I loved this chapter because it was the first one that I wrote in the past, and it was a lot of fun to write.
Chapter 2 the past
Date: November 2004
After having lived in this house for four years Phoebe and Lizzie had wanted to meet other people that were their age, people that they felt like they could talk to besides their family. It was on this day that new people were moving into the neighborhood, and so it couldn’t be more perfect timing for the two of them to meet new people it wasn’t that they didn’t want to hang out with each other, it was that they wanted to hang out with other people they could talk to. Phoebe at age four wasn’t one that really talked to people, she was one that was shy and reserved she just needed to meet more people and work on a conversation. The Ellis family was going to introduce themselves to their new neighbors, and they were going to bring the kids over so that their kids could get to know their kids. The funny thing was that Phoebe could already tell that this girl would like her, it was a feeling that she had but it was a good one her twin sister Lizzie was one that was always more social than her. In her head Phoebe was thinking about what she was going to say to the new neighbor when they asked about herself, what was the correct response and what did they want to know about her were the questions that she was thinking about now. Even at the age of four Phoebe was overly analytical already, and she knew that this was something that was bad for her because would just over analyze everything but she didn’t know the term for it yet. Her parent’s thoughts that she would grow out of it, and that she would one day meet people that would understand her she needed people other than her family that really understood her.
After lunch that day they made their way over to the neighbors; it was a Tuesday but the girls were only in preschool for half a day the Ellis family thought that this was the best way, for Phoebe especially. When they got to the house Lucy knocked on the door, she was the one that was going to start the conversation and then hopefully it would go on from there. “Hi we live right next door I’m Lucy and these are my daughters Phoebe, Lizzie, and Lauren” Lucy smiled she hoped that this family would like her family because they were not a bad family. “Hi Lucy I’m Stella and this is my daughter Rhiannon she’s four how old are your daughters?” Their daughter looked like she was around their age, and Lucy was very thankful for that because she really did want kids that would be friends with her kids. “As luck would have it, my girls, here are also four, we have a six-year-old, a seven-year-old, and a nine-year-old.” The girls looked like they wanted to get to know each other, at least Phoebe and Rhiannon looked like they wanted to get to know each other, and this pleased Lucy because she was always looking for more people that Phoebe could become friends with. All in all at the age of four Phoebe was a bit of a loner, but the fact that she didn’t seem to meet many people like Lizzie did but Phoebe just wasn’t the kind of person that was a people person.
“ Hi I’m Phoebe this is my twin sister Lizzie, and this is our sister Ren it’s nice to meet you” the fact that Phoebe was taking the lead here was very impressive for Lucy, she didn’t think that of the three of them that of the three of them that Phoebe would take the lead.
“ Hi, I’m Rhiannon most people call me Rhi, I was wondering if you three wanted to come in and the four of us could play together?” At this age, Rhi was one of those kids that took the lead on things, and her parents really liked this because she was their only daughter and their only child.
Phoebe wasn’t sure what the other two wanted to do, but she herself really wanted to get to know the girl that lived next door to her better, and this was one of the best ways to do it. Phoebe looked at her foster mother for some kind of signal, all that she was looking for was some kind of signal that they could stay and get to know the girl that lived next door. With a nod, they all entered the house, not sure what they were going to do but the girls thought that their mothers were going to get to know each other as well, and this would be something that the girls wanted to happen.
“ I’m kind tomboy in the bunch, not into the super girly things but I like hot wheels, superheroes, and I take dance lessons it’s the girliest thing that I do” Lizzie wasn’t into the super girly things but she had respect for her sisters that were. “I’m into the same things as Phoebe dolls, Barbie’s, playing house, and we’re both really into reading what about you Rhi?”
“ I really like the girly things as well playing dress up, playing house, dolls, Barbie’s, and I really like reading as well” it was kind of crazy how much two of the three girls that were here liked the same things that she liked. The funny thing was that she hoped that this would happen, she hoped that the girls that lived next door would like her and that they would come over and introduce themselves to her.
For Lizzie this wouldn’t work out she already could tell that Rhi wasn’t going to be a friend for her; because her sisters were girly enough for her and she didn’t need another person that was really girly like them.
“What’s your favorite book Phoebe and Lauren,” Rhi had been reading from the time that she was three she mostly taught herself, but she did have some help with the big words.
“I really like the Madeline books and the Eloise books” Phoebe stated, and this really worked out because she could see the Madeline books around the room it was perfect.
“I really like Amelia Bedelia and Frog and Toad” Ren also really liked the new neighbor not as much as Phoebe probably did, but she really liked that they had a friend that was into reading just like she and Phoebe and that they could talk about books.
“I really loved all four of those books, and I would love to talk about those books with you both at some point.”
It was like Lizzie was not in the room right now, and she was okay with that because she was not one that was very much into reading books but she liked that her sisters, well that her sisters had a friend honestly. After about another hour of playing and talking the girls had to go home, the older kids were coming home from school and at this point Lucy liked being there when they got home from school.
The next day as Rhi and Phoebe were playing again they really liked each other, and Phoebe started calling her a best friend that she wasn’t related to and Rhi helped her, Phoebe was more open with Rhi. The funny thing was that Lizzie had it her mind that she would get close with the neighbor, and that Phoebe would have to find someone else this was before she had met the neighbor and how much she had in common with her sister. The Four of them were playing in the park today, they all had different things that they liked to do at the park but today Phoebe and Rhi were going to play on the swings. Lizzie saw another girl that was by herself, and looked like she was her age and so now she just had to go over and introduce herself. Lizzie was more of a feeler, she didn’t plan out what she was going to say before she started talking she just talked and felt out the other person, Lizzie really did hope that this girl would like her. With an okay from her foster mother Lizzie walked over to the other girl, still not sure what she was going to say to this girl she just hoped that this girl really liked her.
“Hello I’m Lizzie”, she said as she approached the girl, she wasn’t sure if she was going to say anything back but she had to try because otherwise she would just be wondering, well wondering if they could be friends.
“ Hi I’m Anya nice to meet you Lizzie” Anya was one that was also looking for a friend, and she seemed like she was a little too bold for people her own age but Lizzie seemed like she was the same way as she was.
“Very nice to meet you as well how old are you, I’m just wondering” Lizzie so much hoped that this girl was her age that way they could be friends the two of them, and that they could talk.
“I’m four and I was actually wondering how old you were as well,” they were both wondering how old the other person was and this to Lizzie meant that they were on the same wave length.
“You know what’s amazing I’m also four years old, and I find it crazy that both of us found each other here today.” It was fate that Anya and Lizzie had met each other here today both of them really wanted to meet another person that seemed like they were like them, and then boom they met each other.
“I’m wondering are you an only child”, Anya asked Lizzie, Anya was the youngest in her family of four she had two older brothers and an older sister.
“I’m not I have a twin sister Phoebe, and we have foster siblings I guess you’d call them we’re foster children” Lizzie over the years had gotten more and more okay with being a foster child.
“Okay so do you like the big sides and things over there, and would you like to go on them with me” Anya was wondering because she didn’t want to force Lizzie into friendship, it wouldn’t be good for either of them if they had a forced friendship.
“ I would like to go on the big slides and things over there with you, I would love it” and with that Lizzie followed Anya over to the slides that way the two of them could get to know each other better. Nothing made Lizzie happier than knowing that she had a new friend, and one that she could talk to about things and about her family she loved that she had someone she could talk to. The funny thing was that Anya felt the exact same way that Lizzie did she was one that had things that she wanted to talk to someone about, but not things that would be able to talk to her family about. The two of them had created a bond, and now that they had this bond they wanted to know if they lived near each other or not, Omaha was a pretty big place and so they could live on the opposite sides form each other. It turned out that their mothers were also talking, and they had found out that they lived two blocks away from each other and this was the best thing to them. After a while they all had to go home for dinner, and the girls couldn’t wait to tell their families about their day.
***
That night at dinner in the Ellis house it was pretty crazy, as all of the children had at least one thing that they wanted to tell their family, and they hoped that their family would be as happy as they were.
“Everyone I met a friend today at the park Anya she lives a few blocks down,” Lizzie was the first person to tell her news because she lived the attention on her as long as possible.
“Everyone Rhi our neighbor and I are going to have a sleepover this weekend, and I’m so excited about it” this would be the first sleep over for each of them and Phoebe really was so excited.
“Everyone I read a book mostly by myself today, with very little help from mommy” Ren was excited about this because this was the first time this had happened.
“Everyone I am starting to learn how to write in cursive, and my teacher said that I’m one of the best in the class” Lenore was excited about this because she was an average student, and so she was very excited about the fact that she was one of the best in the class.
“We’re doing some readings in class, I really like the readings that we're doing and I read in class today” Peter was one that was okay with taking a back seat sometimes, as a matter of fact it was one of his favorite things.
“ In school we’re talking about politics or starting to talk about government and politics, and I think that I want to go into student government one day” Nat was one that always kind of knew that she wanted to go into some kind of PR, and this would just be a stepping stone for that.
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