The First Time || Layland
Layla had recently been adopted by a couple of men by the names of Mark and John. She had been waiting and waiting for them to return her. Refusing to be happy or get close to anyone because she knew it was inevitable. They would return her just as everyone else had. After a while, she started to think maybe... maybe they would keep her. Most other families had returned her by then. Although the blonde child couldn't see it, Mark and John loved her already. They treated her like their own and worked as hard as they could to make her feel that way. They had decided to put Layla in soccer. She hated sports but they wanted her to become more involved in the community and make a few friends. She dreaded it because she wasn't very good at making friends but she was excited at the same time because she really wanted a friend. Due to her constant moving of neighbourhoods, she had none.
Mark went out and bought her cleats and her soccer uniform for her and brought it home for her. She hadn't tried it on until the day of her first practice so luckily it fit. They got in the car and the whole ride there she was nervous. Things like 'what if I'm not good enough, what if they hate me?' kept running through her head causing her nervousness to turn into fear.
When they arrived, Layla hesitated to get out of the car. She sat there scared to death of what was going to happen. She knew all the other kids would be better than her. Mark and John got out of the vehicle and walked around to kneel down in front of her. "Don't worry, sweetie. Everything's going to be okay. They're going to love you," John started, "just like we do," added Mark. "You're an amazing little girl and I hope they all see that." John finished. That was the first time anyone had ever told her that they loved her. It made her nervous because she then felt the responsibility to satisfy them, to make them happy. It was that feeling that made her jump out of the car and give them both a hug before taking a deep breath and walking toward the other kids. John walked beside her and took her hand while Mark followed close behind them. While Mark and John talked to the coach, Layla looked around at the other kids there. There was a pale-skinned girl with blonde hair playing with a boy with black hair, and a tanned girl with dark brown hair with a girl who had dirty blonde hair. There was something about the dark haired girl that stuck out to her but she couldn't tell what it was. She couldn't wait to meet her, though.