and everything to be. One day I actually timed how long it took him to smooth every strand into place like that—especially that one little piece in the front. (I was grounded, okay? There wasn’t a whole lot else to do!) And he was at it for thirty-one minutes.
Thirty. One. Minutes.
Then he winked at his reflection and stalked away. (I so wish I were making that up!) What I wouldn’t give to be a Guster and be able to blast him with wind.…
But I’m guessing the point of this whole writing-about-my-memories thing isn’t to make fun of my dad’s hair, so…
*squints at drawing*
I honestly can’t tell who my dad’s showing off for. It could be Tiergan, since he definitely knew all about Tiergan’s fancy reputation—and my dad’s always looking to make new “connections.” But he could just as easily have been trying to impress Foster. I used to hear him talking about her to my mom, going on and on about how he was convinced that Foster was way more powerful than anyone knew.
And, I mean… he wasn’t wrong—but now that I’m thinking about it, my mom was the one who always started those conversations. And she kept telling my dad that he should find out more about her.
That’s probably because she was trying to plan Foster’s kidnapping and didn’t want the Black Swan to be watching her.
Huh.
Mom of the Year strikes again!
Anyway. I’m sure I’ll be digging into my mess of mommy issues soon enough. For now, let’s get back to the day Daddy Dearest met the Mysterious Miss F, shall we?
I don’t really know why I drew myself looking so miserable. I couldn’t see my face, so it’s not like I have any idea what I actually looked like right then—and I mostly remember feeling nervous, since I was super aware that my dad could tell Foster was hiding something. She’s not the smoothest liar.
Though… I guess my mood did change when I felt Foster’s emotions shift, and that’s the moment I drew here.
My dad had been droning on, being his usual jerky self. And I was picking up a pretty hilarious amount of annoyance from Miss F. But then she looked at me, and I could tell she felt…
Sad.
Not for her—for me.
My dad might’ve been trying to learn something about Foster that day. But she learned something about him, too—and it’s the thing in my life that I’d rather not have people know. Once they do, they either feel awkward, or weird, or they start pitying me for having such a horrible family.
Thankfully, Foster didn’t do that.
She just felt sad—and a little bit indignant. And if I hadn’t already known I liked her, I would’ve—
You know what?
I think that’s enough rambling about this memory.
MEMORY #2
Awwwwww, my first flight with Glitter Butt!
I love that sparkly alicorn mama almost as much as she loves me!
Too bad her back wasn’t nearly as comfortable as I wanted it to be. I couldn’t sit without wincing for days—though, I guess that might’ve also had something to do with the bumps and scrapes and broken ribs I got when Mommy Dearest and her Neverseen buddies showed up and tried to steal Silveny.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, memories!
But that’s not what this moment was about.
This one was…
Actually, I’m not sure.
All I really remember is how freaked out Foster was. And I don’t blame her. It had to be pretty terrifying knowing she was about to meet the people who “created” her—especially since we didn’t know if the Black Swan were the good guys or the bad guys back then. Plus, there was the whole “Will they be able to fix her abilities?” thing, which was kinda important since she wouldn’t be able to heal Alden’s mind if they couldn’t.
So yeah, Foster was feeling a tiny bit of pressure. And I was only there because her parents had decided that letting me go was better than having her fly across the ocean at night to meet a group of mysterious rebels all alone. But Grady still didn’t seem happy about it.
Can’t say I blame him for that. It wasn’t like I could help much. All I did was make a bunch of jokes to distract her—and it was super fun feeling her get all annoyed and embarrassed. I mean, look at that adorable blush! I could see it even with the moonlight washing out most of the color.
In fact… if I’m keeping it real… I’m pretty sure that blush is the reason I drew this memory.
I mean, I could’ve