One Year Later...

A woman pulled her caramel hair into a ponytail as she prepared some breakfast. The woman, named Dakota, placed the scrambled eggs aside on a plate next to the glasses of fruit punch and orange juice.

The sound of footsteps got Dakota’s attention as she turned to find Tommy walking down the stairs. He put on a midnight blue shirt over his head, got it through, and shook his curly brown hair.

“Oh, hey, Tommy. I was just about to call you down,” Dakota said with a smile.

“Yeah, I know, I had a feeling you would do that...” Tommy replied, seating himself at the table.

The two stayed silent as they had their meals. Dakota stared at the bottom of her drink and sighed, trying to hide her sorrow. She knew how painful it’d be that she wouldn’t see her nephew for a whole week. Dakota broke the awkward silence and gave him a small smile.

“The field trip is today, right? I hope you have a fun time there.”

“I will. Don’t worry; I’ll be home before you know it.” Tommy grinned at her as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, leaving behind grease stains smeared across.

He didn't know why his aunt was worried. He set his alarm ahead of time so he could get to the buses on time. Tommy took one last sip from his punch, grabbed his dark blue backpack, and approached the door.

“Hey, you sure you don’t want me to take you to school?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Tommy opened the door and saw that it drizzled outside. He closed the door and turned to his aunt. “On second thought, could you take me?”

“Certainly!”

.-.-.-.

Tommy looked out of the window to the car as he sat in the passenger seat. Dakota activated wipers to get a more unobstructed view of the path ahead of her. Tommy stared at the rain pitter-pattering against the windows and sighed. Dakota took notice and tried to brighten up the mood with some music on the radio. However, nothing good came on today, so she turned the radio off and started another conversation.

“Are you worried that we’ll be getting there late because of this weather?” She asked without looking away from the front view of the road.

“A little...” Tommy replied with a light shrug.

“We’ll get there on time; don’t worry about it.”

“I sure hope so.”

“So, how many days will you be gone for again?” Dakota asked in a calm tone.

“Um, three to five days, I think.” Tommy guessed, counting it with his fingers. “Why do you ask?”

“I see. I just wanted to know so I can count down the days.”

“Ok, then.”

Dakota gripped the steering wheel and glanced away, hoping her nephew wouldn't notice.

“I’ll miss you.”

“Huh? Where did that come from?” Tommy asked, turning to face her.

“Oh, nothing!”

.-.-.-.

After a while, the two made it to the school grounds; other people surrounded buses nearby.

“Ah, it looks like we’re here,” Dakota said.

“All right!” Tommy cheered as he took the seat belt out from under him, grabbed his backpack, and exited out of the car. He looked back at his aunt and waved. “Bye, Aunt Dakota!”

Dakota waved back. “Goodbye, please be careful and stay out of trouble, all right?”

“I will; I will.” He replied with a smile. “I’ll miss you too.”

As the car drove off, he looked over with a beaming smile. A force hit Tommy in the back. He quickly turned to see a black-haired boy standing there with a smug grin on his face.

“Hey, Tommy, nice to see you made it on time!” The boy exclaimed, adjusting his glasses.

“Shut it, Antonio,” Tommy muttered under his breath.

“Shall we head to the school bus before it takes off without us?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,”

“What a shame; I would do just that.” Antonio joked.

The two waited in a line as a counselor that wore a yellow-green hat guided and assigned the students to seats and buses. Tommy and Antonio found some places near the back to sit down.

“Man, I can’t wait until we get to Aylont!” Antonio practically hopped up and down from his seat.

“Me too,” Tommy added.