It had been about two and a half months since Claire and I had first met. Things were going pretty good. We had moved all of Claire's things into the house, and she was getting pretty adjusted to the new living conditions. Claire was starting first grade today, but she wasn't very excited about that.

We had gone shopping and gotten her some clothes and school supplies. I think I would have been willing to buy her whatever she would have asked for especially since her dad sends lots of money for her, but for a six year old she wasn't into toys and clothes. I think that she would however get as many books as possible. We must have spent about two hours in the children book section in Barnes and Noble. By far we spent the most amount of money there.

I was cooking breakfast for her. I wanted to make some of her favorite breakfast foods; hopefully that would distract her a little bit from her first day.

I heard her coming down the hall into the kitchen.
"Quil, are you really going to make me go today?" she asked.

"Honey do you want me to get in trouble. If you don't go to school I would get yelled at by the school and your dad," I replied.

"Fine I'll go, but I refuse to do any of my homework."

"If you bring it home I will help you with it. That way you'll be that smartest kid in the class," I said with a grin.

"Fine, but once I get done with everything you have to play whatever game I want."

"Now honey, that is something that I can do." I was laughing inside. In reality she knew that I would play whatever game she wanted to whether she did her homework or not; she just liked to be argumentative.

She ate her breakfast, and than she went to change into her school clothes. She eventually came back downstairs.

"Do you have all your school supplies?" I asked her.

"Yup, they're all in my backpack," she said gesturing to her blue backpack.

We went out to the pickup. I helped her buckle into the booster seat. We went to the office to make sure everything was settled since she was a new student. The lady working behind the counter had known me from when I was in high school. She gave me a funny look. There weren't very many people who knew anything about me taking care of Claire. Considering the fact that I was only 20 and taking care of a six year old, I don't blame them for not understanding the situation.

"Claire is going here this year. I believe that someone here has talked to her dad about everything." Tyler had given me all of the rights a parent would have regarding school and medical care.

"Oh yes, I have all of her information here. Her teacher this year will be Miss Jacobson. She is room 12B. If you want to bring Claire down there you can. I don't know if she has all of the information of Claire. If you want you can bring this folder down there for her."

I took the folder, and Claire and I headed out the door. She was holding my hand as we went down the hall. I could tell that she was really nervous. Her palm was sweaty and her breathing was shallow. We got to the classroom door and went inside. There were quite a few parents there dropping off their kids. I walked up to the teacher.

"Hello, and who is this," said Miss Jacobson looking down at Claire who was trying to hide behind my legs.

I pulled Claire in front of me. "This is Claire." I bent down to whisper in Claire's ear. "You should say 'hi' to your new teacher honey. Remember that if you behave today we might can go to the bonfire tonight at Sam and Emily's house, even if it would involve staying up past your bedtime."

She looked at me with a small grin, and whispered, "Fine I'll behave, but not cause I like it here. And we better go tonight."

"I promise," I whispered back.

She looked up at the teacher and said, "Hi."

"Hi," she said in reply. The teacher had been watching our exchange, and of course she was curious. "Are you Claire's dad?" she asked.

"No, I'm take care of her though. I'm Quil. Here's the folder the lady in the office said to give to you."

"Okay, thank you. Claire would you like to see where you will be sitting, and where to put all of your things?" Claire nodded.

The teacher led her across the room to a table where another little girl sat. I heard their conversation from across the room. "Claire I would like you to meet Ana. You two are going to share this table. You can put all of your supplies in there. So, Claire you just moved here right?" Claire nodded. I knew that she still had problems talking to people. Hopefully being around more people would help her become more social. "Do you like it here?" Claire just nodded again. I could tell that Miss Jacobson was trying to get her to talk. "Well what's your favorite thing about living here?"

Claire was quiet for a few second before answering. "Quil."

"What honey?"

"Quil is my favorite part."

I don't think that the teacher really knew how to respond to that. They were quiet for a while as Claire put all of her supplies into her bin.

"Your locker is over here. You are sharing that with Ana as well as the table."

Claire pulled off her jacket and put her backpack and jacket in the locker indicated by Miss Jacobson. Claire started to head my way as the teacher helped someone else get settled in.

"Are you going to really make me stay here today?" she asked. I could see the water building in her eyes.

I crouched down in front of her and gave her a big hug while whispering to her. "Honey, I really don't have a choice. If I let you skip school your dad might get really mad at me." I tried to stay calm on the outside since Claire needed me to be strong, but my insides felt like they were crumbling. I was considering all of the different ways that I might be able to get her out of here without getting in trouble with Tyler. Her face was against my shoulder and I could feel the tears leaking out of her eyes.

Then Miss Jacobson talked above everyone. "It's time for the school day to begin. Say your good byes."

Claire's arms tightened around me for a second before letting go. "I know your right Quil. Can you be here at the end of the day to pick me up?"

"Yup, I'll be waiting in the parking lot for you; I promise." Whenever I confirmed something with a promise Claire always felt better because she would never doubt any of my promises. I gave her one last squeeze before releasing her.

A/N I would really love some more reviews. It makes me sad that I only have few reviews. :)