Chapter Two

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"Mom....?" Zoey's voice was quiet, almost a whisper as she came to a stop a foot or so away from the chair where her mothers was sitting and reading at. 

"Yes, Zo... What is it?" Emma asked as she looked up from her book, and in the direction of her daughter. 

"Nothing really... I just wanted to tell you that it's okay if I don't get to participate in Ballet this year.. I know you don't have the money momma... I just wanted to tell you it's okay. I'm really not that great at dancing anyway." Zoey said, her bright green eyes glimmered as the light from the kitchen hit them. The innocent, yet knowing look on her face was almost too much for Emma to handle at this moment in time. 

"Oh, Sweetheart... I-I'm so sorry... I'll have the money for you to join next year, I promise.." Emma replied to her daughter as she closed the book and gently placed it on the table. Her full attention was now turned on Zoey, the concerned and apologetic look displaying on her face showed just how truly heartbroken she was that they didn't have much money at all. 

"Ballet is only for Elementary and Middle School students.. High School students have a lot more clubs, and Ballet isn't one of them." Zoey said quickly, looking away from her mom, hoping that this news didn't crush her as much as she thought it would. 

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Before Emma could get any type of apology or any comforting words out, she quickly got up from the chair she had been sitting in and pulled her daughter into a big hug. A lone tear trickled down her face as she hugged Zoey tight, wanting to desperately make enough money on her next novel to put them in a position where Zoey could join whatever club her heart desired. The feeling that Emma felt inside was nearly enough to send her into a bout of depression.. But she fought it, there had to be a way that she could improve her writing style to catch the attention of a publisher who could pay her well enough to get some income rolling in each week. 

"Zoey, honey, I promise you that by next year when you start the ninth grade in high school that you will be able to choose whatever club you want to join. Now.. How did you find out about our money situation?" 

"It was about a week ago when I brought home the brochure about the Ballet club for you to look over. I overheard you on the phone with the instructor trying to make a payment arrangement on the fee to join. You tried so hard, momma.. I know it hurts you that we have no money.. That's why when I'm sixteen I'm going to get a job to help you out." Zoey replied, as the embrace was broken. Her line of vision was directed to look downward at the floor. 

"No! Absolutely not, Zoey, you will not get a job to help me out.. By this time next year, I guarantee that we will have the money for you to join a club. So you can forget about getting a job when you're sixteen, you should only be focusing on school.. Besides you're only thirteen, you still have three more years until you're sixteen so by then we should be doing so much better than we are now." Emma said quickly, a smile spreading across her face as she realized just how sweet her daughter is. "Zoey... Please promise me that you will not eavesdrop on anymore of my phone conversations... Especially the ones that are concerning our financial status.. You're my daughter, you shouldn't have to worry about money.. I'm the only one that needs to worry about it.. You just need to focus on being a kid, and school.. After all, you'll be grown before you know it." Emma said gently, as she rested her hands on the tops of Zoey's shoulders, looking down at her daughter with a warm smile on her face. "I love you Zoey, and we will be just fine. I promise." 

"I love you too mom... And I promise never to eavesdrop on your phone conversations again." Zoey replied, looking up at her mother, as a smile crept onto her face. "You're the best mom in the world. I'm glad I'm your daughter." With that last statement, Zoey hugged her mom once more and headed off to bed. "Goodnight momma." 

"Goodnight Zoey." Emma replied as she watched Zoey close her bedroom door behind her. This was going to be a rough long year for Emma, but she is determined to create a significant amount of income for Zoey and herself.

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An hour passed since Zoey had gone to bed, and it was then that Emma quietly entered into her daughters' bedroom to tuck her in. Once she made sure that her little girl was tucked in, she placed a small kiss on Zoeys' forehead before turning to exit her room. As she headed for the door, a light sigh escaped her lips, and a worried look crept across her face. "How am I suppose to keep my promise of having enough money by next year to live comfortably when none of the publishers will even look at my work? And how can a thirteen year old be so mature and understanding of the reasons why she can't join a club, and not be angry about it? I guess it's time for me to try out some new genres of writing. Something has to work for me... We can't live on less than $200 anymore.." 

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The next morning started off like any other morning for Emma and Zoey. They both woke up early and had breakfast, Zoey got ready for school and Emma began clearing the dishes from breakfast. Before long the school bus pulled up outside and honked it's loud horn, and Zoey gave her mother a hug before running out to board the bus to go to school. Once Emma was alone for the day, she finished cleaning the kitchen up and then went to take a shower and get ready for the day. 

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"Ah, I wonder what kind of acts will be held at the Festival in Verde Park today.. Maybe I could a great idea for a book will hit me if I go..." Emma said softly to herself as she read over the Events page in the daily newspaper. Ever since Zoey had made it known that she knew the financial situation Emma has felt terrible and has been desperate to find a way to catch the attention of well-known publishers who could pay her a bit more than she was used to. A smile spread across her face as she thought of the many different acts and people that she could see when at the festival. Quickly Emma glanced at her watch and noticed that it was almost 12 pm, which is what time the festival was suppose to start. "Oh, wow, I'll be late if I don't hurry!" 

Within a few moments she was on her way to Verde Park to see what type of material she could gather up for a possible new book. 

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When Emma arrived at the park, the Festival had already begun. As she came closer to the stage, she stood in with the rather large gathering of people who were being amazed by the Acrobat that was performing. Emma's blue eyes locked onto the performer as she watched him strike beautiful poses, and performing flips and handstands. He was doing wonderfully, and was even pretty good looking. 

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The Acrobat's performance lasted about an hour, and Emma couldn't help but glance at her watch to see what time it was. When she saw that it was almost time for Zoey to get home from school she knew that she had to get home soon. For a moment Emma stood there watching the finale of the performance, and once the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, that was Emma's cue to leave. She gave a small sigh and wished she could stay for the whole thing, but really she needed to get home and begin work on a new novel, as well as spend time with her daughter. So with failing to get a good idea for a novel, Emma turned and began walking back up the hill, toward the street to go home. Perhaps the time just wasn't right yet to get an idea that would be a best-seller. 

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Later that Day 

"AHAHAHA, MOM! I'M GOING TO WHACK YOU WITH THIS PILLOW!!" Zoey's excited shrieks and giggles filled the house as she whipped the pillow around and smacked her mom in the leg with it. Emma's fits of laughter quickly followed the excited shrieks and giggles that her daughter were making, and especially after every time Zoey would hit her with the pillow. The pair always had at least one pillow fight a week, whether Zoey started it or Emma did. One of them are always sneaking up on the other with a pillow in hand and smacking the victim at a random time. Emma couldn't count the number of times when Zoey would sneak up on her when she'd be in the middle of writing a novel or revising her work when all of a sudden *SMACK* and a cloud of feathers would fall all around her. But instead of getting angry, she would just burst into laughter, she couldn't help it. Time with her daughter is always more important than work. 

"OOOH, ZOEY YOU BETTER RUN BEFORE I GET YOU BACK!" Emma squealed as she raised her pillow up and chased Zoey around the living area. 

"OH YEAH, YOU'LL GET ME ONLY IF YOU CAN CATCH ME! HEHEHEHEHE!!" Zoey giggled as she darted around the living area, with Emma hot on her trail. Both of them were hot, and out of breath now but they kept on giggling and eventually the chase came to and end as they both whacked each other in a last effort to come out as the victor for this particular pillow fight. Finally Emma held up her hands and dropped her pillow in defeat. 

"Okay, Zo, you win!" Emma said quickly, still laughing. 

"YAY! I WIN!" Zoey then did her victory dance, and finally the pillow fight was over.

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It was around six o'clock in the evening, dinner had already been cooked, and eaten. The dishes were already washed and put away, Zoey finally sat down at the kitchen table to do her homework. Which left Emma with nothing to do this evening. She had cleaned the whole house earlier in the day so everything is still spotless, and they have no television set to watch, the only thing that Emma had to do was to sit down at the computer and try to come up with an intriguing story to write. Just as Emma sat down and opened a blank document to begin writing on, a gentle rain began to pour and the light taps of the raindrops hitting the window and the bushes outside sort of set a relaxing mood. That was when a thought crossed her mind, a thought for a great story. Her fingers began to gently strike each key quickly, creating several words within a minutes time. Soon she had a whole page written, and a smile was spreading across her face as she typed, yes, hopefully this would be a great hit with the publishers, the genre that she has chosen for this novel is one that no one would have expected her to write in. 

The rest of the evening flies by, as Emma is focused only on writing her new novel. But suddenly her focus is broken when the soft, sweet voice of Zoey is heard. Emma's line of sight is then redirected to look at her daughter. 

"Mom, it's late, I'm done with my homework now and I just wanted to tell you goodnight before I head to bed." Before Zoey could move in closer to give her mom a hug and kiss goodnight, Emma saves her current progress on the novel and exits the document, then slowly stands and pulls Zoey into a hug. 

"Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you." Emma replies, as she gives Zoey a light squeeze before they break the embrace, and just before Zoey pulls away, Emma plants a light kiss on top of her head. 

"I love you too mom." Zoey smiles brightly before turning and going into her bedroom to prepare for bed. Soon after Zoey had closed the door to her bedroom, Emma went back to her computer and decided that she would pick up on her novel tomorrow once Zoey left for school. A smile creeps across her face, and she hopes that this novel will be a game-changer for them, and that it will be one of the many steps toward a better income and a better future for Zoey. Quickly she turns the computer off for the night, and then gets up, turning off all the lights in the house and making sure the front door is locked. Before long Emma goes into her own bedroom and changes into her pajamas for the night, and turns the light out, then climbs into bed and drifts off to a nice, relaxing sleep.

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