Sarah's POV:

       I wanted Nathaniel to stay here.

      I   pouted a bit as he left.

     Ugh, where was he going?  I thought.

     I sure hoped he knew what he was doing.

    I  wanted Chole to break up with Jeff so she could get together with Nathaniel.

   I   sighed.   I  knew I was a child. I  also knew Miss Chole deserved better.

     I  watched as Nathaniel's car pulled away.

    I might as well make the most of it.

     "Will you play checkers, please?"

      I  thought at first he would say no. Imagine my surprise when he set up the board, then handed me the red pieces.

      I nodded my head when he said, "you go first."

     I  moved a piece. I watched closely as he moved the next piece.

    A few minutes later, I won the game!  I was enthusiastic as I never won anything else in my entire life.  I  recalled how even the pinball game was something I had yet to master.

     I dared not to hope that Chole would adopt me. No one wanted me.

     I was just an outcast.

  The children at the orphanage hated me, the workers there considered me a burden, and no one else cared about me.  Not until I met Chole and Nathaniel.

    I   could tell the mayor enjoyed my company.

   How long would it last?

     All the good things in my life always seemed to have a way of leaving before I got used to them.

    I  used to have a sister.

    I recalled she drowned.

   Then, my folks adopted a brother, but he died young from a tragic accident.

    I  remembered my mom and dad died soon after this.

    Yes, the good people always left me.

      Why?  Why could not they stick around for a change?

       I  wondered if I was defective.

      I made good grades.

      I was kind.

      Yet, was all of that enough?

      I  longed to be loved, but was afraid to lose it if I ever found it.

       I was one depressed child.

      I  would never admit it.

    No, I would try to hide behind this superficial mask so no one would know how I felt.

   Deep down, the sorrow overcame my happiness.

     Even now, I  was sure that all this would be gone by tomorrow.

   How pathetic was I?

     Maybe, it was true.

     I  was not meant to be alive.

     Perhaps, I was a mistake.

     I hugged my teddy bear.

     I refused to let it go.

     It was the last present my mother had given me before she passed away.

    Somehow, as long as I had it, I felt as if I could handle anything.

    I   held onto it for dear life, afraid that if I let go, somehow my memories of her would fade away as well.       

     Find out more in Chapter 9

     bye, bye little owlets!

    -Summer out!