Glimpses: Aurora's Journal (FF, CC, Teen) *Check in!*

[isabelle]

Title: Glimpses: Aurora's Journal

Disclaimer: .The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended."

Pairings/Couples/Category: Future Fic - CC

Rating: TEEN

Summary: Max and Liz prepare for their daughter's wedding by reviewing a journal of her life...

Cast:
Max Evans: Isabelle
Liz Evans: Katnotkath
Aurora Evans: Sugarplum7
Kevin: Isabelle
Ashley: Sugarplum7
Grace Rodriguez: Galita

Open Characters as needed:
Isabel
Jesse
Michael
Maria
Kyle
Matthew Guerin: Corina star
Daniel Guerin:
Christopher Guerin:
Dominick Rodriguez:
Jesse Rodriguez:
Erica Valenti:
Justin Valenti:

AN: You are welcome into the world we are creating, and feedback, should you chose to write it, is welcome. Thank you for your interest, and we hope you enjoy your trip down Memory Lane with us.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*MAX*

I can’t believe my little girl is getting married in the morning. There were so many times that I thought this would never happen. That I’d never get a chance for a normal life, a normal family. That my child would ever be able to enjoy that as well. And now, she’s getting married.

Married.

My daughter!

A beautiful wedding that’s been planned for months, not rushed together on the run hours ahead of the FBI. We’ve actually done it. We’ve given her what we’ve always wanted. It wasn’t all roses and song, but what life is? It was normal, with ups and downs, scares and triumphs. And some alien powers, I smile, just to keep things interesting. It’s been beautiful, and it will continue to be beautiful. Our greatest victory.

I sit on the edge of the bed and run my hands over the quilted cover of the thick scrapbook in my hand. It’s pink and soft, covered with hand-painted roses and butterflies and rainbows, and framed by a trim of white lace. The colors are only slightly faded, but I pass my hand across it and refresh them so it looks like it was when it was new, twenty-two years ago. Aurora’s Journal, it’s called, although Aurora never wrote in it. Just Liz and me, adding pictures and stories. Like her mother, Aurora has her own journal for her own thoughts, but this one is from us.

I’m supposed to be wrapping it up in silver and ivory paper with a big ivory bow so we can present it to Aurora tomorrow, but I can’t stop staring at it. Tomorrow, she’ll be gone. I know she’s a big girl, a grown woman, really, and she can take care of herself, but it’s hard not to feel protective. We’ve spent so many years guarding her, teaching her. I know she’ll be fine. But it’s still hard to let go. It seems like only yesterday, she was a newborn.

Sighing, I open the book to the first page,

“Dearest Aurora,

You are the most precious gift your Mother and I have ever dared to wish for. We both love you far more than words can even describe, but we’re going to try.

We’re making this book for you, filled with memories and pictures, so we’ll always remember what you were like when you were little, and all the important things that happen as you grow up…”

I close the cover as tears start to blur my vision. It hasn’t changed. After all this time, I still love her so much it hurts. Just like her mother. With an effort, I control my emotions, and randomly flip the book open to another page. My heart melts at the photograph secured there.

“Liz!” I call out. She comes in the room immediately, and I turn the book towards her. “Remember this?”


.

[Elizabeth Evans]

*LIZ*

It's so amazing to think that my little girl, mine and Max's, is getting married tomorrow morning! After long months of preparation, all the details are finally set and everything is ready. The wedding is the wedding of Aurora's dreams, and it's absolutely perfect! And the best thing about it is that she has found her soulmate, a wonderful man who makes her happy and loves her more than life itself. They are so much like Max and me that I have absolutely no doubts that they will create together the life we've always dreamed of for Aurora. It's everything I could have wanted for our precious daughter and more.

Right now, Aurora is out with her friends doing some last minute shopping for the honeymoon. I just finished packing a few of her things to save her some time, because once she gets back, she'll need to start getting ready for the rehearsal dinner this evening. As I stand here looking around Aurora's room, a feeling of nostalgia washes over me as my eye is drawn to her many pictures on the wall and on her dresser of family and friends. So many memories.....

I sense that Max is feeling the same way. He's in our bedroom now, wrapping up the journal that we made for her. It's one of our wedding presents to her, filled with pictures and stories and songs and poems.

"Liz!" Max calls to me from our room. I walk in with a smile as I see him holding the journal. Sitting down beside him on the bed, I look with him at one of the pictures. It was taken on Aurora's first day of Kindergarten. "Remember this?" he asks, turning the book towards me.

""Her very first day of Kindergarten," I smile at the memory. "I love that dress we bought her." Her little dress was a beautiful deep red for fall, with satin leaves of green and gold sewn into the velvet fabric. Little gold tights and adorable little closed-toed dress sandals completed the outfit. As the picture was taken, Aurora stood on the front steps to the house in the bright fall sunshine just before we left for school. The memory of what came after the picture made me chuckle. "Remember our last-minute words of advice to her after we took this picture?" I ask Max, who also laughs at the memory.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ok, honey. Are you ready to go?" I asked Aurora.

Aurora nodded excitedly. "Finally! I'm so happy today is here! I've been waiting for this for months and months!" I grin at this; her Aunt Maria, Aunt Isabel, and I had been telling her about all the fun things she'd be learning and doing at school, and about all the friends she would make. Aurora was determined to make a best friend like Maria and Isabel are to me.

"That's great, Aurora! You're going to have so much fun today and meet so many nice new people. Now, do you remember what your Mommy and I told you about how a good little girl acts in school?" Max asked.

Aurora thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "No using my powers in public," she declared, then smiled. She was so proud of herself for remembering the most important rule of all. "I know that one already!"

"Very good!" I praised Aurora. "That's very, very important." We had explained to Aurora many times that she was a special little girl with special gifts that other people don't have. And Mommy and Daddy never wanted anyone else outisde the family to discover those gifts and take her away from us.

"And share your toys nicely with the other children," Max added.

"I know, Daddy!" Aurora declared.

"And do what your teacher asks to do," I contribute a third rule.

"Mommy, you've told me that one alot already!" Aurora stated as the three of us got in the car to take her to school.

"Good. You know your rules very well," Max told her with pride. Aurora beamed at the compliment. She was truly Daddy's little girl! She looked a lot like both of us, with stright brown hair and her father's eyes. She was the most beautiful child I"d ever seen, and it would be hard not to have her at home with me during the days now. I smiled and reminded myself of all the wonderful opportunities that awaited her in school. She was just going to love Kindergarten!

Soon, we pulled up to the school.....

[Sugarplum7]

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

School! It is finally here. Mommy and Daddy and Auntie Ria and Auntie Isabel and Uncle Michael and Uncle Jesse have told me about it. I know Mommy and Daddy are worried that I’ll have an accident and forget not to use my powers, but I promised.

I promised I would be super extra careful not to. I won’t change the color of somethin’. I won’t say that Daddy makes my boo-boos all better. I won’t tell that Mommy can make things float. I won’t tell that Auntie Iz can heat up hot cocoa with her hands. I won’t say anything about Uncle Michael unlocking the car door when he left his keys inside. I won’t tell none of it! I’m a big girl now. And big girls keep secrets.

I frown at the dress that Mommy told me to wear. It is pretty . . . I guess. It is all poofy and frilly and it scratches me and I have to wear these tights. And these shoes with the buckles that are hard to close. If I could choose, I would rather wear the dress that my grandmas got me. It isn’t so poofy and scratchy.

But Mommy likes it. And I want to make Mommy happy. It is fun when I can do something for Mommy. Like when Daddy and I make surprises for her.

I don’t not like the dress. And wearing the dress and the tights and the shoes will make Mommy happy, and that’s why I wear it—because I’m a big girl now.

And my Mommy and Daddy are the bestest Mommy and Daddy in the world. Did I tell you that already? They are.

I get up off the floor after buckling the last buckle on my shoe and walk out of my room to the stairs. We have too many stairs. There are only too many stairs when I can’t jump down them. Now that’s fun.

Mommy’s waiting at the door for me and she smiles when I stand beside her. See! The dress makes her happy!

“Ok, honey. Are you ready to go?” she asks me as she picks up my lunchbox and backpack. I like my lunchbox much better now. Uncle Kyle got me a red one. It was red until I changed it into a pink one.

Mommy and Daddy tell me again all the things that I have to do when I go to school. I can’t use my powers. I’ve got to be like everyone else. Nobody can know about any of us. I’ve heard about it all since I was little, when I first showed Daddy my magic trick. That’s when I thought it was magic.

The entire way over to school they were telling me the rules again. School. Now that I’m here, I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.

“We’re here!” Mommy says as she looks back at me.

Here? School? I look up at the big building after Mommy opened the door and helped me out of the car. She took my hand and Daddy took my other hand. They walked me up to the big building and all the other kids were walking in and out of with their backpacks on . . . The school is so big. I didn’t know it was going to be this big. And there are so many people. I didn’t know that there would be so many people. This is school? The biggest building in the world next to the museum and library filled with more people than Disneyland? I don’t think I like school anymore.

I stop walking, and they turn to look at me. “Mommy, I don’t want to anymore.”

“Aurora, c’mon,” Mommy says laughing a little. Her long hair was blowing in the wind as she smiled down at me.

“No, Mommy. I don’t wanna go anymore. I don’t wanna go to school. The kids’ll be mean, and I won’t make any friends, and I’m gonna get lost. It’s gonna be the worst.”

Daddy kneeled down next to me to be short so he could look into my eyes. Daddy does that a lot. Usually he does it when he is going to say something important.

“Daddy, please don’t make me go. Please. I can go to work with you or with Mommy. I won’t be bad. I promise.” I nodded my head and almost got a headache because of it. “No powers or anything. Just please don’t leave me alone. Please, Mommy. Please Daddy. I’m not ready.”

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ End Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

[isabelle]

*MAX*

I kneel down in front of Aurora, and listen as she pleads with me to go home, not to school. "I'm not ready," she says.

"You are ready, princess. You're a big girl. You're going to have a wonderful time and make a lot of friends and learn all sorts of things. You don't need to be afraid," I tell her, suddenly concerned that all our warnings are making things too scary for her.

“I’m not afraid,” she says, in a quiet voice that tells me she really is.

“It’s okay,” I tell her, putting my hands on her shoulders. “I was scared, too. The first day.”

“You were scared?” she asks, not believing it for a moment.

“Yeah, I was,” I admit. We’d only been out of the pod for four months, and I was worried about fitting in, still expecting some danger to appear. We thought we had things pretty much figured out, but there were still things we hadn't seen. Things that came up that we didn't understand. Rules we were still learning. Like not healing pigeons. I was afraid, but not Isabel. She’d taken to school like it was candy-land.

I shake my head to clear the memory, and look at my little girl. Aurora's five-years-old. She’s had a lot more time in this world than I had on my first day of school and she knows better what’s normal and what’s special. We haven’t discussed the ‘alien’ part of the story yet, but she knows she’s special in a way that other people won’t understand.

“But I didn’t need to be afraid," I explain. "School was fun. You’ll like it, too.”

“Mommy?” she asks, looking for a second opinion.

“You’re going to have a lot of fun, today,” she promises, taking Aurora’s hand. “Let’s go find your class and meet your teacher.”

Aurora’s eyes widen. “You’re coming with me?” she asks, hopefully.

“We’re going inside with you, yes.” I tell her, taking her hand. Aurora nods and starts to walk with us up the stone steps. “But we’re not going to stay. We’ll be back in just a little while to bring you home again. Then you can tell us all about the wonderful things you did. Will that be okay?”

[Sugarplum7]

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

“Will that be okay?” Daddy asked me.

I think about what he said as I look at him. Would they stay longer than that if I asked? Would they stay until I was ready for them to leave?

“Can you and Mommy stay with me? Until I want you to go?” I sniffle a little as I look up into his face.

“You want us to stay?” Mommy asked me.

“Please,” I said as I looked down at my feet. I tapped the toe of my shoe on the gray cement.

“Okay,” she said, and I looked up at her immediately.

“Is that okay, Aurora?” Daddy said before putting his hand on my head.

“Uh-huh,” I said, nodding.

“And we won’t leave until you are ready for us to,” Mommy said as she started walking inside to my classroom.

Daddy opened the door and both Mommy and me walked in. The walls were yellow like the sunshine and there was an orange carpet in the corner. And there were things that Daddy and Mommy called desks. There was a blank paper taped on top of each of them. There were a lot of other kids running around, playing with each other, and I held tighter to Mommy’s leg. These were the kids that were supposed to be my friends.

I turn to Daddy. I tug on his pants and he leans down. “Will they like me?” I whisper to him.

“They will like you a whole lot,” he said before kissing my cheek, and I smiled.

“Hello,” A lady said as she smiled at me. She kneeled down before me. She was wearing beige pants and a green top and a jean jacket. She was pretty. Not as pretty as Mommy though. She was different. She kinda reminded me of the pictures that I see of Auntie Iz, with her long blonde hair. “I’m your teacher, Miss Baker. What’s your name?”

“Hello, Miss Baker. I’m Aurora Evans.” She extended her hands and I placed mine in hers.

“Hello, Aurora,” she said. “Do you like to read?”

I nodded.

“Why don’t you see if we have your favorite book in the library,” she said as she pointed to the bookshelf.

I looked up at Mommy and Daddy and they both nodded at me and smiled, so I went over to the bookshelf. I looked at the different titles that were on the books and picked out Are You My Mother. It was not one of the books that I normally read with Daddy, but I remembered it when I was littler.

“Hi!”

I turned at hearing the friendly voice. “I’m Ashley!” The girl said with a bright smile on her face. She had brown hair, but it was a lot lighter than mine, and her eyes were brown, like Auntie Isabel’s.

“I’m Aurora,” I said a little more shyly than she did. I didn’t want to be shy, but I was still afraid of everything.

“That’s a pretty name.” I smiled. She was nice. I could tell that right away. I would like it a lot if Ashley would be a friend like Auntie Maria and Auntie Iz are to Mommy.

“Yours is pretty, too, Ashley.”

“Are you going to read a book?” she asked. Her eyes were bright, and she had a really bright smile on her face.

I nodded. What was I supposed to do now? Ashley was the first girl to talk to me. She was the first one who actually wanted to play with me.

“Would you maybe want to color with me?” she asked me. I looked at her. She surprised me with that one. She wanted me to play with her.

I smiled again and said, “Yeah.”

“I brought a coloring book and some crayons from home,” she said. She was walking over to a group of desks. She opened her yellow backpack, and I smiled when I noticed that she was wearing a yellow dress too. That must be her favorite color.

She sat down and I sat in the desk next to hers. She pulled out a box of crayons and a book. “Here are the crayons,” she said as she put the crayons in front of me, “but be careful with the pink one. I think it is almost going to break.”

“Thanks,” I said. I know that I said that I wouldn’t use my powers, but she was being really nice. “Why do you think it is going to break?” I asked.

She crinkled her nose and tilted her head. “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Just a feelin’, I guess.”

She ripped out a page from her book and gave it to me. It had a lot of flowers and grass and there was a horse in it. I opened my eyes wide and smiled. How did she know I liked horses?

“A horse!” I shouted.

“I like horses,” she said as she pulled out a page that was a little like the one she gave me.

“Me too!” I grabbed the pink crayon, making sure to look like I was being careful, and concentrated on pushing the “crayon stuff” together so it wouldn’t crack or break. Now it wouldn’t be so easily broken.

“Aurora?” I heard Daddy say from behind me.

“Hi, Daddy! This is Ashley.”

“Hello,” Ashley said as she smiled at him.

“Hello, Ashley.” He turned to me and put my backpack and lunch box on the floor next to me. “Mommy and I are going to go now. Is that okay?” He said to me. It was kind of like he didn’t want me to want him and Mommy to go. But I was fine now. I had Ashley. She was nice.

“Okay,” I said. I gave him a hug and then started to color the flowers with the pink crayon.

“You’re sure?” he asked again.

“Yup,” I said as I concentrated on the paper.

“Okay. We’ll be back to pick you up after school.”

“Okay. Bye, Daddy. I like the color of your horse, Ashley,” I said as I looked over to her paper.

“Yeah?” she asked. “I like your flowers.”

“Thanks, but your horse is prettier.”

“Is not, but thanks.”

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ End Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

Okay. I thought that it would be cute if Aurora was suddenly adjusted to Kindergarten and Max was the one that wasn’t as ready to let her go as he thought. ::shrugs:: I don’t know if that was conveyed, but I gave it a shot. And Ashley was created to make it easier for Aurora to adjust. Maybe Max and Liz were watching Aurora as they had a brief conversation with Miss Baker.

And I also think that Ashley can be Aurora’s best friend, like how Maria is for Liz. It looks like we have the maid of honor now. Heehee! Now all we need to do is think of who the groom is going to be. And are we going to have it be a friendship that develops into more than friends, or a sort of “love at first sight” dealie?

[Elizabeth Evans]

Oooh, that was so cute! It's looking like Ashley may have some powers of her own . It's great that we have the maid of honor! Maybe I'll start the set-up for the memory where little Aurora meets her groom . I thought it would be fun if they at first don't like each other. Maybe the boy teases her or something because he likes her, but Aurora just thinks he's being mean, so there's a mini feud between Aurora and the boy, and the best friends get involved. What do you guys think? Oh, and I absolutely love the idea of Max suddenly having a hard time letting Aurora go. It's really adorable!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*Liz*

I watch as my little girl begins to play with her new best friend. They both go over to look at the books, and then decide to color. Looking up at Max, I smile at him, so happy that Aurora has found a best friend. I know they just met, but I have a feeling that I'll be seeing a lot of this new little girl over the years, for dinners and outings and sleepovers and parties. How wonderful for Aurora! And she seems to be adjusting so well now to Kindergarten! So Max and I decide to go.


After waving goodbye to Aurora and Ashley, Max looks wistfully at our little girl as she and her friend return to their coloring. I can feel how hard it suddenly is for him to leave Aurora, harder than he'd anticipated.

"She'll be just fine," I reassure Max with a smile.

"I know...it's just so hard to leave her."

"Yeah," I agree. "I'm really glad it's only for a few hours!" Max nods, and we walk together to the door. I can't resist one last look back at Aurora as we head out fo face the rest of our day. Max has to go to work at the law firm, while I''m heading over to the University to teach my Biology course. I'm a part time adjunct professor, which is perfect for this time in my life because I'm able to work and do what I love but also have the time and flexibility to be at home with my little girl. After class, Max and I will come back to pick her up from Kindergarten.

"See you in a little bit, Love," I give Max a kiss as I drop him off at work. I''m going to come back after class, during Max's lunch hour, so that we can pick Aurora up together and hear all about her first day of Kindergarten.

Several hours later, we arrive as promised to pick Aurora up. Aurora and Ashley are just finishing up putting a puzzle together and are eager to show us their work.

"Wow! Great job, girls!" I beam with pride. It's a big puzzle, and they'd put it together so quickly.

"Thanks, Mommy! And guess what? The teacher said that me and Ashley can leave it together and put it up on the table for awhile so that everyone can see it!"

"Yeah!" Ashley piped up. "I can't wait to show Mommy and Daddy when they get here!"

"That's wonderful, honey!" Max exclaimed at Aurora's news.

At that point, Ashley's parents arrived, and we all began to get to know each other. Bill and Mary Jenkins were very nice people, and we quickly became friends. They would fit in really well with our little group of family and friends! We made plans to take the girls to the park together on Saturday, and the girls excitedly talked about the things they wanted to do that day. Soon afterward, it was time to go because Max had to get back to work, and we wanted plenty of time in the car together to hear about Aurora's day.

"Ok, it's time to go, Aurora." Max told her gently.

"Aww...do I have to? Ashley and I are having so much fun together!" Aurora pouted, sad to have to leave.

"Yeah! Can Aurora come home with us for the afternoon?" Ashley pleaded.

"We can't today, sweetie," Mary told her daughter. "We're going over to Grammy and Grandpa's to have dinner with the family to celebrate your very first day of Kindergarten, remember?"

I smiled. "We're having the family over to do the same thing. We'll all have a great time tonight, and you girls can get together another day, OK?"


"OK," Aurora and Ashly agreed, a little reluctantly. But they both seemed happy with the fact that there would be lots of family fun for them both tonight.


"We'll see you tomorrow," I said to the Jenkins family. We all exchanged our goodbyes, and the girls gave each other a hug before we left.


"So, tell us all about your first day of Kindergarten!" Max asked as we got into the car....
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[isabelle]

Fantastic Banner, Mandy. Thanks again!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*MAX*

It had been so hard to leave little Aurora alone in kindergarten. Well, not alone. She’d already made a best friend. I’d had every intention of staying the day there if Aurora still wanted me to after we’d gotten inside. Instead, she and Ashley became instant friends and she barely even waved me good-bye.

Work at the office went very slowly that day, as I kept thinking of my little angel on her new adventure. Now at last, I was with her again, and we were on our way home.

“So, tell us all about your first day of Kindergarten,” I ask.

“Oh Daddy, it was so much fun!” She exclaims, bouncing in her booster seat. “Ashley and me built a tower out of blocks. And then Miss Robertson let me and Ashley hand out the crayons for coloring. And I showed her how I can write my name. And we learned a new song. Want me to sing it for you?”

“Of course, honey,” Liz tells her.

We sit for her private performance as we drive home, and I marvel at how big she’s gotten. And at how quickly she’s become friends with Ashley. I hope that she’ll be able to be friends for a long time. We’d been in Cedar Falls for more than two years, without any sign of the FBI or other-worldly threats. I could only hope that our luck would hold out and we’d be able to let Aurora continue grow up in safety, here, with all the friends that she was making.

We had a barbeque that night with everyone there except for Aurora’s grandparents and Isabel's family. Maria’s second little boy, Daniel, was just a baby and his older brother, Matthew was toddling around with Kyle's son, Justin, trying to find trouble, but always confounded by his watchful father. It was an amazing day.

~~~~~~~~

Smiling at the memory, I flip forward a few pages in the Journal to find a picture of Aurora’s fiancé, Kevin. He’s twelve years old and his tongue is sticking out as he holds two fingers up behind Aurora’s head. Ashley’s in the picture, too, although she isn’t particularly happy to have Kevin there, either.

“Remember the day we first met Kevin?” I ask Liz.

“At Hansen park,” Liz says. “The September when Aurora was starting 6th grade at Holmes Jr. High. She really didn’t like him, at first, did she?”

“Not a bit,” I laugh, ‘though I could hardly blame her. Kevin had been quite a terror.

.

[Sugarplum7]

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

“Hey, Dad? Can I go over to Ash’s after practice? We were gonna work on some homework, and Mrs. Jenkins said that I could have dinner there.”

I ask him as we walk from the car to the soccer field in the park. We were working on scrimmages today, and I knew that it was going to be much harder than the power practice sessions that Dad and Mom make me do all the time. Even though they are harder on me physically, I would take being too exhausted to move over being way too exhausted to think.

“Aurora!” I hear Ashley’s familiar voice call out to me in the open area of the park. I wave over to her, smiling. I am so glad that Ash wanted to try out for the soccer team. I don’t think I would have as much fun as I do, if she wasn’t on the team as well.

“Can I, Dad?” I ask him once more, turning back to where he and Mom are walking behind me. They walk slow.

“Sure,” he says, but then adds, “but you need to call us and we will pick you up.”

I sigh and roll my eyes. They are really too protective. I mean Ashley lives like three blocks away!

“We mean it, Aurora,” Mom says, deciding to jump in on the conversation to back Dad up. Do they enjoy teaming up on me?

“Okay. Okay. I’ll call.” I run off to where Ashley is stretching on the grass, but then the worst boy in the universe intercepts me no more than five steps away from my parents. And I mean that, too. He is the worst boy in the universe.

Kevin MacKenzie. He goes to my school now, and he is such a pain. It is like he goes out of his way to upset me and tease me.

“Hey, Aura! What are you doing here? You couldn’t play soccer if you tried!”

“My name is Aurora! Why don’t you just leave me alone Kevin?” I shout at him as I continue to walk over to where Ashley is. I decide that I will give ignoring him another shot, when I want nothing more than to trip him with my powers.

“I can’t leave you alone, Aura.” He stresses my “name” and laughs as he runs over to be right beside as he whispers, “It’s too much fun getting you mad.”

“Kevin!” I shout. “Leave me alone!”

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ End Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

I hope that this is a suitable introduction to the glimpse. For some reason I like the name teasing thing. I think it is that I can see it turning into more of a nickname/pet name/term of endearment when they finally get together, something that only he calls her.

[isabelle]

*MAX*

Liz and I settle into the grass near the side of the practice field, waiting to watch the practice. I've packed a little bag with orange slices and juice-boxes for Aurora and any of her friends who might want some. A little judicious use of power will keep everything nicely cool.

I look over at Liz and smile. She's brought along a stack of papers to review if she gets the chance, but it's just a small stack. Liz doesn't want to miss anything while our daughter is on the field, either. Liz notices my look and crinkles her nose at me. I laugh, and give her a little kiss.

"Max!" Liz says in mock horror. "Your daughter will be mortified."

"I'm sure she's not even looking," I say, and take a look around.

Aurora and Ashley are huddled together while a boy in the same uniform hovers around them. I don't recognise him, but the girls seem to know him. I'm amused, watching the two girls ignore the newcomer until I hear Aurora's voice raised, "Kevin, Leave me alone!"

"Excuse me, Liz." I say.

Liz shoots me a cautious look and says, "Go easy on him."

I move over to the three pre-teens. "Everything okay, Rory?" I ask. the offending boy slides away to the other side of the field as I approach, although he continues to watch us.

"Sure, Dad. Kevin is just a PEST!"

"What did he do?" I ask, innocently.

"Dad!" Aurora groans, rolling her eyes. "Everything! He's just impossible!"

I nod, knowing this is not a conversation that's going to give me any real information. It's just stuff that's not going to make a lot of sense to anyone not involved. I try a change of approach. "I haven't seen him around before."

"Oh, he's from Lincoln," Ashley tells me. "It's his first year at Holmes Junior High." She says this as if it's not her first year, too, along with Aurora. But the girls feel a certain proprietorship over the new school, since Helen Hansen Elementary is just down the street.

"I see," I respond. "If he's being a problem then -"

"Daddy, we gotta get started. I'll talk to you later," Aurora says, interupting breezily, as 'though there had never been any problem at all. She and Ashley bounce off to gather around the coach with the rest of the team, and I slide back next to Liz.

"Everything okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just some kid from Lincoln bothering them."

Liz frowns. "I hope he's not some kind of bully."

"We'll keep an eye on him," I promise.

[Sugarplum7]

I was hoping for a Liz part before I posted another Aurora part, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. So here goes.

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

When Dad came over to see if everything was all right, I didn’t know if I was happy about it or upset about it. It is nice to know that he was worried or whatever about how obnoxious Kevin was being to me, but I am a big girl. I can handle this. He is just being a stupid boy after all.

Coach had decided to change things around today, and we weren’t working just on scrimmages. He actually wanted us to play a game, and he split the team up. I knew that things were going to be bad when I was stuck on Kevin’s team. At least Ashley was with me. I think I would have been so angry it I was without her and with him.

When practice started, I thought that Kevin would at least treat me like a teammate. Did he? No! He was always in control of the ball, never really letting anyone else get control of the ball unless he absolutely needed to. His voice echoed in my head once more as I remembered those mean things he said about how I couldn’t play.

We were on a quick water break right now, and Kevin ran off to talk to some of the other guys on the team.

“Hey,” Ashley said, and waved her hand in front of me.

“Huh?” I asked, already upset with myself. I let myself get distracted when I shouldn’t have.

“Where were you just now?”

“Nowhere. What’s up?” I asked as I took a sip from my water bottle.

She looked at me with a “spill” expression on her face.

“It’s nothing really. I just don’t know why he doesn’t like me. He doesn’t even know me.”

“He isn’t bothering you is he?” Ash really was too perceptive sometimes. I really hated that quality in her at times like these.

“The constant teasing and ignoring me as a teammate? Why would that bother me?” I said wryly as I tossed the bottle back down onto the grass.

Ash dissolved into giggles as she draped her arm around my shoulder as we both walked back over to where the rest of the team was slowly headed. I smiled at her and knew that as much as a pain that Kevin was being, It wasn’t as big as I had made it out to. I was not about to give him the satisfaction of getting me to retaliate against him.

“So, want to show him was teamwork really is about?” I asked her.

“Do you even have to ask?” she said as she turned her head to look at me. “Let’s get him.”

This time, Ashley got Evie to pass her the ball, and together the two of us completely dominated everything! Kevin had just joined the team this season. Ashley and I had always practiced together, and after all the time we spent together, we really knew and anticipated each other. We hardly ever did this, but when we did, I have to admit, it was pretty cool.

As we neared the goal, I kicked the ball back to Ash to let her score the goal, but she kicked it back to me. I shook my head when I knew what she was doing. She wanted me to score it. To prove in some way that I wasn’t as useless as Kevin had once said.

With one strong kick the ball sailed through the air and past Gabe’s outstretched arms to hit the net. I smiled as I turned around and made my way to Ashley. I hooked my arm with hers as we made our way over to where Kevin was looking at us completely dumbfounded.

“Look at Kevin,” I said to her.

“I think he’s kinda cute like that,” Ashley said as she tilted her head to look at him in a different angle.

“What?” I shouted. “Only you would think that!”

“Come on. You know he is. At least you would if he wasn’t always being mean.”

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her. “Maybe, but a nice Kevin, a Kevin that isn’t mean to me? That is never going to happen.”

And sure enough, Kevin said something that wasn’t even close to being, “nice job, Aurora.”

“Hey! Maybe next time you could pass it to someone other than your friend there!” He then turned to walk over to where Coach was calling us all to.

Ugh! He was such a . . . He just made me want to scream!

Without any thought to the consequences I mentally shifted his foot just a little as he placed it to make it look like he tripped over his own feet. I just hoped Mom and Dad would not be too upset about that.

No matter the punishment, the look on his face as he fell to the ground was priceless.

Ash was laughing the second he started to fall to the ground, but I tried to smother the giggles that were threatening to surface. Kevin moved to a seated position on the grass, completely confused about what had happened. And as much as I wanted to say some hurtful comment to him about not being able to walk, I made my way over to help him up. He already hated me. The thing I should be doing was getting him to like me, or at least know me.

“You okay?” I asked him as I extended my hand to help him up.

He looked at me completely confused about my gesture.

“No one ever help you up before?” I ask.

Confusion disappeared in the blink of an eye as he ignored my hand to push himself up on his own.

“It isn’t bad to accept help once in a while,” I told him as he brushed grass off his shorts.

“I don’t need your help, Aura. I can do things on my own. I’m fine by myself,” he said. He didn’t say them angrily or in a mean way. It was just . . . a statement.

“It doesn’t have to be like that. You don’t have to be alone, you know?”

“Just leave me alone,” he said as he walked away.

I watched him confused about everything. Was that why he was mean? He didn’t want friends?

<center>~*~*~*~*~*~ End Aurora ~*~*~*~*~*~</center>

Well, I don’t know where that came from. I made it seem like he has no other friends. So I am thinking that his friends are either at the other junior high, or they moved. I think I’m getting influenced by music. Haha! I saw Kevin as a “Tough Little Boy”. I think that maybe he is so mean because he doesn’t want to make friends. He has a mindset that once he gets a friend, they will leave, so why make friends? Do you think it works?