Chapter Two - New Dawn, New Day

"Ready?" I turn slightly in my seat to look back at Aria.

She stares at her new school from the window before nodding. "Yeah."

"Don't be nervous okay? I'm sure you'll settle in nicely and make many friends." I shoot her a reassuring smile. "Come on, I'll walk you inside."

"Mum!" She whines as I get out of the car and open her door. "I'm big now!"

"I need to make sure everything's in order Ari." I chuckle as I grab her backpack and put it on her. "After today I'll just wait here until you go in...deal?"

"Yes, deal!" She slaps my hand instead of shaking it which makes me laugh.

We walk into Aria's new school fifteen minutes early and head into reception where I confirm all the paperwork and other details. She wanders around the main office aimlessly until someone else enters. I look back to see her staring curiously at the twins that walk in with their mother behind them.

Finishing up the paperwork I turn to them with a polite smile. "First day too huh?"

"Yes, thank god I didn't miss the alarm though!" The mother chuckles before we shake hands. "I'm Carly. This is my daughter, Belle, and my son, Conor."

"Lovely to meet you! I'm Charlotte or Charlie for short and this is my daughter, Aria." I grin as Aria walks over to us.

"Are we going to be in the same class?" Belle asks as she smiles shyly at Aria.

"Let me check...just a second." Carly murmurs before talking to the reception about their details.

As the three of them are the same age they are in the same grade as each other. I chuckle when they high-five and talk about the things they got for school. Me and Carly make sure they're in their classrooms before leaving.

I look back at Aria one last time and smile softly when her attention is on her new friends instead of me. It makes me remember her first day of school back in the UK. She was confused why I couldn't come into class with her then got mad with the teachers.

"So, did you guys move here recently?" I ask Carly as we make our way into the parking lot.

"From Washington yes. My husband's job involves a lot of travelling but there's a good chance that Dallas will be a permanent move for us." She explains with a relieved look.

"Oh, that's great! I'm sure constantly moving around must be difficult, especially for the children."

"Yeah they definitely hate it." She chuckles before we slow down as we reach our cars. "I'm guessing you moved too?"

"Yes from the UK so, just a little bit farther than you guys." I joke as I pull my shoulder bag higher. "Do you work in the city or...?"

"I'm an accountant and I got a job at BDK Group smack dab in the city center." She beams excitedly and I find myself remembering a navy building with that name on its sign.

"Oh, congrats! Is it your first day?"

"Yeah, I'm hoping it's not that full on because I haven't gotten used to sleeping in a new space yet." She shakes her head with a sheepish smile. "What about you?"

"I'm a studio arts lecturer in the University of Dallas. Today's my first day too and I feel you, adjusting has been quite difficult!"

"Well, let's hope we get through this then." She winks before checking her phone. "We should also get going now if we don't want to be late. How about we meet up for lunch or something sometime?"

"Of course, I'd love that! I'll give you my number." I recite it to her and she does the same with hers. "Let me know whenever you're free and we'll plan something."

"Sure, it was great meeting you Charlotte!" She gives me a side hug which I return before bidding goodbye.

I get into my car with much calmer nerves about starting work today. It only takes me twenty minutes to get to the university and find a parking space. Grabbing everything I need I head into the office to be greeted by a woman part of the human resource team that's going to help me get settled in.

The morning mostly consists of going over contracts, guidelines, practices, etc. By the time my first lecture is about to start at eleven o'clock the chaotic butterflies return and I turn into a nervous wreck. I enter the theatre and look up at the numerous students filling the seats with their friends. Logging into the system and my laptop I open the slides I had prepared. Taking a deep breath, I greet them with a smile and get started.

An hour later I finish feeling much calmer because of how laidback and easy going the group is. Thankfully, they liked how interactive my lecture was and cracked a few jokes here and there which was great.

"Alright so, our next class will be a practical in studio A615."

"I could help you find it Miss Charlotte?" One of my students, Benny, hollers from the back which makes me roll my eyes playfully.

"I think I'll be just fine, thank you though." I grin in response with a shake of my head.

A sad "aw," echoes in the room from everyone and he clutches his chest dramatically while his friends pretend to panic. Eventually we exit out of the theatre just in time for lunch and I make my way towards my office to check it out. It's a decent sized space with a great view of the campus which I love.

As I'm looking around a knock on the door makes me jump and turn. A man and a woman, seemingly in their late twenties, give me a friendly smile before stepping inside. The dark brown-haired man easily towers over me by a couple of inches with brown eyes hidden behind glasses. The petite woman next to him has straight black hair that grazes her shoulders with hazel eyes. She waves nervously and I find myself smiling.

"Hi, Charlotte right?" She asks as we shake hands and I nod. "I'm Anna and this is James. We work in the art department too and were wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch?"

"It's nice to meet you both and yes, I'd love too. I was just about to head down to the café." I chuckle shyly before grabbing my bag and following them out.

"Oh, this building has a really good one compared to the others." James grins widely as we take the lift. "How's your day going so far? Did you have many lectures?"

"Just one before lunch but I have three more after. The first group were really nice so I'm not as worried anymore." I reply and they laugh as we line up to get food.

"That's great! Poor James got lost trying to find the theatre when he started last year so at least that didn't happen to you." Anna smirks cheekily when he rolls his eyes with a playful huff.

"The hallways on the first level are a maze I swear! I'm surprised the students were on time considering they were first years too!"

I chuckle as they tell me about the courses they teach as well as their time spent here after we find a table. Anna has been teaching here for two years and bumped into James in this very café after his terrible first day. We spend the lunch hour chatting about where we're from and getting to know each other. It turns out that they live near me too and we plan to get together for dinner sometime soon.

Thankfully, they show me where my next lecture is before I bid them goodbye. I'm relieved that they have somewhat similar schedules to me so I'll be with at least one of them, if not both, during our breaks. Walking in I greet my next group with a smile knowing that they're going to hate the news of a project this early into the semester.

Five minutes later they are not at all amused.

***

"Hi grandma." I smile after pecking her cheek.

"Hi there my darling girls!" She hugs us before grabbing Aria's hand as we walk inside my house. "How were your first days?"

"Good! My teacher is nice and I made two new friends, Belle and Conor." Aria grins excitedly as she takes off her shoes by the door. "But miss Ray gave us homework on the first day!"

"How about I help you with it before dinner huh?" Grandma winks at me when I mouth a quick thank you to her as I take out the ingredients needed for our taco night.

Aria runs to get changed before coming back and starting on her homework. I work on dinner and change into comfy clothes myself in between runs to my bedroom. By the time we've finished my stomach is growling loudly and I can't wait to eat.

Both join me at the dinner table just as I've set down everything. Usually, Aria and I will eat dinner on the couch with a movie playing but grandma prefers everyone sitting down at the table for meals.

"These are delicious Charlie!" She compliments and I nod in agreement as I bite into mine. "So, tell me...how was your day? How are your students?"

"It was good yeah...I started out more of a nervous wreck but the more classes I had the more I eased up throughout the day." I explain before handing Aria a tissue to wipe the side of her mouth. "Two other lecturers from the same department asked me to have lunch with them which was so nice."

"That's good to hear! I was worried about you two all day wondering how you guys were doing."

I smile gently and reach out to squeeze her hand. "How was your day? Get up to anything exciting?"

"Oh, just the usual! Learning how to knit a blanket is pretty darn hard but I'll get it done one way or the other for you girls. A few letters arrived from my pen pals so I started writing back to them...might finish in time to post them on Wednesday." She shrugs before taking a sip of her water. "Broke one of George's plant pots – you know George, my neighbor, right? Yeah anyways he's demanding I pay for it but he's out of his mind if he thinks I'll fish a penny out of my pocket! I've told him many times to put those damn things on the ground instead of the wall!"

"Maybe he just wants to talk to you. What if he likes you?" Aria chimes in nonchalantly which makes grandma splutter in disbelief.

"Like me?! That balding, grumpy old bag of bones?! As if!" She exclaims with a wave of her hand. "I know he does it to annoy me that piece of shit!"

"Grandma!" I glare at her before gesturing to Aria.

She winces before her expression becomes serious. "Ten bucks and you never heard that."

"Grandma!"

"Make it twenty –"

"Aria!" My eyes widen before I give up when grandma slides her a twenty-dollar bill.

I shake my head at them when my grandma hushes me. We continue talking as we eat before they help me clean up. We decide to watch a movie before bed and settle ourselves on the couches. Aria surprisingly picks 'Harry Potter' since she hasn't watched it in ages but I don't mind. But when she turns to our grandmother with curiosity glimmering in her eyes I know we're not going to be paying any attention to the movie anymore.

"How did you and grandpa meet?"

"Ah! You haven't heard this story have you sweetheart?" She smiles fondly as Aria cuddles up to her. "Well...your grandpa, Dean, was born here in Dallas but his parents moved their family to England for a few years. We met in high school and oh I found him so incredibly annoying at the start. He would tease me and pull stupid pranks, not once expecting that I would get my revenge. You can imagine how shocked he was!"

I chuckle lightly as the memories of my grandfather come rushing back. He was always a very cheerful and mischievous man. I wish he were still here now that she's a little older because I bet they would have gotten along very well.

He only met Aria in person between the ages of six months and three years old. After that, his health deteriorated and both couldn't travel anymore. I didn't have enough to visit them in America either so she doesn't remember him much as a result.

"One day his prank went too far and he ruined my car. So, he offered to help fix it since his father was a mechanic. I went to check on the car after a week, stuck around and we ended up talking for hours." I notice her staring at her wedding ring with a content smile. "Then I found myself going back almost every day. We spent so much time there that even I learned a few things about fixing cars! Eventually we fell in love and got married after graduating school."

"Do you have a picture of him?" Aria asks and she nods before handing her the photo she always carries around in her purse. "Do you think he would like me if he was still here?"

She smiles and caresses her cheek lovingly. "He adored you my sweet girl. You have his personality and you remind me of him every time I see you."

Aria glances at me and I nod with a wink. A wide grin blooms on her lips as she looks back at the picture in her hands. I notice my grandmother becoming teary eyed and trying her best not to cry in front of Aria. I get up and pull her into a hug as she quickly wipes her eyes. It's only been two years so I can't imagine the heartache she carries around.

"I wish he was here...even though he was beginning to drive me a little crazy." She chuckles and I find myself laughing along with blurry eyes.

I comfort myself with the hope that he's watching over us.

Update schedule is: once a week whenever I find time!

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