Rachel's insistence that Casper's obsession with Tia was a phase
he would grow out of took a hit when his fifth birthday and the start of school
arrived with no sign of Tia's exit from family life. So adamant was Casper that
Tia was real that he wouldn't even have a birthday party after his parents
tried to reason that they didn't need to add Tia's name to the invite or buy
her a cake.
Whilst they didn't mind Casper being a bit lost in his
imagination his attachment to Tia was becoming a problem. He would get upset
and angry any time they refused to set a place for Tia at the table or forget
to wait for her to get in the car.
Rachel made a preliminary visit to child psychologist, returning
furious after "that loony old battle-axe" tried to tell her that her
son's imaginary friend was a coping mechanism made necessary by his father's
absence in his formative weeks and an underlying favouritism towards the female
children on the house.
Whilst it was true that Gray had missed his son's first
ten days, she hadn't been constantly there either, thanks to the nature of the
NICU and they'd always worked hard to ensure that even when Eva had been at her
most demanding, they had compensated accordingly with extra time for Casper.
Gray tried to calm his wife down, to underplay the difficulty that
they'd been facing with their son but the fact remained that he lived primarily
in a fantasy world he'd created for him and his imaginary friend. School
improved things slightly, Casper loved to learn and the access school gave him
to information and new ideas seemed to counteract his natural urge to withdraw
from situations.
His teachers sent home glowing reports which soothed his parents
worries, it seemed that he did interact with other children in a classroom
setting though he rarely socialised in the playground. He excelled in science
and maths and had little time for art or sport. Casper also became obsessed
with Harry Potter, trying numerous times to sneak out of the house in robes and
when Gray spoke to him about it settling instead for wearing his
"uniform" everyday, he was in Ravenclaw, he insisted.
When he asked for a chemistry set to use at home, to make
"potions", Gray was pleased to dig Sienna's old one out of storage.
Having this new focus made Casper easier to handle at home, he engaged slightly
more with the family (though he mainly tried to use Eva and Lillia as potion
testers) and spent less time shut away talking to himself. Tia seemed not to
care for chemistry and whilst Casper's insistence that, 'he was doing it for
both of them' made no sense to his parents, Gray and Rachel agreed that they'd
give it a year, hope the chemistry thing stuck and if Tia was still Casper's
only friend at that point they'd go back to another psychologist.
Whilst Casper flew at school and struggled socially, Lillia was
the opposite. She had more friends than she really had time for and continued
to struggle academically. Between play dates and swim meets she barely had time
to do her schoolwork and her GPA fell to a C.
Gray was frustrated with the school, they knew she needed longer
to grasp things but as one of their sporting stars they kept cutting her
academic hours to make space for training and he could see the toll this was
taking on his daughter. Whilst they wanted Lillia to reach her sporting
potential she was still too young for such intense training.
Gray and Rachel talked about moving Lillia to a private school
where they specialised in small class sizes and different ways of teaching the
curriculum but with the restaurant still on such tenuous footing there was no
way they could afford it right now.
They settled for pulling her out of some of her sporting
activities, leaving only swimming and soccer and coaching her as best they
could at home. Lillia sulked, she hated school and missed athletics but at
least she now had more time to spend with her friends without having to panic
about homework.
Lillia and her cousin Rose, one of Jet's triplets, became
especially close. The two girls spent most evenings at one of their houses,
Rose preferring the hi-tech modern features of Lillia's house and Lillia loving
to hang out with the horses at Jet's ranch.
As the year progressed the two girls grew closer, ruling the
school social scene and dominating in extracurriculars too. Rose was head
cheerleader of the local youth squad and with Lillia's sporting prowess they
became the group to try and get in with. The addition of dance team star Daisy
to their little posse earned them the collective name "The flowers"
and as they advanced in years so too did their social standing climb.
Rachel was secretly thrilled that her daughter was so popular,
she'd always been something of an outcast but swore to herself she would make
sure that her daughter would never develop any of the less attractive qualities
which the popular crowd had demonstrated in her day. All girls loved to gossip
but she was pretty sure it was all harmless.... right?
For now at least Lillia seemed happy enough, her grades were
passable and she was growing up well.
As Lillia found her place in the school social structure Eva was growing
out of it. Finals were over and she'd just turned eighteen, she was praying
that her results would reflect the months of hard graft she'd put into studying
with Hayden. He was confident that she would pass, confident to the extent that
he'd planned one last session to get her started on her advance reading for
freshman year.
When he texted to postpone, Eva felt a sinking in her stomach,
she wouldn't even get to say goodbye, he'd just discovered that he'd won a
Rhodes scholarship and in a few short months would be setting off to experience
life at Cambridge University, England. Eva was sure he would never think of her again.
To her surprise Hayden made contact and rescheduled her send-off
session asking her to meet him at the park rather than their usual destination
of her dining room table. As hard as Eva tried she couldn't crush the butterflies
that this last, out of character, meeting stirred up. She spent longer than
usual on her makeup, just in case...
As Eva arrived at the park she started second guessing her outfit
choice, she was usually found in a jumper dress so her current ensemble was not
in her comfort zone which made the amount of attention the male population if
the park were giving her all the harder to process. As she saw Hayden's mouth
drop open and his eyes widen, Eva changed her mind. The new look was definitely
working.
Their session was awkward, a long way from their usual
companionable banter. Eva kept catching Hayden staring at her in a way she had
long dreamed he might. Now he was finally taking notice she didn't exactly know
what to do with herself. She was used to the kind of guy she could read like a
book, who told her she was beautiful and wanted only one thing from her. She
knew these guys from her childhood observances of life in Garcia's compound but
sometimes used them to prove to herself that
she was desirable and adored, even if only for one night.
Hayden was different. She felt like her usual brazen flirting
would scare him off so instead she was just unusually quiet. As they packed
away her books and notes Eva's heart sank. She was sure she'd blown her only
chance with her inexplicable shyness. So it was a huge surprise when Hayden
invited her to his celebration party that weekend.
Eva went with high hopes which were soon crushed. Hayden's
pleasure at her arrival was soon buried by his college buddies trying to make
him play beer pong and she barely saw him for the hour she stayed. As she left
she heard a voice call out,
'Eva. Wait up'
Hayden jogged after her and she kept walking away, trying to keep
her tone light as she called back.
'Great party Hayden, have fun in England. I gotta get back for my
curfew.'
She was surprised when he caught up with her and more surprised
still that he fell in step with her and began to walk her home. They didn't
talk about anything important and too soon they arrived at the Monroe's gate.
'I'm going to miss you!' Eva blurted, slapping her hand over her
mouth as she realised what she'd said. 'As a friend of course. I mean a tutor.
I'll miss... The studying. That's all!'
Hayden looked confused.
'I'm going to miss you too', he replied. 'As a friend. We are
friends you know.'
Eva smiled shyly as he continued,
'Sometimes I thought we could even be... Forget it. It's silly'.
Eva's heart started pounding. This was impossible.
'What's silly?' She asked, closing the gap between them almost imperceptibly.
'Hayden you can tell me'. She touched his hand softly with hers, seeing his
eyes widen in the darkness and feeling him squeeze her hand as if to check it
was real.
'Eva... I.... I just think you're perfect. I mean you're smart
and funny and you don't care what people think. God you're beautiful. But I'm leaving
and I'm such a nerdy guy I never thought... dammit. Eva if you don't go right
now I'm going to try to kiss you'.
She didn't, and he did.
-------------------------------
