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Elaine loved books more than she loved most people. In fact, she loved books so much that when she first heard that about the book club's impending field trip to the Colorado State Library, she'd been so ecstatic that she brought it up in nearly every conversation she and her parents held, whether it was at the dinner table after they'd all blessed their food or at bedtime when her daddy tucked her in. [color=#6176A1][b]"The trip to the state library is in a couple of days!"[/b][/color] she'd proclaim for the umpteenth time, ignoring the groans and eye-rolls from her big brother, to which her parents would simply chuckle, nod, and continue on with the rest of the dinner discussion. She'd mentioned it about fifteen times total before her father decided to let her use his fancy Mamiya ZE-2 camera while on the trip.

[color=#6B3513][b]"Now, with this camera comes a lot of responsibility, Ellie. Are you sure you can handle it?"[/b][/color] Elijah Cardozo had said to his daughter, kneeling down so that he could look her in the eye. The young girl smiled and eagerly nodded her head, earning a hearty laugh and a quick ruffle of her hair from her daddy. Of course, Elaine's mother did not approve of her taking the expensive camera to the trip, arguing that she was too young and careless to handle it. Right before she'd left for the library, however, Mr. Cardozo slipped the camera into Elaine's hand and quickly ushered her onto the bus before her mother could see. [color=#6B3513][b]"What she doesn't know won't hurt her, punkin'."[/b][/color] 

And so, Elaine used the camera. Hell, she probably wore the thing out with the amount of pictures that she took; she captured everything from hundreds of years old books and books that had been signed by famous authors, all the way down to the goofy faces her friends were making during their outside lunch in the Library's picnic area. She couldn't help but feel a shiver of enthusiasm on the bus ride back to Emerson Middle School, as she was very excited to get the pictures developed so that she could show them off to her family. 

When it was time to get off the bus, Elaine got in the single file line as instructed, but barely heard the last few words out of Mr. George's mouth as she was already making her way down the stairs and skipping towards her parents' rusty Cadillac Seville. Her daddy had been leaning against the driver side door, and her mom stood not too far away. Elaine gave her parents brief hugs before handing the camera to her daddy, a wide smile on her face. [color=#6176A1][b]"I was responsible, see? There's not one scratch on it."[/b][/color] Elijah Cardozo chuckled and cast a nervous glance at his wife. 

Janine Cardozo had her arms folded across her chest and her lips pursed, obviously not pleased with the two of them. [color=#E49DA3][b]"I thought we already talked about this, Elijah."[/b][/color] She said with a slight tilt of her head. The older man just shrugged his shoulders guiltily before opening the car door for an oblivious Elaine, who'd still been rambling on about the trip. His wife let out a deep breath before walking back around to her side of the car. The conversation was over, for now, but he knew that she'd bring it back up later that night. 

Before getting back into the car, Elijah locked eyes with George. [color=#6B3513][b]"How you doing?"[/b][/color] He'd called back in response before getting back into the drivers seat, starting the car, and pulling off. In less than ten minutes, the car had pulled into the narrow driveway of the small, single floor house, and Elaine had finally finished with her long-winded discussion of the library. The three walked into the house, instantly greeted by the familiar warmth and rich aroma of Elijah's signature Louisiana Creole cuisine. Fairly loud rap music could also be heard coming from down the hall. A quick peek in the kitchen told Elaine that her daddy had made Gumbo for dinner; the large Gumbo pot sat in its usual spot on the front stove burner. She was just about to pull open the lid before a pair of hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her from the ground. She laughed and screamed as her daddy twirled her around and sat her back down a few feet away from the stove. [color=#6B3513][b]"Now, you know better than that."[/b][/color] he said with a grin.

[color=#E49DA3][b]"She sure as does,"[/b][/color] Mrs. Cardozo said as she entered the kitchen, [color=#E49DA3][b]"Ellie, go and wash up. And tell your brother to cut off that damn noise and come set the table."[/b][/color]