Mute | Adopted by Scarlett Johansson

16 - Arlo

After a 10 minute drive in the back seat of Miss Johansson's car, Arlo was glad that they were finally coming to a stand still to park the car. Although the car ride was not intolerable, the girl was still relieved to be able to shake off the feeling of being trapped, stuck inside a moving vehicle, obliged to answer all the questions thrown at her. She knew this wasn't the case though, she knew that she wasn't being forced to do this and she knew that anything she didn't want to answer, she didn't have to if she didn't want to. That was one of the benefits of having meetings at the orphanage, if the kids didn't want to continue, they didn't have to, but in a car, it's not like she could just walk out. However, she didn't really mind being asked lots of things, Arlo quite liked talking to Miss Johansson and being around her.

Arlo watched the woman in front of her intently, as she turned off the engine of the car, took the keys out and climbed out of the car, before Arlo looked down to find the red button that would release her from the car too. The girl couldn't help but jump a little when the door right next to her unexpectedly opened, revealing Miss Johansson, smiling and holding out her hand for Arlo to take, in which the small girl obliged, using the woman's hand to steady herself as she half-jumped and half-stepped out of the car onto the pavement below, Douglas held tightly in her other hand to make sure he wasn't dropped. Once both dinosaur and girl were safely on the ground, Arlo let go of the woman's hand so that she could sign a thank you whilst smiling at her.
"You're welcome, sweet girl" she replied, returning the smile, closing the car door behind her and locking it with the keys.
At this, Arlo looked down to the ground, trying to conceal the smile that she couldn't seem to get control of. The girl had never really been called many pet names before, she couldn't remember her parents doing it, then again she didn't remember them much at all, and she only really got called by her name at the orphanage. She always just assumed that it was pretty impractical to use them there, as it would be difficult to distinguish who they were trying to talk to, especially since there are only so many common pet names they could use. Nonetheless, Arlo couldn't deny that she liked being called these endearing names and that they made her feel something deeper, more special inside.

"Arlo, would you like to go to the park first and then get ice cream, if you still want it, or would you like to get the ice cream first and then go sit in the park?" Mrs Moore asked the girl, who had been looking up and down the street cautiously. In answer to this, Arlo held up two fingers, signalling that the second option seemed like the better one to her.
"I know a really good place 2 minutes from here, it has a whole bunch of yummy flavours!" Miss Johansson offered, aiming the last part of her proposal at the small girl in front of her.
"That sounds like a good plan then! We'll let you lead the way then Scarlett." At hearing Mrs Moore use Miss Johansson's first name, it made Arlo remember back to the first time she met the woman. She had told the girl that she was welcome to call her Scarlett, but now that Arlo hadn't used her first name almost at all, it felt weird to start now. Thinking about this made Arlo feel a little anxious, she wondered if Miss Johansson still wanted her to use Scarlett instead, and now she wasn't sure what she should use if she needed to address the woman.

Whilst debating which name would be better suited, the trio had made it quite a ways down the street and were now entering the ice cream shop that Miss Johansson had suggested. She had been telling the truth though, it looked like there was a least 100 flavours and most of them looked pretty good.
"What are you thinking Arlo, which one looks good?" Scarlett asked the girl who was currently on her tiptoes, peering over the counters edge to get a better view of all of her options. Truthfully, Arlo wasn't sure yet, she had narrowed it down to two flavours: cookie dough and cookies and cream, but quickly decided that the latter was what she felt like today. To answer Scarlett, Arlo pointed in the direction of the cookies and cream container as accurately as she possibly could. Thankfully, the woman understood and read out the ice cream flavour just to make sure that she had looked at the correct one, which Arlo replied to with a nod of her head.
"And how would you like that sweetheart: a waffle cone, a wafer cone or in a cup?" Miss Johansson asked, crouching down closer to Arlo's level. The girl put up her index finger, slightly confused as to who would want either of the other two options.
"Excellent choice, I'm going for that one too!" She said as Arlo looked down at her feet, grinning, a spark of excitement jolting through her body at the fact that they both had something in common.
"What can I get for you guys today?" A girl behind the counter asked cheerily before Miss Johansson ordered what Arlo wanted and then saying her own request. Mrs Moore spoke for herself after Miss Johansson and within 2 minutes, each of them had an ice cream in one of their hands. Whilst Mrs Moore was helping Arlo, wrapping a tissue at the bottom of her cone to catch any spillages, Scarlett had pulled out her purse and handed over her card to pay for the cold treats.
"Oh! You really didn't have to pay for that!" Mrs Moore exclaimed as soon as she noticed the small plastic card being handed back to Scarlett.
"Nonsense! It's completely fine, I really don't mind paying on my day out with Arlo." she answered, glancing down at the small girl beside her as she was highly focused on her ice cream.
"Well, thank you! Arlo, what do you say to Scarlett?" Mrs Moore thanked before putting her attention on the girl. Although, for Arlo, saying thank you was a little more difficult, with an ice cream in one hand and a fluffy dinosaur in the other. The girl froze, wide eyed, causing both adults to chuckle slightly. She was trying to think as fast as she could, in the end opting to hand the ice cream that was in her left hand over to Mrs Moore, using the now free hand to sign a thank you in Miss Johansson's direction. Only waiting enough time for Scarlett to reply with a 'You're very welcome' before Arlo spun around quickly, taking the ice cream back into her hand and continuing to enjoy the sweet treat.