Future Character 'Drabble' Nano Challenge - Harper Harper opened the front door and stomped into the house. It was Friday afternoon and she had just gotten off the bus from school. She was in a bad mood and just wanted to relax in front of cartoons with a bowl full of gummy worms and just… chill. “Harpie, is that you?” She heard her mother call out from the kitchen.
“Yeah, Mommy.” She replied, dropping her book bag on her bench in the hallway and heading in the direction of her mother’s voice. “Where’s Lazzie?” She asked, looking for her nephew whom she would have heard by now. She just loved her little nephew!
“I think Ayita took him to see Fletch.” Her mother answered her, handing her her afternoon snack and a juice box. “How was school?” Harper shrugged. “Do you want to do your homework now or after dinner?” Kiva asked. Usually, Harper had to do her homework immediately arriving home from school, but she was given some leeway on Fridays.
“After dinner, Mommy, I just… I just need to breathe for a moment.” She replied, placing her snack and drink on the table and walking over to the terrarium to see how Rosie (her rosebud tarantula) was doing. She missed the dubious look that her mother had given her after her comment.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Kiva asked her youngest. Harper gave a heavy sigh and slumped into her seat at the table. “Harp?” Her mother asked, walking around the counter to sit next to her daughter.
“Am I weird, Mommy?” Harper asked.
“What?” Kiva asked, a soft chuckle coming out of her at her daughter’s behavior. “No, Baby, why would you ask that?”
“Brett called me an ugly weirdo today because I have a pet spider and because we aren’t all blood related. Like, you and Daddy aren’t really our parents.”
“First of all, Brett shouldn’t talk about other people’s families when he doesn’t know anything about them.” Kiva commented with a frown. “Second, who cares if you have a pet tarantula or a pet dog, if you love Rosie, then she was meant for you. As for our family, yeah, people might think we’re a bit odd, but that doesn’t make me and your dad any less your parents.” Kiva said. “Just for the record, your father and I are your real parents, so Brett can shove that knowledge somewhere that hurts.”
“Mommy!” Harper shouted, scandalized but she laughed anyway. “But not everyone else is? Are we strange, Mommy?”
“Different, not strange. Emery is my son, Chloe is your father’s daughter. We adopted Ayita and Angel, so we didn’t create them ourselves, but they are our children as much as you are just as they are your brothers and your sisters. Your father and I just had so much love to give and they completed our family. How do you feel about that?”
Harper was quiet for a moment as she munched on a gummy. “I’m alright with it.”
“And what will you tell Brett when he says anything negative about you or your family?”
“To shove it where it hurts.” Harper said firmly. Kiva laughed and shook her head.
“No, no, don’t say that!” Kiva quickly said, but her laughter made it seem less serious. Kiva pulled Harper into a hug and gave her a tight squeeze, ignoring Harper’s protests.