Part 1 

Once upon a time, there were two sisters, Coco and Rosie. They lived with their mom, dad and grandma. Their dad was in charge of the house but he usually would say yes. His name was David. Grandma Mimi was eighty-seven years old. She came to New York from Africa when she was seventeen. Mimi was their mom’s mom. Mimi liked flowers and ran a flower shop called Mimi’s Flowers. Their father was a police officer. Coco loved to learn, and she loved school. She always said so, and always studied. She loved to study biology, geometry, and history. Rosie just sat in Pre-K. She cried, pooped, and ate. One day Coco was talking to Mimi. 

“Why did you bring me over here?” asked Coco.

“I need to talk to you about studying. You work too much and I think we should have a vacation. We are going on a cruise for a year. I know you’re going to miss school, but it’s going to be more fun! Your teachers sent me some homework you can do, and turn it in next year,” said Mimi.

“I’m not sure about this. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I am organizing it right now. I just wanted to tell you so that you don’t get overstressed,” said Mimi.

Coco felt nervous. She felt like no one would like her anymore because she was going to be gone for a year. But she felt okay about not studying because she did feel overworked.

Coco packed her bag and Rosie’s, but because Rosie’s was very small, she didn’t have to pack that much. On the cruise, there was a whole bunch of food, a whole bunch of games, and fun things to do. She played in the pool a little bit, and even though she really missed studying and school, she was having too much fun to think about it. She met two girls and three boys. The boys were really nice, but she was a year older than them. One of the girls had the same birthday as she did, and the other one had a similar birthday (but it wasn’t the same day). They played games together like Bingo, Marco Polo, and Limbo. After that, they all went to bed and woke up in the same room. But, for some reason, Coco wasn’t there. 

They looked all over for her, and even tried to call her. But she didn’t answer. She was flying away to go back to school. Her family had taken a small boat to the shore and gotten on a plane back home. Coco was miserable because she really liked the cruise. But they had to leave because Mimi thought that everyone would get boatsick. She had totally forgotten about it because she was too busy organizing and planning everything. When they got back from the cruise, Coco ran into her bedroom and started crying. 

But a year later, all of her friends from the cruise came to visit her. She was so happy that she was speechless. She got a letter that said that if she wanted to, she could go and join College University. Everyone was so proud of her. 

Eight years later, she was twenty-four working as a nurse, and made enough money to help charity. Coco moved to Africa and Mimi came too. Because Coco had to go to work three times a week Mimi had a caregiver. 

Three days later, Mimi fainted. Coco had to take Mimi to the hospital. They found out she had lung cancer, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. But, her whole family flew in from New York so they could check on her. 

For two months, Mimi couldn’t go anywhere except her house and all she could eat was soup and water. So the family stayed so they all could have a family trip. But they didn’t get enough tickets so they couldn’t. One person would have to fly by themselves. 

Coco took the one ticket and flew by herself. She was worried, but also happy because she was nervous about something happening to her like the plane crashing or almost hitting the water, but she was happy that she got to drink soda. 

She looked out the window and it looked beautiful. She saw the ocean, she saw birds flying. She also saw a rocket going into space. She was so amazed that she forgot all about her family. She took a whole bunch of pictures until 6 AM. She fell asleep. At last, she got to her house. She was so happy to see her family. Mimi was alright, and everyone was so happy. 

Coco went back to Florida. Instead of being a doctor, she wanted to be a nurse. So she went back to school, where she finally became a nurse, and she stayed in New York City. She got her own house, but she visited her family every single day. She still sometimes helped with the flower shop. Coco had a party to become a nurse and doctor. Her parents, friends, cousins, grandparents, sister, uncles, and aunts were there. It was a blast.