The car ride passed in no time, and as the social worker climbed the winding gravel road to the house on a steep hill, MJ and Nayely became noticeably antsy.

"Okay, we're here." Reaching her arm behind the passenger seat, the social worker watched as a look of confusion and dread came over their faces. There was no easy way to put the news, but the social worker knew she would have to tell them.

"Remember how I said you would get to stay with a lot of other kids in a new home? This is it. This is your new home." Though neither child came from a good home, the simple thought of living somewhere without their mothers terrified them. For the first time, both children quickly turned their eyes to the social worker with a plead to take them back to the hospital jumping out.

Moving quickly, the social worker gathered their bags and slid the backdoor open. Picking each child up, she pulled them from the vehicle as they tensed in resistance. When their feet touched the ground, they flinched as if it were the first time they had ever stood on their own. Scrambling for each other, MJ and Nayely linked arms. The social worker stood behind them and guided them towards the front door where three women stood waiting for them.

"Welcome to The Rose House." The stout woman in the middle greeted them softly. The large smile that rested on her chubby red face told of her jovial attitude, but after years of taking in broken children, she knew that there was no need to overwhelm them to distract them from whatever it was they were leaving behind.

Nayely only briefly took her eyes from the ground as she looked around. She saw pretty flowers planted beneath the steps of the house-flowers her mother would have loved to see. Clenching her eyes together, she felt a slight pain at the back of her head as she imagined what her mother's face would have looked like if she were to smell the fresh flowers in the air.

Stumbling as she shook herself free of the thought, Nayely could feel MJ's arm tighten around her own. Before she knew it, MJ was turning them around, jogging towards the van as the women stood stunned, but not surprised.

"Nayely! MJ!" The social worker called after them as she followed closely behind. When they approached the van, MJ tried desperately to open the handle. Running around the vehicle, MJ tried to escape the social worker's hands as she grasped after them. In any other situation, it would be a comical sight to see the woman trip over her skirt as the children ran circles around her.

It was the look of pure terror on their faces that made this a sad scene to witness. Moving slowly and with intent, the other women stood in place as they attempted to keep the children from running.

"It's okay! It's okay. Let's give them a minute to calm down. We shouldn't overwhelm them." One of the women instructed as she pointed to the others to form a large but undetectable circle around the children, giving them their space.

Nayely pulled MJ closer as they backed into the hot metal of the van. Nayely's eyes narrowed at the woman who spoke, immediately untrusting of her. Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, the woman crouched into a squat, as she fell into her role of a child psychiatrist. She had read over the case file for both MJ and Nayely and so she tried her best to approach them in a calm manner to best meet their delicate state.

"Don't worry. We don't have to rush this, we can take our time. Okay?" With no response, the woman crossed her arms over her knees. "My name is Doctor Ro and I'm really happy to meet you both."

"I know you're in a new place and probably have a lot of questions today, don't you?" Doctor Ro spoke in a friendly tone that could not stir up any interest from the children in what she had to say.

Doctor Ro didn't bother to look at her watch as the group stood in silence, knowing that they had to have been outside for at least 15 minutes with no words exchanged between them. She attempted to make small talk but was unsuccessful in getting a reaction from them. Doctor Ro had slowly gotten closer and closer to the pair who were not ignorant to what she was trying to do. As she was only a few feet away, Doctor Ro pointed to the ground, drawing their eyes to the dirt as she drew a small picture filled with stick figures. Some were big, and some were small, but they all fit to make the picture whole.

"Do you want to know a little secret?" Glancing from beneath her bangs, Doctor Ro continued as the children stood still. "Every day isn't going to be a good day. But the important thing is that you can find something good in each day."

"If you come with us today, we'll be able to discover what good things are in store for us, don't you think?"

Instead of running away, MJ and Nayely allowed themselves to be guided by the women as they finally bounded the stairs into the home. With a sigh of relief, the women thought that they had made it over the hurdle.

Stepping inside, MJ and Nayely showed little interest in the children who peeked around walls and planted their faces against the large windows of their play area as they watched the newcomers pass them by.

There was a familiar feeling being inside the house as dozens of children came from nowhere. It had almost felt like walking down the walls of their elementary school. A group of boys came flying past them, one bumping into MJ and sending him tumbling to the ground with Nayely. MJ looked over his shoulder with his brows slightly furrowed as he stared down the boys who pointed and laughed at them. Doctor Ro moved to Nayely's side, lifting her to her feet as she examined her, to make sure that her healing wound had not been disturbed. Shaking Doctor Ro's hands away, Nayely glared at the boys, delivering a fiery look that brought their laughter to an end.

"Boys! This is unacceptable! I need you to apologize this instant!" The stout woman shouted sternly as the boys flinched from her high-pitched voice.

"Sorry Ms. Garner." They said halfheartedly. Before she could correct them, they had taken off without giving a proper apology to those they had hurt. A soft fit of giggles followed behind them.

"Children, I am so sorry for their behavior. I'll make sure they apologize to you later; do you hear me?" Ms. Garner leaned her palms against her knees as she bent forward. The irritated looks on their faces hadn't disappeared, and as the pair stared down Doctor Ro, it felt as though they scoffed at her earlier declaration without uttering a word.

"There's still a lot of time left in the day to find the good, don't forget that." Doctor Ro smiled as she led the children into an empty room. The social worker followed behind closely, handing off MJ and Nayely's belongings to the women who had accompanied Ms. Garner. The younger woman with a single streak of gray in her hair nodded her head and whispered to the social worker as she moved to place the children's belongings in the proper place.

Clasping her hands together, the social worker placed a comforting smile on her face as she took MJ by the shoulders. Feeling the separation coming, Nayely and MJ gripped each other as tightly as possible.

"There's no need to worry, we're just going to have a chat together, okay?" Doctor Ro attempted to reassure them as she knelt before the children.

They had come to a stop in a hallway lit by the sun outside. Paintings and drawings decorated the corkboards that lined the walls. MJ's chest began to rise and fall quickly as he peered into the two rooms that were side by side. Inside he could see a plastic table set with random toys scattered throughout the room. He recognized the set up immediately.

There had been an occasion or two when he was temporarily separated from his mother where he had to sit in a room just like that as nosy adults asked him questions that he didn't have the answer to.

Or rather... that he declined to share.

His mother had told him what to say in moments like that to make sure he wasn't taken away.

"Just remember what we practiced. If you say the wrong thing, they'll take you away from me for a very long time and that will make mommy sad. You don't want mommy to be sad, do you MJ?"

Those words wrapped around his brain, tightening their hold as no matter how many times he followed her instructions, the one thing she promised would never happen had already passed.

She was gone.

And he was here.

Looking over to the one friend he had managed to connect with, MJ tightened his hold on her hand. He was here with Nayely and just the thought of someone taking her away from him made his stomach turn into one big knot.

Nayely's brown eyes looked to MJ in confusion, unsure of what this all meant. Biting his bottom lip, MJ needed to think quickly. Cupping his hand into her curly hair, he whispered into her ear leaving all the adults wondering what was being said. Curious, they watched as Nayely nodded her head once, as she and MJ spoke through a single glance before finally letting their hands fall away from each other.

As MJ and Nayely were led to their respective rooms, one small head peeped around the corner of a wall from the opposite end of the hall as he watched the two new children take their first steps into the rooms dubbed the safe place.

It had been 30 minutes since Doctor Ro and MJ had entered their respective room. She had invited him to sit on the multi colored carpet in hopes of making the child more comfortable. From his file, she knew this wasn't his first time speaking with a child specialist as was evident by the way he simply went through the motions of the interview process. He nodded when necessary, picked up a toy car and revved it across the floor for good measure.

Doctor Ro could see in his eyes that he was simply waiting for her to give up and bring the session to an end as he expected. She was always one of the first points of contact for children newly admitted to the facility. Her role was to serve as the person to ease their transition from the lives they had been taken from. She had met with and evaluated children from all backgrounds which meant she had seen every imaginable version of a broken child. Some cried for the entirety of their sessions, while others raged with the emotions they couldn't understand by throwing tantrums. However, with MJ, she had never met a child who looked at her so knowingly. It was as if he had her all figured out before she was even able to break ground with him.

For the first time in 10 years, Doctor Ro felt as though she had lost.

Reaching beside her, Doctor Ro slid a box of building blocks in between her and MJ who sat nicely with his legs crossed. MJ's eyes never wandered to the rattling sound of her pouring some of the toys out.

"I must admit MJ, as someone who loves to talk, you have got me stumped today. I haven't been able to get one word out of you." She smiled. Sorting through the varying sizes, Doctor Ro began to line the blocks up.

"But now! I think I have an idea on how we can become friends. Would you like to know what that is?" Knowing she wouldn't get a response, Doctor Ro lifted a single block between her fingers and showed it to MJ. "Building blocks! These are going to be key to us getting to know each other more." Placing the block down, Doctor Ro tapped it as she scooted it closer to the young boy. With only a slight glance, he shifted in his seat.

"Every relationship needs a foundation. A foundation is what provides support so that what your building can become big and strong. It also helps it to last for a long, long time."

"Let's start by giving a few facts about each other so that the first layer we build together is that of familiarity. This will help us to get to know each other a little more." Tilting her head to the ceiling in a thoughtful manner, Doctor Ro clapped her hands together as her face lit up.

"My first building block is I never learned how to ride a bike. When I was 7, my cousin let me ride on her handle bars one day after school. There was this big hill by our house that seemed like a mountain back then. I remember standing by watching all the older kids fly down the hill screaming and laughing because of how fast they could go on their bikes. Not me though. I was absolutely terrified of doing it. I was always too afraid of what would happen once the rush was over. Except this day, my cousin told me once I went down that hill, I'd never be afraid of it again." Pausing, Doctor Ro looked to see that while he showed little interest, MJ did have his eyes trained on her awaiting the rest of the story. "She promised it would be fun, and so I trusted her. I hopped onto the handle bars and held on tightly as we began to drive down the street. She kept telling me to get ready as we picked up speed. Then, as soon as we got to the top of the hill and I looked down to see all of the other kids cheering us on, I was so excited I actually began to smile instead of clench my teeth from being afraid. When the wheels started to roll down the hill, it felt like I was on a ride at the county fair. I got so excited that I put my hands in the air, waving them as we laughed. But then, there was a pothole in the road that we hadn't noticed until the moment the bike dipped into it. In the blink of an eye, I went flying into the air. I had no idea what was going on, at first I felt like the kid from ET." She smiled.

"But then when I landed somewhere in a neighbor's yard with scrapes on my hands, knees, and arms, I cried like a big baby. I was so loud that my mom could hear me from the house and she came rushing out to help me. She scooped me up and took me home to clean me up. I cried all day long despite how many kisses and hugs she gave me. My mom told me that everything would be alright and that one day I can try again. I told her that would be impossible! How could I ever get back on a bike after what happened? I'd never be able to forget how much it had hurt and I told her I'll never touch a bike again in my life." Doctor Ro's hands helped to animate her story leaving them suspended in the air as she looked to MJ. Bringing them to her lap, she sighed a sound of relief. "I've always been too embarrassed to tell anyone, so I hope you can keep this between you and me."

"Do you know what I know now?" MJ slowly shook his head, acknowledging that while he had listened to her story, he didn't have an answer for her.

"I experienced something so scary, so painful that it left me afraid to ever try again. Yes, I was hurt. Yes, it had happened so suddenly. But you know what else? I got to get back up and walk away from. Though it required some effort to do so, I got to walk away. If only I had enough courage to not just move forward, but conquer that fear long ago, so that now as a grown up I could proudly ride a bike all on my own. Sometimes things happen to us MJ, that we wish hadn't. Those things can be simple, and they can be complicated. Big and small. Easy and hard. Though they may be different, there is one thing that remains the same despite what you've experienced: you must learn to make it through them. And that's what I'm here for, MJ. I'm going to help you make it through this scary, unfamiliar, painful experience in the best way I know how. We're going to get through this so that you can stand up one day and tell the world that you survived."

MJ reached out to the building block, holding in his hand as he inspected it. Looking through his lashes, he squeezed the hard plastic until his knuckles turned white. Pursing his lips at the same time, he allowed for a brief display of emotion to cross his face. In the moment that Doctor Ro was able to catch the look of pain, it was gone. Just then, the sound of a timer began to ring from the other side of the room. Taking a deep breath, MJ looked to Doctor Ro, and or the first and only time during that session, he spoke.

"Can I be with Nayely now?"

When they had emerged from the room, it was to find Nayely being escorted from the rest room by the social worker who gave Doctor Ro an exasperated look.

She had no luck with the child either.

When the two children saw each other, they quickly left their guides. Nayely moved the slowest of the two as her small body was still recovering from its ordeal, but she moved just as eagerly as MJ who's feet beat against the tiled floor quickly. Pulling her towards him, he looked at the social worker and Doctor Ro skeptically, as if he needed to shield Nayely from them. When the children looked at each other, they shared a silent stare before MJ gave a slight smile as Nayely nodded, happy from whatever had been conveyed.

Holding the paper folder to her chest, Doctor Ro stared in awe of the way the children had taken to one another. "How did they get to be so close?" She quietly asked the social worker. Shrugging her shoulder with just as much confusion, the woman recounted the time the two had spent together in the same hospital room, and how their sudden friendship had taken everyone there by surprise as well.

"I figure that these two must have needed each other. They've been stuck together like glue as if they've never been apart." The social worker said with wide eyes.

Doctor Ro's intuition told her that there was something more behind their bond than they could see. Hopefully, one day she would be able to peel back the layers of the story surrounding MJ and Nayely.

December 19, 1995

Nayely waited at the end of the gravel driveway for the sounds of the bus to appear down the road. In her hands she gripped a soft cookie that she had managed to save at lunchtime though it was against the rules. After nearly two months of recovery, she had gotten used to the daily routine of waiting for MJ to return from school. To keep up with some sense of normalcy, he was placed into a new elementary school not too long after they had arrived.

It had been torturing to the children at the beginning, as Nayely had not been cleared to return just yet. Not too long ago, she was finally able to remove the bandages that revealed the still pink sinewy wound that led from her neck and down to her chest. As it was winter, she didn't have to worry about anyone seeing it as she could wear as many turtle necks and scarves as she wanted. Once, she had caught a glimpse of the wound while changing which had led to Ms. Garner finding her soiled and unconscious on the ground.

Since then, careful precautions had been taken to hide the evidence of a jagged memory that ripped through her brain at times it shouldn't. Nights were the worst for her. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind traveled to an area where she would forget the comfort of MJ's friendship and his ever waiting hand and smile that he always gave when they were together. When she would slip back into those memories, she was all alone.

The squealing of the bus's breaks could be heard from around the corner. Standing to her feet, Nayely tucked the cookie wrapped in a paper towel into the pocket of her sweater as she pumped her arms, running to where MJ stepped off the bus. The Rose House was the final stop on the route, and as the other kids leapt with joy for the freedom of Christmas Break, MJ walked at a steady pace as Nayely rushed forward.

"I've got something for you." Her soft voice didn't rise above a whisper. Nayely had gone through therapy to ease her way back into using her voice. Her voice lied within her on the cusp of coming back to its full potential, but as the sounds that left scared her and left her confused, Nayely tended to not use the unrecognizable sound. Her comfort zone lied within the delicate whispers that only MJ had no trouble understanding.

Reaching into her pocket, Nayely was stopped by MJ as he shook his head with a small smile. "I've got something for you too. We have to wait until Christmas Eve before we can open it." Nayely hesitated. All she had was a cookie for MJ, while he patted the outline of a box within his book bag. Tilting her head down, she wondered if the cookie's softness would last for that long.

"Nayely! MJ!" Looking up the slight hill, the children could see Ms. Garner waiting for them to join everyone else as they had disappeared into the home. Trudging forward, they followed her voice.

"Hey look! It's Nayely on TV!" The children of the Rose House sat on the floor of the entertainment room as The Twelve Days of Christmas played from the new VCR. As Mickey and Minnie Mouse danced across the screen, the children exploded in laughter. MJ and Nayely had a special tormentor who had set his sights on the pair the first day the entered the house. At 9 years old, Mike was one of the oldest children there and was notorious for harassing anyone he could.

"Squeak, squeak!" The older boy bared his teeth as he crawled towards Nayely who cowered away. Her heart began to beat fast against her chest as another round of his bullying was underway. It didn't help that the laughter of the children egged him onto no end. MJ, who laid on his stomach watching as the words to the Christmas songs bounced along, rose immediately as Mike's teasing forced Nayely to her feet.

"Stop it!" He yelled. Pushing the older boy away, MJ scowled as he looked over his shoulder to see Nayely fleeing the room. What he didn't see was the glare Mike gave him as he charged towards MJ. MJ hadn't even realized that his push was strong enough to send the boy tumbling backwards, bruising his pride. MJ was much smaller than him and he couldn't stand looking weak in front of the others.

"I'm going to kill you, punk!" Mike growled as he tackled MJ to the ground. With his weight, Mike was able to pin MJ down as he fought against the barrage of punches being delivered to his face. Some children screamed as they scattered away while those who was a part of Mike's posse cheered him on. Unable to stop him, MJ covered his face with his arms the best he could, despite the stinging pain that traveled through his face.

Nayely had been in the hallway when she heard the commotion behind her. Looking around, she saw that Ms. Garner was nowhere to be found. Turning back on her heels, Nayely raced to the door of the entertainment room and watched in horror as her friend took a beating. Her knees shook as she watched the smile that was on Mike's face as he wouldn't let up. A slight ringing noise sounded throughout her ears as her feet moved on their own. Taking off, Nayely tackled the boy down to the ground. Her hands moved furiously as she scratched at any part of his body that she could reach.

"She's crazy! She's crazy! Get her off of me!"  Mike yelped as Nayely left what would become welts in her wake. Nayely tumbled over Mike, grappling him into submission as she had learned in her Tae Kwon Do classes. When one of the older boys wrapped his arms around her waist to toss her, he was stopped by a boy who was not much older than MJ and Nayely. He had remained silent throughout most of the ordeal, not wanting to upset Mike who had just accepted him into their small group.

"Just stop, or we'll get in trouble!" He said as he yanked Nayely from the other boy's grip. Mike rolled on the ground as he held his face, pulling away a hand with blood dotting his palm. When Mike saw the bright red smear, he immediately burst into tears. All of the other kids stood in awe as they witnessed the unimaginable.

Nayely headbutted the boy who had come to her defense, busting his lip and forcing him to let her go. Everything had happened so quickly, yet so much damaged had been caused. Going to MJ's side, Nayely looked upon his red face with tears in her eyes.

"Get up..." She pleaded as he groaned from the pain. The boy's eye was already showing signs of swelling, making it difficult for him to open it fully. Though he was disoriented, MJ had been able to watch as Nayely exploded like a fire cracker. With a small smile, he winced as he sat up to wipe the tears away from her cheeks.

Just then, hurried feet could be heard entering the room as Ms. Garner emerged from her impromptu bathroom break. She thought that she could sneak for just a couple of minutes as the children were immersed into the movie, but she had been wrong.

When she observed the scene before her, she couldn't believe what she saw.

"What on Earth is going on here?!"

December 24, 1995

Nayely sat beneath the covers of her bed as silence fell around her. The past few days had been lonesome as she was punished for her part in the kiddie brawl that had taken place not too long ago. Her time had been spent writing a promise to never hurt anyone again over and over. She thought that her hand would fall off after the repetitions she was forced to complete. Needless to say, any urge to fight had definitely been curbed in both her and Mike who stuck to glaring at her whenever they crossed paths. He didn't say one word to the small girl as he had flashbacks of the way she handled him with ease.

Mike was the last person on her mind.

After the fight, MJ had been sent to the hospital for stitches as Mike's attack had unknowingly involved MJ's head falling against the small play table in the room. After being diagnosed with a slight concussion, MJ was made to rest until further notice. Ms. Garner had been horrified by what had transpired and blamed herself heavily for slipping way if even for a brief moment.

As a result, Mike and Nayely had their field trip privileges revoked as plans had been made for the children to see a play and visit a restaurant that specialized in apple cider in celebration of Christmas Eve.

As the evening wore on, Nayely found herself crafting the present she never had privacy to create for MJ in the aftermath of the chaos. With the cap of the blue bottle teetering in her mouth, Nayely placed the final touches on the figure she had crafted from an old milk carton and knick knacks she had collected in secrecy.

Holding the gift in her hands, Nayely smiled with pride at what she had made. Flipping the covers from her head, Nayely listened out for the sounds of the house. One caretaker had stayed behind for MJ, Nayely, and Mike's sake which meant there would be fewer obstacles for Nayely as she snuck her way to MJ.

Reaching beneath her pillow, Nayely pulled out a pair of fuzzy socks, knowing that if she put them on, her feet would make less sounds as she went to MJ.

Moving to the doorway, Nayely peeked to her left, knowing that down the hall was the room where Mike stayed. She could see the lamp shining into the hallway which told her he was still up. Moving softly but quickly, Nayely crept to the room that was only one door away from Mike's.

MJ.

The door was slightly cracked which was the way the caretaker always kept it when she would leave MJ for the night. It was nearing 9 p.m., which would mean that the rest of the group would be home within the hour. The sounds of folding paper in the living room area echoed as the caretaker finished up last minute wrapping.

When Nayely saw a shadow move at Mike's door, she hurriedly rushed into MJ's room and watched from the safety of its darkness as Mike scuttled past to the rest room.

Holding her breath until she heard the sounds of his return to his room, Nayely stuck her head out to see the lights finally go off, and the sound of Mike's door finally closing. Doing the same, Nayely slowly turned around relieved.

"Boo!" MJ surprised her as she turned around. Nayely nearly let out a small yelp, but luckily, MJ's hands moved fast enough to cover her mouth. After a moment's wait, the two determined that no one had heard her surprise.

"You know they'll be back soon. "Pointing his finger at the clock, he noted the time.

"I know, but the big hand isn't on the 10 yet. We still have some time." Holding her hands behind her back, Nayely did little to hide what she had. Looking down with understanding, MJ smiled as he waved at her to follow. Moving her to sit on the floor, MJ rushed to his back pack, mimicking her as he too held his gift in anticipation. Sitting before her, the boy didn't allow the now healing cut on his lip to keep him from grinning ear to ear.

"On the count of three, we'll both show what we have."

"No cheating..." Nayely whispered.

Shaking his head in promise, MJ leaned close as he began the count down.

"Ready? 1...2..." Before he could reach the end, both children whipped out their gift, presenting it to the other with much joy.

Nayely's smile faltered seeing that his gift was housed in a pretty box while hers was bare. Noticing the slight change, MJ glowed in appreciation.

"Wow! Thanks for the Christmas present!" In his brief life, MJ wasn't accustomed to receiving gifts. On the occasion that his mother did remember to give the boy something, it was always late. Christmas didn't have any significance to him, but after being taught that the holidays were a special time to spend with the ones you love, he had gained a new understanding of its importance, and found fun in spending it with Nayely, his best friend.

Reluctantly, Nayely handed the gift over as MJ happily accepted it.

"Go ahead and open it!" MJ encouraged her. Excitedly, Nayely lifted the lid to find a plastic circle hooked to a key chain. Lifting it to her face, she watched as glitter and small stars moved on the inside. There was a jelly like substance that oozed and goozed around. Inside the ball sat a drawing of two faces. Looking closely, Nayely saw that it looked just like her and MJ.

"It's a universe ball. We had to think of something that we liked the most in the whole wide world. I chose us!" MJ leaned over to admire the picture with Nayely. Atop her head were dozens of black ringlets to show the curls she was surrounded by while black bangs hung in MJ's face. They both had the biggest smiles on their faces as glitter floated past.

"Thank you, MJ." Nayely smiled hard enough to show her deep dimples.

"Now I'll look at yours." He promised with large eyes.

Gazing down at the milk carton, MJ admired the detailed design of the construction paper that was cut into a design around the box. Turning it over, MJ saw a small tab with an arrow on it.

"Pull it..." Nayely urged him impatiently.

Doing as he was told, MJ watched as a small paper accordion like book emerged. On it, he could see bits and pieces of an image scattered across its folds.

"If you hold it like this, you can see the picture." Looking to help, Nayely showed MJ how to layer the paper just right so that he could see the hidden image on the inside. Seeing caricatures of him and Nayely holding hands at the beach, MJ quickly looked to Nayely who held his gaze.

Both children exploded into a fit of giggles as they realized they had given each other similar gifts.

Getting themselves together, they listened out to make sure that the coast was still clear.

"I also had this." Reaching into her sleeve, Nayely pulled free the old cookie she had held onto faithfully.

"We made them the last day of school, but you told me to wait before I gave it to you." Taking the cookie with an open hand, MJ unwrapped it.

"Where did you keep this?" He asked astonished. Aside from the rules of not keeping food in secrecy, Ms. Garner had strict cleaning standards as well. The fact that Nayely had managed to keep the cookie without it being discovered for all this time was amazing.

Though a little stiff, MJ had no problem breaking apart the cookie to share with Nayely. Scooting until her back was against his bed, Nayley sat beside him as she tilted her gift back and forth, munching on the sugary delight.

"I've never been to the beach before." MJ admitted as he played around with his own gift.

"Really?" Nayley's eyes widened at the news. Her mother had always made it a point to take Nayely to the beach each year as she had been a California native who had never visited before.

Looking to MJ, she sat in thought as she remembered her mother saying that going to the beach was needed to feel happiness one day. Reaching out her pinky finger, Nayely waited as MJ caught on, wrapping his around hers with no questions asked.

"Let's promise to go to the beach together. I'll take you and show you how to have fun there, okay?"

"Promise?" MJ asked hopefully.

"Promise."

Before they knew it, lights from the hallway flooded the room.

"I thought I heard voices coming from here." Ms. Garner stood with her arms crossed. A small scowl sat on her face before it softened. "I hate to break things up, but it's time to get ready for bed." Scrambling to her feet, Nayely reluctantly followed the older woman out. Waving over her shoulder, she left a smiling MJ behind.