Alice sighed and adjusted her grip on the steering wheel as she thought about the busy morning she was about to have. She’d been living with Fritz and Sapphire for almost a month now, sleeping on the couch, living out of a backpack but, before she could start packing up their mother Elizabeth’s things and have her own belongings moved in she had to take her siblings to school. More importantly she had to fill out all the paperwork that would log her into the school’s system as their legal guardian and emergency contact and to collect any make up work they might have. 

This being their first day back since their mother’s death Alice was worried they’d have a hard time adjusted. She was a little unsettled at how silent they were. But, she supposed she was quiet too. She never had the chance to get close to her younger siblings due to her rocky relationship with Elizabeth. She’d left home when Fritz had been only five and hardly saw him after, really only on Holidays, Birthdays or occasionally to babysit. But, the last time she saw either of the kids was when Sapphire had been born. 

From what she understood their mother had changed for the better not long after Alice left for college and truly became a mother her children deserved. It’d only come too late for Alice. Being a teen mom wasn’t easy Alice was sure but, she could’ve at least been decent. The woman she knew and the woman Fritz and Sapphire knew were two very different people. 

As she pulled up to the main campus of the school she looked into the rearview mirror to gauge Sapphire’s level of comfort and then over to Fritz. They both belonged to the large local private school that took kids from Elementary all the way to High School, it even had dormitories for the older kids and looked... really nice. “Fritz... I-” She started but then found she didn’t know the words she wanted to express to him, stammering for a minute she finally put the car in park and pulled the key saying, “Don’t forget your lunch. You have my number if you need me, I’ll be working from home once I’m finished up here.”

Getting out of the car Alice realized she didn’t exactly look the part of a parental figure. Dressed down in cut off denim shorts, a loose fitting grey T-shirt and leather ankle high roman sandals. She’d piled her unruly red waves into a bun on the top of her head. Messy locks falling down to frame her face. She must’ve looked more student than legal guardian. “Come on, Sapphire.” She said with a smile to the young girl as she opened the car door. “I’ll walk you to class.” Alice held out her hand to her younger half sister. Not expecting her to take it but, she wanted the young girl to know she’d be there for her. For both of them. Despite not being there in the past.