-A young Taylor Parks-
I clomped my way down the stairs, and to the kitchen on a very cold January morning. My teeth chattered together at the feel of my feet colliding with the chilly wooden floors of me and my family's two story house. I swiftly jumped off the second to last step and hurried my way to my destination. When i arrived i found my mother laying out breakfast on the table , and i also found that my father had not come home.. for the fifth time this week. I was beginning to worry about my dad but i'd never tell my mother that. "Good morning momma" i mumbled softly in my sleepiest morning voice just longing for more sleep, "Morning sweetie" replied my mother in a sweet tone of voice. My mother is a short woman with medium length, black hair and green eyes.. People tell me that i favor her in looks, but i simply don't see it. I am tall for my age of 10 years old and i have long brunette hair and black eyes. As i ate my breakfast my mother began humming a pleasant tune under her breath, "Taylor, would you like me to french braid your hair today?" asked my mother giving me a questioning look. I tucked a strand of unbrushed morning hair behind my ear contemplating on whether or not i should agree to that style of hair, "sure momma it will go nicely with my blue dress with the pearl on the back!" i explained excitedly for that was my most expensive dress, and i wanted to dress up because there were rumors of a new student coming to school today. I quickly finished my breakfast and hurriedly ran up the stairs to my light blue colored room, I skipped over to my closet and bounced up on my tippy toes to grab the lovely dress. "got it" i huffed under my breath as i walked out of my closet with the clothing. In one swift movement i slipped on the dress, right after removing my night gown. i turned to the mirror on my vanity and sighed happily loving the beautiful outfit i was in. I slipped on my brown zip up boots, grabbed my light pink backpack and hopped down the stairs, right back to where my mother was sitting in the kitchen, only now she was holding a faded black hair brush and a light blue hair scrunchey that matched my dress. She quickly braided my hair back neatly and kissed the top of my head. "I hear the bus sweetheart" my mother softly said to me "alright momma i love ya! bye." I said as i hopped up out of my seat at the kitchen table to scurry to the door but as soon as i approached the door, the handle wiggled and my dad emerged from the chilly outside weather. He acted as if he didn't even see me, and stumbled over to the the couch, almost knocking me down. "goodbye daddy" i whispered to myself knowing he was high on alcohol. Pushing all of my thoughts to the side. i ran out to the bus and hopped on taking my usual seat next to my only friend, Mary. Mary is a very quiet girl unlike me, she has short blonde hair and is about two inches shorter than me. "morning' Tay" Mary said in a very hushed tone like she always does, "good morning Mary!" i said just a little too loud making her eyebrows furrow a bit, i chuckled to myself before leaning my head back on the cold interior of the school bus seats. It was a 15 minute ride to my little elementary school but it was well worth the ride because i loved school. And i couldn't shake the thought of a new kid coming into class, it excites every bone in my body, maybe it'll be a girl that me and Mary can become friends with.. it was all to exciting to think about this early in the morning. I said my goodbyes to Mary and walked to my class that was about two minutes from the front entrance. I turned a corner and swiftly walked into my classroom getting my notebook out while dropping my backpack in my assigned cubby. "Good morning everyone." my teacher Mrs.Jones exclaimed. We all replied in unison, "good morning Mrs.Jones." just as we had done everday for the past year. "This morning, i have some exciting news!" Mrs.Jones explained, and i couldn't help but feel my stomach twisting into knots as i knew what she was going to say. "We have a new student standing right outside the door, and i want you all to make him feel very welcome." stated the grey headed teacher. Everyone in the room was either nodding or just fidgeting around in their seats waiting to see the new stranger joining us for the rest of the school year. Mrs.Jones waltzed over to the door and peaked her head around the corner as a sign for the new comer to join us. Slowly, a very tall boy came from behind the door where Mrs.Jones had just been, the boy had short brunette hair and strikingly blue eyes that i couldn't help but notice were a bit.. pitiful looking. The boy scanned over the room getting to know the faces of his new classmates. His eyes locked with mine for a brief second, and i couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. "Tell everyone your name." Mrs.Jones instructed, the brown haired boy quickly cleared his throat and looked towards the ground whilst saying, "My name is Jack."
