Brave This Storm

Mariana woke up half-way through the first week of January with a knot of excitement and nerves in her stomach. Today was Donovan’s first day of pre-Kindergarten – and his first day of schooling ever. Because he had a late birthday in August, making him only 4, he couldn’t go into Kindergarten just yet – but there was a small pre-K group set up in a room in the Kindergarten building, allowing Mariana to be able to give Donovan a safe education. She had always dreaded sending him out to school in Compton, mainly because he was such a shy and sweet child, so she guessed that moving down to the Quilette Reservation really did do them a world of good. Besides, although this would be Donovan’s first real taste of schooling, he spoke well and was an intelligent child, so she had no worries about him not coping.

Her only worry was that this was the first time Donovan would be away from her for more than 3 hours at a time. Sure, she went to night school while he was growing up, but never for more than a few hours. This would be 6 hours away from her a day, and she didn’t know how he’d cope. She could only hope he would settle in well here.

“Alright Donny, are you all set for pre-Kindergarten?” Mariana asked excitedly as they reached the school yard.

“I think so. Will the other kids like me?” Donovan frowned.

“They will love you, especially if you smile and just be yourself,” Mariana said warmly.

“Okay! What time do I get to leave?” Donovan asked.

“At 3pm,” Mariana chuckled.

“And are you meeting me or will you be busy?” Donovan asked.

“Of course I’m meeting you! I will never be too busy for my boy. Now, go make Mommy proud,” Mariana said with a smile.

Donovan hugged her tightly before running inside the school with the other kids. Mariana waved enthusiastically until she could no longer see him, and that’s when the tears formed in her eyes.

“The first day’s always the hardest,”

Mariana turned her head to see a middle aged woman standing next to her.

“How did you know it was his first day?” Mariana chuckled, sniffing.

“The mom’s always cry. Here, have a tissue,” the woman laughed kindly.

Mariana smiled as the woman gave her a Kleenex, and nodded her thanks as she walked off. That would never have happened in Compton, she knew that. Maybe things would be good around here.

Mariana slowly walked out of the school yard, trying to compose herself quickly. She managed to do so by the time she reached the main road, and waited on the edge of the sidewalk to cross. There were a few cars about, after all. A car pulled to a stop by her side, and when Mariana smiled and nodded her thanks, she noticed it was that Paul guy, Jacob’s friend that she didn’t end up meeting on New Year’s Eve. She was tempted to raise an eyebrow at the way he was just staring at her, but waved her hand in a friendly way. Huh, strange guy.

*

Paul pulled his car up in front of Sam and Emily’s house, his hands shaking slightly as he cut the engine. He didn’t know what the fuck was happening to him, but he didn’t like it. Running up to their front door, Paul rang the doorbell constantly until Sam opened the door, his expression full of confusion, until he saw it was Paul. Then he raised an eyebrow at the state Paul was in.

“Dude, what the fuck happened to you?” Sam chuckled, letting Paul inside his house.

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Paul rambled, his eyes wide with shock.

Sam frowned at Emily, who looked just as worried as he did.

“Come sit down in the kitchen, and you can tell us what happened while I get you a drink,” Emily suggested.

Paul nodded, still in a bit of a daze, and followed the couple into their kitchen. He sat down on one of the stools, Sam sitting next to him, while Emily filled a glass up with water. Paul stayed silent as he took a few gulps, making his friends even more worried. They’d never seen Paul in this state before, ever.

“What happened, Paul?” Sam asked.

“I was sitting in my car, on the way back from getting some groceries for my ma, and I saw this girl waiting to cross the road. I slowed down to let her cross in front of me, because I was in a good mood this morning, but when she smiled and nodded at me, she looked me right in the eyes. And…it was like everything froze. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She was so beautiful,” Paul said, whispering at the end.

“You don’t think…?” Emily asked hopefully.

“Oh yeah. Definitely,” Sam grinned.

Emily squealed and clapped her hands together, Sam just laughing at Paul’s confusion.

“And finally, karma bites back,” Sam grinned.

“What?” Paul frowned.

“You imprinted, dude,. It’s so obvious, even in your eyes now,” Sam explained.

“Woah, there’s no way I imprinted! I don’t even know who she is!” Paul said angrily.

This only made Sam and Emily laugh harder. Paul growled and clenched his fists. He couldn’t have imprinted. This was how he wanted his life to go! Tied down to one girl? One beautiful, mouth-wateringly curvy girl.

“Fuck that, I don’t have to imprint if I don’t want to,” Paul muttered.

“It doesn’t really work like that, Paul,” Sam mused.

“She’s probably a nobody anyway – why would I want to be with one girl? I’m Paul fucking Parker!” Paul scowled.

“You were Paul fucking Parker. Now you’re Paul I’ve-got-an-imprint Parker,” Emily teased.

“And if you see this girl again, you won’t be able to stop the pull you feel towards her. No other girl or woman will ever satisfy your need for her. Imprinting is bestowed upon us for a reason,” Sam smirked.

“It’s all bullshit! Who cares if she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen! I’m not sticking to one girl for the rest of my life!” Paul exasperated.

“Most beautiful woman, huh? It’s already starting,” Emily said happily.

Paul rolled his eyes, shaking his head furiously. All he had to do was find this woman and fuck her to get it out of his system. Yeah, that would work. He had to find her. He had to.