That morning when she reached her lockers, her "friends" greeted her with warm smiles, instead of immense anxiety as she assumed her mother would have.

"OMG, Alexa, Julia is going to have a party this weekend!" one of her "friends" exclaimed. Alexa looked away from her locker, facing her "friend."

"Oh," was all she could manage to say. Her "friend" frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Alexa shook her head no. Though the pain in her expression was evident, it seemed that her "friend" had little care for her worries and joined in a conversation with the rest of the group - talking about who was hotter in the group 5 Seconds of Summer. Suddenly a crude thought popped into her mind. What if she merely walked away? Leaving those "friends" to talk about whatever they wished to talk about... A grin plastered itself onto her face. Quietly closing her locker, she slung her backpack onto her shoulder and walked into her science class. Josh was the only one who was in the class, seated in the front with the teacher ruffling through piles of paper. Gingerly, she took her seat in the back, the sound of the chair filling the room. Mrs. Opling quirked her head upward, looking for the source of the sound through her metal-rimmed glasses, and after a moment, her eyes laid upon Alexa. Alexa gulped.

"Ah - er - it is nice to see you as well, Ms. Johnson. Would you care to take a seat more towards the front of the room? I've been meaning to ask you that for quite some time, but you'd always leave class too quickly for me. Anyway, I'm sure Amelia won't mind," she said in a kind tone. Alexa froze in her seat, momentarily paralyzed.

"I, um - sure," she stuttered. Apparently, when Mrs. Opling meant up front, she meant for her to sit next to Joshua - probably to acquire some more of intelligence from him. Alexa slumped into the seat beside him, and placed her Vera Bradley backpack on the edge of her chair. As she faced the board, she could've sworn she had seen a hint of a smile on Joshua's lips. Then the herd of students rushed inside.

***

On the whole, the school day was fairly okay for once. Her "friends," it seemed, didn't mind her change of position, considering that they had only talked to her to ask if she could pick up the pencil they flung across the room like a lot of hooligans. During science, she was able to pay attention for once and write down a paper's worth of notes, and as she had neared the end of the page, she felt as if she could take the test right then and there. Though, of course, it could've just been because she had all the notes right in front of her. Alexa chuckled to herself as she slammed the door behind her, the sound of it echoing throughout the large house. The familiar wooden floors stretched out before her with a glass chandelier hung from the ceiling, taking in all of the sunlight that poured into the room. The grand staircase stretched up from the wooden floor and swirled up to the top with her mother descending it at a rapid pace. Immediately, Alexa's fury returned from the two days before. And even though she endured much worse than a mere scolding from her mother, she couldn't help but feel that her life was so unfair. She shrugged off her backpack and kicked harshly, so it would slide its way beside the staircase, and she stormed off into the living room even though she hadn't seen her in the past two days. But her mother didn't know about it, anyway - it seemed Frenchmen had also did some voodoo with her mind.

"Wait! Alexa, wait!" her mother yelled. She halted, almost to the living room.

"What? Are you going to ground me? Are you going to yell at me-"

"I'm sorry that I haven't been the best mother after... but I want a fresh start," her mother yelled at the foot of the stairs. Her red hair was pulled up into a neat bun and her brown eyes were on Alexa, hard but assuring.

"What do you mean?" Alexa asked, her voice now ridded of anger. Her mother took a steady breath.

"I mean I wish to be more like a mother. You sneaking off without my knowing is most unacceptable! But after I grounded you, I realised that most of the blame was on my behalf. If I really was a good mother as I assumed I was, I would keep a closer eye on you. And we never spend any time with each other. I want to change that. And I will start by..." She turned, picking up a large a box that Alexa hadn't noticed before. Now facing Alexa, she saw it was a large box wrapped in shiny pink wrapping paper... with no lid. As she was about to inquire as to why her present would be opened prior to presenting it, a small, white, fluffy head peeped out. Its black eyes immediately zeroed in on Alexa, and the fluffy creature began barking happily. Her mother set down the box on its side and the puppy rushed up into Alexa's arms, trying to lick her face. Her heart instantly melted, and she felt hot tears pouring from her eyes. And in a long time, they weren't tears of sorrow. They were tears of joy.

"Oh, Mum! He's absolutely precious!" she exclaimed, trying to keep the wriggling bundle of white fur contained in her arms.

"She, actually. She's a bichon frisé, and she's all yours," her mother said, smiling looking at the puppy, whom had taken a keen interest in the box, and into it. Laughing, she held the bichon frisé closer to her chest.

"Well, if you're a she, I'll just have to name you after a courageous friend of mine - Louise," she said, cooing at Louise.

"Louise? I'm not sure I remember your telling me of anyone of that name," her mother replied.

"Oh, she's just someone I met recently," she said quickly. "Someone who never gave up on faith."