Spring 8

I grabbed the ice cream cone Leonel presented me with, taking a lick or two before my mind began to wander. The ice cream slowly melting in my hand. Leonel sighed loudly, handing me a wet cloth. I took it and wiped my hands, but more of the sticky, cold mess dribbled onto them; I just couldn't help it. As my closest friend he could tell some things were going through my mind, and he could also tell I didn't want to talk about it.

"Uh, Alicia told my fortune today." He began trying to start a conversation, I politely replied with a 'Hm?' as he continued.

"Yeah, Alicia told my fortune. She told me I was going to have some risky twists, and it wasn't going to end well." he said with a sigh as I began to snicker.

"You know how she is! She'll probably rob you or something to make her fortune come true." I exclaimed, surely Leonel had figured that out by now!

"B-but, the risky twist-!" He began in a worrisome tone.

"She's probably going to trick you." I reassured him as he smiled and snickered as well.

"You're probably right, Clara." he said, "You're probably right."

Spring 9

The spring morning brought pounding rain as I groaned at hearing the beatings on the glass of my window as I stirred a bit and sighed; I had to walk in this weather, which was unfortunate.

"Clara!" My mother called bursting into my room, "You're going to be late for school, it's already 8:30!"

"8:30?!" I screamed jumping from my bed and rummaging through my dresser, I didn't care what I wore today as long as I was dressed; I slipped on a simple, loose fitting mini dress and a pair of high top sneaker, grabbing my books and tote I ran out the front door as fast as I could, into the rain, running into my cousin.

"Clara, where's the fire?" She joked as I tried catching my breath, my hair becoming soaking wet from the rain.

"I was just late waking up." I bent down and placed my hands on my knees.

"Cl-Clara. I, uh, wouldn't bend down if I were you." Leann said in a flustered and concerned way.

"Why?" I asked, looking up at her pink face before I looked down, blushing myself. My dress was so loose around the chest area that you could see down it as I stood straight and tall.

"It was probably a bad idea wearing this loose fitting outfit, huh?" I asked, slightly flustered as Leann closed her umbrella, and pulled a scarf out from her handbag. placing it over my shoulders, pretty much covering my chest area.

"That ought to help. Even though it's not low cut, it's still loose, and I don't want you getting into trouble if you bend over." She said as I smiled at my cousin's compassion; even if I was always jealous of her, she was very kind and she was family!

Leann and I were the last ones in the classroom as Ms. Mana smiled at our arrival ready to start the class consisting of us four teenagers!

Honestly, I think Ms. Mana would prefer to teach a younger class; but since we were the only children she didn't really have a choice.

"Today, class," She began, taking a piece of chalk and jotting a few notes on the board, "We'll be learning about babies and taking care of them, this is an important role, especially for you girls." We all groaned as Ms. Mana cleared her throat.

"Now, now class, remember your parents had to learn how to care for you, and someday, in the future you might become parents, so you'll need to learn ahead of time."

Pretty much she just talked about how cute but demanding a baby can be. I sighed and became a bit curious about how Yue and Ray were able to take care of Sera and Serena as babies at the same time. What a silly thing to wonder!

Ms. Mana dismissed us at the usual time the school yard became flooded with us. Thankfully the rain had died down as I pulled the scarf off and gave it back to Leann, thanking her, and running off to my house.

My father saw me running towards the farm from the field, giving me a wave.

"Hey, Clara! Uh, did you lose weight?" He asked as I blushed.

"Ah, no. This dress is just kind of big on me." I admitted.

"Why didn't you try it on before you bought it?" He asked as I sighed.

"I think it was a gift from mom?" I said, shrugging as he furrowed his brows, sighing deeply

"Rosalind! Can you come out here for a second?" He called out as mom came out seconds later.

"Jack, I'm in the middle of cooking lunch! This better be quick! I don't want it to burn!" Mom exclaimed sternly before turning her attention towards me, she blushed slightly.

"Ah, Clara? I thought next week was your fun week." Mom said as I blinked at her in confusion.

"I-it still is?" I said in confusion.

"Then, why are you wearing a nightgown?" Mom asked as my eyes widened, along with dad's.

"What?!" We both asked shocked in unison.

"That's a nightgown?!" Dad asked as I blushed.

"It doesn't even look like a nightgown!" I exclaimed.

"Why does it look so casual, Rosalind?!" Dad asked before sniffing around, "And more importantly, what's burning?"

Mom's face turned white as she gasped loudly, rushing back to the house.

"My risotto!" She exclaimed in agony while running back into the house.

"You know, I think your mother should be forbidden from buying your clothes unless she tells you what they are." Dad said with a sigh.

"And, considering I woke up late, I just grabbed the first thing in my drawer." I replied, blushing.

"Maybe you should reorganize your drawers?" Dad suggested.

"Maybe."

I laid on my bed, staring up at my ceiling; wondering where the years went. Am I really fifteen? Or was I having this weird, and extremely long dream? Maybe in real life I was in a coma...and I was nine or ten...but then again, it was all too real.

I quickly closed my eyes, facing away when I heard my door open, I heard my mother and father whispering about how great I was, how much they loved me, and so on and so forth.

Honestly though I wondered if it was true. Did they really love and care for me? Or did they just pretend since I was their child? I stirred a bit before falling into a deep, deep sleep.