NEW BEGINNINGS
Chapter One
It was still snowing when Stella woke up. And it was her first day at a new school. Why did she think she could do this? Pleading with her parents to move here, leaving all her friends behind, leaving the city that never sleeps and coming to a town that's completely off the map. At least to her. But she knew she had to try.
Well, at least I love snow. And I don't have to drive myself to school so I'll probably survive the trip down the icy roads, she thought as she tried to make something happen with her hair. Nothing happened. It just lay there on the top of her had like a flat and over-used mop. Humidity. Can't live with it and can't live without… wait a sec. She could live without it.
"Stella! If you want dad to drive you to school, get going already!" she heard her mother scream at the foot of the stairs.
So all the kids are up, she thought. Poor mom. Alone with three little brats all day. Without a nanny. Sucks.
She packed up her bag, put on her fuzzy hat and left her new room. Everything was new and it was still hard to adjust. Living in a house instead of an apartment, driving everywhere instead of just getting a cab, chatting with her friends online instead of at their favorite coffee place.
When she got downstairs, Stella saw that her little brother and two little sisters were dressed for outside as well.
"Where are you guys going," she started to ask but then remembered that babies can't really talk. "Mom, why are they all dressed to go? Isn't it a bit cold for a walk?" she asked her mother.
"We're not going for a walk, I'm taking them to a daycare while I go on a job interview," her mother answered and Stella was stunned. Job interview? Her mother plans to work? Since when?
"You're going on an interview? Where? Why? Aren't you going to stay at home with the babies?"
"There's an opening at the local newspaper, they're looking for an editor. I know I'm probably a bit overqualified but I really don't want to spend all day inside the house," Lisa answered.
Stella was a bit sad that she'd come to an empty house after school but she knew her mother loved being an editor and missed it greatly. So she put on the biggest and brightest of smiles and wished her luck. Her dad started honking from the driveway so she kissed her little siblings, blew a kiss at her mom, but an apple in her mouth and darted outside into the cold.
"Excited?" her dad asked when she got in the car. She paused for a moment. Was she excited? Or just plain scared?
"A bit. I don't really know how I feel yet. I guess I'll have to wait and see," she said.
"You know we support you a hundred percent, and I hope it will all go well," her dad sounded encouraging as always.
"Thanks, dad. I know you do. You guys are the best parents in the world. I want you to know that. Whatever happens, that's how I feel. I will forever feel that way."
"I know that, honey. We both do."
Today's the day.
Stella's mind was rushing again. The excitement, the fear, the expectations, the unknown.
Today's the day I meet my birth mother.