Happily Ever After.... Yeah Right!!

Part 4

My day ended up being like a normal school day except for the occasional person saying happy birthday. My teacher and classmates sang 'Happy Birthday' and gave me a #2 pencil. Aren't they so generous and thoughtful? (That was sarcasm, if you didn't pick up on it.)
But as the bell rang for the end of the school day, I jumped out of my seat and was throwing on my snow gear in seconds. I ran down the halls to get to the front door to meet my parents. When I got to the door, I was disappointed because I didn't see them. I looked outside and saw that it was snowing and decided that they must be late because the roads were in bad condition.
But ten minutes passed.
And then twenty minutes.
I had teachers come along and ask why I was waiting still. I told them it was because my parents were picking up my birthday present and the roads must be bad.
After forty-five minutes of waiting, a police officer walked through the front door. He was tall and covered in snow. He gave a nod and smiled in my direction before walking into the secretary office. The officer talked with Miss Dolly. I notice they looked and sometimes even pointed in my direction. When they finally came out of the office, I could tell Miss Dolly was on the verge of tears.
"Hey there, Alexandra," the officer said, "My name is Ben and I heard it was your birthday today. How old are you now?"
"T-ten," I stammered.
"That's wonderful to hear. Happy Tenth Birthday."
"Thanks."
"Well, if you were wondering why I'm here, it's about your parents," Officer Ben started.
"What a-about them?" I asked.
"I was going to tell you why they haven't picked you up yet," Officer Ben started.
"Okay." I replied in a small, almost non-existent voice.
This is when Miss Dolly broke. She came, sat beside me and gave me a hug. She was crying full out saying, "I'm so sorry," between huge sobs.
"Sorry about what?" I shouted, not meaning to.
Now the officer was crouching beside me and said, "Your parents were in a car crash on a country road coming into town. No one saw the crash. When the police were notified about it, we were too late. Your parents died in that car crash, Alex."
I was shocked. I didn't cry or say anything I just looked down at the locket Miss Dolly gave me and thought about this morning. My parents were alive and well. They were telling me how much they loved me. Now they were dead.
When I finally came to that realization that my parents were gone, Miss Dolly's arms were already open waiting for me. I hugged Miss Dolly and we cried together. I don't know for how long. Maybe we were in that position for minutes or hours, but I didn't care. I needed someone to hold on to.
My parent's death was the first of many disasters that occurred in my life. My life went downhill from there.