A Whole New Life; Book 2: Alone

Chapter 23

Jennifer's POV

I wake up to my alarm making bubble sounds. I open my eyes and see a small box. It has a name tag on it. I pick up the box and read the tag. It's for me. I pick up the note beside the box and read it.

Dear Jen and Josh

        I made these for you a week ago. Please be careful with them. It took me half an hour to find the right spell to make the flower, another half an hour to find the right spell to keep the ice from melting, fifteen minutes to get the ice to form the right shape, twenty minutes to find a spell to make the gem stone, ten minutes to shape it and it took me a whole day to put carvings into it. And that picture of us I did in the limo, I framed it for you guys. Hope you like what I made.

~Aqua

I smile at the note. Aqua is so kind to put all this effort to do this for us. Sure, the gifts are small. But it's the effort she put into it that counts. Aqua's the kind of girl who would put others before herself. I try to shake Josh awake. But he's being stubborn this morning. He's always like this after parties. I'm left to the final option. I kick him in the butt as hard as I can. He jolts up and looks at me.

"Get your ass up and look on your bedside table," I say through gritted teeth. We open the small boxes and find necklaces that look like something to be bought. But the truth is they were made by a fifteen year old girl who's turning sixteen in three months. Josh and I look at the gifts Aqua made for us. Then it hit me. I gave Aqua a box of my old high school cloths and Josh gave her a necklace with a mockingjay with a golden hue. And now she has repayed us the favor. Josh and I get changed and headed downstairs.

Ten minutes later Aqua comes downstairs wearing black and whit tie dyed shorts, black leggings, a navy blue crop top with a violet tank top underneath and a pair of grey ankle boots. She looks cute in my old cloths. But that's not what caught my attention. What caught my attention was her sheath of arrows slung across her back with her bag on her shoulder and her bow in her hand. Before Josh and I could ask, she answers for us. Her school is having try outs for the archery team. It's supposed to be an art school. But I guess they do sports there as well. Aqua eats a few coconut strips and drinks a can of coconut water. Josh and I wish her luck and she says bye as she walks out the door. With her archery skills, Aqua is definitely going to get into the team. Aqua has magnificent aiming skills. She can shoot moving targets. She shoots her arrows fast. She can shoot blindfolded. Hell, she can even slice an arrow with her own. She will pass the try outs. I know she will.