Monday came and it was time for Annie to start school. The excitement she displayed before the worries around her parents returned, and she nearly bounced off the walls that morning. Waking at the crack of dawn, Annie ran into Grace's room already dressed in her uniform and carrying her satchel. "Grace! It's time for school, wake up!" she called as she shook Grace's arm.

Instantly noticing that the room was still dark, Grace moaned, "Sweetheart, you still have a couple hours until you're supposed to be there."

"I know, but we still gotta eat breakfast, walk Sandy, triple check and make sure I got all my books and supplies, and we still gotta drive there and-"

Halting her chatter, Grace sat up. "Annie, Annie, slow down. We have plenty of time to do everything – which includes another hour of sleep."

"Aw gee..."

Knowing well what those two words led too, Grace said with no particular emotion, "Yes?"

Shooting her friend a puppy dog look, the little girl replied, "It's just that it's my first day... I really wanted to spend one more morning with you since now I'll be gone seven hours every day... I'm gonna miss you so, so much."

Laughing at the over-dramatic tone, Grace hugged Annie and said, "You know something? You're really good at getting what you want."

With a cheeky grin, Annie giggled, "I know."

"It wouldn't surprise me if you became a lawyer someday."

Annie shrugged, "Now that I can go to school maybe I will."

Surrendering to the already lost battle, Grace swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "Why don't you go play with Sandy outside while I get dressed? I'll be down in a few minutes and we can take him on an extra-long walk. Sound good?"

"Yes!" Not wanting to waste a single moment, Annie raced to fetch her dog.

. . .

Just after 7 AM, Oliver joined Annie and Grace whom, by no surprise, arrived to the breakfast table early. "Good morning, ladies," he greeted.

"Good morning, Mr. Warbucks," they replied in unison.

As he sat, he asked Annie, "Are you excited for school?"

"Oh boy, am I!" she answered with much enthusiasm.

"Well you certainly seem wide awake."

Grace answered with tiredness evident in her voice, "She has been wide awake since at least 5 o'clock this morning."

Oliver chuckled, but sympathized.

"I'm gonna make lots of new friends and learn about everything in the world." Annie said. "I'm gonna sit at a desk and listen while the teachers talk."

"I thought kids hated school?"

"Pepper thinks I'm nuts for being excited – and Duffy too. They went to school before they came to the orphanage. But I think they miss it now. I can't imagine school is worse than sewing all day for Miss Hannigan."

Grace and Oliver shared a glance in remembrance of their discussion yesterday, but neither of them spoke.

Annie continued to chatter all through breakfast and straight through to when she and Grace were in the car on the way to school. At this point, Grace noticed for the first time today some apprehension shining through.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Annie sighed, "Yeah."

"Come on, what's the matter?"

Looking at Grace with nervous eyes, Annie wondered, "Well, I was just thinking… What if they don't wanna be friends with me 'cause I'm an orphan?"

"Sweetie, don't worry about it. You are one of the most charming people I know. Just remember that you've managed to win the heart of Oliver Warbucks," she said with a wink.

Annie smiled, but rolled her eyes. "Drake says Mr. Warbucks only tolerates me."

"Oh, you know how grumpy Drake can be himself sometimes. I think somewhere in between our statements lays the truth."

The car pulled up to the school, then The Asp got out of the vehicle and opened the back door for Annie and Grace.

"Do you need me to walk you in?" Grace asked and she fixed the collar of her little friend's blouse.

Shaking her head and standing up straight, Annie answered, "No, thank you. I can manage." Then giving Grace a bear-hug, she said, "You'll be here to pick me up at 3 PM, right?"

Hugging back, Grace nodded, "That's right." Planting a kiss atop the girl's forehead, she let her go and tearfully watched her march into the building with her head held high.

"You have given Miss Annie a wonderful opportunity." The Asp said once the door shut behind the redhead.

Turning her attention to the bodyguard, Grace asked, "How so?"

"She never would have seen a school building had you not cared for her."

Grace smiled, humbled, "Thank you." She liked to think that she'd done well for Annie. She was smart, determined, strong-willed, filled with courage, and kind. A wonderful future was ahead of her, and it made Grace feel accomplished to have helped her on the journey.

Nonetheless, there was a bit of sadness watching Annie leave for a major portion of the day. A new schedule would take some getting used to. Lunchtime just wouldn't feel the same without the extra company. Oh well, she thought. After working through the meal a while, maybe Oliver would let her take that same hour off once Annie arrived home from school. Surely she'd have homework to do. Then again, she might be getting ahead of herself. The child hadn't been gone ten minutes and she was already planning their new routine. She needed to slow down and wait to see how work and after school time played out.

While she felt uneasy with these inevitable changes, she also felt a glimmer of excitement. There would be growth for not only Annie, but for herself as well. She hadn't been away from Annie for any great amount of time since June. In no way was she complaining, but she discovered a lot of things about herself in that time. For once in a long while, she felt her life moving forward. Then there was her blooming friendship with Oliver... for now, she continued her resolve from a couple months prior to put any feelings relating to romance aside. Conversations were growing easier with Oliver, and she was getting to know a truer side of him. At least, she was starting to. The down to earth qualities she spent the past several years imagining weren't there, but what she saw was truer. He said some of what was on his mind, though he did it in a way where it couldn't be considered 'pouring his heart out'. There was an edge to him, but in comparison to the usual it was tame. For the most part, she learned to live with that edge, and she'd seen him at his worst. A bit of huffiness didn't faze her in the slightest.

Once more, she was getting ahead of herself. All she needed to do right was go home and start her first day with these fresh changes.