Joy's POV
"I'll pay any cost- just save me from being confused, show me what I'm looking for..." I mumble, trying to draw my attention away from my fighting parents.
I tried to pretend I this wasn't happening, and that this was all a bad dream. "Please, I'll be strong, I'm finding it hard to resist-"
"JOY! GET DOWN HERE NOW! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" Dad yells, infuriated with my mum.
I scurry to the common room, grabbing all my luggage and my new Jansport backpack packed with things needed for the new term. I cringe slightly when I hear mum's voice telling him not to yell at me.
Please don't start fighting again...
I enter the common room, unable to look my parents in their eyes. As my dad goes to get the car keys, I notice my mum putting something in one of my bags. An awkward silence hangs in the air.
"Joy. Come on." He says, his voice softening.
I follow him, skittish. "Bye mum."
She gives me a small nod, smiling at me slightly. We arrive to the school three hours later than I was scheduled to, causing me to do tons of paperwork that I really didn't need to do.
Because of my tardiness, I missed everything. The house 'welcome back' party, the after-party (introduced by Eddie), and most probably lunch.
I wave a small goodbye to my father, sighing in relief when I see his car disappear into the horizon. My walk to the house was as slow as I could possibly make it. I didn't want to see everyone disappointed in me because I was late, and I needed some time to think about my family.
I jolted back into my senses as I felt myself crash into someone, sending my things falling to the damp grass, me with it.
"Ow!" I mumble, looking around. "Seriously?"
I look up, determined to find out who it is. I looked back down in embarrassment. Jerome. Instead of the cocky smirk I was accustomed to seeing, genuine concern was written upon his face. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there. My name's Jerome."
I looked at him, giving him a what-the-hell? expression, while he waits expectantly for me.
"Well?" He says, urging me to go on.
"Yes?" I reply back with a question.
"Are you gonna tell me your name or what?" He says, catching my by surprise. He didn't know me?
"Joy." I say, before running off into the house.
I go inside the house flustered, breathing heavily. "Trudy?" I ask, a little bit scared the house was empty.
Trudy comes in, glancing at me, doing a double take. "Oh, hello there dearie, you must be the new girl. Come, I'll give you a tour of the house. Don't tell anyone I said this, but this house is the best."
I try not to give off a face that said that I already knew this, and that I know who everyone is and where anything is.
Ahem... Not to be weird or anything...
"Um, can you please show me my room? I'm... Uh... Feeling a bit light-headed." I mumble, completely failing on my lie.
"Oh, sure. Come on, dear, follow me." She takes me to the room I share with Mara and Patricia, gesturing for me to take the bed next to the window.
"Thanks Trudy." I give her a small smile, and start unpacking my things, declining nicely when Trudy offers to help.
I unpack my things slowly, my mind going back to the sick prank Jerome and Trudy pulled on me. Did they really think I would be that stupid?
I make my bed, and put my clothes into the closet that wasn't taken up with Mara and Patricia's things.
My fingers stop, and my eyes widen when I see the medium sized box mum put inside my luggage. I lift the box up, and put it on my lap, clueless as to what might be inside.
A thick manila envelope, something that looks like an ancient jewelry box, one of those feathers you tie with your hair, and more things, all of them packed with a kind of organized chaos.
I jump slightly when someone enters the room. "Hey, Patricia? Do you know where the book I lent from Nina went? I can't find it downstairs, and I really don't want to believe Mick's eaten it..." She stops talking when she realizes I'm not Patricia. "Oh, hi. I'm Mara."
Seriously? Mara too?
I smile, "Joy."
Something flashes in her eyes. "Are you famous or something? I feel like I know you from somewhere..."
I feel like I've just been punched in the gut. "You really... You don't remember me?
"I'm trying, I mean, I know I've seen your face before, I just don't know where.."
"Okay." I sigh dejectedly.
Someone bursts into the room. "You know, Mara, I think Mick's eaten Nina's book. I mean, he got so smart all of a sudden. I think when his stomach digested the pages all the knowledge seeped into him or something. Fabian's trying to stop him from eating his entire book collection. I mean, seriously. Oh, and did you hear? Nina told me that Patricia told her that she overheard Eddie and his dad talking about a new girl in school." Amber says in one breath.
Mara points to me.
"Oh. You must be Joy. Hi! I'm Amber." Amber says, smiling warmly.
"Hi." I say, waving sadly.
"Oh. You must be pretty tired, huh? It's fine. I'm tired myself. But there's a lot of things to be done! Most importantly, how to get Fabina back together." She nods, sitting down in Patricia's bed, her pink clothes contrasting with the dark bedsheets.
"Fabina is Fabian and Nina's names together, by the way." Mara says, sighing exasperately.
"Yeah, they've been on this on again off again relationship. Right now, they're off, but I'm trying to get them together again. They're just so perfect for each other!" Amber squeals.
Somewhere in the distance, I hear someone call Mara's name, and Mara walks downstairs, leaving me alone with Amber.
Amber, not wanting to risk an awkward silence, waves goodbye to me, and walks out the room, most likely planning yet another Fabina scrapbook.
I look at the opened box my mum gave me, and put the feather into my hair, feeling a sense of calmness the second I did.
Okay, weird...
I walk downstairs, the electric blue feather contrasting with my dull brown hair. I grew kind of attached to the feather.
"...Joy!" Mara yells, looking up from what looks like a thick college-level book.
I smile, and walk towards her. "Hey."
"Who's the chick?" A new voice says rudely. It took me a minute to find out it was Patricia.
"Hi." I say, looking down in disappointment. "I'm Joy."
She gives me a disgusted look, and walks away, probably going off into her room. Which is also mine and Mara's.
"Sorry about her... She's not really welcome towards the newcomers." Mara says, apologetic.
"It's fine." I say, and walk into the kitchen, bumping into the one and only Jerome.
"Hi." He smirks, looking down at me. Curse my fun-sized height.
I let out a noise that sounds somewhere in the middle of a squeak and a horse choking. "Hi."
"So, Joy, is it?" I nod. "Thank you for crashing into me, but I prefer you didn't do it again." He says, the stupid smirk never leaving his face.
I roll my eyes, and say sarcastically, "Whatever you say, sir."
Right as I was about to begin my dignified walk of shame to the outside world, I stumble over a foot that wasn't there before. Faint laughing was coming from Jerome, but I didn't let that affect me.
He was always like that before, so why should he have changed because he didn't know me?
