Francisco stayed silent, not knowing how to respond, while Marcia and Matthew apologized from behind.

“We’re really sorry, honey; we slept past our alarms.”

“Yeah, how about some McDonald’s after? To show how sorry we are.”

Both tried to calm Elena; nevertheless, with every passing moment, she continued to ramp up.

“I don’t want McDonald’s!! I want to be at school!!!”

Elena continued to yell before breaking down into tears and sobbing.

Her bright eyes watered as droplets streamed down her cheeks, landing on her dark blue dress, and staining it.

Francisco was horrified, not knowing how to respond to her. Her parents were too busy getting ready and searching to come and comfort her.

Francisco was horrible with children, which is part of the reason he never had any of his own. But now he had to deal with his sister’s child. Francisco racked his brain before attempting to comfort her.

“Hey… it’ll be okay.”

It was a pitiful attempt. Francisco was not used to consoling people, let alone children, so with his best effort, he attempted to do what he never did.

She stopped for a second, looking at Francisco disappointingly, before continuing even more powerfully.

With every passing second, Francisco became more and more uncomfortable sitting near Elena, witnessing her breakdown.

Luckily, Marcia and Matthew finished what they were doing, so they came to the rescue, comforting their child.

Minutes later, Elena calmed down, yet she was now in a sad state. Her eyes were red while her eyelids puffed, and she pouted as her face reddened to a dark cherry color.

There was nothing they could do about it currently though, as they needed to rush to the school before class began.

However, before they could leave, Matthew pulled out a stand and went into a different room to grab something.

Coming out, all of them gathered together in the living room, squishing together, ready. Francisco, confused, asked what they were doing.

“What are we doing?”

Matthew responded with a professional camera in his hands.

“It’s a tradition of ours. For every big event or occasion, we snap a photo to remember it.

" I see...”

Matthew smiled lightly before pulling the camera up for everyone to see and bragging about it.

“This old thing can take absolutely beautiful photos! Eon’s better than the one we had before.”

He then placed the camera on a stand and set a timer. Running over, he stepped in between Marcia and Elena, while Francisco stood on the side next to them. Marcia and Matthew smiled while Elena pouted, looking away from the camera. Francisco attempted to lift his lips to a smile, but it appeared more like a cry than a smile.

After a couple of seconds, a quick flash fluttered in the room before disappearing. Matthew went over to check on the photo and smiled, seeing how marvelous it was.

“I would print it out now, but we gotta hurry to your first day!”

Matthew placed the camera to the side as the family rushed out of the house and into the car.

However, Francisco stayed behind in the house. This was not his occasion to attend.

‘It’d be better to stay and let them go together as a family.’

But just as Francisco was going to close the door and sit, he heard his sister yelling his name.

“Hurry up, Francisco!”

He then turned to see them all waiting for him inside Marcia’s SUV. Francisco stood still for a moment, staring, before walking to them, although he only had slippers on. Inside, they pulled out of the driveway before heading to Elena’s elementary school.

It was not a long drive, taking at most five minutes in the car to arrive. However, in this situation, it took them only one minute and forty seconds to reach their destination.

Both Matthew and Francisco were shocked at Marcia’s rough, speedy driving. Matthew specifically grabbed onto whatever was sturdy, preparing for a life-ending crash.

At the school, all four of them exited the SUV as Francisco looked at the school. It was a one-story building, yet it was wide, stretching out for more than an acre. Built from bricks that had experienced time, it seemed to be an ancient artifact. Looked at from afar, one would not deem it as that of a wealthy school, but rather that of an average school. However, one thing to note is how decorated and brimming it was with life. This school most definitely had creative administrators and teachers that transformed the school into what the group witnessed today.

Both Marcia and Francisco had lived through a school like this, although the one they went to was much older and not as brim as this one.

Just from its outside look, Francisco could determine this would be a great school, not just for learning but for meeting new people and experiencing new things. It was a great first step in Elena’s education.

The family rushed towards the school as morning announcements sounded through the intercom.

They were cheerful, as the woman speaking seemed excited about the new year's prospects.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The group pushed through heavy reinforced doors that were needed just in case of any scenario that could occur at the school.

Inside, it was a beautiful school with a sky roof that allowed the sun to shine down on the students and the school emblem painted on the marble-looking floor. Not to mention the various posters and student-made artistry that gave the school even more personality. Where they were, there were multiple hallways leading to different grade sections in the school. Since Elena was in kindergarten, they headed towards the kindergarten section of the school. Even at this time, multiple parents and children were wandering around the school, searching for their child’s classroom. However, for Marcia’s family, that was not the case. Fortunately for them, they had attended the open house a week earlier, learning where their child’s classes would be held and who their teacher was.

They rushed down the hallway like multiple parents before entering the kindergarten section, labeled on the walls near it.

Here, it was a daunting place with many doors and numbers, making it hard to navigate for anyone who came here for the first time.

However, Marcia walked with skill and precision to a decorated door before knocking on it.

Moments later, a child opened it, revealing a heavily decorated inside that had multiple windows, allowing the sun to shine into every crevice of the classroom. On one portion of the classroom, the ABCs and grammar tips were laminated and attached to the wall, while on another section, multiple math-related pieces of knowledge were also planted on the wall. While the teacher’s desk was covered in student drawings and other education-related materials, In the front of the classroom, next to the Promethean board, was a teacher who wore a brightly colored dress that seemed to reflect her personality. She looked over and saw who was at the door, recognizing them from the other day at the open house.

“Ahhh, parents, come, hurry; we were just about to begin!”

Marcia and Matthew walked in with Elena in tow, while the teacher looked down at Elena with a smile on her face.

“Little one, why do you seem so upset? Did you not want to come?”

Elena looked at the teacher briefly before ratting her parents out.

“They both slept in, so I’m late now!!”

Matthew and Marcia both blushed in embarrassment as their mistake was revealed, while the teacher responded.

“Ah, is that so? Well, you arrived just in time; we were about to begin!”

“Really?”

“Yes, so why don’t we turn that frown into a smile? I can see that you have an absolutely gorgeous dress; a smile would fit it even more.”

“…Okay.”

Elena seemed to calm down as the teacher led her to her seat while the three stood awkwardly in the classroom.

Moments later, the teacher came back as Marcia spoke to her.

“We’re really sorry about being late.”

"Oh, don’t worry, plenty are late the first day! What matters is not being late after that.”

“Of course.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment before the teacher asked them to leave.

“Well, get on now; I have a class to teach.”

Marcia was stunned as she asked.

“Can we not stay and watch her on her first day?”

The teacher laughed heartedly before responding to the cherry-faced Marcia.

“Oh, what a good one. You see, a school is a place for children to be independent from their parents, and that begins in kindergarten. How could they gain independence if you are always behind their back? So I’m sorry, but I’d prefer if it were only students learning in my class.”

“Oh, of course... We’ll leave now, then.”

“Have a great day. You’ll see Elena at three!”

The trio prepared to leave before Elena caught their attention.

“I’ll see you later, mama!!”

Marcia turned back to see her daughter talking and playing with other children wholeheartedly. Marcia stared for seconds before tears welled up in her eyes and a smile surfaced on her face, in absolute pride.

She and the rest walked out, but not before Marcia responded.

“I’ll see you later too, honey.”

Outside the classroom, tears continued to fall on Marcia’s face before she regained herself.

They walked out of the kindergarten section to the general hallway before arriving back at the emblem on the ground with the sun shining on it. All before they exited the school into the parking lot. They then walked back to the SUV and entered.

Seeing how sad Marcia still was, Matthew comforted him as he held hands with her.

“Baby, it’s okay. Our little girl will be alright.”

“I know… It’s just hard to see her growing up right before my eyes. I mean, I still remember when she could barely walk. Yet now she’s meeting new people and becoming an independent person. I just wonder how much longer she’s going to stay, my little girl.”

“Baby, we'll just have to see. In the end, she’ll always be our little girl, no matter how much she grows.”

“You’re right, thank you.”