Royally Normal

10

Being able to see my family after way too many months was everything I needed in my life right now. It was going to be good to be able to feel normal even if it was only for a few days.

I ran over to my dad and jumped in his arms. "I missed you so much."

"Hi my sweet bean." my dad spoke as he held me tight. "I missed you more than you'll ever know."

"Not possible." I smiled as he put me down.

I wrapped my arms around my mom. "Hi, mama."

"Hi my Ai-AI." her voice chirped in my ear. "You really did come straight from school. You're still in uniform and everything."

I nodded my head. "I'm always true to my word."

"Arie! Angel! Hi!" I hugged both of my sisters who were in sweatpants. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I missed both of you annoying me."

"Missed you more bean." Angelina spoke.

Arie smiled. "I can't wait to binge-watch so much Netflix tonight."

"Me too." I agreed with her.

All five of us got into a black Tahoe that drove us to our house. It was nice to be back even though it looked like a rental or show property now.

"God I'm craving some pasta from one of our favorite Italian spot." my dad said as he walked up the stairs. "Does that sound good for dinner? Italian take out?"

"Sounds perfect." I agreed and my sisters nodded their head.

Angelina yawned. "I need a quick nap."

"I'm with you on that." Arie responded. "But don't worry Bean. I'll make sure that I'm up to watch a movie."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about me. It will be more fun after dinner anyway."

"Well, come help me unpack and tell me more about school." my mom looked over at me.

"Sounds good, I'm going to shower and change out of this first." I told her before I ran up to my old room.

It was weird how this room felt unusual now. There was no floral wall or Cole next door. This room was my safe haven though. With the LED lights, fake vines, and all.

I took a quick shower and put on my comfy clothes before I went to talk to my mom who was unpacking her suitcase.

"I feel like you've really toned up and dropped a lot of weight since I saw you last." my mom immediately pointed out as I sat down on her bed. "Are you alright?

Damn, she noticed but I wasn't going to worry her. She already had to worry about the whole country.

"Yeah." I assured her. "Between dance four days a week and soccer pre-season workouts, it was bound to happen. I'm sure I'll put it all back on after the holidays."

My mom gave her a small smile. "Ok."

We talked about David's new designs, the stories about the people she met while on royal tours, and how relieved she was that school for Ari and Angelina was going much better than how it did for me years ago.

She seemed genuinely happy and I was excited for her. I didn't want this role to stress her out but she seemed to be handling the fame and scrutiny much better than I was.

Overall, I was just really happy to have my family back. We ate our Italian takeout at our dining room table, played Monopoly together, and finished the night off by watching When Harry Met Sally.

After my parents went to bed, my sisters and I stayed downstairs a binged every single cringe romance movie that was on Netflix. They told me about the differences between schools in the U.S. and London, the friends they made, and the adventures that they had in the palace.