Stretching out with a yawn and a small sigh Grace stood, taking her bowl over to the sink in the kitchen and rinsing it out before placing it in the dishwasher. Looking out the kitchen window she thought for a moment she saw some movement in the house next door, but by the time she looked it was already gone. It was always so dark over there, the curtains always drawn. Compared to her own house, which was always open, bright, warm and airy it seemed a sad way of life even though she had been taught never to judge someone without knowing their story.
She didn’t even know who or what kind of people lived there. Going around the house Grace made sure that everything was closed up and locked before she gathered her bag and her house keys, locking the front door behind her she began making her way down the street to the bus stop. It had rained last night, so everything was glistening with water and puddles covered the ground. She reached out, letting her hands brush against the plants as she passed, small water droplets transferring onto her hand or falling onto the ground.
She always loved the smell of everything after it had rained. It smelt fresher, cleaner. Gray clouds still hung overhead, meaning they may even get more rain later. The girl felt, needless to say, most at home when she was surrounded by water. Smiling to herself she jumped up onto a small brick wall that was the fence to someone’s yard and began walking along it with her arms outstretched to the sides. It was only a short walk to the bus stop, but she always tried to enjoy it as much as possible. If the school had been closer she would have been happy to walk or even ride a bike.
The bus itself was not the most pleasant of places. Kids there were always so crude. She herself had been called immature plenty of times, but at least she still acted intelligent, she just enjoyed childish things. Whereas most people her age acted like idiots most of the time and she highly doubted it was out of choice, believe they truly didn’t know any better. Up ahead there was a large puddle and Grace smiled, running a short ways before jumping off the low brick wall and into the puddle, splashing water in all directions and giggling happily to herself. There was just something about jumping in puddles that made her laugh.