Closed Funny Food & Growing Up

Elizabeth seemed really proud of the gift she put together with care for Kara. "You are very welcome." She smiled big. Watching her cousin open her twin brother's gift, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. More stationery, like every year. Kara did seem to enjoy it and use it though, so she let it go.

Elizabeth had never heard of or read these Giver books, Kara received from Daniel. She peaked over Kara's shoulder at the book set.
 
Harper nodded at Kara. "Glad you like it." He raised an eyebrow up at the book series, it was unfamiliar to him. Kara was always more of the reader between the three of him, he did enjoy a good book every once in a while. He mostly only read when he had to for school.

"What are those books about?" Harper asked looking at Daniel.
 
Daniel laughed."I hope you enjoy them. I know I did!" He hoped that Kara liked his gift as much as she did her cousins' gifts. He was never the best at buying gifts, so to get a positive reaction was a good sign for him."Don't feel pressured to give my book back quickly. You can finish reading it if you want!" Daniel didn't really have a use for it at the time, since he'd already read it so many times.

"They're about a distopian future where everything is super different, like you can't see colours and the leaders pick what your career is." Daniel loved talking about the books, since they were his favourite."I've read them a few times, they have an interesting concept."
 
Kara nodded and smiled. "Thanks again." She listened as he explained The Giver to Harper and then turned towards her cousins. "It's super interesting, but I don't think you'd like it particularly, Elizabeth." She turned back towards her gifts and finished opening the rest of them up. Kara respectively thanked her family members for the gifts and noted to thank the ones that weren't there for the gifts they sent.

She walked back towards the tree as her parents began cleaning up the mess from the presents and food. Kara sat back down with her back against the tree. "It's a nice day and I can't wait to read those books later." She said to Daniel.
 
Elizabeth scrunched her nose at the thought of a society that didn't allow you to make choices for yourself. That sounded awful. "Gross." She shook her head. As everyone began to clean up, she looked at Kara. "Happy Birthday again. I am going to see how many times I can cross the monkey bars before I have to leave. You can come with!"

Elizabeth absolutely did not wait for Kara to respond and skipped away to see how many times she could cross the monkey bars.
 
Harper listened carefully to the book description. As Kara opened the rest of the presents and the kids began to disperse, he lingered back to help the adults pick up trash. He didn't want his grandparents straining themselves trying to help his aunt and uncle.

His mom showed up as he was mostly done cleaning up trash. "Hi, mom." His mom walked up to him and gave him a hug. She waved at Kara and wished her Happy Birthday. Harper knew they were going to have to leave soon. Mom always has to get up early. Always late. Always leave early. That's the new motto. He shrugged it off and sat at the picnic table as the adults talked.
 
Daniel sat with Kara, watching Elizabeth head off to the monkey bars."So, I take it Elizabeth likes climbing?" From what she had said, he assumed that was the case. He liked exploring, but not so much climbing. It tired him too much. He preferred walking around caves and forests.
 
Kara laughed and nodded. "That's all she does. Climb." She loved her cousin but definitely recognized the differences between the two of them. "I am not a fan, but she loves it." Kara pushed some dirt around with a stick her fingers brushed upon. "Do you like to climb? Or go on adventures?"
 
Daniel shrugged."I don't really climb, but I explore caves and forests. They interest me more. Climbing makes me tired and then I can't do much." He wondered if there would be places to explore at Hogwarts."Do you explore much? I'd guess that Hogwarts would be a good place explore."
 
Kara shook her head no. "I prefer my exploration to be in libraries and get the second-hand experience of adventure through characters in novels." She wondered if she would like exploring Hogwarts. "Hogwarts is huge. I am sure there are plenty of places to explore. There is a forest, but its called the Forbidden Forest. Well, because it's forbidden." Kara made a mental note to stay as far away from the forest as possible."It's not just against the rules, but it's also very dangerous." She hoped this didn't make him scared to come to Hogwarts, or at least hoped he didn't tell his parents there was a dangerous magical forest at his new school.
 
Daniel grinned."The forest sounds cool. I wonder if we'll ever get close to it." He made a mental note to check it out, even if it was from a distance."I'm looking forward to the library at school. That'll be a great place to study and explore." Daniel loved the idea of reading as many books about magic as possible. That way he could be sure he knew what he was doing.
 
"I hope not!" Kara said with widening eyes. She didn't want to be anywhere near anything dangerous and against the rules. "The library is probably cooler than I have imagined it. I think it'll be a very nice place to study and read."
 
Daniel agreed."I'm looking forward to the library." It was probably one of the things he was looking forward to. He loved the idea of studying new subjects."I hope I get enough sleep. I'm probably going to spend a lot of time learning about everything!"
 
Elizabeth was dragged back to the party from the monkey bars by her brother. Their mom said it was time to go. She ran over to Kara to say goodbye. "Bye Kara, Bye Daniel, glad I got to meet you." Beaming proudly she added, "I made it across 8 times, by the way." Elizabeth laughed as she gestured toward the monkey bars.

She skipped off to leave with her mom and brother.
 
He had convinced Elizabeth to get down from the monkey bars but needed to say goodbye to everyone. "See ya later, Kara. Looking forward to school with you next year, Daniel." Harper added being polite. He waved goodbye and departed with his family. He didn't like how often his mom made them leave early but didn't argue with it because he knew she worked hard.
 
Kara agreed. "Sleep is important. We will have to find the time." She said. "I wonder what the curfew for students is? I wonder how late we can actually be up without getting in trouble?" Always worrying about the rules was her thing and she wondered if there was a book with all of them she could read. Hopefully, she never breaks a rule when she goes.

Elizabeth and Harper came over to say goodbye. "Thanks again for coming and for the gifts. I appreciate them. See you later." She laughed when Elizabeth announced how many times she had crossed the monkey bars. Elizabeth was already gone before she could reply. "Can you go across the monkey bars? I can make it maybe one time." Kara said to Daniel.
 
Daniel shrugged."I'm sure we'll be told. I don't think they'd want kids out of bed each night. No one would study then." He wasn't worried about the rules, since he knew that he'd pick them up quickly, but it did mean that some things may be off limits.

Elizabeth and Harper said goodbye."Nice to meet you two. See you at school!" Daniel grinned. School seemed like a while away, but at least he'd know some people. Kara asked him about the monkey bars."Oh, I'm not sure. Yeah, once, maybe twice if I'm lucky. Let's try!" He ran over to the monkey bars and started swinging.
 
Kara followed after Daniel to the monkey bars. She had been worrying too much about school, it's just her entire future depended on it. Relax Kara, you have a couple of years before you have to be super serious. You have time. Repeating the words her mother told her usually only erased the anxiety for a moment, but a new task at hand had her attention: monkey bars.

Watching Daniel swing across the bars, she watched to see if he would fall or if he would stay strong. She reached up to the bars after him, grabbing on tight.
 
Daniel continued on the monkey bars and just made it to the end before his hands slipped off."Ouch," he said, rubbing his hands. They were bright red, but he went back to the start and waited for Kara. He grabbed on again, but didn't move. Just hanging, he lifted each hand one at a time, practicing his grip strength while he waited.
 
Kara winced when Daniel fell, she was more worried now. "Are you alright?" She asked with concern. Grabbing the next bar and swinging forward, she was now on the fourth bar. Kara took a deep breath and stretched her hand out towards the next one. It was just barely out of reach. She didn't want to jump to the other bar, she didn't want to fall. Kara looked down at the ground and dropped down on her feet. "I can't reach it." She said, moving out of the way.
 
Daniel winced."Bad luck," he said. He started swinging. He made it to the end again and turned around. He made it halfway before his fingers slipped off again."Bummer," he said."I was close to two times!" He grinned, rubbing his hands again. That was pretty good."Have another try, Kara! You can do it!"
 
Kara clapped when he made it almost two times. She felt more encouraged by his words and it felt nice to have such a kind friend. "I'll try again." Kara reached up and grabbed the bars, swinging across again. This time she made it to the fourth bar again, reaching her hand out she grasped the fifth bar. She hung there for a moment and took a couple more breathes before swinging forward to the sixth bar.

Kara was more than halfway and further than last time, but it was still really hard. Her fingers slipped from the bar and she fell down. "I made it closer that time!"
 
Daniel grinned."Good job!" He grabbed onto the bars again, but only made it to the end before slipping off again."I think my hands aren't going to last another round," he laughed, looking down at them. They were nice and red, but he didn't mind. It was fun swinging on the monkey bars.
 
Kara watched him try again and nodded when he said his hands couldn't go again. She found bravery with her friend and decided to make one final attempt. Kara grabbed onto the bars, swinging her legs forward to the next one. Reaching the fourth bar, she once again began to struggle. This time she made it to the sixth bar before falling.

She was proud of herself for making it that far. It was improving. "I should probably spend a little bit more time on the monkey bars instead of hiding inside reading and writing all the time."
 
Daniel laughed."Reading and writing are good too. I'd prefer to read than climb." Even though he was adventurous, Daniel preferred hiking and swimming than climbing. Which was a shame, since most of the time climbing gave the better views."I'm looking forward to school, where I can do both. Climb a tree or something and read up there."
 
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