A Song For Another Time - A Hikaru Hitachiin Story

Chapter Fourteen - High, High Hopes

Thanksgiving break was always uneventful for Rose - if uneventful meant that she stayed inside, finished all her work and read ahead in each and every class. She had never placed much importance on the holiday set aside for feasting and sharing with your family. Going to college never really made any difference, but she was thankful for time it gave her to get ahead and breathe.

She relished in the moment of satisfaction and closed her eyes.

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Rose had always been laser-focused on school. For the longest time it felt like her education was the only thing she had control over as she was bounced around from state-run facilities to foster homes and back again. Stability wasn't something she knew, but books were always there for her. No matter what happened during the day, she always knew she would get just a few quiet hours to do her homework - to lose herself in an equation or in the fine details of science.

As soon as she could she had begged every older child at the orphanage to teach her to read and when those children had had enough, she tried to teach herself. She was wolfing down words as fast as her eyes could move and devouring the knowledge they brought her. Fairy tales and equations could only carry her so far, though, as she struggled to stay afloat in the ocean of her emotions. If she wasn't distracting herself, she was drowning in the constant struggle to "always keep a smile," as the facility's director would say. Only smiling children get adopted.

It never made much of a difference though. Families swept right past her and her porcelain smile. She was never the perfect doll for the perfect family or the right soul to be saved. She was, however, always the perfect pawn for state money, though. Often being thrown away by the foster families as soon as she had served some sort of purpose.

It wasn't until she was placed with Todd and Molly Richards that her world was finally allowed to blossom. For the first time, she didn't feel like she was walking blindfolded in the desert and it wasn't until then that someone took the time to recognize her talents.

It was Todd and Molly who insisted she be able to skip the fifth grade, who fought with the school district to allow her to take summer school to advance even more. They were her warriors, advocating for her on every front and helping her fight her battles. Rose had never met foster parents like them before and it didn't take her long to relish in just how lucky she was.

The couple counted themselves lucky, too, and soon found themselves falling in love with their foster. Being stand-in guardians for a never-ending rotation of children brings a weight neither had quite anticipated, but Rose rejuvenated them.

They constantly found new ways to challenge her and never let her forget that she was strong enough to make it in this world. They pushed her into Advanced Placement classes, enrolled her in community college courses during the summer and gave her a reason to dream.

Rose didn't purposefully push herself closer to the finish line. It wasn't like she wanted her time with Molly and Todd to end sooner, but following her passions brought on the end of high school sooner than anyone thought. Molly broke down into tears when the first college acceptance came in the mail and had to excuse herself to the bathroom to remove all the strands of dusty brown hair that had stuck to her moistened face.

Despite having limitless love, the Richards did not live up to their surname and were, in fact, lower middle class citizens, unable to give Rose the college tour they thought she deserved. So when it came down to making a decision on her educational future the deciding factors were merits and photos alone.

Todd had decided that Rose's decision-making process a family event would be a superb idea and invited every foster in their home to write their ideas on poster boards he had brought home from his classroom at the local high school. That night the house buzzed with excitement as the five other children held fat markers in one hand and greasy pizza in the other.

The family had decided on Harvard before Rose had and when she went to bed that night she had her mind firmly set on Penn State. It wasn't until weeks later, when she was staring at the tenth Venn diagram she had made comparing Penn and Harvard, that she realized the Boston school would give her something she would desperately need in the business world: high-up connections. You see, Rose had a very specific dream in mind and Harvard would open up doors to people who could help that dream come true.

It was with that in mind that she finally took the dive and committed herself to Harvard, and after talking it over with the school, enrolled for the upcoming fall semester as a sophomore. When the time came, she left home ready to take on the Ivy Leagues with a secret promise in her back pocket.

Looking back at the house she had so many happy memories in, suitcase in hand, she vowed that she was going to do everything she could to use her gifts to make sure more people got a fair shake in life.

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Rose sighed deeply as she opened her eyes and scanned over the invitation she had received on her phone just the day before.

Can't miss party at Lance's House - Friday @ 8 pm. Bring your own food, tunes and drinks will be provided.

It sounded like a huge waste of time to Rose, but the twins were probably right. One year at college had already blown past her with little else than work on her mind. She needed to spend more time outside the four walls of her dorm room because, honestly, she was never going to make any solid connections if the only acquaintances she was making were the characters in the novels she adored so much.

Alright Hitachiins, she whispered to herself, I'll go to a party.