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After buckling her seatbelt, Mira looked at her daughter through the rear-view mirror. "Ready for the first day at your new school?" she asked.
"I guess," Rosie replied, swinging her legs back and forth. "I still don't know why I had to switch schools though. I liked my friends and teachers at Oxford."
"I know, honey," Mira sighed, "but I already explained all of that to you."
"It just doesn't make sense." Rosie pouted. "You say I'm going to start grade four, but what was so bad about the grade four at my old school?"
"Nothing at all. You know the new school will be closer to where I'm doing my internship."
"Nana offered to pick me up from school every day."
"Your nana is not your mother. I am," Mira frankly indicated. "Besides, Mom doesn't get off 'til four. I can leave at three or even earlier if I shave off a portion of my lunch break and that's what the plan is. Got it?"
Rosie abandoned the matter.
"So, are we really going by Bobby's house when you get off work, Mom?"
"Sure, we are."
Rosie gave her mother an untrusting look.
"What?" Mira asked.
"You didn't keep your promise twice before." Rosie reminded her.
"I didn't promise you I'd go, honey. I promised Bobby." Mira's face had guilt written all over it.
"It's just the same, Mom. You told me we were going and we never did. Are you going to break your promise this time too?"
"There you go with the word promise again, Rosie. Okay. I got it. No matter what, we're going to see Bobby's new place this evening. Promise."
Rosie's countenance lit up with excitement. "Really? That'll be so cool. But remember, this time you promised me."
Mira smiled. "You're right and you know I have never broken any promises to you."
"I know." Rosie blushed.
There was a brief pause as Mira cranked the engine and the car rolled on.
"Mom, why don't you like Bobby?"
Mira was shocked by the question. "I do like, Bobby. He's a good friend and a great guy," she replied.
"I mean like like, Mom. You don’t like him the way he likes you."
"I think you're wandering off into the wrong territory, Rosie. Bobby and I are just good friends. That's enough for me."
"Nana thinks you two should get married."
Mira nearly slammed the car in front of them. She quickly pressed brakes. They were at a traffic light that had just turned red and she did not recall ever seeing the yellow light.
"Rosie Cullen, this is definitely not something I will be discussing with you. I will speak with your grandmother later." Mira was clearly peeved.
Rosie sat quietly, sensing that she probably said a little more than she should have.
"Don't be mad at Nana," she said a minute later.
Mira glanced her way. She saw a tinge of sadness in her daughter's eyes. "I'm not mad at her."
"Promise?" Rosie studied her.
"Promise." Mira smiled.
They arrived at Piermonte Elementary and Mira pulled into a parking space near the front entrance.
"Okay, we're here." Mira said. "Let's get you settled in."
Rosie unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her backpack and lunch bag from the floor.
"Excited?" Mira asked her, already aware of the answer.
Rosie shook her head.
"Before you know it, honey, you would have made new friends and you'll love it here — just like you did your old school."
"How do you know?" Rosie asked.
"I just know. Trust me."
They walked into the school building and headed down the hall. Parents were scooting back and forth as the kids were being dropped off to their respective homerooms.
"Mrs. Hall - Room 111," Mira said, looking at the sign on the door as they approached.
She and Rosie went in. Most of the desks were already occupied either with a respective student or a book or lunch bag which indicated the seat was taken.
"Well, hi there!" A lady greeted them as soon as they walked in. She was in her thirties; had her hair twirled into a bun and her skirt and blouse freely swung against her slender frame with the slightest movement. "You must be the Cullens." She smiled, shaking Mira's hand. "I'm Mrs. Hall." She knelt a little. "And you must be Rosie."
"Yes, ma'am," Rosie replied shyly.
"It's very nice to meet you, Rosie. I'm sure you will make a fine addition to this class and to Piermonte."
"Thank you."
Mira smiled along.
"Well, there's a seat right over there you can snatch," the teacher said.
Rosie did not move.
"Go on, now! The bell will ring at any minute."
Rosie started to leave, but Mira grabbed her and gave her a big hug, then kissed her on the forehead. "Have a wonderful day, honey. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay," Rosie responded softly.
Mira watched at the door as Rosie made her way across the room to a desk in the center of the classroom. She sat quietly as children around her chatted loudly with each other.
"She'll be fine, Miss Cullen," the teacher expressed, as if reading her thoughts.
"Thanks," Mira said. The bell rang as she left.
After the class settled down, Mrs. Hall turned to Rosie and said, "Rosie, can you introduce yourself to the class please?"
Rosie was looking at her teacher with obvious hesitance.
"Your name, age and former school would do just fine," Mrs. Hall told her. She gestured for Rosie to stand.
"Hi. My name is Rosie Cullen. I'm ten years old and I used to attend Oxford Elementary." She quickly sat down again.
"Very nice," Hall said. "Since all of you are returning students and know one another, please introduce yourselves to Rosie. Your name would be good enough."
"Rosie shmosie!"
Rosie heard the loud whisper from the desk to the left of hers. Within her glance, she saw it was a short, pudgy boy with freckles. He was making faces at her. Students had already started introducing themselves and she tried to focus on them instead. The little girl to her right was giggling quietly, but the teacher appeared to be oblivious to the mischief within Rosie's vicinity.
Uncomfortable and a bit disheartened, Rosie had not caught most of the names of those who had introduced themselves and now Mrs. Hall had the floor again.
"Rosie shmosie!" Went the loud whisper again. "With funky tosies."
"Mr. Smith!" Mrs. Hall turned away from the chalkboard, noticing the smile plastering the boy's chubby face. "We won't have any of your nonsense this year. Do you hear me?"
"But I didn't do nothin'," Paul Smith protested.
"If you didn't do nothin' like you say, then I'm not standing here in front of this classroom right now. I won't hesitate to send you off to the Principal's office where your no-nonsense father will be called in to deal with you in the usual way. You hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am." Paul's voice lowered as he shifted to a better position in his seat.
The girl to Rosie's right chuckled again softly after the teacher turned around. "Rosie shmosie with the funky tosies," she cruelly whispered.
Rosie set her attention straight ahead, dreading the moment her mother brought her to Piermonte. Within only minutes of being there, she was already feeling lower than the dirt they all walked on.
2
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Lunch time seemed to take forever to roll around. The teasing and taunting in class was incessant. Nicole Perkins, who sat to Mira's right was a skinny ten-year-old with thick, cloudy bifocals. She looked like a nerd, but her actions defied the term and set her on the shelf as a merciless bully. "The funky tosies" part is what irked Rosie more than the "Rosie shmosie" coming from both sides, as well as countless other jabs to attempt to make the new-comer feel like packing up and shipping out, or hiding somewhere in a corner of the school.
"Hair like spaghetti…" was the absolute worst affront. Rosie was no
t just heart-broken by such a taunt, but more accurately teetering on the verge of peeved. Never insult the child's hair - it was her pride and joy outside of her family. Despite all that, Rosie decided she was not going to lash out at them on the first day of her new school. She was intent on making a good impression with her teacher and proving herself tough enough to take the insults.
Nicole and Paul managed to steer clear of the radar of the ever-so-observant Mrs. Hall who prided herself at that chalkboard or at her big teacher desk explaining away those things her children must mentally digest.
The bell rang for lunch and children immediately darted outside or to the cafeteria. Rosie walked alone toward the playground. She had no appetite. After scanning the large field at the rear of the main building, she made her way over to an empty set of swings. Climbing on the seat of one of them and pushing herself forward, she gazed out at the kids in various sections of the playground. Some were on swings; others were playing basketball, and others ring play. A group of girls were huddled together on a bench several feet away from her chatting about God knows what. Rosie could not help thinking they looked and acted more like grown-ups instead of kids and two of them were actually sporting lipstick or a colored lip balm. She continued watching and swinging, in a way glad of the isolation after being stuck with Paul and Nicole for those dreadful hours.
A girl with big, purple barrettes on her pigtails escaped from the chatty group and came over.
"I'm Felicia," she said. "Rosie, right?"
"Uh huh," Rosie replied, still swinging.
"We have room for one more. Would you like to join us? You might fit in."
She even speaks like an adult, Rosie thought. But not just like any adult — like an adult-sized spoiled brat.
"No, thanks," Rosie answered. "I'd rather be alone for a while."
Felicia sucked her teeth. "Suit yourself then." She calmly walked away and rejoined the others.
"She thinks she's so important." Rosie heard Felicia snickering.
"Well, I'm glad she's not our friend then." Another girl was glaring at Rosie with eyes that could slice tough meat.
Rosie kept quiet, but after she got tired of the swing and figured Felicia and her crew a bit too close for comfort, she retreated to a comfortable spot under a large sycamore tree and killed time until the bell rang again.
* * *
Mira pulled up in front as the kids spilled onto the sidewalk awaiting their parents' arrival. She spotted Rosie instantly.
Saying nothing, Rosie climbed into the car and buckled up.
"Hi, honey. How was your day?" Mira asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Rosie replied sharply.
A worried expression surfaced across Mira's forehead. She glanced through the rearview mirror at the cars trailing behind her and started towards the exit.
"Rosie, I would really like to hear how your day went," she said a little further down the road.
Rosie was quiet. Arms folded and slightly pouting.
"Not good, huh?"
Silence.
"You lied to me!" Rosie spewed out moments later. "Just like you lied to Bobby!"
"Honey, what're you talking about? How did I lie to you?"
"You said before I know it, I'd love the new school, but you're wrong. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"
Mira swerved safely to the side. She turned around and faced her daughter. "Did something happen today? Tell me what happened."
"Nothing."
"Honey…"
Rosie had retreated to silence again.
"Okay, well if that's your attitude, young lady, I will speak with Mrs. Hall tomorrow morning bright and early and I'll get to the bottom of this."
"No!" Rosie swiftly objected. "I'll tell you. Just don't mention anything to my teacher."
Mira waited.
Rosie sighed. "The kids at that school especially in my class aren't very nice. Well, not all them, but these two kids in particular who sit close to me were teasing me every chance they got - from right after you left this morning."
Mira noticed the tears brimming in her little girl's eyes. "I'm sorry, honey."
"They called me really cruel names and said bad stuff about my hair. They're so mean."
Mira's heart sank. She gently touched Rosie's knee. "Some kids can really be cruel, but you don't have to let them spoil anything for you. They're probably just doing it because they feel badly about themselves and want someone to pick on. It shouldn't be you or anyone else who gets mistreated regardless of what they're going through."
"Then at lunchtime when I was at the swings," Rosie continued, "this girl came up to me and asked if I wanted to join her and her friends, but I didn't feel like it, Mom. I just wanted to be alone. She went back to her friends and said that I was being stuck-up or something, but I wasn't. I just felt so sad."
"Unfortunately honey, you can't control how other people think. If it would make you feel better, you can tell the little girl that you weren't trying to be aloof or selfish, but explain to her how you felt at the time. I'm sure she'd understand. Then you can be friends."
"The thing is… I don't want to be her friend. She and her friends are the ones that seem stuck-up, not me."
"In what way?" Mira asked. "She did reach out to you."
"I didn't mean in that way." Rosie went on to explain the best way she could.
"I see. Well, today was just the first day, you have plenty of time to make new friends," Mira said. "Think positively and don't let kids who have issues of their own infect you with negativity. You're a strong girl. You're a Cullen. Your Pops was a strong man; you got your strength from him."
The mention of her grandfather caused the tears that Rosie had all the while successfully restrained to spill down her cheeks.
"You think so, Mom? You think I'm strong like Pops?" she probed.
Mira's eyes also welled with tears. "I know you are, honey. You're tough, confident and unstoppable like he was. When those kids are being mean to you, remember, they can never break you because you're tough like your Pops."
A giggle escaped through the tears. "That rhymes," Rosie said. "Tough like Pops."
"It does. Doesn't it?" Mira also giggled. She turned around again and stepped out of the car.
"Where are you going?"
"Here." Mira opened the back door, reached in and gave Rosie a tight hug. She dried the girl's tears with her fingers. "I love you and so does Nana."
"And Pops too!" Rosie added.
"Yes, indeed. Pops too. Once you know that, nothing much else matters. You are a beautiful, wonderful, caring human being and the people who recognize that will become your closest friends. Be patient. Everything's going to be fine."
"Thanks, Mom." Rosie managed a smile.
Mira returned to the driver's seat.
"Are we going to Bobby's house now?" Rosie asked as they were pulling off again.
"Not 'til around five. We have to give him time to get home from work. So, a bath and dinner are in order, then we'll head out," Mira replied.
* * *
"So, it looks like we're all set to head over to Bobby's place." Sara was beaming as Rosie stood in front of the mirror brushing her long, curly tresses.
Rosie looked at her grandmother. "Are you coming with us, Nana?"
Sara twirled a lock of Rosie's hair. "No. You and your mother would be better company for Bobby."
Silver strands protruding from Sara's hairline were prominent as well as wrinkles that had formed on her once youthful-looking face since Michael's death.
Framed photos of her beloved Michael sat on tables and walls throughout the house. Rosie knew Sara missed him terribly. She had practically worshipped the ground her husband walked on.
"Are you sure you don't want to go, Nana?" Rosie pressed. "Bobby is always happy to see you."
"I know, pumpkin, but we see each other almost every week when he comes here to keep the yard tidy. I do believe he'd be thrilled for you and your mom to
see the new place."
"But you haven't seen it. He'd love for you to see it too."
Sara's smile stretched even wider. "I already did."
Rosie frowned. "You have?"
"Yes. I went by yesterday. It's a lovely house he's got."
Rosie folded her arms and made her famous pout. "How come you saw it and didn't tell us?"
"Who says I kept it a secret?" Sara returned. "Your mother knows. I told her last night."
"I know what?" Mira entered her mother's bedroom.
"That I saw Bobby's house already," Sara replied.
Mira had a confused look.
"Rosie thought that I should join you two to take a look."
"I see. You're ready?" Mira turned to Rosie.
The child spun around and caught one more glimpse in the square-shaped mirror.
"Yes, I'm ready."
She went and hugged her grandmother.
"I'll see you when you get back, pumpkin," Sara said.
As Rosie headed for the front door, Mira cried, "I'll be just a minute, honey!"
Mira went to her mother. "Mom, I really don't appreciate you having conversations with Rosie about any relationship you're wanting me to have with Bobby."
Sara looked at her with a slight tinge of shock. "I didn't get into any subject with Rosie that was inappropriate, Mira. Stop being stiff-necked. I, Rosie and the blind senior who sits in front of Ted's shop know that Bobby's head over heels in love with you. The thing is: You're so damn resistant and so stubborn. You're just like…"
"Dad?" Mira interjected.
Sara simmered down. She nodded and glanced at her most treasured photo of Michael sitting on her nightstand. "Yeah. Strong-willed indeed."
Mira felt compelled in that moment to give her mother a hug. "I can tell that you still really miss him. It shows sometimes."
"I do. I miss him terribly." Sara admitted. "He was my…"
"I know, but it's been nearly four years now, Mom. You haven't done anything fun since the day Dad died. You just go to work, come home, and sit around watching TV all the time. It's so not you — not the woman I've known all my life. Whatever you do outside of work or shopping, you do it for Rosie, but nothing ever for yourself."
The Cornelius Saga Series (All 15 Books): The Ultimate Adventure-packed Supernatural Thriller Collection Page 17