Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❝ there's a reason we're nova and tory! ❞
―
NOVA HELD ONTO TORY'S HAND AS THEY WALKED THROUGH VALLEY FEST.
Attending Valley Fest together was a tradition that the two girls had started ever since they became friends when they met at the park at age seven. From that moment on, there was not a day that went by where the two girls were not together. Even though they attended separate schools, every free moment they had was spent in each other's company. But now, after Tory moved into a smaller apartment and Nova's family into a new house, they would both be attending West Valley High once school started back up.
On the other side of Tory stood her little brother, Brandon. He gripped tightly onto Tory's other hand, being pulled towards the game booths along with Nova. Brandon had been eyeing a large stuffed bear ever since they arrived at Valley Fest. Tory had promised him that they would circle back around after they had gotten on some of the rides.
The game was a simple one. All you had to do was throw darts at all of the balloons to claim a prize. Tory was able to do it with ease, winning the bear for her little brother. The man behind the booth pulled the stuffed animal down and handed it to Tory.
She held it out in front of him. "There you go, little man."
Brandon grinned from ear to ear as he reached for the bear, reaching forward to hug Tory tightly. The bear was smushed between the two siblings.
Nova couldn't help but smile at them. Her own sister, Halley, was somewhere around. She was with their mother and her own friends, likely complaining about how uncool it was to have your mother following you everywhere. But didn't every twelve-year-old girl feel that way?
"So, what's next?" Nova questioned, looking back and forth at the Nichols siblings.
"I was thinking we could get some cotton candy," Tory suggested, glancing down at her brother. "What do you think, B-Man?"
Brandon nodded his head eagerly. Tory smiled at him and reached out her hand. Brandon grabbed it, holding onto the oversized stuffed bear with his free arm as best he could. Nova followed after them to the booth that was spinning cotton candy.
They waited in line. When they got to the front, the man spun the cotton candy around on a paper cone and then handed it to Brandon. Tory paid, and then the three of them took a seat at a nearby picnic table so that Brandon could eat his cotton candy.
As the boy finished, he held the paper cone out to Tory. She took it from him and stood up to find a trash can to toss it in. Nova sat on the bench next to Brandon, engaging with him about his new stuffed animal.
"Do you have any names picked out yet?" Nova asked.
Brandon shrugged in response. He was a very quiet boy, not speaking much ever since his and Tory's mom started to get sick. Brandon's doctor had said that he was experiencing what was known as selective mutism. The doctor assured Tory that the best thing to do was not pressure him into talking but to engage in conversation with him to help elicit a response.
