"Hey, Aria! Wait!" she heard someone call her from behind.

Great! She really didn't have time to talk. She was already late to pick Lily-Ann up. Then she had to stop at the grocery because it was pizza night and she didn't have anything to put on top of it. Maybe ham and artichokes? With olives? It was her favorite.

"Aria! Wait please! You forgot something!" said the same person.

She turned around to find Ezra almost running trying to catch up with her. He had her handbag in his left hand. How could she forget that? She was lucky he noticed otherwise she would have had to come back to school to get her keys and money.

"Oh my god, thank you Ezra," she said, relieved, "see you tomorrow!" she added not wanting to be more late than she already was.

"Wait," he said again, "You seem in a hurry, are you alright? Do you need help with something?" he asked almost worried.

She had only met him hours ago, but in that instant Aria knew that he was the kindest man she had ever met.

"Thank you, but I'm really late for something. I have to go. It was really kind of you to want to help, but the only thing I have to do is drive really fast to where they are waiting for me," she answered not wanting to explain why she had a five-year-old to pick up from kindergarten.

"In that case I will let you go, see you!" he said with a charming smile.

Aria was already running down the hallway. She cursed herself for her poor behaviour. He was probably thinking that she didn't want to talk to him or that she was a foolish girl who's always late everywhere. So much for a first impression!

When she entered the parking of the kindergarten, Aria immediately noticed that there was only one car left. Probably Lily-Ann's teacher's car. She was going to hate her!

"I am so sorry Miss Fields," said Aria when she spotted her waiting in the stairs with Lily-Ann, "I was in my office preparing my classes for next week when I noticed that time had passed by faster than I thought and I was already late. On top of that I forgot my purse when I left the school and," Aria kept rambling until Emily shut her up.

"Miss Montgomery, it's alright. I understand your situation and I know how hard raising a little girl is to do on your own. I am not mad at all. I'm sure that you'll find an arrangement so it doesn't happen too often. Now go back home with Lily-Ann, I am sure she has lots to tell you." said the teacher with a friendly smile.

"Thank you," Aria answered with a smile.

Aria was happy to know that Emily wasn't too mad at her for being so late to pick Lily-Ann up. Feeling better, she was able to turn her attention to the five-year-old who waited for her by the car. When she caught Aria looking at her, Lily-Ann smiled and cried out loud:

"Come on! You said it was pizza night! I'm hungry!"

"I'm coming sweetie!" Aria replied with enthusiasm. No matter what kind of day she had, she could always count on that little girl to make it better.

In the past year she had often think she couldn't do it. She had difficulty to understand how a 24 year-old could be able to raise a child on her own. She felt like she was doing everything wrong. But she just needed to look at the little girl to find strength and continue. She could never give up on her.

Aria and Lily-Ann finally arrived home at 5 and half. Aria didn't expect to arrive this late. Because of her running late, she only had an hour and a half to prepare diner, make Lily-Ann eat, give her her bath and put her to sleep. Even if she was really tired from her day of work, she didn't have time to lose.

"I want to help you make the pizza!" said Lily-Ann running in the kitchen and almost tripping over her school bag.

"Of course sweetie! And while we are making them you can tell me everything about your day at school."

"Yeah!"

"You can start by cutting the artichokes," suggested Aria.

"Okay!"

"So, did you meet any friends today?" Aria asked.

"Yes, there is a girl I played with. Her name is Clara. She has the best dress in the entire world!" she said with excitement.

"Oh yeah? The best dress? And what about the blue one you got for your birthday?" Aria said playfully.

"Okay, maybe the second best dress in the entire world! And you, did you make friends?" asked Lily-Ann innocently.

Her question made Aria think. It is so easy to make friends when you're a five year old. Aria, on the other hand, didn't have friends ever since she moved from New-York. She didn't know why, but she felt that at Rosewood High she could actually make great friends. Spencer and Ezra seemed really kind. She hoped that her instinct was right.

"Yeah," she answered finally, "I think I met great friends at school today."

"That is so fun! This year we could prepare a big party for your birthday, because I was sad when you were all alone the last time," said Lily-Ann with her heart.

"That is a good idea sweetie, but will talk about that more when it will be my birthday. It is still in a pretty long time."

"How many days?" asked Lily.

"Hum... two months, so... almost sixty days," Aria answered.

"Sixty days!" whined Lily, "It is a too long time!"

"You'll see that it will pass really fast. Now how are you done with those artichokes? "

The little girl nodded in reply.

"Then we have all the ingredients. You can spread them on your pizza just like you want. Make it look beautiful," Aria told her.

When Lily-Ann was finally done with her designing of the diner, Aria put the pizza in the oven. During the time they had to wait for the pizza to be ready, Lily told her all about her day at school.

That night when Aria went to sleep, she couldn't help but think about everything that happened in a year. And she cried, like she had been doing every night. But that night it was different, because for the first time in more than a year, she finally had some hope that the future would be better.