The drive to Cole and Tara's house, well my house, seemed to go a lot faster this time around. Oh, good god, that's weird. Calling anything mine is going to be a learning experience, I thought to myself. It was going to take a good, long while to get used to all of the new changes that were happening in my life.

On the drive, Cole and Tara had brought up my schooling, deciding to let me stay home until Wednesday. They wanted me to have some time to settle in, plus they needed to arrange for my transfer from the public county school to the private school in Mooncrest. I still had two years of high school left. Because of my father dying and me getting thrown into the system, I ended up being a year behind. Honestly, the idea of starting a new school terrified me. I wasn't that great with people, I had a hard time blending in and making friends. Being an orphan only ever divided me further from my peers in school.

"I won't lie. I'm nervous about going to a new school," I murmured softly.

"Aww, sweetie. It'll be ok," Tara said.

"I hope so," I muttered as I looked out the window.

"Well, sweetpea, the kids at Mooncrest are all very nice. I know most, if not all of them and their families, so I'm sure they'll be welcoming and you'll make friends in no time at all," Cole said, meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror, as he gave me the reassurance and confidence I needed to go into the unknown.

A few minutes later, the familiar driveway came into view and the house peeked out from over the treetops again. Cole parked the car, popped the trunk and grabbed my bags before I had even gotten out of the car. I stepped up to Cole as Tara came around the car and stood by Cole's side.

"Since we are talking about schooling, how would you feel about us putting you into a driver's ed course? That way you can get your license," Cole offered as Tara smiled brightly at me, both awaiting my answer.

"Wait, really?" I exclaimed. I've wanted to get my license since I turned sixteen, but driving school was too expensive as an orphan. Tara and Cole nodded at me.

"Oh, my god. That would be amazing! How could I ever thank you?" I squealed out as I wrapped my arms around them both tightly, I was surprised that I didn't suffocate them. I was so grateful for my new parents. They have been so amazing, more than words could ever express.

"Thank us by doing your best. That's all we will ever ask of you," Tara said softly, my arms still wrapped around their necks.

I slowly pulled away from the death grip I had trapped Cole and Tara in and smiled softly at them, which they returned with a big smile of their own. I looked down to my bags in Cole's hands and tried to grab them, but Cole only tightened his grip and pulled them out of my reach.

"I'll take care of your bags, sweetpea," Cole said.

"Well, at least give me the small one," I said as I held out my hand expectantly. Cole just smirked and shook his head.

I couldn't help but pout and little and cross my arms over my chest. Tara giggled at my childish behavior and Cole barked out a laugh. I couldn't keep a straight face as we all walked up to the front of the house and I joined in on the laughter. As Tara opened the door, Cole walked in and ran upstairs, presumably to drop my bags off in my room. Tara grabbed my hand and pulled me into the lounge, sitting me down on the couch before sitting on a chair across from me.

"Do you like shopping?" Tara asked as she tilted her head to the side. I shrugged in response.

"I mean, shopping once in a while is fun, but it's not a big hobby for me or anything. I do like antique stores and such though. Or discount stores," I rambled a little about the type of shopping I did whenever I actually had the money to do it.

"Well, how about we go on a little shopping spree and then we can all go out for dinner?" Tara asked, hope glittering in her eyes. I chuckled at her adorable demeanor.

"Sounds great, Tara," I smiled. Tara's eyes dropped ever so slightly and her grin faltered for a second before resuming its original form.

"I know it's probably too soon, but feel free to call me and Cole mom and dad. Whenever it's comfortable for you of course," Tara softly said the first part then rushed out the second part while holding out her hands, as if she was trying not to offend me.

"I'm sure I'll get to that point soon," I said with a small smile, which seemed to satisfy Tara who nodded at me. Cole came back downstairs and plopped down next to me on the couch.

"Alrighty, girls. What are we doing today? Maybe ordering a pizza and watching movies?" Cole offered.

"Nah, babe. Shopping spree then dinner at... where did you wanna go, Stella?" Tara's voice rang out playfully as Cole dramatically widened his eyes and sighed.

"Maybe just Olive Garden? I haven't been to one in a while," I suggested softly, hoping that the restaurant I chose wouldn't warrant any negativity.

"Ooooh, pasta sounds good," Cole and Tara managed to say at the exact same time. We all erupted in laughter again.

The rest of the day passed with shopping and dinner, Tara and I dragging Cole all over the mall, and into nearly every single store. Cole and Tara had also made a point to stop into the closest electronics store to buy me a new phone, seeing as I didn't have one. By the time we had gotten home, I had a brand new wardrobe, plenty of new shirts, dresses, skirts, jeans, and shorts to last me years. Although, the amount of clothes that Cole and Tara had bought for me paled in comparison to the amount of shoes. I had a new pair of heels and flats in every color of the rainbow, several new pairs of tennis shoes and sneakers and some new boots, knee length and ankle length. I tried to dissuade them from buying me so much stuff, I didn't really need it. I was used to only making due with a few things but Cole and Tara insisted. I made sure to at least pick the less expensive options if they were going to go all out like that for me.

Cole and Tara helped me lug up my seemingly endless bags to my room. It was only 7:00 p.m. but I was exhausted and wanted to get all of my stuff put away before bed. I bid Cole and Tara goodnight, hugging them each tightly and giving them each a kiss on the cheek. I sagged against my door when I was finally alone, letting out a long, loud sigh. I haven't spent that much time out in public and around people in forever, so I was exhausted. I got to work, ripping the tags off of my new clothes and hanging them up in the closet or folding them neatly and putting them in the dresser. The back of my closet had a huge shelf area for shoes so my very impressive amount of shoes got displayed properly and proudly in the back.

I finally finished unpacking everything at about nine. I flopped on my bed, messing up the perfectly made sheets and fiddled with my phone. It was a fancy smartphone, something I definitely wasn't used to. At most, the other kids at the orphanage only had flip phones or those weird little slide phones with the hidden keyboard. I finally got my phone set up and discovered social media for myself for the first time. Of course I knew what social media was, but I could never really have my own accounts. I now had a Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, the whole shebang. I also discovered a ton of free games that I downloaded and had fun figuring out. After a few more minutes playing on my phone, exhaustion was warning me that sleep was coming soon, whether I wanted it too or not. As I put my phone on the charger and crawled under the blankets, I decided to go visit the kids at the orphanage the next day. I know it had only been a day, but I already missed everyone, especially Ms. Jean and Jackson.