Chapter 3: You've Got a Friend in Me
About three months passed by and it was summertime in California. Once a month Troy and Gabriella would watch some of the other kids being adopted by other families, but not one family was ever interested in either of them. They were happy that the other kids were getting out and finding new families, but the concept of a new family scared both Troy and Gabriella that they were getting pretty comfortable at St. Luke's.
"I wonder what it's like when those kids get new mommies and daddies," Gabriella wondered.
"Which part is that?" Troy asked, "The part where the grown ups pick out which kid they're taking home or the other grownup stuff?"
"How do they pick out the kids?" Gabriella asked, "I mean the grownups have some sort of way they do it."
"Maybe they do like a little game to pick out which kid gets a new mommy or daddy Gabi I'm not sure…but it seems confusing."
"Oh look it's the rejects again," Nick replied coming up to them, "No wonder why no one wants to adopt you…especially a little crybaby reject girlie like you!"
"You're…you're a mean boy Nick," Gabriella said.
"Well I'm at least being truthful!" Nick sneered, "You always like to cry a lot and no one wouldn't want a girl who cries a lot!"
"You watch your mouth Nick!" Troy snapped stepping forward, "Don't you ever talk to Gabi like that you jerk!"
"Troy and Gabriella kissing in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Nick teased, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Troy with a baby carriage…" Before Nick could finish Troy pushed Nick again to the ground.
"Don't ever make fun of me or Gabi again you hear me?" Troy replied in anger, "Or else I'll beat you up! I'll push you even harder…now get out of here!"
"Oh I'm telling on you!" Nick whined as he went away, "You'll always be nothing but rejects!"
"I said beat it because you're making my friend cry!" Troy yelled, "Don't worry Gabi he's gone now…he won't bother us I promise."
"Is he right about us being reject kids that people don't want to adopt us?" Gabriella asked.
"Don't listen to Nick because he's a big meany…someone will adopt us, the both of us I promise you that," Troy smiled, "We're not rejected kids who cry a lot we're friends and someone has to adopt us. Sister Kathryn says that we'll find families who want us and who would want them to live with us."
"I don't want to go anywhere without you…I wish you and me get adopted by the same family because for the first time I don't feel alone anymore Troy. With you being my friend it doesn't make me miss mommy so much…you are my best friend and it wouldn't matter whether or not any grownups want us, as long as we're friends that's what matters right?"
"You're my best friend too Gabi and with you I don't miss my mommy and daddy too much because I'm not alone. I hope someone will adopt the both of us too someday but I like being here at St. Luke's with you. If anything happens to you and someone makes fun of you I promise I'll protect you because mean kids like Nick should never pick and hurt my friend's feelings. When someone makes fun of you like Nick you tell me and then together we'll stand up to bullies like Nick…it's called courage. I'll teach you to be brave and strong and smile everyday because it shows you don't cry too much okay?"
"You're like my big brother Troy I wish I can be brave and strong like you who doesn't cry a lot. You always look after me and you always protect me from Nick and his friends whenever they tease me. I don't know what I would do if you weren't my friend because I wouldn't know how to talk much with people without you around. You teach me how to be brave and I promise this summer will have lots of fun together…you know where I want to go is the museum this summer."
"What's a museum like?" Troy asked, "I've…never been there before."
"It's like this big building my mommy took me too last summer and they have all this cool stuff in there," Gabriella smiled, "Mommy says it helps for educational thingy stuff and you learn lots of cool things and see a lot of neat statues and models there. I've been to lots of museums with mommy before they were nice all over the country!"
"I wish I could go to lots of places like you did Gabi," Troy added, "You must have been to so many cool places and you know how to have an adventure."
"I wish I could have your courage and be brave like you," Gabriella smiled, "Do you want to trade my adventuring for your courage?"
"It's a deal and we have all summer to teach each other," Troy replied taking Gabriella's hand as they went inside for prayer time, "I hear Sister Patricia calling us in for prayer."
St. Luke's- Children's Dormitories
A few nights later, Troy was sleeping in his dorm room when he heard footsteps in the hallway during the night. It woke him up as he got out of bed and went into the hallway as he saw a kid walking the hallways in their pajamas. He found Gabriella wondering the hallways as she had a backpack as she was making her way towards the main floor.
"Hey…shouldn't you be in bed Gabi?" Troy asked, "What are you doing up in the middle of the night?"
"Can you keep a secret?" Gabriella asked, "Promise me you won't tell anybody?"
"Where are you going in the middle of the night?"
"I'm…going to sneak out and I want to go to the Museum of Natural History," Gabriella answered, "I'm going to sneak out and visit it…will you like to come with me Troy? It will be an adventure."
"I don't know…because we might get in trouble by Sister Kathryn for sneaking out and running away from St. Luke's," Troy replied with fear, "What…if we get caught? What if they phone the cops on us for running away? Why do you want to go at this time of the night?"
"Because…it's what I used to do during the summertime with my mommy since I was three years old," Gabriella sighed, "Now that mommy's gone…I got no one else to go with to the museum, except for you."
"Then I'll go with you because I've never been to a museum before," Troy replied, "But we can't sneak out because it's the rule…"
"Really…you'll go with me to the museum?" Gabriella smiled, "Oh boy that's great Troy we'll have so much fun!"
"Children why are you awake in the middle of the night?" they heard Sister Kathryn coming downstairs as she found Troy and Gabriella in the hallway, "It is way past your bedtime."
"Sister Kathryn…can we plan a field trip tomorrow?" Troy and Gabriella asked, "Please?"
"You two seem like very curious adventurers and I am beginning to sense you wanted to go somewhere in the middle of the night," Sister Kathryn added as she looked at them curiously and suspiciously, "If you tell me where you want to go then I'll consider it since tomorrow our volunteers are coming for activity day with you children."
"Gabi says she thinks it would be a good idea for us to go to the Museum of Natural History for Activity Day," Troy smiled, "I've…never been to one and Gabi says her mommy used to take her there for educational stuff."
"The Museum of Natural History?" Sister Kathryn smiled, "It…seems like an adventure and a good suggestion from you and Gabriella. I'll talk to the others and we'll see if we can arrange a bus for tomorrow for all you children to visit, I'll call the museum to get a tour guide."
"Thank you Sister Kathryn," Troy and Gabriella replied, "You're very kind."
"God bless your little souls children," Sister Kathryn smiled, "Next time…if you want to plan a little field trip adventure…it would be wise that you don't try to stray away by sneaking out in the middle of the night. God wouldn't want to lose any of his flock of sheep, not as special as you two. Now…that the excitement is beginning I suggest that two little angels like yourselves should be in bed."
The Museum of Natural History…
As promised the next day, Sister Kathryn and the other administrators at St. Luke's arranged for all children at the group home to go on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History with the volunteer assistants of the group home for Activity Day. It was exciting for Troy and Gabriella, along with the other children to be out and about and going to different places for once besides being stuck at the group home. They were taken on a tour of some of the new exhibits in the museum.
"Okay kids make we have three tour guides with us today who will take us on our tour today so we will be breaking into 3 groups," one of the volunteers Vanessa said, "One group will go with Zac and me, one will go with Monique and Corbin, and one group will go with Ashley and Lucas. Kids make sure you partner up and use the buddy system if in case you get lost. This is the information desk so if you get lost you'll find yourself here and one of us will come."
"So how many kids do you have with you today from St. Luke's?" one of the tour guides asked, "Just for reference for the number of wristbands we need."
"We have thirty-six kids today from St. Luke's," one of the volunteers Zac replied, "We'll split the kids into 3 groups of 12. Two of us will be there to supervise just in case."
"This is going to be exciting," Gabriella whispered to Troy, "We're going to have so much fun."
"I hope so Gabi," Troy replied back, "This place looks really big."
After the volunteers divided up the kids evenly, they all began to tour the museum with their assigned tour guides. Troy and Gabriella ended up with Zac and Vanessa's group and ended up being buddies for the tour. It was exciting for the kids to see all the neat exhibits, in particular the Ancient China Exhibit which Troy found interesting.
"Wow…that wall must be huge," Troy said as he was referring to the Great Wall of China display, "Is it really the longest wall in the entire world?"
"That's what the tour guide said," Gabriella added, "It goes all over the country and that it's very long, big and old."
"That's like a big fortress or something!" Troy smiled, "That must be tiring walking on that!"
"I think it should be Troy because it goes all over the place. It's very tough and the tour guide man says that the soldiers build it to defend China. Why doesn't our place have a wall like that? Chinese people can build a wall like that why can't we?"
"We probably have to have lots of building blocks to build the Great Wall of China Gabi."
"You're right but what I like better is that display of China's emperors and temples and that big thing they called Buddha. It's all made of gold Troy and he's always smiling…I'm having so much fun here today."
"Me too Gabi this has been fun," Troy smiled as their volunteer supervisors called them, "I hear Zac and Vanessa calling us."
"Troy! Gabriella c'mon let's go!" Zac called retrieving the kids, "We're going to go to the gift shop and buy some souvenirs for you kids to take home."
When they arrived at the gift shop, the kids began to look at all the souvenirs as they were handed some money out to buy some souvenirs. Troy and Gabriella were looking at all the souvenirs representing the Ancient China Exhibit, but they were having some difficulty picking out what they wanted to buy.
"Do you know what you want to buy?" Gabriella asked, "There's so many things to choose from I don't know what I want."
"There's so many things to choose from," Troy replied as he pointed to a dagger, "We could get that little sword thing there."
"I don't like that…it looks dangerous Troy. Why don't we keep looking around then?"
"Alright Gabi we'll find something," Troy replied as they kept looking. They were looking at some of the necklaces, jewelery and accessories on the display rack when they noticed a yin and yang necklace. They were confused by it and didn't know what it was.
"That one looks cool…but what is it?" Gabriella asked.
"I like it but I don't know what that is either," Troy replied as Vanessa came over.
"Hey you two have you found something yet to buy?" Vanessa asked.
"Vanessa…what's that thing on that necklace?" Gabriella asked, "The black and white thing with the dots inside of it what is it?"
"Oh you mean that…it's called a Tajitu symbol," Vanessa began to explain to them, "You see the black and white parts they represent something called yin and yang."
"What's yin and yang?" Troy asked, "It's two different parts you said?"
"You see according to Taoism yin and yang represented complementary opposites rather than absolutes," Vanessa added, "This represents the unity of opposites by trying to find a sort of balance. The dark black part which is yin represents the element of water and air. Yin shows the dark element being dark, passive, feminine, downward-seeking, mostly representing night. The light white part which is yang represents the element of fire and earth. Yang shows the light element being active, light, upward-seeking, masculine, mostly representing daytime."
"That's really amazing I wish we had one," Gabriella smiled, "How about you?"
"That will be so cool," Troy replied, "But there's only one of it."
"That's where you're wrong," Vanessa smiled as she grabbed the necklace and purchased it for the two of them, "I know you two have been eyeing this since I told you about it so for Troy and Gabriella…I present this to you. Think of this as one of you gets to be yin, the other is yang so you keep a piece of it each until then and find a balance." She showed them the necklace as it became two separate necklaces for both of them to wear half of it.
"Thank you Vanessa," Troy and Gabriella smiled, "We like it!"
"I know you guys would appreciate it," Vanessa smiled at them, "Have fun with it."
"So…you promise you'll wear yours?" Gabriella asked, "I'll be yin since it's for girls."
"You get the dark part…I get the light part," Troy replied, "I'll be yang for boys."
"This way this means we're best friends and each of us gets to keep half of it and promise never to take it off," Gabriella smiled sticking out her pinky finger, "Is that a promise Troy?"
"A promise is a promise Gabi," Troy replied as they shook pinky fingers and putting on their necklaces, "We have to keep these necklaces no matter what…we'll always be friends."
