Winter || irwin

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[ one ] 

“Noelia, Narda, I know its only been a bit over a year since your father died…but I want you to meet Mr. Irwin and his three kids; Ashton, Marbella, and Raiza. They’re here to visit us all the way from Australia. Mr. Irwin and I are very good friends.” The twenty-three year old single mother told her two young daughters.

Both little girls eyed the foreigners in front of them shyly.

Narda was the youngest of Jerika’s daughters. She had a fair complexion, dark blonde hair, and bright blue eyes just like her mother. Narda was Jerika’s favorite of the two girls and she felt no remorse in letting it show.

Her other daughter, Noelia, was the one Jerika always shunned. Noelia was constantly put down by her mother due to an imperfection that, though it had been corrected, was something Jerika hated in her daughter.

When Noelia was born, the doctors noticed one of her legs was slightly shorter than the other. She was given treatments and operations to try to correct her imperfection, but she remained unchanged. Noelia walked with a slight limp, only noticeable if one really paid attention to her walk, but her mother always saw her as less of a person because of it.

Noelia had opposite features than that of her younger sister Narda. Noelia was lightly tanned, had dark brown hair that was straight as a rod, and big brown eyes. The girl resembled her father greatly, which was one of the reasons Jerika now shunned her even more.

Mr. Irwin pushed his three kids forward, saying in his deep voice, “Go on children, say hello to Miss Hillman’s daughters.”

Marbella, who was the oldest at only nine years old, went first. Marbella was a rather introverted girl who preferred staying home all day. Her unruly curly red hair bounced along as she approached the two little girls.

Next was Raiza, who was the youngest of the Irwin kids at only four years of age.

And last was Ashton, who was seven years old. He greeted Noelia with a polite smile, but when it came to Narda, he didn’t even shake her hand. He took one look at her blonde hair pulled into two pigtails and said, amused, “Pig tails? What are you, three?” He laughed and walked back to where his sisters stood.

On impulse, little Narda Hillman reached down to unstrap her black shoes and pulled one off her feet. Without warning, she chucked it at the seven year old boy and stuck her tongue out at him.

Their parents laughed at their silly behavior.

From then on, both Ashton and Narda could not stand each other.

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Eleven years later…

“Happy birthday dear Narda! Happy birthday to you.” Her family sang to the blonde as she smiled happily, looking down at her cake. At the end of the song, they all cheered and clapped for their little Narda who had just turned sixteen.

“Alright!” John Irwin announced, stepping away from them. “Its time for a few birthday pictures.”

He brought out his camera and Jerika stepped out of the way so the children would be in one photo by themselves. Marbella crinkled up her nose displeased and stepped out of camera range. Jerika frowned at her actions. “Bella, sweetie, get in the picture with your brother and sisters.”

Crossing her arms over her chest rebelliously, she replied, “Two of them are not my sisters, Jerika. So stop calling them my sisters.”

“Marbella!” John snapped. “Don’t talk to my wife that way.”