1 Introductions

Gabriela grew up in the city. She lived with both of her parents until they died in a car accident. They were driving drunk after leaving the Valentine's Day party and drove off a cliff. They were going too fast while trying to make the curve. Since Gabriela is under age, being only 10 yrs old, she ended up moving in with her Grandmother, in the countryside. Her Grandmother Amy, is a sweet elder lady, living in a two-story home with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage, and a huge back yard leading to the forest. Amy loves gardening, but due to a previous stroke, she had to get help with it as well as some household chores. Thankfully, Amy has very nice neighbors who have a son who was willing to help around the house on weekends as well as during summer break. His name is Alex and he is now 16. He is used to his own household chores and is like family to Amy so he was happy to help.

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One weekend when they were having lunch Amy told Alex that her Granddaughter would be coming to live with her. Seeing how he was curious as to why; Amy explained that her granddaughters' parents had passed away and that she was her only relative. Gabriela actually had other family members that could take her in, some even in the city, but since she was closest to Amy, it was no problem in gaining custody over her. Gabriela's Mother only reached out to her grandmother Amy, thus Gabriela never knew any of her other family relatives. Alex was sad at the news and only could imagine how Grabiela felt. He remembers seeing her tending to the garden with Amy, despite how small she was or how dirty she would get. But then again she was only around 5 years old back then. When he thought about how old she was the last time he saw her, he realized that they were 6 years apart and it has been about 5 years since he last saw her. He then asked Amy, when the last time Gabriela visited and she said about 3 years ago. He asked why he never saw her and she explained that as her Granddaughter got older, she stayed more in her room, unfortunately, saying the last part with a frown on her face. It also made her wonder how she could have been a better help to her Granddaughter. She knew her Granddaughter was getting physically abused at home and when she brought it up to her daughter and even tried to ask her little Grandbaby, they stopped visiting her.

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On the 3 hour trip to her Grandmother's house, Gabriela was a bit anxious, knowing she would no longer have to live with her abusive parents, but now what. It seemed like forever since visited her Grandmother and even when she did, she started to hide in her bedroom to hide the bruises from her. She didn't know how to tell her what she has been through. Should she even mention it now? Eventually, she decided to just hide in her bedroom when she arrives until the bruises fade away completely. They should be completely gone in a couple of days. She then thought about her new school. She hoped that the students would not be violent since she didn't want to fight. Then again, looking down at her boyish attire, they might make fun of her. 'Will they bully me for my clothes, even in the countryside?', she thought. Gabriela felt comfortable in her clothes, they made her feel ready for anything that came her way.

Scrunched up in a ball on the train, Gabriela began to recall her past. She didn't remember when her Dad had started to hit her or why. And when she would tell her mother, her mother would say it was discipline and began verbally abusing her as well. By the time she was 8, she realized that what her parents were doing was wrong and tried to speak out, but the adults listened to her parents not even bothering to check her own body for proof. She had thought about telling her Grandmother as well, but they had stopped going to visit her and she didn't have any of her contact information, not even her name as she always called her Grandmother. School even became a nightmare to her. When some students heard of what she claimed her Dad did to her, they began spreading rumors about her. Unfortunately, even third-graders at her school knew how to gossip. When even her classmates began to call her names. Gabriela started wearing her house attire at school, no longer wearing skirts or earrings. Her house attire consists of leggings under baggy pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt untucked, with an extra one underneath. She even had her long, straight, brown hair cut short into choppy layers. Of course, once her fellow students saw her 'new look' they began to gossip more. The following months to come, became more than just mere words as some kids would jump her (fight her in groups). Never backing down, Gabriela grew stronger with each fight, learning to use anything she could to win. A few months after the fighting began, it stopped as well as much of the gossip. Once Gabriela was left alone at school, she was able to focus on studying. Causing her to not only be the strongest in her school but also the smartest before she transferred out.

Noticing she would be arriving at her stop soon, she began to get ready to get off the train. Recalling her Grandmother say that an older boy named Alex would be picking her up. Apparently, he helps around the house and agreed to pick her up. He will also be holding a small bouquet of Magnolia and Lavender flowers.** Gabriela didn't really like the idea of being alone with a stranger but had no other choice since she knew of her Grandmother's condition. So, she started to look around for a boy with white and purple flowers once she got off the train.

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Alex was anxiously waiting for Gabriela to arrive. He had no clue what she would be wearing or how big she had grown. He only knew she has pretty green eyes that light up when she smiles and straight brown hair. He was wondering 'How long it would be or would she have cut it keeping it shoulder length? Would she be wearing a dress or pants?' He then spotted a boy wearing oversized clothes and a straight face, walking towards him. Not sure if he should prepare to fight (the "boy" looked like a troublemaker) or answer questions for the 'little troublemaker'. Then thought that the 'little troublemaker' would just be passing by, so he began to search for Gabriela again. Gabriela spotted Alex fairly easily since he was holding such a small and unique, yet beautiful bouquet of white and purple flowers. She walked up to him, introducing herself, in an impassive tone of voice. Alex first thought that this was a joke until he realized the 'little troublemaker', in front of him, was looking straight at him with not a single hint of joking around. Alex looked at her more intently now. The once girly and carefree Gabriela turned into a boy with no expressions, rather an expressionless tomboy. Her long and straight hair now short and choppy, once shimmering green eyes dull and dark and her happy face now showing no emotion. After taking her all in, he tried to clear his mind of all the questions now floating around in his head and offered to take her suitcase (out of common courtesy since she was 'matter of factly' a girl despite her looks), but she simply said: "No". Their trip from the train station to her Grandmother, Amy's house, seemed to last forever. In the midst of the awkward silence, Alex ended up lost in thought: 'How has she been raised? What had caused her to be so cold? Don't most 10 yr olds smile and laugh or show some kind of emotion, I mean she just lost her parents and has to move to a different place. Is she not sad about leaving her friends behind? Did she even have any friends?' He glanced her way, looking at her from head slowly down to....he paused when he saw her bruised wrists. Although the bruises were fading, they still stood out on her white skin. After a moment, she must have noticed he was staring at them because she quickly pulled her sleeves over them. Despite all the questions flooding his mind, he continued to keep quiet. He quickly learned that she had been through something, not sure of what, but knew it was not his place to ask, especially since he is a stranger to her. Well, he did hope that he could get closer to her, like a big brother.