Here's the new update. So sorry it's been a while! Spring vacation is messing with my writing time! This one will be short, but hopefully sweet. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything about it...except Avery.
Chapter 10- The End of the Beginning
The sun was shining, a light breeze sifting quietly through the branches of the trees, and Kate couldn't make up her mind. Walking down the path through the small park, Kate watched her daughter, who was skipping along giddily beside her, brown pigtails bouncing and new purple backpack strapped over one shoulder. She thought about the past five years, and how they had completely taken her life as she knew it and shoved it into a blender. She thought about Ava, who, for the past week, hadn't stopped talking about how excited she was for her first day of school. And she thought about her own, so many years ago, trying to decide if she felt happy, or rushed.
Kate couldn't remember her first day of kindergarten, only knew the story her dad told her. Little independent Katie, with a brand new Lion King backpack and green Velcro shoes, had decided that school was her new favorite thing. She had skipped the whole way, daring her father to keep up, and then fell, breaking a bone in her arm. Jim rushed her to the hospital and Katie cried the whole time. After the doctors applied a cast to the injury, Jim asked Katie if it still hurt, since she was still crying. The little girl told her her dad that she didn't care about the pain, she just wanted to go to school. She had missed her special day. Jim always said, "you were independent and tough from the beginning."
Now it was Ava's turn.
"Mommy, is there naps in kindergarten?" She asked, reaching up to take her mother's hand.
"Yes, there is. Why, are you tired?"
"No. I don't like naps. I don't wanna take naps. Naps are for babies." She stated.
Kate smiled and shook her head. Ava definitely was independent. And Kate knew who that trait had come from.
"Well then you can just lay quietly and make up a story in your head." Kate responded.
"Like the ones Daddy tells? With fairies and princesses and dragons that blow fire?"
"You can make up whatever story you want. It's all up to your imagination." Kate said, staring down into her daughter's eyes, large with excitement or nerves. Kate couldn't tell. Her plump cheeks and soft lips formed a grin and she began to skip again, tugging on her mother's hand.
"I think I'll tell the one about the prince who saves the princess from the dragon. Only this time, the princess will save the prince. Cuz I think the girl should be a hero, too!"
"I like that version better," Kate agreed.
They walked in silence for a moment, listening to the plunk plunk of Ava's backpack against her back and soft pattering of her feet on the pavement. Ahead of them, the small elementary school came into view. They had chosen a smaller school with less students. It was tucked away amoung trees and had its own outdoor lunch area. Both Kate and Rick had agreed that smaller schools were better for kids at a young age. Not to mention that Ryan and Jenny sent Sarah-Grace here and raved about the wonderful faculty.
"How about snacks?" Ava asked, "will they have snacks? Ba-cause I like snacks. They make me learn more."
"I packed you some goldfish and Sarah-Grace said the teachers give out pretzels, remember?"
"Oh yeah! I like pretzels, they look like hearts!" She beamed, then stopped skipping as her grin turned into a slack-jawed gaze, "is that kindergarten?!" She asked, pointing to the school building, where children were coming from every direction and filing in with their parents through the front doors.
"Yep, that's your school! What do you think?" Kate asked, pulling lightly on Ava's hand to make her keep walking.
"I think...it's pretty...and big...and there's lots of kids." She said.
As they joined the throng of people, Ava began to look a little bit dazed, her gaze moving quickly from one child to the next. Some were crying, some were yelling to their friends, and some had the same bewildered expression Ava was wearing.
"How you doing?" Kate asked her daughter softly, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm excited...and scared. Like a roller coaster. And I'm happy, too." Ava responded, her shock turning into a smile.
They waited in line for the teacher, a young woman in a dress, to find Ava's name on a list and cross it off.
"Avery Castle?" She asked, bending down to look the little girl in the face.
"Yep, that's me!" She grinned, missing two front teeth.
"Welcome to kindergarten. I'm Ms. Angela, I'll be your teacher this year."
Ava shook her hand, "it's nice to meet you Ms. Angela. I like your dress."
"Why thank you! I like your dress too!"
Kate shared a smile with the woman and shook her hand, then led Ava away to where the other children were playing on the school playground. She took a seat on the bench and her daughter plopped down beside her.
"Are you gunna go play with the other kids?" Kate asked, helping her shrug her backpack off.
"I don't know..." She replied, glancing around, gaze fixing on the swing set, "maybe."
"Here, let me take you backpack for you and you can go swing with those girls over there. They look nice, huh?"
"I guess so..." She said, half reluctantly and half excitedly standing to run over to the swings.
Kate watched as her little girl joined the others, immediatly clicking with a short blond girl in a skirt and denim jacket. They ran headfirst at the swings and rode belly first, laughing and trying to see who could get the highest. Kate just rested her head in her hands, thinking about how everything was changing again. Thinking about how fast time went, sprinkling it's memories and regrets over its victims as it passed. What felt like days, had been years and the little girl who she still saw as her baby, was in school. She couldn't decide whether this felt magical or condescending. She realized, that just like her daughter, she felt excited and scared and happy. Like a roller coaster. Exactly like a roller coaster.
Hope you enjoyed! I know this one was short, it's been a busy month. Sorry it's been a while. Have an awesome week fellow Casketeer! Reviews mean the world! Thank you!