I watched her sleeping and smiled before I trotted off. I had a lot to share with my parents and hoped they would arrive soon.
There were a lot of students standing in front of the gate on the lookout for their parents. I sat down in a corner while waiting for them.
"Fred!" I shouted as I saw Fred walking in and looking around.
I walked up to him and threw my hands around him and hugged him tightly.
"Sis, I missed you so much," Fred muttered as I was hugging him tightly.
"Where's mom and dad?" I asked him as I finally broke the hug.
"They are coming, they are still bringing things from the car."
"Why did you now leave them behind?" I queried him.
"They asked me to leave first so I can locate you before they get here." Fred laughed as he tapped my shoulder.
I looked at Fred and smiled. I led him to a corner where I had set up chairs for us to have our meal there.
"Stay here and look after the chairs so I can wait for Mom and Dad."
I ran back to the gate and sighted my mom as soon as I got there. I would have flown into her arms but she was carrying something in both hands.
"Mom!" I walked up to her and I took one of the baskets from her.
"Princess!" Mom said as she patted my hair and held my hand.
"Let's wait for your dad.
I handed the basket back to my mom the moment I saw my dad. I ran to him and hugged him tightly.
"Dad, I missed you."
"I missed you too, my princess." Dad tried to keep his balance as I almost pushed him down as I ran to hug him.
"Can we find somewhere to sit down first?" Mom asked showing us the baskets in her hand as they were a bit heavy.
I led the way till we got to the place where I left Fred with the chairs. He was sitting down and looking like an abandoned puppy. His facial expression was very funny to me.
Fred got up as soon as he saw us and helped Mom and Dad with what they were carrying.
I was still clinging tightly to my dad.
Mom gave us a side eye, "Won't you sit down?"
"You are just jealous of me and my daughter", Dad retorted as he finally sat down.
"As if....."
"Mom, I missed you," I whined as I sat down beside her and hugged her tightly. I was overwhelmed with my emotions that I didn't know when I began to sob.
Mom cuddled me as she patted my back, "I missed you too." She whispered to me.
Fred was bewildered as he watched me and Mom while Dad kept a smile on his face the whole time.
"Would you like to eat now?" Mom asked, wiping my tears.
"Yes, please. I'm very hungry."
"Didn't you eat during lunch?" Fred asked me.
"No, I wanted to have enough appetite to eat everything mom cooked for me."
"Make sure to eat to your fill", Mom handed me a plate of food.
I took the food from her and began to eat it immediately. I savoured the taste of the food with every bite I took. It had only been a week since I left home but I felt like it has been ages since I last saw my family.
"I hope my princess didn't cry?" Dad inquired as he took a sip from the drink in his cup.
"No!"I lied.
"Are you sure?" Dad asked again as he peered into my eyes.
"Of course not, I didn't cry even for a single day." I lied again as I smiled sheepishly.
"Dad, I think the person who was most affected should be mom." Fred chirped me.
"What do you mean?" Mom flashed her eyes at Fred. "We all cried on that day excluding your dad who has a heart of stone."
"Elsie, did you know Mom kept calling your name all the time? It took a while before she realised you weren't around and started adjusting to it." Fred stated.
"Waw!, mom so you missed me this much," I exclaimed. "No wonder I was having frequent hiccups out of the blue." I nudged Mom with a huge grin on my face.
"What is it?" Mom giggled as she used her hand to cover her mouth. "Haven't I accepted that I missed you?" Mom sat up and maintained a serious look.
"Eat up!"
I spent the next three hours with my family but it felt like it was just thirty minutes. Fred had a lot of stories to share with me and I was amazed that a lot happened in just a space of one week.
"What did your teacher do to her?" Mom asked Fred.
"She asked her to kneel."
"That's a small punishment for what she did." Mom retorted.
"But he deserved it...."
"What are you guys rambling on about?" Dad asked as he sat down interrupting me. He had gone to greet an acquaintance he met during the interview.
"I was telling them about my classmate who put super glue on another person's chair and the boy's trousers ripped off when he tried to stand up....."
Dad burst into a fit of laughter, "Why did she do that to him?"
"The boy is a bully. He's fond of bullying other people in our class especially the girl because she's his seatmate."
"Besides, the whole class was in support of what she did and that's why the teacher gave her a light punishment," Fred explained.
We all found Fred's story entertaining and funny except Mom. She felt that that was not the best way to deal with a bullying incident because it wouldn't change the boy in question, rather he would begin to bear grudges for the whole class and continue to bully them.