Joe Goldberg is beginning to wonder if there's any more decent people in the world. With both Candace and Beck out of the picture, he's feeling lonely and starting to give up on love. That is, until Leila comes sobbing into Mooney's. Fragile and vul...
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P R O L O G U E
"Once upon a time, there lived a-"
"Is it Cinderella?!" Sierra's hand goes flying in the air, unfortunately, it can't keep up with the speed of her voice. Shrill and apologetically confident, she manages to stop me in my tracks. She blinks twice slowly, being sure to give me a toothy grin as her sweet baby blues drink me in.
I give her a patient smile and straighten my back, "no, it's-"
"Ana and Elsa! My favorite!" Debbie doesn't even attempt to raise her hand, the words just come sputtering out of her mouth. She rocks back and forth, blonde curls foaming around her pointed ears as she tightens her grip on her ankles. Even though I know I've just tied her shoes, somehow they're undone again and tangled into her chubby little fingers.
"Sweets, this isn't Frozen," I chuckle despite myself, "this is-"
"Fortnite!" Xavier fumbles to his feet and attempts a rather sad and kind of crude interpretation of the floss. I stare at him completely and totally dumbfounded and find myself wondering why his actions have warranted so much laughter from his classmates even though he breaks out into dance at least once every five minutes.
James, my follower, springs up after Xavier trying, and failing, to mimicking his friend's every move. Pretty soon, "circle time" dissipates and the thought of even finishing Little Red Riding Hood is long gone. Kevin is wandering around the room, attempting to find one of the many books I've hidden from him in a vain effort to get him to read something other than the alphabet; and Benny is on his knees cooing to Talulah, our class pet turtle, trying to get her to eat his finger though the glass and laughing every time she opens her mouth.
These are my kids. My beautiful, funny, goofy babies. I can never finish a thought. My patience has tripled in the short time I've known them, and a minute of peace simply does not exist. I love them like they're my flesh and blood. I go to war for them every day without once thinking about myself or the consequences of my actions.
They're everything to me.
They may not remember me in fifteen years, but for the next ten months I'm one of the most important people in their lives.
