Autumn always had troubles paying attention in class. Something both her teacher's and mother noticed that concerned them with the lack of participation she was showing in solo or group activities. When asked Autumn never knew how to express herself and a meek I don't know was usually the response. As a young child it's hard to organize your thoughts in a way others would fully understand, but if she knew what words to say Autumn would probably have explained it like this. "I never felt any of the material we were learning engaged my interests." Instead what her words could not say was expressed through body language with her eyes always fixated on the windows outside. Free time like recess and after school was her solace, and she relished every bit of it outside. She didn't even mind the bad weather that would otherwise make some of the other kids wish they were allowed back inside. Rain, snow, or shine she wanted to be outside, and more particularly as close to the edge of the woods as she was allowed to get.

It wasn't until a class trip to a local farm to learn about where their food came from did Autumn really felt captivated to try and learn. It was another cold wet morning and most of the kids showed up to school in their rain boots, and jackets which would be useful once they actually landed by the farm because the land was sure to be muddy, but as for the bus trip there it made for an agitated and bumpy one going over the long stretches of dirt roads. Mud caked the walkway in the bus, and the warmth of the heaters made the crowded bus muggy and damp with sweat. Once the class arrived Autumn along with all the other students eagerly poured out of the vehicle onto the muddy wet dirt road of the farm. All of them itching to stretch their legs and to air themselves out in the cool breeze outside despite the teachers calling for a calm and orderly line up out the bus.

She being one of the first ones out raced from the bus to a nearby fence lining the grassy wet yard of the farm. Out in the distance she could see large familiars grazing in the fields, just shy of a line of trees that separated one part of the property from another. She felt the urge to run further. However before she could run off one of the trip supervisors that had been counting the freshlings noticed her missing from the group had spotted her by the fence. "Autumn come back and join the group." She said in more of an inclusive and cheerful tone rather than a scolding one coxing Autumn from her impulsive thought to join the rest of her peers. She ran over to join the rest of her classmates stretching their limbs and chatting excitedly about the day ahead. It felt nice not having to be stuck to the chair or on the playmate of the classroom floor.

(Needs editing -She didn't like it so much that she had to stick with the class for the tour, she would have rather gone off on her own to explore, but knew better than to run off on her own even though the property was calling to her to. Watching some of the other farm hands going about their day did make her jealous throughout the tour, but she kept along with the class.

What really caught Autumn's attention was the familiars. The class was brought through some of the pens holding young familiars giving everyone the chance to pet the cute animals as the farmer leading the tour explained how they would be helping the farm when they were older. Some would help through making products like milk, cheese, and wool and others had jobs on the farm like protecting the other animals, tilling the soil naturally through occupying a space before being moved to another plot, and breaking down manure to help create healthy soil. Most kids were too caught up in petting the familiars, but Autumn was enraptured by the speaker's words. They way she made it sound was that the familiars were a lot of hard work to keep healthy, but their companionship they shared and the mutually beneficial relationship made the hard work sound worth the time.

The ride home wasn't spent as restless as the ride there, most of the kids were tuckered out from the busy day outside, but Autumn was stuck deep in thought thinking about what she could say to her mother to let her try growing plants at home and maybe taking on a few familiars of her own to start her own small business. She didn't want her mom to think this was just another want.

The next few days Autumn had done her own research, something that seemed completely out of character, but necessary if she wanted to talk her mother into taking her proposal seriously. Taking on familiars would cost money. Money to purchase and keep well fed and warm. Money she knew her allowance wouldn't be able to afford on it's own which is part of the reason why she had to convince her mother to take on more pets even if they were not just pets and had a purpose in mind for them. What she could afford on her allowance was seeds! Seeds she could grow into mature crops and sell to make enough money to purchase the familiars, or grow into young plants to sell to others to grow themselves if she happened to grow too many and something that would be a lot easier to convince her mom to give her room in the back yard to grow.)

continue-