Frances was on her first trip to a place called Martha's Vineyard, an island that she'd only ever heard about because of the boarding school that some of the kids at her orphanage were able to attend. She was excited to see the island, which she heard was beautiful and filled with happy families who had lots of money, but she was most excited to be going as a recruiter for the youth program she participated in and adored, Lilycove's Kids.
After a long trip there (longer than any trip Frances had ever been on) and a night in a fancy hotel, Frances and the other kids were taken to Redfern Academy, where tons of kids her age and older all got to go to school and live with each other. Frances loved traveling through campus and seeing all of the different buildings, paths, greenery, sports fields, and dorms. She couldn't believe they were all in this one place.
The group eventually arrived at their destination, a large lawn of bright green grass with more trees than Frances could easily count and tons of gardens and bushes along the edges. They were in front of a large and busy building, though Frances didn't know what the building was for. The school, which had a strong and growing investment in Lilycove's Kids, had already set up a large buffet alongside a grill with burgers, hot dogs, large mushrooms, and shish-ka-bobs galore.
Frances gasped, taking everything in. The events back in Lilycove were nothing like this -- and she would know, she'd been to almost every one! Frances had been referred to the program when she was six, back when the program was still relatively new. She was eleven now, and in the last five years she'd experienced the development and growth of the program hands-on. Now, they were starting a brand new chapter on Martha's Vineyard (among other locations in Amelia) and she had been one of the lucky original chapter participants to be invited to soft launch, where they would recruit participants and educate locals about the new chapter.
Frances felt proud of the hard work and dedication that had gotten her here...but mostly, at this exact moment, she was excited about the huge buffet of food in front of her.
"Alright, kids! Gather together!" Flora, the group leader and one of the staff from the Kids program, said to all of the children and youth who then formed a small circle around her. Frances, who was one of the youngest children invited, was very attentive and listened as carefully as she could.
"We're here to tell students from Redfern Academy about Lilycove's Kids. You get to choose what you tell them -- you don't need to tell them anything that you don't want to. You tell your stories, your experiences, things you like, things you don't. We want you to make friends, have fun, and eat! Now...who wants some hot dogs??" she said excitedly, pointing to the buffet. Many of the kids cheered and ran as fast as they could, but Frances didn't mind being last. She made her way to the line at her own pace.
"Hey Frances," Flora said as Frances passed her. "Don't forget to have fun, okay?" Flora patted her back lightly and playfully winked. She was so nice.
As Frances was waiting in line, some kids she didn't recognize started coming over to the lawn. There were adults from the program handing out information and pointing to the buffet, which the kids promptly headed over to.
I think this will be fun, Saffron, who was in the form of a small bird on Frances' shoulder, noted.
I just hope the kids are nice, Frances said, feeling a little bit nervous.
After a long trip there (longer than any trip Frances had ever been on) and a night in a fancy hotel, Frances and the other kids were taken to Redfern Academy, where tons of kids her age and older all got to go to school and live with each other. Frances loved traveling through campus and seeing all of the different buildings, paths, greenery, sports fields, and dorms. She couldn't believe they were all in this one place.
The group eventually arrived at their destination, a large lawn of bright green grass with more trees than Frances could easily count and tons of gardens and bushes along the edges. They were in front of a large and busy building, though Frances didn't know what the building was for. The school, which had a strong and growing investment in Lilycove's Kids, had already set up a large buffet alongside a grill with burgers, hot dogs, large mushrooms, and shish-ka-bobs galore.
Frances gasped, taking everything in. The events back in Lilycove were nothing like this -- and she would know, she'd been to almost every one! Frances had been referred to the program when she was six, back when the program was still relatively new. She was eleven now, and in the last five years she'd experienced the development and growth of the program hands-on. Now, they were starting a brand new chapter on Martha's Vineyard (among other locations in Amelia) and she had been one of the lucky original chapter participants to be invited to soft launch, where they would recruit participants and educate locals about the new chapter.
Frances felt proud of the hard work and dedication that had gotten her here...but mostly, at this exact moment, she was excited about the huge buffet of food in front of her.
"Alright, kids! Gather together!" Flora, the group leader and one of the staff from the Kids program, said to all of the children and youth who then formed a small circle around her. Frances, who was one of the youngest children invited, was very attentive and listened as carefully as she could.
"We're here to tell students from Redfern Academy about Lilycove's Kids. You get to choose what you tell them -- you don't need to tell them anything that you don't want to. You tell your stories, your experiences, things you like, things you don't. We want you to make friends, have fun, and eat! Now...who wants some hot dogs??" she said excitedly, pointing to the buffet. Many of the kids cheered and ran as fast as they could, but Frances didn't mind being last. She made her way to the line at her own pace.
"Hey Frances," Flora said as Frances passed her. "Don't forget to have fun, okay?" Flora patted her back lightly and playfully winked. She was so nice.
As Frances was waiting in line, some kids she didn't recognize started coming over to the lawn. There were adults from the program handing out information and pointing to the buffet, which the kids promptly headed over to.
I think this will be fun, Saffron, who was in the form of a small bird on Frances' shoulder, noted.
I just hope the kids are nice, Frances said, feeling a little bit nervous.