Part of this World

First Day of School

The next morning, Lori rode with her stepsiblings in their limousine.

"Wait until you see Old Rosebud, Lori," Nicholas smiled. "You'll especially love the music classes."

"I can't believe you learned how to play the ukulele when you were just a baby," Muffy said flatly.

"It's a violin, Muffy, and my mother was the best violinist ever," Lori smiled. "She used to give violin lessons in Prescott's."

"Awesome," Nicholas smiled.

Once the limousine made it, Nicholas and his sisters came out, and Lori was beyond amazed by how beautiful the school was.

"Wow, this is amazing," Lori gasped.

"This is nothing," Nicholas smiled. "Wait until you see the inside."

When Lori entered the building, she was amazing by how beautiful it was. "Wow, this place is amazing," she gasped.

"I'm glad you like it," Nicholas smiled.

Lori's first class was history, but neither of her stepsiblings were in that class, so she'd have to take this on her own.

"Boys and girls, I'm sure you're aware that we have a new student joining our class," Mrs. Pearson said. "Her name is Lorelei Prescott."

"I prefer 'Lori'," Lori spoke up.

"Okay, Lori," Mrs. Pearson smiled. "Care to tell us about yourself?"

"Well, my father recently got remarried, and we moved in with my stepmother and stepsiblings from southern Kansas," Lori explained. "My family owns a music shop, Prescott's Music, and we transferred the shop to this neighborhood."

"And do you play any instruments?" Mrs. Pearson asked.

"Violin," Lori said. "My mother taught me when I was really little."

"Delightful," Mrs. Pearson smiled.

Near the end of class, Lori found herself face to face with another pair of twins—two nearly identical boys with dark hair, one of them having a scar on his face and the other having somewhat lighter hair.

"Hello, there," the scar-faced one said. "I'm Esteban Delgado."

"And I'm Francisco," the other smiled. "Our family is from El Pas, Texas."

"That's nice," Lori smiled.

"So Nicholas and Muffy Kristal are your stepbrother and stepsister," Esteban smiled.

"Yes, they are," Lori confirmed. When she looked into Esteban's eyes, she found herself falling in love—but then the bell rang, snapping her out of it.

The whole day went by very fast, and Lori's last class was music. Esteban, Francisco, Muffy, and Nicholas were in this class, too.

"Finally, you get to have a class with us," Nicholas smiled. "How was your day so far?"

"Beyond great," Lori smiled.

"I see you met Francisco and Esteban," Nicholas said.

"Yes, she did," Francisco confirmed.

"I see you play the violin," Esteban said.

"Yes, my stepmother gave me this," Lori smiled. "Do you play violin?"

"No, I play viola," Esteban smiled.

"I'm a cello person," Francisco declared.

"So am I," Nicholas said.