The night was amazing. It felt so nice to sleep in a soft bed once more. At first, I thought everything was just a dream. That there was no moving to America, or having a new brother or having another adult who I could call a parent. But, when I felt the nice soft fabric of my new bed, and the purple wallpaper, I knew there was no denying it. I was in my new home. I slowly sat up, I looked over at Alfred, who was still asleep. I got off the bed, and walked towards the blinds. It was sunny. I must have been asleep for a while, after all, I did stay up pretty late. Last night, after I had given my thanks to Mr. Arth- to Dad, we had played a bunch of games, and had a wonderful dinner. There were English food, French food, and American food. I had to say, Dad didn't have that good of cooking, it was actually really bad. I had no idea how Alfred had survived with eating it. I stuck with Papa's food, I hope Dad wasn't to offended by it. I do remember a lot of laughs from my sisters and myself. It had been a while since we had anything like this. It had been a while since we last had a family dinner. We used to have it when Mama was around, but, times changed. Papa would sometimes be gone for days, and my sisters had school and work. I had school as well, and when I arrived home, I just stayed there. Sometimes I would talk to Kuma, others times... I just stayed there. I don't remember much of it, not that I really think I want to, but now everything is changing. Everyone's happy, including me, and now I have a Dad and a brother! It's amazing!
"Matthew?" I turned around from the blinds and saw my Papa. I smiled at him, before putting my fore finger up to my lips, and pointing at Alfred. Papa smiled, before motioning fro me to follow him. I tip toed towards the door, just to make sure Alfred wasn't going to wake up. I saw that is was even brighter in the hallway. Somehow, everything looked really pretty in the morning. I could see the specks of dust fluttering around the window light, and the wooden floor glistened, and it doesn't make a loud creaking noise when I walk on it!
"Matthew, come on." Papa told me as I was distracted by the house. I nodded, and followed him down the stairs. They were wooden, but with a green carpet. It wasn't a good looking carpet, but it did match the stairs. As we reached the bottom, I saw my sisters eating at the table.
"Matin, Matthew." Lucille greeted me, I smiled at her. Michelle had her face stuffed in pancakes, so she couldn't greet me.
"Matin." I said to her, she nodded, smiling greatly. I saw my plate on the table, and began to dig in, of course, after a few quick prayers. Just like Mama taught me.
"Matthew? How did you sleep last night?" Lucille asked me, her voice in her usual formal stance.
"It was really good! The bed was so soft! And there wasn't a single bug in it!" I said, taking bits of my pancakes. Best part was, they weren't even store bought. They were homemade! From scratch! Of course, I wasn't told that, but my pancake senses knew. Lucille smiled at me fondly, she did that a lot. Papa also seemed a lot more happy this morning! Usually, when he came home at night, he would be all groggy and moaney. I'm really happy for him!
"Papa, how did you sleep last night?" I asked, chowing on the awesome pancakes.
"Incroyable, I haven't slept that good in a few years." Papa said, stretching his arms a little. I smiled as I ate. Until I noticed Dad wasn't around.
"Papa? Where's Dad?"
"Hm? Oh, he's at work little Matthew. He's a police officer, he has to get to work early." Papa answered. I thought about that for a second. I knew Papa wouldn't have a job here, we just moved here, so I knew he wouldn't get a job immediately. But I never knew Dad was a officer of the law. It was kinda cool... Man, if the kids in France knew about this. No, if they knew about how I was living now, they would treat me differently. The few friends I had there, or what I called friends, would be happy for me!
As I finished my pancakes, and put my dishes in the sink, I started to explore the house. The living room was grand. There was one couch, but it was one of those cool couches that had one side that was in an angle. The table was really pretty, even though it was just a regular table. And the television, it was a flat screen. I'm not sure how big, but it hardly mattered. It was a television after all. I explored the other rooms, and they were pretty standard, but pretty as well. Until I saw the backyard. It was separated from the inside by a glass door. I rushed to find Papa.
"Papa! Papa! Can I play outside?" I begged. Papa looked at me, almost a little surprised. He nodded slightly, and I rushed upstairs to grab Kuma and my shoes. I had almost forgotten about Alfred, until I heard him rustling in bed. I giggled to myself slightly. I slowly stepped into the bedroom, grabbing the things I need, and tip-toed once more out the door, before running down the stairs, and outside. It was amazing. There was a swing set, connected to a slide. There was a large tree, sadly no tree house, but it looked really fun to climb. The grass was a little high, but it was soft. I didn't know where to start.
"Try the swings." I looked down at Kuma. He always gave the best suggestions.
"Okay! Wanna swing with me?" I asked him. Kuma didn't move, but I knew he was nodding. I rushed to the swings, and placed him on one of the seats, and I started to push him. I heard him laugh.
"Isn't this awesome?" I laughed at Kuma.
"Yeah! Yeah! Higher! Higher!" Kuma's mouth didn't move as he spoke, but I've grown used to that. It's his little trick. I started pushing him higher, I was amazed he was still on the swing.
"I'm gonna jump off!" Kuma laughed, I nodded. Then, he fell. No, not fell, he didn't fall. He jumped. Of course, he landed on his head, but he wasn't hurt. That's the best part of being a stuffed animal. You don't feel pain. I giggled, as I helped him back up. "That was fun! Your turn!" I nodded, and put him behind the swing, and I sat on it. I giggled as I started to go higher and higher.
"Who are you?" I heard a voice, at first, I thought it was Kuma, since that's a question he asked a lot, but it didn't sound like him. I looked over the large picket fence, and saw a tall boy. I almost jumped off the swing.
"M-Matthew..." I said, my voice quiet. The boy had a bit of an accent, I think, it was Russian? I've heard Russian before, so maybe?
"What did you say? Can't you speak up?" He asked, I got off the swing, picked up Kuma, and walked up to him. Maybe then he could hear me better. As I got closer, I repeated my name. He looked at me, before smiling.
"Hello Matthew. I'm Ivan. Ivan Braginsky Chernanko! It's a pleasure to meet you." The Russian boy, Ivan, continued to smile. It was a little pleasant. Though, something about it was off. "Why are you at Alfred's home?" He asked. He must be a friend of Alfred! I mean, it looks like his house is next door, so he must be a friend. That's the only conclusion.
"I'm his new brother. Matthew William Bonnefoy!" I returned his smile. Ivan seemed really nice.
"Get your butt away from my brother!" I heard Alfred yell, I turned around, and saw him stomping towards Ivan. His voice sounding angry. I looked back at Ivan, who was giving a side grin.
"But why? We were just having a pleasant conversation, isn't that right Matthew?" Ivan stopped looking at Alfred, and then to me. I didn't know what to do, so I just looked at the ground.
"See he doesn't even want to talk to you! Now, get away!" Alfred yelled again. I wanted to stop him. Ivan did seem nice, why did Alfred seem to not like him?
"Stop being mean to my brother!" I heard a small voice, coming from behind the fence. I looked behind Ivan, and I saw an angel. Okay, maybe she wasn't an angel, but she defiantly looked like one.
"Natalya? What are you doing outside?" Ivan looked at, who I would guess would be his little sister.
"Natalya..." I whispered under my breathe. It was such a pretty name. Natalya had a little dress one, a white one, and a large white bow on her little head. Her eyes were almost a shade like mine, purple, except they were lighter.
"I heard Alfred being mean to you again Big Brother! I want to help!" Natalya protested. Her voice was so pretty. I couldn't help but stare at her. She caught my sight. "Who are you looking at? Are you also hurting Big Brother?" She frowned. I quickly shook my head, before looking at the ground again. I glanced up, just a little. Even though she was at tiny, she kinda scared me.
"Little Sister, don't be mean to Matthew. He's Alfred's new brother, but I don't think he'll bring us any harm. Right Matthew?" Ivan asked me another direct question. I nodded frantically. Alfred gave me a angry glare.
"Don't be nice to him! He's evil!" Alfred hissed. I saw Ivan's smile curl, it wasn't nice looking anymore. It was scary.
"Says the boy who picks on me." Ivan smile was hollow. Alfred scrunched up his face.
"Says the boy who called me mean names and then called me useless!" Alfred growled, then I felt his hand on mine, pulling away.
"Kolkolkolkol..." I heard Ivan, laugh? Was it a laugh? It seemed more like a warning call to me. I felt the Alfred and I get farther from the fence.
"Al...?" I asked, after he gripped my hand until it started to hurt. He stopped, and turned quickly. Putting his finger in my face.
"Don't talk to that family! They're evil! I mean, well except for Iryuna, but she's different!" Alfred said, his voice filled with rage. Iryuna? Wasn't she the girl that Dad paid? Was she a babysitter? Was she related to Ivan, and Natalya?
"Why?" I asked, still confused on why the two boys don't like each other.
"Because Ivan is mean! And his little sister is no better than he is! They pick on me! Calling me mean names, like Pig! They call me Pig!" Alfred asked, his voice know full of despair. I slowly nodded. I knew what it was like to be called something other than your name. I knew that all to well.
"But, Ivan seems nice? How does that make him evil?" I asked, then regretting it.
"He's a fake nice! He's just a puppeteer, and he's trying to make you into his puppet! But, count on me little bro, I'm going to make sure you don't pulled into his string of lies." Alfred promised. I nodded. I've dealt with fakers before, but Ivan seemed a bit different. Maybe he was just that good of an actor? I mean, I trust Alfred, so he might be right on this.
"Okay. Oui. I won't become his puppet!" I smiled, hugging Kuma harshly. Alfred smiled, before running to the slide.
"Ow! Ow! Can't breath!" I let Kuma down.
"Sorry Kuma. My bad... Why didn't you tell me when Alfred was here?" I asked, bending down to face him. I felt Kuma glare at me.
"You know the rules! I only talk when you're around. No one else! Jeez." Kuma repeated, for what was the millionth time. I always ended up forgetting. I smiled at him, and picked him up. That's when I saw her again. Natalya, she was peering over the fence. At me. Her eyes were scanning, as if they were looking for something, or at something. I felt a shiver go down my spine, but when I looked back at her, she was gone. I felt a little sad, but then I heard Alfred call my name, and I rushed over to him, and we started to play. However, for the rest of the evening I couldn't get Natalya out of my head... I don't knew if that's weird. Maybe I just want to be good friends with her. That's probably it. Maybe I should try asking Papa about it sometimes, he acts like he knows a lot about it.
"Papa?" I asked during dinner. Luckily Dad was home, so we were eating like a family! It was awesome. Papa nodded his head, allowing me to speak. "Have you ever looked at a girl, and thought she was pretty? Like, prettier than pretty?" Papa almost looked like he would spit out his drink, and Dad looked equally shocked. Michelle and Lucille looked at each other, smiling largely. Alfred just continued to eat.
"Prettier than pretty? What do you mean Matthew?" Dad asked, as Papa was still shocked.
"Like, I really, really wanna be her friend. But I'm a little shy to ask her to be my friend..." I scuttled in my seat, I felt as though the attention was all on me, I don't like it when a lot of eyes follow me.
"Well, that means you like her." Dad stated. I looked at him, no kidding. I really liked her.
"Of course I like her, doesn't that mean we should be friends?"
"Matthew, go talk to this girl at school tomorrow. Try to be friends with her. Then go on from there, Lucille and I will help you!" Michelle giggled. Lucille nodded. Papa regained his composer, before nodding as well.
"Oui mon petite garçon! Be just who you are, and I'm sure she'll want to be your friend! That's just the first step after all." Papa winked at me. I smiled happily. I hope Natalya will want to be friends with me. I'm sure she thinks I'm weird, and she probably doesn't like me because Alfred's my new brother, but I'm pretty sure that won't matter. Alfred is cool! And, she's pretty! I hope she likes me. I started to eat a bit more quickly, wanting school to happen quickly. And the best part is, for two reasons! 1, to become friends with Natalya, and 2, it'll be my first day in American school. I wonder what it's like! I wonder how many people will be there, will some of them speak French? What about other languages, besides English? I've heard from people that America has a lot of different cultures. I'm so excited! The entire dinner was full of cheer. Dad talked about how there were some annoying 'buggers' at the office, and Lucille and Michelle were talking about what they were going to wear for tomorrow, and Alfred was trying to get Dad's attention, and failing at it, so he ended up just playing with his food. While I sat and ate quietly. I wanted to finish quickly. Maybe then, I could get a word with Kuma. I'm excited to tell him some of my plans for tomorrow. I know I won't be able to take him with me, just like in France, so I'll tell him about my day after school! I couldn't wait.
"Papa, may I be esxcused?" I asked. Papa nodded, then listened back to Dad's conversation. I smiled, and placed my dishes in the sink, before running upstairs to talk with Kuma. I opened the door, and jumped on my bed.
"Ahh! Monster!" Kuma screamed. I laughed.
"I'm not a monster! I'm Matthew!"
"Who?"
"Me silly!" I giggled. "I'm so excited for school tomorrow! I can't wait until it's over and I can tell you all about the amazing day I had!"
"Aren't you getting a little ahead? What's if it's bad?" Kuma asked. I rolled my eyes.
"That's not going to happen! I'll make sure of it! Besides, Alfred will be there with me!"
"About him..." Kuma started, I smiled at him innocently. "I don't think you should trust him." I was shocked.
"Why?"
"I've looked at his atmosphere. He doesn't seem that trustworthy. I mean, Ivan was really nice to you. Then Alfred came and ruined it. I'm not saying betray him, but you should be careful around him." I stared at Kuma.
"But, he's my brother?"
"I'm not saying that he's not... But, I'm your best friend. I'm all you need to trust." I nodded solemnly. He was my best friend. Of course, I can always have other friends, but Kuma is my only best friend. And, I want him to be my only. After all... Some people go quicker than expected. That's what he says. I put on my pajamas, and turned off the lights. Kuma sat on my bed. His face plastered with the same face I've always seen, but it was different. Almost luring me to bed, even though that's where I was heading anyway.
"Goodnight, Kumajiro..." I yawned, tucking myself into bed, hugging Kuma.
"Goodnight, Matthew." I felt something strange as he said my name, but I was just tired. There's nothing to worry about. He's my best friend after all.