The Journey to a Better Life

Chapter 3

I didn't have any idea where we were going but I decided to just enjoy the drive and I would find out soon. After about 25 minutes of driving we arrived at a shopping centre. 'you ready kiddo?' Leah asked before we got out of the car. 'yes, but what for?' I questioned. 'we're going to get you some new clothes and things for your room' Alessia said. 'umm.... ok' I responded, unsure of why anyone would want to buy things for me.

The first shop we went into was Primark so that I could get some new clothes as all I had was my old school uniform and the outfit I was wearing today. Leah and Alessia ended up buying me a few pairs of tracksuit bottoms, some hoodies, T-shirts and a few pairs of jeans. After about an hour of shopping Leah started complaining that she was hungry since we hadn't had lunch before leaving the training centre so we decided to go to Pizza Hut before we finish shopping. Leah chose to just have a plain cheese pizza, Alessia was a bit more adventurous and had Pepperoni whilst I opted for my favourite ham and pineapple.  Once we had all finished our pizza Leah asked 'where do you want to go next Maddison?' 'I don't mind' I replied not wanting them to spend their money on me. Alessia suggested that we go to JD Sports as she wanted to look at the trainers. Once we were in JD Sports I went to look at the football boots wishing I had a pair that fit properly, the pair I have currently are a pair from one of my old foster homes kids and don't fit anymore and are very worn out. Leah must have seen me looking at the football books because I was snapped out of trance by her saying 'do you want a new pair of boots kid?' 'No I don't need a new pair' I replied not wanting them to spend any more of their money on me. 'That's not what I asked Madison, I asked if you would like a new pair, you don't have to need a new pair to get them' she said. First thing Alessia said when she came over to us was ' so which boots do you want Madi?' 'Umm..... I like the green ones' 'let's get them then' Alessia said. 'Are you sure?' I questioned 'you don't need to spend all this money on me' Leah and Alessia just looked at one another with a sympathetic look on their faces. Leah finally spoke up by saying 'we don't have to kiddo but we want to, so let us buy you the boots and how about we get you a new football as well' 'ok' I said

Once they had bought me the new boots and a new football, which I still insisted I didn't need, we decided it would be best to go back to Leah and Alessia's house so we could relax for the rest of the day as they had an away game against Manchester City tomorrow. When we got back Alessia helped me take my new things up to my room whilst Leah made a few phone calls. After putting all my new clothes away neatly Alessia, Leah and I went out to the garden so I could burn off some of the energy I had before we had dinner. After about minutes we went inside 'what should we make for dinner?' Leah asked, Alessia replied 'how about sandwiches, it's the only thing you make' a hint of sarcasm in her voice. ' sounds good to me' I chirp in 'sandwiches it is then' Leah announces. We all sat down with our ham sandwiches that Leah made for us and ate them whilst talking about the plans for tomorrow. We had to leave the house by 6am tomorrow morning as we needed to be at the training centre for 6:30am to get on the bus with the rest of the team to travel to Manchester for the game. Once we had finished our dinners I took the plates and put them in the dishwasher before going and sitting on the sofa. After watching a few episodes of Stuck in the middle on Disney plus Leah turned the TV off and said 'come on then Madison, you need to go for a shower and then get ready for bed, we have an early start tomorrow.' I sighed replying with 'ok' not wanting to go to bed just yet, I was too excited about getting to go and watch the game tomorrow to even think about sleeping.

After I got out of the shower, I went into my room and put on a pair of the new pyjamas that Leah and Alessia bought me earlier today and then went back downstairs. Once I was back in the living room I asked 'Leah would you be able to braid my hair for me so that it's out of the way for tomorrow, also means one less thing to do in the morning before we leave?' 'Sure I can kiddo, come and sit in front of me' as she turned to sit in the corner of the sofa so that I could sit comfortably whilst she braided my hair. 10 minutes later Leah and finished doing my hair and we were sat talking about football once again (no surprises there) Alessia walked into the living room carrying 2 mugs of hot chocolate for myself and Leah and a cup of tea for herself. We all sat on the sofa together and watched the end of the movie we started the night before whist drinking our drinks.

Once the movie had finished and we had all finished our drinks Alessia said 'ok then Madison, time for bed' 'do I have to' I groaned 'I'm not tired one bit' as a yawn rudely escaped my mouth ' that yawn suggests other wise' Leah laughed. After a few minutes of me complaining that I didn't want to go to bed Leah and Alessia looked at one another and rolled their eyes. 'If you go to bed now you can sit with Kyra on the bus tomorrow' Alessia said hoping that it would persuade me to go to bed. Without giving it a second thought, I jumped up off of the sofa liking the idea of getting to sit next to Kyra on the bus. I ran up the stairs closely followed by Leah and Alessia. Once we were in my room I got all cosy in my bed and both Leah and Alessia gave me a hug and said good night before leaving the room and closing my door.

Leah's P.O.V
'Goodnight Madison' I said as I closed the door behind me. Once Alessia and I were sat back on the sofa she cuddled into the side of me and said 'I didn't think it would be that difficult to get a kid to go to bed' ' neither did I my love' I replied whilst kissing her on the head. Alessia turned the tv on so we could watch a few episodes of stranger things on Netflix. After the first episode I pulled my phone out to message Kyra.

L: hey Kyra, would you be alright to sit next to Madison on the bus tomorrow, it's the only way we could get her to go to bed?
K: yea no problem Le, it'll be fun to sit next to kiddo on the bus, might actually be able to have some fun
L: thanks Ky, see you tomorrow with a very excitable 9 year old
K: see you all tomorrow

'Kyra said she's all good to sit with Madison tomorrow' I told Alessia. 'That's good' she replied. After the second episode of stranger things finished Alessia and I decided it would be a good idea to go to bed as it was now 10pm and we had to be up at 5:30 in the morning. As we walked past Madison's room Alessia opened to door slightly to make sure that she was asleep and to our surprise she was flat out, we thought she would still be wide awake with excitement for tomorrow. We continued the walk across the landing towards our bedroom where we both got changed into our pyjamas and then went to brush our teeth before climbing into bed, 'good night my love' I whispered before kissing Alessia on the forehead. 'Goodnight Le, I love you' she replied before giving me a quick peck on the cheek. Less than 5 minutes later she was asleep. I soon enough fell asleep too ready for the next days event.