Precious Time

Starting Over

**afternoon**

Lauren slowly walks inside the old apartment. The unfortunate 14 year old just lost her father and her mother was no where to be found. That only left one option, her grandparents. Lauren didn't want to leave Colorado, that's where all her friends and memories were. New Jersey was across the country! She loved her grandparents, but she wasn't sure they even loved her. She would tell Grandpa Harold that she loved him and he would ignore it like nothing was said. Her grandma Ozma always answered, but she acted as if she didn't mean it. The only good thing about leaving Colorado was that she wouldn't get bullied at school anymore. She could start over and finally have a chance at a pleasant life.

**sunset**
Lauren had finally unpacked the small bag she packed before they left for good. She slowly placed the frame of her and her father on the nightstand next to her twin size bed. She then pulled out a tee shirt that belonged to her father and laid it across the bed. That tee shirt, the picture of her and her father, and her pillow were the only thing that survived the fire. Her father was a beloved college professor, and everybody loved him. When the local authorities were called and put out the fire, they knew one thing. Arson. Lauren couldn't understand why anyone would do such a thing. Turned out that Professor Anderson had failed the student, and the student was furious and committed arson. Her father's shirt smelled like smoke and only made her cry more. She missed him. He raised her, when her mother had left. He loved her and comforted her when she needed it. Now she was stuck with her grandparents, who didn't even show her that they loved her. Lauren got undressed and put the large shirt that belonged to her father on and got in bed. Lauren closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep. All she dreamed about was the fire. How painful it was. How much she missed her father. Why was she feeling all this pain? How do you get it to go away?

**early morning**
Lauren was woken by the yelling of Grandpa Harold. "LAUREN ANDERSON! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANCE!" Harold yelled. Lauren quickly jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs. There was a strange man sitting on the sofa. He looked at Lauren with wonder. Lauren the looked at the man and asked, "Who are you?" The man chuckled and replied, "Let's not worry about that. Let's worry about the fact that you need help. Look at your clothes." Lauren slowly looked down only to see that she was only wearing a shirt... Lauren squeaked and ran upstairs to change. Finally, she came back down and being her smart alec self asked, "Better?"