Ms. Lemay's request, as it turned out, proved to be yet another blessing in disguise for the Morris family. Peter and James began to pick up odd jobs around the orphanage that needed to be done for a little extra spending money after her recommendation that they hire a few extra hands to help with the upkeep. The first of those projects were the old drafty windows, but soon the shutters had been painted, the floors swept, the gutters scrubbed, and the parlor dusted. Fighting the ever-present dirt and dust from the oil lamps and New York streets was a constant battle, but soon the orphanage looked like a whole new building, and the older Morris boys made friends of their own in the older children.

The following weeks and months settled into a comfortable routine. Clara spent the school day as she normally did, keeping to herself and chatting with Hannah about work and her upper level work when she had the chance. Andrew quickly became a popular friend to many in their own class, and made a point to include Clara in their games and conversations whenever the opportunity arose. They walked back to her apartment after school, where they would finish their schoolwork, make food for the charity dinners, and help Ms. Lemay with other jobs around the house. Andrew learned how to mend clothes, cook, and quickly caught up with his schoolwork, while Clara was grateful for the company and Elizabeth grateful for the help.

Everything seemed as if everything could go on pleasantly forever, but a melancholy hung around Andrew anyhow and stained the bright and colorful early July day the dull shades of brown and grey. He tucked his chin into his coat collar and his hands into his pockets in an attempt to shield himself from both the cold and the gloom, so he and Clara walked home in an odd sullen silence. Clara noticed Andrew was in one these rare pensive moods, and she asked him what could be the matter.

"Nothing's the matter. I'm just thinking," he answered, and kicked at a pebble.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked hesitantly.

"No! Why would I be mad at you?"

She shrugged, "I dunno. That was my best guess."

Andrew shook his head and gave her a reassuring grin, slightly dreading the idea that he might have done something to worry or offend her. "No, I'm not angry with you." He paused, thinking back to earlier in the day when he'd had yet another classmate shoot down the idea to invite her to the conversation. "I'm angry that the other kids talk about you behind your back."

"Oh." She paused to consider this, almost as if that was an improvement from her guesses. "What do they say?"

He shook his head. "It's not important, don't worry about it. I try to defend you."

Clara shrugged and hastened her pace to get home sooner. It was so hot and sticky and now her face flushed now with an odd embarrassment. "It's alright Andrew. That sort of thing doesn't bother me at all, you know?"

"Really?"

"Not in the slightest." She gave him a winning smile and tightened her grip on her books. "I don't care what they think - if they don't like me then that's their problem. I have my friends! Hannah! And You! That's enough for me."

At this, Andrew's face darkened again and he resumed his pebble kicking. Clara sighed loudly again, "Now what's the matter?"

He sighed and steeled himself for the inevitable reaction that would follow from really answering her question. "We're moving. Again."

She stopped dead in the middle of the pavement. "You're what?!"

"Moving." He cast his eyes on the ground and kept walking. He lost his pebble when it skittered away from him and into the crowds of people milling about on the street, so he settled for scuffling his feet along the cobblestones instead.

"Where?"

"Out west somewhere."

"Why?"

Andrew gave Clara a tired look. She always asked so many questions, and he knew this conversation would only lead to an interrogation. It didn't make it any easier. "Did Hannah ever tell you about the homesteader act?"

"Yeah… what does that have to do with anything?"

"My pa works for the railroad, and they're looking for a team to go out and build the next set of tracks through to Santa Fe. If we go, we can have a plot of land to start our own farm – our own home, and really make it! Da says it's a great opportunity, and there's work for all of us on the teams until we can get our own place set up." His dejected tone failed to make the sunny proposition sound all too convincing, and Clara frowned at the ground.

"Well, that's good I suppose! How exciting for your family!"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Don't you want to go?"

He shook his head. "All my friends are here! I'll miss John and Millie and the rest of them, even though they can be mean sometimes, they all are good kids. And you! I'll miss you and cooking and going to the orphanage!"

Clara frowned again and opened the door to the apartment, "When are you moving?"

"The end of the month."

"It's already the 8th!"

"I know!" They trudged up the stairs to Clara's apartment and she dumped her books on the table as soon as she got in before flopping onto the couch with a long sigh. Andrew followed her and continued, "Mom wants me to help pack starting next week, so I won't be able to come here after school either! They only told me yesterday, otherwise I would have told you earlier."

"I thought you said your parents didn't even come with a trunk," Clara grumbled under her breath.

"They didn't."

She sighed again. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." He forced a smile and tapped Clara on the shoulder, "But I won't be totally gone, right? We can still write to each other! Maybe you can visit me! And we have almost a whole month to do fun things until I leave, that's a lot of time."

Clara brightened slightly at this, and Andrew continued, "It'll be a grand adventure I'm sure, think of how much there is to explore out there. I'll be able to tell you all sorts of stories. And we do have school to still hang out so even though I can't stay in the afternoons, we'll still see each other there! And at the dinners! We can make the next month last. It'll be great!"

Clara finally grinned "We'll make it count."

It was a couple weeks later when Clara rushed into her classroom, turned in her homework in the bin in the front of her room, and quickly took her seat next to Andrews desk. She pulled a piece of fabric from her bag, eager to show him the progress she'd made on her newest sampler last night, only to realize that he wasn't there. Odd. He normally arrived before her. Maybe he was held up by some chores or something.

She turned her attention back to her sampler to pass the time, and the chatter of the room faded to the background as she focused on the letter "L' she had to do next. When she was finished, it would say "We become what we love, and who we love shapes what we become." It was a quote she'd found in an old book in her father's library, and thought sounded beautiful, so she centered it on the embroidery hoop and started working at it in a golden yellow color. She would stitch a nice frame around it in her favorite blue thread later, once the lettering was done. And perhaps she would add red flowers around the border on a green vine. Her mother had one like that on the wall in their hallway, and she always thought it looked so nice…

Mrs. Spalding's voice shook her from her focus, and she tucked her project back into her bag. Andrew still hadn't arrived, and he didn't show all through the morning either. Even though she normally enjoyed her work and could focus, she found herself frustrated and distracted without the company of her friend to keep her from getting bored. The lunch bell was a welcome relief and she quickly gathered her things to get out of the schoolroom as fast as possible.

Andrew's friends gathered as they normally did in the one corner of the schoolyard, and Clara sat aside for a minute, wondering if she should go meet them before squaring her shoulders and marching over to the group. John looked up at her as she neared them.

"Oh, hi Clara."

"Do you know where Andrew is?"

John shook his head. "We haven't heard from him. Why?"

"Just wondering." Clara turned to leave, but John's voice called her back.

"Um… Clara! Do you want to play with us today?"

"Yeah!" Millie grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back, moved by some strange random act of goodwill. "We have a jump rope and some chalk if you'd rather do hopscotch. And I'd love to see the sampler you were working on earlier! Andrew did tell me the other day that you were a wonder with needle and thread."

Clara smiled hesitantly at this unexpected display of friendliness and finally nodded. Maybe she'd made more friends this year than just Andrew.

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm sorry this is late! I got caught up in a school project and just... somehow forgot to update? I'm back now, and I'll keep publishing on Sundays, so this won't change the schedule at all - we'll just have a two-post week instead (I set reminders this time lol). Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you're liking the story so far! And to Keys the Fansie: Thank you for sharing that link again! I'll be sure to check out your stuff too and review over on your blog!

A brief note on the history: Even though American schools today run for 9 months of the year and take a break during the summer, it wasn't always done that way! In rural areas, kids would go to school during the summer and winter months instead and help on the farms during the planting and harvesting season. Meanwhile, Urban schools were open nearly year-round with an optional "come when you can" type of attendance expectations. It wasn't until the early 1900s that a formal "school year" was standardized with the rise of child-labor laws. This is why Andrew and Clara are still attending school in July here! I try to include little historical details like this as often as I can, so if you enjoy them, or if you can spot the references to historical events (like the Homesteader Act mentioned in this chapter too), let me know!

Thanks for reading! :)