosh, I look so hot! I didn't know an old lady could have so much style. I think this year will be actually, kind of... good! "You done, sweetie?" Sue was waiting outside the door of the dressing room.  "Uh, yeah." before I got out of the dressing room, I just couldn't help myself to take one more look.  Oh, my jeans were as dark as the midnight sky and as snug as a kangaroo in his mother's couch. They had a couple of white marks which to me, looked like shooting stars. I had on a cute top which was a little low cut with an Indian-style V neck. It was a beautiful type of red, kind of like a maroonish color. Oh, and I can't forget the shoes. They were black converse shoes with different color holes on them. Not that it had holes like they were worn. It was the little loopholes where you string up the string thingy with the aglet hanging from it. Oh, I totally loved it. "Jamie, are you in there?" she tapped the door with a small and delicate tap. "Uh, yeah," I quickly snapped out of it and opened the door with a smile. I tried not to show too much excitement, but I just couldn't help it. "Oh, I love it so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I ran up to her and gave her a huge hug. "Oh thank you. I was wrong, you do have taste," my smile grew even wider when we picked up a conversation. And to think this day was going to be all boring and dumb, but boy was I wrong. "Hey, we should go take a break and get some pizza or something" "Well, okay. Let me just pay for this." she grabbed everything that I was holding in my arms and slammed it down on the counter, but not with anger, though, with joy. "Oh wait, before we go get some pizza, I want to stop at Borders to get myself a notebook. I know they are expensive, but I am on //welfare//.  "Okay," I wonder why she needed a notebook. The cashier lady appeared out of nowhere and scanned all the tags on my new clothes.  "That'll be $78.96, please,” said the cashier. Her hair was worn down in a volumized kind of way with brick red highlights. They seemed to go well with her black hair. She seemed pretty tall until I noticed her knee- high stilettos. They looked a little bit sophisticated, but if that was the // style, //then I figured, oh well. Sue dug around her purse for a few minutes and then pulled out a $100 bill. “Here you go," she said. Then we were off to Borders. "I'll wait here on this bench and you could in there and grab the prettiest notebook off the shelf." Sue plunged down our shopping bags and dug through her purse. She then handed me a $20 dollar bill.  I walked into the store and heard a loud cough. I turned around and surely enough, that cough belonged to Sue. I just hope she's not coming down with something. I stopped at a shelf which had tons of notebooks. It was so difficult for me to choose. There were some with leather covers, others with purple satin. But when I got to the end of the shelf, I saw just the right one. It was so beautiful; it looked like a deer hide. It had so many beautiful embroideries on it. Also, there were beads hanging from the top half, all hanging from strings. It kind reminded me of moccasins. I grabbed it off the shelf and made a bee-line to the register. Then a small woman that looked like she was in her early twenties, appeared. "May I help you---?" she made the words coming out of her mouth longer than what they really were. "Oh, yes." I placed the notebook carefully on the counter. She quickly scanned the sticker on the back cover and read the price. "This notebook would be $16.00--, ooh wait. This seems to be on sale---, for $9.99---," there she was again, killing me with her lifeless words. I handed over the $20 bill and got exactly $9.48 back. I had forgotten all about the tax, luckily it was marked down. "Thank you---, have great day---," ugh! She's literally killing me. I stormed out of the store, in case she tried to start any conversations with me. When I looked over to the bench, I didn't see Sue. In fact, I didn't see her anywhere. Where had she gone off to? I was starting to get scared. What if somebody had kidnapped her? I know it would have been kind of bizarre, considering her being mature enough to take care of herself. But I started with a brisk walk, looking through every store window. I looked through // Macy's, Victoria's Secret, Finish Line //, too. I looked through the whole store of // JC Penny. // Someone could get lost in there. But then I remembered about us going to eat pizza in the cafeteria. I ran towards the escalator and rushed by all these people practically knocking them down. I was almost to the cafeteria, when I saw through the corner of my eye, an old lady. I turned my head and saw Sue. "Oh, thank God I found you. I've been looking all over for you. Why didn't you wait for me? I was worried sick!" She didn't answer. She just continued staring at the water fountain. "You know, I never came to see how beautiful this side of the mall was." I looked up and saw the reflection of the sun in the ripples of the rushing water. "Oh yes, it's quite lovely. I used to come here all the time with my husband. Oh yes, he was a fine man. Tall, dark and handsome as they all used to say. His hair, oh what am I saying, he didn't have any," her face started to glow with joy and happiness. "So... could we go get some pizza?" My stomach was beginning to rumble like the sound of lightning and thunder mixed together. "Oh yes, I'm beginning to get a little hungry myself. I suppose you are, too?" She looked at me and gave my stomach a little pat. We both walked arm in arm to // Sbarro's Pizza // and ordered two slices of cheese pizza, one large coke and two straws to share. "Oh, and by the way. The notebook you chose for me, it's actually for you. I want you to write in it with all your heart until the pages run out. To write your feelings in there. It's yours to keep for your own eyes, or someday, you might just publish. Promise me you will do so. To write with your whole heart." I was in full shock, but I wanted to write in the journal, I've always wanted to be a writer. I wonder if she knew that. But how? "Yes, I promise I will write with all my heart and life and until my ink cartridges run out of ink," I reached my arms out and Sue pulled me in close to her chest with a big heart filled hug.

**__ Chapter Four- Oh how could this have happened? __**  Oh how I hate hospitals. The walls are always so closed in and there's never any heat. It makes me feel like I need a coat already, even though we still have a few good weeks of summer left. I don't know why she didn't tell me about this earlier. It would've been so much helpful if she told me earlier, but I guess she forgot. We were waiting in the doctor's office, waiting to be called. I guess Sue has some sort of meeting with her doctor. Well I don't know. The yolk's on her. "Sue... Marshallie?" I'm guessing the doctor is new today. Or she just doesn't know how to read. It took Sue a minute to realize it was her that was being called. She was so caught up in her book I guess. "Umm, Sue. They're calling you." I gave her a small nudge. "Oh, yes." She jumped up and shoved her book in her purse. "Follow me," said the doctor with a half smile on her face. She led us into a small and uncomfortable room. Just like I had predicted, the room was very cold. Walls closed in. Goosebumps started to rise up on my skin. Ugh, I hate this. I think next time I // will // bring my coat. "So, we looked over your blood samples and all the results from the tests, well. We found something. We could try to treat it; it might not come on as strong. We cou-," "What do I have? Is it serious?" Sue was getting a little nervous. "Well, you have Alzheimer’s." He lowered his head. It must be really bad to break the bad news to a patient every time. "Oh," Sue's eyes were beginning to look gleamy in the light. She raised her hand to her mouth and started to breathe heavily. "But how? I, I-" "I'm sorry, ma'am. We could try to treat this. It could slow the process." "I understand, so. I guess I knew I had it coming," she said with tears on her eyes. With that, she got up from her chair and so did I. I started to get goose bumps all over again. We both pushed our way through the door and a question started to form in head. What did she mean when she said she knew she had it coming? Ohh, wait. I remember that incident that happened at the mall. Oh, this is going to be too much for Sue. I mean, she's going to take care of me until we find my parents. On top of that, she's helping me enroll in school. I never thought of all of this is her shoes. What if she gets too stressed out? What if her blood pressure gets too high? What if she.. what if she..? Oh I can't think of that now. It's too soon. This is no time for negativity.

// --- // // Dear Journal, August 17, 2001 // //// School's almost here. I'm almost at the point to running away. I don't want to go to school. I already know everyone's going to make fun of me. I just know it. I mean, I know Sue already bought me some nice clothes. But I don't know. I never got along with anybody. And on top of that, this is a new school that I'm going to. And I'm pretty sure it's a world tradition to make fun of the new kid. It's happened in almost every //** new kid **// based movie and novel. It's just so wrong. But at least I'll meat a dorky friend. 'Cause that's what happens in those new kid movies. Well, one way to soothe myself. My mom always used to say,"Try to be yourself, no matter how hard life gets, just be yourself. And I bet if you don't, it'll be a lot harder." Oh I miss those days. Oh, and look I just ruined my page with tears. Hopefully it'll dry out later. Look what just happened again. //// I couldn't write anymore. I turned off my bedroom lamp and let the lights from the streets sink through my room window. It was really peaceful and quiet. I spoke too soon. I grabbed my pillow and slammed it over my head. // Oh mom, dad I miss you. // I want my old bed and my old room. I want my old house. I want my parents. "Woof woof arooo!" I know dogs don't speak but he howled. I looked at the digital clock, it read 2:00. "Oh, Milo!" I looked up and the dog was sitting up, right on my lap and howling at the moon. "Go back to bed!" With that, he jumped off the bed and scampered toward the door and just... left. I totally regretted it. I needed some comfort. I turned the lamp back on and got out my journal. I realized the moon was shining right on me. I got up and turned off the lamp. I figured I should have enough light already.

// Dear Journal, August 18, 2001 // //// 2:00 am // // Well, hear I am again... writing in my journal. I feel so dumb write now. Having to take my own journal out at two in the morning. Boy, am I really this dumb? But I just can't help it. I mean, I can't go on living without any parents. I need them. They were everything to me, and now they're not even here. Who knows? They could be in China. Or in Russia. Somewhere far away from here. They could be six-feet un-, never mind. For all I know, they could be our next door neighbors without me knowing anything. Oh, what if they were living across the street all along? Oh I wish! But, ooh wait. I forgot, today we were supposed to be stopping by at that place. Um, what's it called? I don't know. I'll know when I get there. Yawn. Ugh, I'm so tired. I think I should get some more sleep. Who knows what awaits me. //// The wind was whispering in my ear. Leaves were dancing on the floor beneath me. Milo was walked, right at my side. His tail was wagging. I had a feeling this was going to be a good day. We were on our way to... I still haven't learned the name yet. Sue turned the corner, leading the way to... still don't know. But at least I know what it looks like. It's a huge, four story building. It has a theme of red. In big, bold, red letters are the words: LIFE CONNECTIONS. Yes! I finally remembered! "Um, Sue. Where are you going? The building's this way." We were right in front of the building when Sue took a turn to the ice cream parlor. "Oh, it's just one of those senior moments. You know," she slowly turned around and headed back to the LIFE CONNECTIONS building. "Sorry," a small and worried smile was shone on her face. I was getting kind of...scared.

 **__ Chapter Five- Just Have faith __**

"And you are?" We were sitting in an office being questioned by a stubborn lady. She was dressed in a professional, black suit. "I'm Sue Marshall, Jamie's legal guardians." I shuffled my feet. I knew Sue wasn't my // lega //l guardian. She was just my guardian. It's just so obvious that my parents never left a will. And you never know if they're dead or not. Hopefully, Sue's a good liar. I took a chance to catch a glimpse of the lady again. She seemed to have caught my eye. She stared me down and looked away towards Sue. I just hope she's not getting on to us. "Mmhm, I see." She glanced down at her papers and then handed them over to her assistant. "Go and make another copy of these," she said. She the papers over and I could see a beautiful manicure on her nails. The minimum price would have to have been $40.00. "So, okay. I will be showing you to your caseworker. She will be in charge of doing searches of your family and organizing blood tests at the hospital. This should make it easier track your parents down," she gave a quick glance towards me. This made my skin rise with goose bumps. She got up, so I figured so should we. "It was nice doing business with you," she reached out her hand towards Sue and shook it gently. Then she led us out the door and began to take a brisk walk to // somewhere //. I had no idea where we were going until she began to talk again. "Now, your caseworker is going to be Lin Tyshaki. Her office is right... over... HERE. Here we go," she scared me at the HERE part. I looked into the room, and there she was. Looking as humble as can be. Pictures of her family were covering every corner of the room. A ceramic resemblance of a litter of puppies was on the corner of her desk. Lin's hair was just perfect; not too messy, not too perfect. Just nice. Like her. And don't go off giving me lectures about that old saying; you can't judge a book by its cover. But with her, anyone could see her heart. She then noticed that we were standing there. She looked up and gave us a perfect smile. "Hello. Yes, I heard all about you. No need to introduce yourselves. Okay, okay. Let me think. You're... S-s-. I know it starts with an // s //. Don't say it. Um... SUE. Yes, you're Sue. And you are... Jane? No, Jordan? No, wait um,... don't say it! JAMIE. Yes. I got it! Well, glad to meet you," she stuck out her hand and we shook. Her hands were warm and comforting. "Well, as you may already know, I'm Lin." She turned around and made way to her desk and sat down. I figured we should, too. So I found the closest chair and sat down. Sue also took the hint and plopped right down next to me. “So, we’re here to do some paper work. Am I right?” She opened her desk drawer and pulled a small stack of paper and handed it to Sue. “Uh,.. right,” a small smile rose to my face. This just keeps getting better and better. And it’s going to get even better, I know it.

**__ Chapter Six- A Stroll Down Memory Lane __**

Music blared through the speakers of my radio. We had just gotten home and Sue managed to find an old radio in the garage. It worked pretty good, too. I was cleaning up a little bit, hanging up my new clothes and laying out some old bed sheets. I took a step, toward the door, and took a good look at my room. The sun was pouring through the windows and reflecting off my bedroom mirror. My closet was neat and organized. I was satisfied. I picked up a magazine on my dresser and flipped open to a page somewhere in the middle. I held it up and compared it to my room. It didn't look exactly alike, but... It was close enough.

// Dear Journal, August 19, 2001 // // 4:00 pm // // Well, the meeting went well, Sue happened to be a great liar. I think she should be an actor. Probably replace Betty White when she gets older. Well, anyways. It was all actually pretty simple, she just had to sign some papers, talk about what had happened. You know, why I don't know where my parents are at, and stuff like that. She had to explain where and how I was going to be going to school, if I had already enrolled, et cetera. I had no idea why Lin needed to know if we were on welfare or food stamps. But need I go on? I think we got off to a good start, though. You know, I don't know how she did it, but Sue was able to look her straight in the face and lie. It was unbelievable. Well, of coarse it had to be believable. But, you know what I mean. // I jumped on my bed and pulled out a notebook form underneath my pillow. When I was picking my bed sheets in the attic, I saw this thing in the corner of the room. It looked like it was getting pretty old. The front cover was purple, but now, it just looked like pinkish blue. Most of the corners looked like they were chewed off. This seemed weird to me, until I remembered her having a dog. I couldn't hold it back anymore; I had to turn the page to see what was in the notebook. So, of coarse it was predictable that I turned to the page. It was amazing; there were pictures of a beautiful woman with a beautiful smile. She had loose, curly hair. The most perfect smile any person could have. Until I flipped the page. There was a picture of an old, bitter looking man, smoking his pipe. He was looking away from the camera. Like a little boy, being stubborn and hungry during church. This must have been Sue's dad. And the picture of the lady must have been Sue's mom. How could she ever marry a man like this? How could she have still, stayed so happy. and nice. How did Sue manage to still have a heart? But then at the bottom of the page, it read:

// My grandfather //

Then it kind of started to make sense to me. I turned to the next page, and then came endless journal entries. Filling up the entire notebook to the last page.

// Dear Journal, May 4, 1948, // //// Dear Journal, July 15, 1948, // // Dear Journal, July 28, 1948, // // Dear Journal, Dear Journal, Dear Journal,... //// I kept skimming through the notebook, there were entries for her birthday, entries for Fourth of July, entries for her new baby brother, entries for sad days, happy days, holidays, rainy days, sunny days, school days, et cetera. It lead all the way from 1948 to the year 1952. This was a really thick book. "Uh, Jamie?" I began to hear foot steps coming at my door. "Yeah?" The sound of her voice made me jump. I quickly shoved the book under my pillow and the door opened. "So how's your room coming along?" She said with a smile. Her hair was frizzier than ever. "Um, along, I guess," I knew it was a dumb answer. But that's all I could process out of mouth. She kept staring at me, trying to read me. I figured I could turn this into a staring contest. I imagined western music playing in my head. My eye twitched. I was taking this too seriously. "Um," I said trying to break the silence. "So, what's for dinner?" She made a sudden jump, as if she just came back from la la land, or something. "Oh, uh. Thanks for reminding me. I was thinking about heading out for dinner. You know, probably go to the Smoothie Shop. It'll do us some good." I really didn't know what to say, I mean, I haven't been there since I was seven years old. I just hope the place wouldn't bring me back to tears. "Sure," I lifted myself off my bed, making sure the notebook wasn't visible. I forced myself a smile. In my head, I pictured myself ordering a blueberry smoothie with a hamburger. My mouth began to water. This feeling was me, going down memory lane. And I haven't been there I in a long time.

**__ Chapter Seven- Unexpected Visitors __**

I walked through the door of the Smoothie Shop and I was already experiencing flashbacks of my child hood. It sort of went like this:

// 11 years ago // // "Daddy, can I get anything I want? Please?" I had said, tugging the sleeve of my father's coat. // // "Yes, as much as you want, whatever you want," my father was always in a good mood once he walked past the border of the door and heard the bell ring. "You can get anything from blueberry smoothies, to coconut cheese. That doesn't even exist as far as I know. But guess what Jamie," he kneeled down when he said that. // // "What," excitement had welled up in my eyes. // // "It's still anything, is it?" // // "Yeah," I would laugh and, as a family, we would walk to the counter and order. // // It was always this same routine when I was six, always full of happiness and love, pretty much.

// // Now // "So what do you want to order?" Sue was now nudging me in the shoulder. I hadn't realized we had already made our way to the ordering unit. "Oh, um. Can I have a blueberry smoothie with a burger with all the works, please?" "Um, we don't sell blueberry smoothies anymore. But we'll be glad to offer you a nice raspberry smoothie. It's still good," the man at the register looked like it was his first week of work. He looked like a high school student. Blond hair, dreamy eyes. But I made myself snap out of it. "Oh, it's okay. But I can still have the burger, right?" my heart sank as I said this. "Sure," he replied with a smile. Well at least I got half of what I wanted. "Is there anything else you would like?" I took a quick glance at his name tag. It read // Jordan ////. // "Yes, I would like the um, salad with Italian dressing and um, a coke, please. Thank you," she didn't even look at him. She just looked at the screen of the cash register, waiting for the price to appear. "That'll be $14.97, plea-," he wasn't able to finish his sentence when Sue shoved a wad of money in his face. We slid over the counter to where we were supposed to pick up our meals, and waited. But then, a strange couple walked by. They looked awfully familiar. It was beginning to creep me out. I turned to the counter and picked up my burger and made my way over to the booth behind them. I waited for Sue to sit down before I began to eat. I cringed at the sound of loud, gustling wind. It reminded me of the tornado. I closed my eyes and reopened them. Everything seemed to be okay afterwards. I lifted my hands to my lips with my burger in them. But my mind gazed back to the people in front of me. The lady had the same curl hair... of someone. I still couldn't get the name out. And the man sitting next to her, his hands. They looked just // so // strong. He reminded me of someone, too. But their aged look just,... made me forget even more about the people I was trying to figure out. Just who were they? Wait, were they my pa-, no they couldn't be. Could they?

**__ Chapter Eight-The Letter __**

"Okay, we were able to track down your parents through the internet. We haven't spoken to them in any way, // but // we did get a few pictures. Now, I printed them off the internet. They're kind of blurry, but it's better than nothing," said Lin, as she placed a file in front of my eyes. She then placed a copy in Sue's hands. We were in her office in the // Life Connections // building. I opened the file and saw two pictures. A picture of my mom, and then a picture of my dad. Tears welled in my eyes. But when I saw their aged faces, something hit me. These people looked exactly like the people I saw at the Smoothie Shop. And that meant that those people were... my parents. Oh my God, they // were // my parents! My heart felt so overwhelmed with joy and confusion all at the same time. How had I not recognized them? I was sitting right behind them at the restaurant. I mean, the curly hair, my dad's hands. They, they were my parents. She was my mother, and he was my father. How could this be? All this time, they were right there. Right in front of my eyes. "Uh, Miss Rice? Are you okay?" she reached out to hold my hands. Comforting me. "Miss Rice, Miss Rice?" The next thing I knew, I was staring straight at the ceiling. Lin and Sue were looking down at me, holding an empty glass. Then I noticed that my face was all wet. My hair was beginning to curl up and get all frizzy. "You okay, sweetie?" said Sue. She was helping me off the floor. "Whoa, what happened?" I said, as I was lifting my feet onto solid ground. "How long was I out?" "Oh, just a few minutes. We thought we were going to have to call an ambulance, until Sue got a little thirsty and accidentally spilled some on your face," said Lin, as a smile rose on her face. "Well I think we're good to go," she was now standing tall and handing me the pictures of my parents. "You might want these." // Dear Journal, August 20, 2001 //// // 9:48 pm //

// Well, I start school tomorrow, and I'm getting pretty nervous. What if the kids don't like me, what if I don't make any friends? I don't want to get branded as a loser. But at least something good happened to me. //

// I was at the Life Connections // // // building today, and Lin gave me a couple pictures of my parents. These are the most recent ones. // // And // // look, they have gray hairs now. You wouldn't be able to recognize them at all. But I was so happy, I literally fainted. No lie. I was in the office and suddenly I was staring at the ceiling. But anyways, it turns out that at the Smoothie Shop, I had seen them. But I just didn't know it was them. I mean, I was sitting right behind them. And still I couldn't recognize them. But I better get some rest if I'm going to be waking up earlier from now on // I took one last glance at the pictures, then I turned out the light of my lamp. Goodnight mom, goodnight dad. "Good night Sue," I said. Then I began to hear some snoring. I guess she was already asleep. But I didn't care, my parents were alive. Nothing could bring me down. And there goes the bell of doom. I was staring at my new school from a new kid's perspective, and I did not like it. I've never been a new kid. Ever, not ever in my life. People were rushing past me, shuffling to get to class on time. Everyone was staring at me. Laughing. I wanted to run home crying. I wanted to run to my // real // home. I wanted my mom. How could Sue have done this to me? Why do I have to be here? Why can't I just stay home? Why did the ancient Greeks have to invent school? I mean, how could kids be surviving school? And this has been going on since like 3000 BC. I wonder if anyone ever died from going to school. These kids were like laughing hyenas. Seriously, it was like a jungle in there. The front part of the school started to look pretty empty. There were some kids in the corner. They looked like loners, probably ditching school. I kept staring at them, until one of them turned to me. There was something in his mouth, something white. I began to back off and make a run for the school doors, when I recognized it to be a cigarette. This day was getting worse already. WASHINGTON ACADEMY Jamie Rice Grade: 12 Sex: F Home room #: 276 Locker #: 386 Locker Combination: 28-32-24

Schedule: 1st period................. Reading....................... Mr. Lavvyon

Everyone stared at me for the whole period. It was like I was in a glass box, a museum piece. Where everyone would stare and have no interest in even befriending me.

2nd period................ Language Arts.............. Mrs. Quan

Ditto

3rd period................ Study Hall..................... Ms. Harrington

Ditto

4th period................. Lunch/Recess.............. Unknown

Some girl managed to come and talk to me, then managed to spill chocolate pudding on my shirt. Everyone saw and now I'm the new freak show.

5th........................... History........................ Ms. Frolor

I got called in front of the class and had to tell everyone how the Korean War affected the world. Seriously, I didn't even // know // there was a Korean War.

6th period................. Art.............................. Miss Korrier

Somebody spilled paint on me.

7th period................. Math........................... Ms. Gordon

I had to describe how to solve an algebra problem; a really hard algebra problem. I got to the answer 48,778,456,002. The correct answer was 0.

8th period................. Phys. Ed..................... Mr. Garfield

I got hit in the head with volleyball. Need I say more?

9th period................. Chemistry .................... Mr. Donson

Let's just say that my life would have been so much better if I would have swallowed some acid.

10th period............... Music........................... Ms. Younson

If you had to sing in front of the whole class, would you die, too? // Dear Journal, August 22, 2001 //// // 3:30pm // // Every time I look down at my shirt, it looks more wet than before. I stare down, and // // // drip goes another tear. I have been humiliated today. I thought nothing could bring me down. I thought I could be strong, but no. Every step I took in that building, I died a little. My hands were shaky. My shirt was ruined. My heart was ruined. I don't think any of those kids have hearts. Not from what I saw. I don't ever want to go back again. But I can't tell Sue that. What am I going to do? // "Dinner!" Sue shouted. That surely scared my tears away. I shoved my journal underneath my mattress and walked slowly down the stairs. This gave me time to think. What if Sue asked me about school? Should I lie? Should I tell the truth? "I made spaghetti and meatballs," she said with a smile. I made my way to the dining table and sat down. I tried to make myself smile. It didn't work out though. "So how was school?" Ugh, not the question. "Uh, uh, um, uh,... it was.....o-okay," a sweat broke out on my face. "Well, that's good to hear," she grabbed a metal fork and stabbed it into her spaghetti. She began to twirl it, when a knock came at the door. It was a weird knock, though. First, it was two small knocks, then one loud one, and then another small one. Whoever the person was, repeated this three times until Sue opened the door. I peeked through the crack of the door. It was a man in a shrunken trench coat. His hair was short, as if it was freshly cut. A slight spike at the top, but not enough to make him look like a "rocker," or anything. I noticed all of this after he took off his hat. He had a sincere look on his face. A happy type of sincere. He held his hat close to his chest. It started to thunder. "Ma'am?" He said. "Is Jamie there? Jamie Rice?" Sue didn't budge. She had a questioned look on her face. "Uh, who?" I jumped out of my seat and grabbed her arm. "Sue, I- it's me. Jamie!" My throat felt tight. "Don't you remember?" Her face brightened, "Oh, Jamie. Yes I remember. Jamie Lorn!" "No, it's me. Jamie Rice!" I felt like my throat was getting even more tight. She held her hand up against herself and played with her locket a little bit. "Oh, yes. Don't you sleep upstairs?" "Yeah. Oh thank goodness," I said, relieved. I then turned around to the man that was standing at the door. "Um, well, I spoke with your parents yesterday an-" "You did! What did they say? Did they come? Are they here?" I pushed him aside a little and looked out on the street to see if they were hiding anywhere. "They, they told me to give you this letter." He reached into his coat pocket and handed me an envelope that was fat and heavy. It started to thunder a bit loudly. "So, um. I- I'm just the messenger, so,.... I guess I'll be on my way. So.....," he quickly turned around and ran to his car. My heart skipped a beat as I opened the letter. I pulled out the letter first, it read: //Dear Jamie,// // Oh I can't tell you how happy I feel to know you're alive. I've been praying for this day ever since I lost you. It just brings me so much joy. // // -Eleanor Rice

Jamie, // // This is coming from the heart. I miss you, sweetie. I love you and I am just so happy to know you’re alive, too. When I thought I lost you, I heart broke. But it's whole again. And now we could be a family again. Welcome home. // // -John // I began to cry. Tears of joy were sliding down my cheeks. All I wanted to do was see them, and I finally could. I pulled out the gift that was still in the envelope. It was a little heavy for something so small. I'd say about half a pound. It was a beautiful golden color. I opened the heart that was hanging from the delicate chain. This locket, I remember, was passed down to my mother. Her mother had given it to her. Inside was a picture of my father on one half of the heart. And my mother on the other half. I closed the locket and slid it back into the envelope. Then another note slipped out. // We want our third back. // "You okay sweetie?" said Sue. Her hand was now lying on my shoulders. A tear trickled down my cheek. I cupped my hand and caught the tear. I another came down, then another. I felt like I was a waterfall. Then, my tears came down more heavily. I got up and ran upstairs. I pulled out the notebook that held photos of Sue's past. I flipped more into the pages. Then, I saw it. I pulled out the picture from its frame. The resemblance was just so much alike. I pulled out the locket from the envelope and opened the heart. The picture of my mom in the locket was the exact same picture in the notebook. With an old lady, with her arms wrapped around her neck. The old lady looked exactly like,... SUE! Oh my gosh. Sue, wait, she's my..., grandmother! Oh, my grandmother. But how? I can't tell this to Sue. She'll yell at me for snooping through her stuff. But, she has to find out somehow. **__ Chapter Nine- Broken Heart, Broken //Hand// __** I was lying in bed. Dreading the next day of school. But I had to put that aside. I mean, Sue is my grandmother? This all just feels like one big dream. I still can't figure out how. I do remember, when we first met, she said I reminded her of somebody. But I didn't know I'd remind her of somebody // so // close. But then, I started to hear loud footsteps. It sounded like they were coming towards me. Then, my door slammed open. It was Sue. She was carrying a large baseball bat. "YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She took a swing at me but missed and hit the lamp. "SUE, SUE! STOP! IT"S ME, JAMIE, JAMIE RICE! STOP! DON’T YOU REMEMBER ME! YOU, YOU, YOU TOOK ME IN! FOR THE PAPERWORK FOR MY PARENTS! REMEMBER, EARLIER! THE LETTERI dove for my bed. Then I pulled out the locket. “IT'S ME, JAMIE RICE! PLEASE REMEMBER!" I screamed this at the top of my lungs. I began to cry. I didn't want to be killed. She took a swing at my head but missed and hit my arm. I dropped to the floor, and put a tight grip on my hand. The bat fell down along side me. "Oh, no! I'm sorry. I couldn't remember you. I'm so sorry! Please forgive me," She dropped down next to me in a big, heaping sob. "Oh please! I'm sorry!" I tried to pull myself off the floor. I thought I had failed, until Sue was helping me up with tears coming down her face. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:00 am. It was late, and I had to get up for school in less than an hour. There was no way my hand was going to heal in a half hour. It felt like a fracture, running from my finger tips to my wrist. "We need to get you to the hospital," said Sue. She was making her way to the kitchen. The lights hurt my eyes once she turned them on. My hand had a sudden rage of pain. I saw a hand reach for a coat. Then the same hands shoving me out the door. "Oh here," she said. "You'll need this; it's going to be a long walk."  She handed me an ice pack to numb my hand. Then it hit me, "Walk?"

Twenty minutes into the walk, thirty minutes into pain. The pain was so strong; it felt like someone was trying to rip my hand off from my wrist. We made our next turn and I saw a big, tall building with lights flashing on and off in the windows. "We're here," said Sue. "Let's hurry, though. We don't know how long we'll have to wait." I made every last step of the way in pain. Sue opened the door for me, and I entered. A gush of warm air welcomed me, but my mind went straight back to my hand. I took a good look at it and saw that it was already getting to the size of a softball. My fingers were green, while my hand was purple. My wrist was blue, just like how I felt. The ceiling lights were reflecting off of my hand from all the swelling. I just hoped this would take me out of school for a while. I tried to find an empty registration counter. I saw that there were three people in one line and four people in another. Then I saw another line with population: zero, far off in the corner. "C'mon Sue," I said. "There's no one over there." I quickly walked over to the line, and the next thing I knew, the lady at the desk was asking me all sorts of questions. "What's your full name?" I looked down at my hand again. The pain was beginning to get worse, and the ice was now warm water. "Uh," I began. The pain was starting to block my mind. "Jamie Hope Rice," at least I was able to remember my name. "Let me see," the lady at the desk put on her reading glasses and took a look at my hand. "A broken hand?" she asked. "I think so," I said. Though I was sure that it was definitely broken. "Well here, I'm going to put this on the other hand. You'll probably need a cast for the other," well at least she didn't hurt me. “Well, that’s definitely a fracture.” They had called us in about a half hour ago. I had to wait for like, two hours, though. I was sitting up on the cot, pain still taking over my hand. White wrap was lying next to me on a portable, rolling table. He was pointing to an x-ray of my hand. “You see the line right there? It runs across your hand. It’s like the size of a hairline. But we still have to put your hand in a cast. If you don’t take care of it, it could get worse. So, what color?” He was holding up several samples of the cast colors. “Umm,” I said. “I think I’ll go with,... green.” It was a beautiful lime green color. “Okay, now keep your hand steady.” He was beginning to wrap the white piece on my hand. I actually didn’t expect for it to take this long. I mean, school had started about an hour ago. My thoughts rolled to the ceiling. I was starting to get tired. My eyes were getting all watery, and bumps were rising on my skin from the cold. I looked down, and the wrap was half way to my wrist, already, but I was still getting a little impatient. I couldn’t stop thinking about my parents. I couldn’t wait to see them. They even left and address on the back of the letter. I read it over and over again for like a half hour. 4235 Norway Street Sheffield Village Apt. J-7 Cleveland, Arkansas I looked down one more time. The green wrap had covered half of my hand and was working its way to the other half. It’s weird, I’m so tired, yet so excited.

**__ Chapter Ten- Orphan No More __** I walked up the steps to an old country-looking home. I raised my hand in a clenched fist and knocked gently at the door. I looked at my hand; I was shaking with fear and happiness. My green hand was propelled up in a sling. I knocked again. I began to hear footsteps coming for the door. I took one last, shaky breath. Then, the door slowly opened. "M-m-mom?" I asked. I reached out my good hand and began to feel her cheeks, then her nose, and then her forehead. There were more wrinkles from when I last saw her, but I didn't care. Her face was just so beautiful. Her curly, brown hair was now gray. "Jamie? Is that really you?" She reached both hands out and pulled me in a tight hug. It felt like I was wrapped in a thick, winter blanket. Five minutes had passed in what seemed like seconds. I was still in her arms when I looked behind her back and into the house. First I heard a voice, then I heard some more footsteps. "Honey, honey! Who's at the door?" Of course I recognized the voice; the strong, manly voice. The voice belonged to my father! "Oh Dad!" I yelled. I was now running into the house and into my father's arms. "Oh Dad. I missed you! I love you! I-I," I had nothing else to say. I was now in my parents arms again. What more could I want? "So you're enrolled in school already?" asked my mom We were back at Sue's place having a special dinner. "Yeah, it' petty cool," I just had to lie. I didn't want to ruin the perfect moment and throw myself a pity party. "Oh, well that's good to hear," she was now passing me the big bowl of mashed potatoes I just couldn't help but stare into her eyes. They were as beautiful as I remembered. And her eyes had said it all; she had the same, exact cheerful spirit in her as she did eleven years ago. I loved her so much. And my dad, he was just so cheerful, too. When he laughed, he had wrinkles near his eyes. And they got all watery, too. But everything else, it was all the same: Strong and muscular. Handsome and humble. Loving and caring and anything else in the world a great dad could ever have. As I was thinking this, I felt something burning on my hand, and it hurt too. I looked down and suddenly realized that I was still holding the hot bowl of potatoes in my hands. I quickly dropped the bowl at a safe level on the table. My hand was bright red and when I felt it against something, it felt totally numb. "Could you pass the mashed potatoes, please?" I quickly looked up and saw my father smiling at me with his strong hands extended out towards me. "Oh sure." I passed the bowl over to him without even realizing that I had forgotten to give myself a portion of the potatoes. But I still didn't care. I was just too happy. But I did reach out for Sue's irresistible biscuits. I ripped one open and saw a small gust of steam rise up. I grabbed a silver butter knife with a scoop of butter and smeared it on the insides of the moist bread. I pulled it up to my mouth, eyes closed, and took myself back to my early childhood with an indulgent bite. Oh how life is good. **__ Chapter Eleven- And The Answer Is... __**  This place was // huge //. There were six bedrooms, two bathrooms and two kitchens. There were even two living rooms! I was at my parent's place again. My dad was showing me around while mom was making some coffee for Sue downstairs in the kitchen. "Well, this is where you'll be sleeping. I picked it out for you ever since we bought the place. There's a bay window right there. A nice shelf right over there and a-," he didn't have time to finish his sentence when I had interrupted him. "Dad, I missed you," I began to cry as the words came out of my mouth. I was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. "Oh, I missed you too, sweetie." I felt his fierce grip around my body. But it was a // loving // grip. "I love you // so // much." "I love you too," even more tears started to come out of my eyes. I was a waterfall. Then I heard a knock at the door. It was my mom with Sue following behind. "Oh, I didn't mean to disturb," but when I saw Sue, something hit me. "But, b-but what about Sue?" I asked. "She // can't // stay alone." I didn't want to leave her alone after how sick she's been. What if she forgot where she lived and got lost. What if she got hurt? I loved her, too. "What about me, sweetie?" I had meant for the question to be answered from anyone but her, but apparently not. "Where are you gonna stay. You can't be alone." "Oh, well. I- I- I- I'll think of something. I'll be alright," she bowed her head. I was going to miss her. "Well. I think we can make some room. It all depends on you, Sue," my mother was looking at my dad when she said this. By the looks of this, she was winning the fight. "What about Milo? I can't leave Milo," Milo had walked in at the sound of his name. He was now cuddling against Sue's leg. I looked over to my father, too. "Please dad?" I pleaded. "Could you excuse us please, Jamie. I need you," he was halfway to the hallway with my mother following behind. "Uh, yeah. Sure," I just hoped the answer was going to be // yes //. "I don't know if we can do this," said dad. We were talking in hushed tones. "But Dad, if I move in with you guys, then Sue will be alone. Besides, you'll have three extra rooms! She'll have plenty to choose from," I could've sworn my heart had skipped a beat. "U-uh, I still don't know," his arms were now folded across her chest. "Is there even a need?" "Dad. Dad, I've been meaning to tell you this. Dad," I sighed. "She's sick. She has Alzheimers. We have to do something ... mom?" Both of them stood still in their tracks. In fact, the only thing to break the silence was Milo. He almost tripped me from the back, too. "We'll see."

The television was giving off bright light in the dark. We were in the living room of my new home. I just couldn't help it but stare at my parents. Every once in a while, I caught either the eye of my mother or my father. And every time I did, I just had to make a puppy face. I just couldn't help it. I mean, I really missed my parents after all of these years. But I didn't want to leave Sue. They still hadn't decided whether or not to let her stay. And you could tell that Sue really wanted to live here. You could just see it in her eyes. She looked so sad and lonely. "Um, I think I'll go get us some more coffee," said my mom. She was rising up from her seat. I could tell that she was giving me a // signal // to come with her, even in the dark. I watched as the hot coffee fell into beautiful ceramic mugs. "So, um. Did you decide yet? Did you and dad talk abut it already?" I was just so anxious to hear her answer. I hoped it was a yes. "Yes, we have discussed this. And, it was very difficult to come to a decision and we said-," she couldn't finish her sentence from one interruption. It came from somewhere. I didn't know where. "Yes, what was the answer?" I then realized the person was me. "Take it easy! Anyways, the answer is yes. She could stay with us." A burden lifted off of my back. No more worries of Sue being alone. No more worries of Sue getting lost. And no more worries of, well, anything. I was just so happy. Mom suddenly placed a silver tray in my hands with a plate of crackers and two mugs with a set of spoons. She was carrying the other two mugs one in each hand. I walked into the living room and suddenly felt like a waitress. I gave a mug to Sue and a mug to dad. And my mom gave me a mug of hot chocolate. I don't know how she remembered that I hated coffee. She was a good mother like that. And my dad was a good father like that, too. Just like that, and you have the perfect fairytale.

**__ Chapter Twelve- Uncovered __** "Why don't we turn off the television for a while? You know, enjoy the rest of the day?" My dad was already walking towards the off button on the television when he said this. I watched as the moving picture faded to gray, then to onyx. Silence flooded the room. "You know what, Jamie? I have some old scrap books we could look at. I have baby pictures of you and even some old pictures of me! This'll be fun!" My mom was beginning to go to some closet that I hadn't seen, yet. She came out with a big, brown box with the word MEMORIES on it. She pulled out a brown scrap book, and I thought to myself//, 'why so much brown?' // And then another thought came to me, // 'this could uncover the fact that Sue is my mom's mom and my grandmother! This could be it. Now my mother is finally going to have a mom!' // My mom opened to the first page of the book and we all saw a baby picture of me playing in the mud. I had forgotten all about my locket, too. I opened and looked at the picture of my mom and Sue. I suddenly became happier. I didn't even think it could be possible. We passed a few pages, until we got to // the page //. The picture of Sue and my mother was labeled with their names. My mother took one last look at the picture and then looked straight into Sue's eyes. And she said one word, and one word only. "Mom?"