My favorite red head.

Art Teacher

Today, Nina was coming to school with me. I woke her up a little earlier than usual. She had a slight pout on her face as she stared at me, slightly discombobulated. I watched as she rubbed her little eyes tiredly and got out of bed.

Yesterday, Mateo cooked dinner while I graded papers. Thank god. I asked Sofia if she wanted some leftovers for lunch, but she told me no.

I was going to pick out her outfit, but she insisted she could do it herself. I honestly kind of forgot how big she had gotten.

She asked me to put her hair in 2 french braids and I did. I noticed that she had been asking me for a lot of help with her hair since she had gotten here. Maybe Mateo wasn't doing it right? I guess I'd have to teach him how to do that as well.

I finished helping Sofia get ready. She sat quietly at the kitchen counter finishing some homework from one of her teachers while I got ready. I showered, did my hair and makeup, and got dressed in a short time frame. I figured she would want something from McDonald's instead of the polenta my brother had made yesterday for dinner.

By the time I was ready, it was 6:30. Mateo was still lying on the couch, knocked the hell out. We both laughed at his snores as we left the house.

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"Nina?"

"Mhm."

"Can we listen to music?"

"Umm, yea. Hold up, just give me a second. I opened my messages and clicked on the pinned group chat. "Hey. You guys want anything from Mcdonald's?" I asked the teacher gc. Janine and Mel said yes. Barbara and Gregory said they had their own breakfast. Ava didn't reply, but Jacob did, complaining out about us eating processed food so early in the morning. I rolled my eyes as I read his message, closing out of the app, and handing my phone to my sister.

Sofia and I loudly jammed to all the songs she played, most of them being from her favorite tv show, Steven Universe. She used to beg me all the time to watch the show. I hated it at first, but I quickly fell in love. It was hard not to. That show was amazing.

We stopped and I ordered the things Nene and Mel asked me for. Sofia said she would wait until we got there to eat, but I guess she just couldn't resist, considering the fact that all that was left of her sandwich was the bright yellow wrapper by the time we got to the school.

We got out of the car and I grabbed my bags. I didn't see Melissa while we were going in, so I figured she got there before me. Sofia examined all the pictures and paintings on the walls as we walked through the hallway. It wasn't long until we reached Barbara's classroom. She knocked before we walked in

"Oh my gosh!" Barbara exclaimed, looking up from her desk. "Look at this little cutie! Sofia! You have gotten so big." She pulled the small girl in for a hug.

"Hi, Ms Howard!"

"Awww! You guys are too cute together!" I said, admiring the pair.

"Ms. Howard! You're never gonna guess what grade I'm in." Sofia bounced up and down.

"Hmmmm." She put her finger up to her chin, lightly tapping. "Let me think." Barbara took a pause. Sofia waited in anticipation. "Are you in 4th?" Barbara raised her eyebrow.

"No. But you were close. I'm in 3rd. I'm not old enough for 4th." She shook her head at the last part.

"Oh my! You know what, I bet Ms. Schemmenti is going to be excited to see you." She poked Sofia lightly on the chest. "Now I will let you two go, but it was so nice to see you." She looked between Sofia and me. I gave Barbara one last wave before I headed down the hallway.