My parents decided it was a great idea to be home schooled by Justina. Every morning at 9am I walked my two miles to get to Cytheria’s house. She was always waiting for me half way through my walk with a bottle of water and a smile on her face. She was my best friend, I could walk through the Valley of Darkness as long as she held my hand.

“How much do you love me?” she asked softly. “To the end of the world”, I replied. I felt a little odd, but brushed the feeling off. All weekdays we would get to her house by 10am. Studies began promptly. Justina gave us our lunch at 1pm, then we studied until 5pm. After I was allowed to stay until 9pm, my dad’s rules. So Justina would drive me back home, sometimes my parents would invite her and Cytheria to dinner with us.

Our weekends were amazing. We would picnic in the fields, roll from the top of low hills, paint or draw, or just cuddle up and read. My cousins had been going to the closest public school, and they started bringing around friends and girlfriends.