Maddy 45-46

12

The next few months went quickly. Kristen was caught up in a whirl of activities. From home work to Christmas shopping, Kristen barely had time to breathe. The only relaxing times she had were the ones spent talking with Skye in their dorm room, and the hours she spent with Sam when he tutored her. Kristen lived for her tutoring sessions. With her newfound love of Sam, they were her perfect excuse for spending long hours with him after school and on the weekends. Thanks to Sam’s tutoring though, Kristen was beginning to average low A’s, she even had a ninety-eight in her English class! Although this was quite an achievement for Kristen, she couldn’t help worrying that Sam would decide she was fine on her own, and didn’t need anymore help. If that happened, then she would lose all of the her time with him, and that was something that she definitely did not want to happen

As time went by Kristen was so happy that she began to wish that she had never lived in Jacksonville, Murrysville was just so much better for her. She had had no connections with her former life until the holidays rolled around. At Christmastime Kristen’s parents flew down for a visit. When they arrived, Kristen had no idea what to expect. She hadn’t seen them for months and the last time she had, their relationship had been on thin ice. As soon as she greeted them in the front circle, Kristen realized all of her worries were going to come true. The atmosphere was tense and her parents barely looked at her.

At first, Kristen made an effort to be friendly, engaging, and to show her parents how much she had changed. After being blown off countless times for conversations with teachers, and Sister Mary-Janice, Kristen gave up. For the rest of their tour Kristen just spoke like she was being forced to, and offered no more information than was needed.

Things finally began to look up though during the parent-student dinner. Kristen’s parents sat with Skye’s grandmother and Sam’s parents. (St. George and St. Claire’s combined their dinners.) All three gushed about how nice and polite Kristen was, and how she seemed like such a sweet girl. It was only after that, that Kristen’s parents actually began to warm up to her.