Miserable

15

As the first week of November comes in, the weather drops.

On a chilly Sunday, we walk into church and attend service. I love coming to church now. It's been only a few weeks, but I feel something different when I come. Good different.

After the service, I walk around and find myself in the Sunday school part of the building. No kids are inside the classrooms however, so I go outside where I see kids playing in the playground.

A little girl sits on a bench looking at her hands and her knees. I approach her and sit beside her.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She looks up at me and I know that I'll like this girl. She has beautiful blue eyes and beautiful blond hair.

"I fell from the monkey bars." She says casually. But then she adds, "a boy pushed me. Well, kicked me with his feet, so I fell."

I take her hands in mine and examine the cuts. I also look at her knees.

"We'd better get you washed up." I say.

I stand, and offer my hand to her. Thankfully, she takes it and we walk to the bathroom. I clean her up and we head to the clinic to ask for some bandaids.

"Thank you." She says, giving me a hug. "What's your name?"

"Joy." I say with a smile. "And what about you?"

"Claire." She replies, smiling back at me.

She runs off to her family and waves goodbye. I wave back at her and meet up with mom and Rich at the door.

"You made a new friend." Mom says smiling at me.

I shrug. "Guess so."

We head back home where I compile all the notes I'd taken from my first few church services into a notebook.

Mom comes in a few minutes later.

"Joy? Are you okay? With- you know, everything that's going on?" She asks, sitting on my bed.

I turn around in my swivel chair to face her. "I'm learning to be okay. It's been hard though."

She nods her head. "My old friend is here." She says. "She and her family will move in the house next to ours. She, Cathy, and I have been friends all our lives. We had dreamed of living next to each other, and after four years of not seeing each other, she finally gets to live beside us. I invited her family to dinner tomorrow."

I hug my mom. "That sounds great." I stand and pause. "Wait. So does that mean Jade's family might move in to the other empty house beside ours?"

Mom gives me a knowing smile. "Maybe."

The next morning, I snuggle in my bean chair and continue doing my homework. Mom had asked the school to give the lesson plans they were doing so I wouldn't be so behind.

A loud noise comes from the left side of the house and I get up and look out the window.

Someone's moving into the house beside us. Mom's friend. The house has been vacant for five months and the other house to our right is now for sale too. I don't know if I'm wildly guessing, but I think it's because of what happened to dad...