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Mar 23 2008, 7:39 AM EDT (current) Anonymous 3032 words added
Mar 23 2008, 7:36 AM EDT Anonymous

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Part 1
“Oh don’t you look adorable.” Sally stated as she fixed Alyssa’s hair under a white straw hat. Alyssa had a completely different idea though; glaring at her adoptive mother in pure loathing. Adorable to most meant torture to her and this was far more terrible than she could have ever imagined. This was how Easter always was no matter what family she happened to be in. They would dress her up in pinks and whites with ribbons and lace to trim the edges then they would put her hair up and make her look like one of those little girls you would see in a magazine. It was easy to say that Alyssa was far from happy about it.
This year was no different. Alyssa sat with her sisters (who all wore their Easter dresses with smiles) and scowled as Sally prepared to take a family picture. She had been forced kicking and screaming into a pastel pink sundress complete with little hearts along the bottom and a silk shawl to match her new hat. Alyssa wasn’t sure why her sisters loved this so much but she was almost certain they were all crazy. “Alyssa, smile for once. It’s just a picture. It WONT kill you.” Alyssa almost made a smart comment until her dad entered the room with Jo-Jo right behind him.
Dress shirts and ties with their hair combed back. Now she knew this family was crazy. Who in their right mind would actually let themselves be dressed that way? Jo-Jo sat down with the same annoyed expression as Alyssa and leaned back against the couch with a grumble. Probably the first thing he’d said all morning. Sally set the timer on the camera and hurried over to her place beside the Mayor; smiling brightly. “Alright everyone. Smile!” The flash went off with an overpowering light that made Alyssa have to blink almost ten times before she could actually see straight.
Well at least that was over, but now she was going to have to spend the day dressed like…well a girl!

The Mayor seemed far to excited as they wandered down into town for the big Easter celebration. He skipped and hummed and jumped for joy as they neared the town square with the majority of the family doing the same. It seemed like Jo-Jo, Sally, and Alyssa were the only ones who actually had some sense. “Come on Alyssa. You’re about to experience how our family celebrates Easter!” the Mayor said; grabbing her wrist and pulling along his reluctant daughter toward the crowds that were laughing and chattering excitedly.
Alyssa had grown up in a life where her mother celebrated holidays while her father hated them so there had never been much for festivities in her childhood other than maybe one present on Christmas and a little extra to eat on Thanksgiving. Now her dad was trying to change that. “You can do the egg hunt with the other girls. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Alyssa shook her head in disagreement with the Mayor and scowled; the brim of her hat falling slightly to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight Hunting for colored eggs sounded rather idiotic to her actually and there was no way she was going to do it.
The other girls had the complete opposite idea. They each held their own colorful basket and seemed to be discussing who would get the most this year and Alyssa rolled her eyes in perfect time with Jo-Jo who had come up beside her with his hands shoved into his pockets. “I hate Easter….” she muttered; taking a seat on a bench while the Mayor announced the start of the egg hunt. Children and adults alike spread out to search the town for the eggs and candy that had been set out the night before, but Alyssa didn’t move a muscle. There had to be something better to do.

At long last, they were home. Sure Easter wasn’t over but at least Alyssa could go to her room and get away from everyone for a while. Well, almost everyone. The Mayor came bursting through the door singing a song he obviously made up on his way up the stairs and grinned at Alyssa who was sitting on the floor; her eyes wide in shock. “Happy Easter Aly-what is that?!”


Part 2
Alyssa looked at him as innocently as she could; holding her new friend under its front legs and resting her chin on top of its head. The Mayor stood frozen in the doorway as he stared at the two and stammered to say something more. Sensing his confusion, she decided to explain herself. “It’s a bunny….” she started quietly. Indeed, she held a small grey rabbit to her chest and smiled ever so slightly. Her dad sighed a bit as he tried to think of a way to approach the situation without yelling or getting angry. Where in the world had she gotten a rabbit? “I know it’s a bunny but where did you….why do you have it?” he replied.
He watched Alyssa grow pale in nervousness straight to her eyes which seemed to fog over. It wasn’t every day you walked upstairs and found one of your kids holding a rabbit. Then again it was Easter. “I found him during the egg hunt today. He was all alone and scared so…”

“You brought him home…” The Mayor finished her sentence with an aggravated grumble. How was he supposed to explain this to Sally? It was that Sally hated animals, but she had never let any of the kids have a pet before and most likely wouldn’t let Alyssa. He opened his mouth to tell her to get rid of it. He had to be the father here and do the right thing, but that was easier said than done. As soon as he made the move to scold her, Alyssa’s eyes widened and seemed to tear up a bit in pleading for him to let the rabbit stay. How was he supposed to say no to that?
The Mayor stopped his sentence and took a few steps closer; touching the rabbit’s soft fur and smiling a bit. “I suppose it can stay for a while…but if Sally says no, we’re letting it go.” Alyssa nodded brightly and in an excited manner. With a smile, the Mayor gave his daughter a pat on the head but the moment was short lived when the sound of footsteps approaching them echoed into the room. They were both caught off guard, but Alyssa was quick to hide the smoke colored rabbit in her dark blue backpack.
“Honey? What are you two doing up here?” Just in time. Sally entered the room and placed a hand on the doorframe; looking at the two who were still sitting in the middle of the floor. She gave them a questioning look and the Mayor jumped to his feet. “Sorry Sweetie. I was just trying to umm….convince Al to come downstairs.” He received another look from his wife. “She’s embarrassed about her dress still,” he whispered to her and Sally finally gave a nod of understanding.
Alyssa stared up at them; glancing back and forth between the two in confusion. Just before she had the chance to get to her feet, the backpack behind her gave a small twitch. The Mayor’s eyes grew wide and he gave a quick head motion to warn Alyssa who practically threw herself onto the moving object to keep it still. Luckily, Sally didn’t seem to notice as she turned to leave. “Well if she wants to eat then she’d better come downstairs,” was all she said to them. As soon as she was out of sight, they both gave a sigh of relief. “We’re going to have to tell her sooner or later,” the Mayor stated as Alyssa pulled the rabbit back out and nuzzled its tiny head.
Somehow, seeing Alyssa so happy made him wish Sally liked animals a bit more. “But Roger wont make it out there alone…” The Mayor gave her a considerate look as well as an understanding smile to match. For a girl who had been raised in such a terrible environment, she really was compassionate and sweet. “I’m sure it…err…Roger will be just fine Alyssa, but for now, let’s get some dinner. Maybe we can talk to Sally after.” He waited for Alyssa to nod and put Roger into the cardboard box she had apparently made to be his home and then walked with her down the stairs and to the kitchen. Hopefully Sally took this better than he thought she would

Part 3
Easter dinner had to be one of the biggest events for the family. Alyssa stared in wonder at the mountain of food Sally had prepared in such a short time and had to admit it made Easter a little more worth it. Even though they ate well normally, this was far beyond what she had expected. Sweets, vegetables, fruits, meats, and even a few things that Alyssa couldn’t quite come up with a name for. Maybe she would learn to like this holiday after all. However, the lingering thought of the rabbit wandering through her room upstairs seemed to weigh her down a bit. How was she supposed to eat when the fate of her little friend lay in the hands of her adoptive mother?
She quietly poked at her meal with her gaze distant. “Sweetie, is something wrong?” Sally asked when she saw her daughter’s behavior. Normally, Alyssa ate quickly and then disappeared into her room for the night, but she hadn’t eaten a thing since she’d sat down. That was a sure sign that something was wrong. Alyssa looked up at her with an expression full of contradiction as if trying to decide what to say. Finally, she seemed to find the right words and spoke up.
“It’s nothing Sally. Just….tired.”
Sally could hear the lie from the start, but thought it better not to question her. Alyssa would never keep something important from them, but then again, she’d lied about her father when they’d first met. She continued to glance at Alyssa throughout dinner and still she did not eat. By the end of dinner, her plate was still quite full and her expression had not changed. What could possibly be on her mind? Sally decided she would talk to her before she went to bed.

“So are you going to tell Sally about the rabbit?” The Mayor and Alyssa sat in the living room playing cards like the usually did after dinner. They never played so someone would win. It was normally just a way to pass the time and, as Sally said, help them bond into a real family. Alyssa shuffled the deck in silence for a moment; avoiding his question and then gave a sigh. “I suppose I’ll have to….but what if she says I can’t keep him?” Her voice was quiet and sad at the thought of losing her friend and the Mayor had to admit that he didn’t want to see Roger go either. The little rabbit really was a good influence on Alyssa.
Sally walked in before he could respond and smiled at them. “So did everyone have a good Easter?” she asked pleasantly. It was Sally’s job to try and make motherly small talk, but this was probably a bad time for them. They couldn’t show that however. “Yes Sally,” Alyssa answered as she dealt the cards and made sure not to meet her mother’s eyes. That is, until she saw her father’s expression.
She turned to in the direction her dad was and saw just what had caused him such shock. Hopping down the stairs just behind Sally was Roger. Alyssa jumped to her feet. She had to distract Sally so her dad could get the rabbit, but how? “”Oh my Easter was fantastic Sally and I must say, dinner was perfect,” she stated. There was no way Sally would actually buy this. I mean, Alyssa never complimented anything so why would she start during the one holiday she couldn’t stand?
Sally seemed to take it all to heart though.
“Oh really? Well I’m so glad you had a good time Alyssa. I know this whole thing has been hard on you, but this just shows how much things can improve if you give it a try!” As the two talked about their day, the Mayor quietly crept to the stairs where Roger had been seen hoping. He would grab him, run him back to Alyssa’s room, and pretend it had never happened. Easy as that.
But something was wrong. The Mayor couldn’t find any sign of the little gray rabbit anywhere and felt his heart race. Where had the little rodent gotten to?
He looked around frantically but still found nothing; not even a tiny clue. Then he heard something that made him freeze where he stood. From the next room, he heard Daisy and his youngest daughter Peggy squeal in delight. “Bunny!!!”


Part 4
“Alyssa Jean Marie Denise Who…..You have a lot of explaining to do.” Sally crossed her arms as she looked down upon her daughter with an angry expression. After Peggy had gotten hold of Roger, there was no hiding it any longer and Sally hadn’t taken it as well as they could have hoped. Alyssa sat on the couch with her hands nervously clasped in her lap and her eyes gazing at her feet in shame. Why hadn’t she just told Sally in the beginning? Now all she could do was tell her mother everything and hope Sally didn’t keep Roger and kick her out of the house.
Listening as her mother tapped her foot impatiently, Alyssa sighed and began to tell just what had happened.
“Well while you were all doing the egg hunt, I went for a quick walk around the square. I stopped in this lady’s garden to look at some flowers and Roger just kinda jumped out at me. He was so small and helpless….”
She paused for a moment; looking up at her mother for any sign of sympathy. Nothing. Sally was still as impatient as ever.
“I just couldn’t leave him there! He gave me this look and….I don’t know. I just picked him up, put him in my backpack, and took him home…I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” Alyssa finished with what almost sounded like a small sob but she was holding back her tears quite well. The poor girl’s heart was simply breaking at the thought of losing her new friend and even the Mayor, who was watching from the next room, could tell. “Come on Sally, be reasonable,” he stated as he entered the room and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Sally shrugged him off and scowled. Apparently she wasn’t going to let this die. “No dear. Alyssa lied to me and now she’s going to pay the price. The rabbit has to go,” she snapped; most unlike herself.
The Mayor looked a little sad at his wife’s reaction but didn’t speak against it. Once she made up her mind, there was no stopping her. “His name is Roger….”
Both of them looked at their daughter in slight shock. Their children didn’t normally backtalk and it was no laughing matter.
“Excuse me?” Sally said quietly.
Both of them were questioning what they’d heard.
“His name is Roger!” Alyssa shouted; rising to her feet and curling her hands into tight fists at her side. The Mayor knew this wasn’t going to end well. Though Alyssa hated to admit it, she was still her real father’s daughter and that meant she had an almost murderous attitude when provoked He made a move to try and settle her down, but was far to late. Alyssa raised her fist and took a punch at her own mother; giving the Mayor just enough time to grab her wrist and stop her assault. No daughter of his would grow up acting like this. “Alyssa! You need to calm down or we wont even discuss this matter!” he shouted angrily. This only seemed to provoke her more and Alyssa made the attempt to pull away, but the Mayor held fast and wouldn’t let her go.
Sally was stunned silent as she stared into the eyes of her raging child and then her expression softened. She knew that look. It wasn’t anger and it wasn’t hate. In fact, that look was one of pure sorrow. No matter how much Alyssa might try to mask it with another emotion, she could just see the sadness trying to break free. Without warning she threw her arms around Alyssa and held her close to her chest just like her mother had done when she was just a child. “I’m sorry Alyssa.”
Alyssa’s stood rooted to the ground and opened her mouth as if to speak against her mother, but no words could be formed. “I didn’t mean to upset you….I guess I just forgot what it was like to be a little girl.” The Mayor couldn’t help but smile at the precious moment they were sharing. Mother and child so close together and in such a touching manner. Then Sally said something he would have never expected her to say.
“We can keep Roger.”


“Mom! Roger needs more carrots!!”
Three days had passed and Roger was already part of the family. The little smoke colored rabbit had won the hearts of everyone in the house and was more like a little brother than a pet. All the kids loved him and even Sally had to admit that he was cute. Alyssa had never smiled so much.
It was easy to see that Roger had brought just a little more love into their lives and made Easter just a little more special. As they gathered together for yet another family picture, Roger was the one who stood upfront in the arms of the little girl who loved him so much. Alyssa actually smiled at the camera as the flash went off and their happiness was forever sealed into their photo albums.