Hello, readers! I hope you all like last chapter with Éponine's story meeting Joly in New York, because now we're continuing from there. This fanfic mainly focuses on Éponine rather than the other characters. But I mean, who doesn't love Éponine? *cough, cough, Marius* Okay, besides him :P So, I guess I can shut up now. Oh, and keep an eye out for more Les Mis connections, especially in a minor new character we meet...
Chapter 7: Reality Sucks
Her name was Eilene Theinert. That's what everyone believed her to be. No one knew her true identity, and no one would. Not until she found a way home.
It had been a couple weeks since she found Joly at St. Digna Academy, the school that she recently attended. He gave her the necessities she needed to start out, but she didn't accept any more from him. He needed to take care of himself and not worry about her. She knew how to take care of herself.
She knew the money wouldn't last very long, so she didn't bother buying an apartment building like Joly. Where he had that kind of money, she didn't know. Éponine found an old, abandoned hotel and found how useful it could be. She barely saw anyone walk around that neighborhood and the hotel was completely enclosed, except for the secret entrance she found to get in. Éponine knew this was a secure place; no one would ever find her.
She only went to Joly's apartment once more to take her school uniform. He asked her again if she wanted to stay with him, that it would be safer for her to be with someone familiar. She turned him down once more. It wouldn't be right if she took advantage of him like that. She knew how to take care of her.
The hotel wasn't the best sleeping arrangement, but after she bought pillows and blankets, it was more comfortable. She even went shopping for clothes. She found out what a mall was and learned how amazing the stores were. The employees helped her find exactly what she needed and they didn't yell at her for anything, even when she asked what a pair of jeans was. They were calm and considerate to her; much more cordial than most of the shopkeepers she used to know.
Éponine told Joly she would pay him back for the tuition, since she didn't have any of her own money. She told him she would pay him back for everything. She only had about half of the money he gave her, and knew she needed to use it sparingly. She didn't want him to help her anymore. She knew how to take care of herself.
They had been in New York City for almost a month, and Éponine had settled fairly well at St. Digna Academy. She blended in with the students and no one accused her of being poor or a street rat. She even made a couple friends, Cassie and Elke. She didn't want to change the future too much, so she played it low-key and didn't explain her life too much. They didn't ask that many questions either, and she was glad. The less they knew the better.
Éponine rushed across the busy street and made her way to school as the first bell rang. She only had about five minutes to make it to study hall or Mrs. Ruffelle would write her up. She did not want a detention; that would go on her permanent record and she couldn't have that.
She rushed through the doors and passed the students, looking for Study Hall Room 2. It was close to the cafeteria, and her next class, Art. It wasn't her first choice for an elective, but she didn't know what else to choose. All the others seemed too complicated for the amount of knowledge that she had.
She eventually found her classroom and walked in, completely out of breath. The bell rang a few seconds later and she breathed a sigh of relief – she made it.
"Hello, Eilene," Mrs. Ruffelle said, "Why don't you take a seat? I wanted to talk to the class for a second." Éponine looked at her and nodded. There were long desks where the students sat, perpendicular to a flight of stairs. Éponine climbed the stairs to the highest row and sat in the first desk she saw, away from anyone else in the room. Mrs. Ruffelle smiled at her began her speech.
"Class, I have been informed to tell you about the Foreign Language Exchange. For whichever language, Spanish, French, German, or Italian, you need to fill out the form if you are going on the trip this summer, as well as if you're bringing a family member. I have extra copies at the front of the classroom if any of you need one."
Many of the students got up out of their seats to take one of the papers, but Éponine didn't. She was in French, of course, but she didn't have the money for the trip. She knew the trip would possibly help her if she went to Paris for the summer, but if things didn't work out, she wouldn't have the money to keep going in this world. She didn't want to take that risk.
For the rest of the period, Éponine read. She loved being able to say that because she could afford books and she succeeded at it. She started out with children's books, but eventually made her way to extremely long novels. After school, she always went to the library to work on homework and read, and she wouldn't leave until the librarian told her she had to close the library for the night. She loved reading so much, and wished she attended school before.
She only had about three or four years of education, which she quickly found out that wasn't enough. Colleges required a full elementary, junior high, and high school education. There was so much she didn't know about the world, and now she was given an opportunity to learn. It was a gift from God.
The bell rang as she was in the middle of one of the chapters in her current novel. She packed up things into her backpack (another modern term she learned) and ran down the steps to art. It was her favorite class and she loved what she could do. Éponine knew she could turn her art into something worthwhile.
On her way to class, she saw Joly walking towards her, talking to his friends. They laughed at a joke he made and then he spotted her. She smiled and waved, as did he. They told everyone they were cousins, and that's what they believed. They didn't know who they really were, nor would they ever.
After Art came World History. She had Mr. Hugo, ironically. At first, he wasn't fond of her because of that outburst she made in his class, but once he got to know her, they had that student-teacher bond. She worked really hard on her essay on the French Revolution, taking information only from the book. Her experience played a minor role in the essay because she knew he was looking for "real" facts.
"Good morning, class," he said, walking in late as usual. The class said good morning and he told them to turn in their essays. Everyone stood up and placed them in the tray. He began talking to them about the essay and what they should have been writing about. Some of the students groaned, wishing they had known what to do, but not Éponine. She was confident in her essay and knew she would get a good grade.
The class went by with him talking about the French Revolution, and eventually to Napoleon. Éponine paid close attention and wrote notes for everything. She wanted to know what parts of history she didn't know. The French Revolution was all she had lived for, all she had known. She like hearing about the world and what stories they told, instead of just France and all the horror she saw.
"Now, Louis the XVI was a –" He stopped midsentence as the door opened. Someone walked in, but Éponine didn't bother to see him. She knew it was the boy who sat next to her. He was always late, Clark or Mark, whatever his name was.
"Um…" Was all he said. She chuckled a little under her breath as she took her book out to read. She wanted to finish the chapter she was on.
"Take your seat." Mr. Hugo said. She heard the boy walk down to his seat in the back of the classroom as she put her bookmark in the book. Mr. Hugo was about to start teaching again.
"Now, before that interruption," Mr. Hugo said, clearly putting him on the spot, "Who can tell me three reasons why Louis XVI was not a strong ruler during his reign?" Some students in the front answered most of the next few questions for him. They were the "brainiacs" of the class, as she'd heard them been called. People had seen how intelligent Éponine was, but she wasn't a showoff like the kids in the front.
"For the rest of the period, read Chapters 23 and 24 on Napoleon Bonaparte. I will read your reports during this time." The class took the books from under their desk, as did she. Éponine learned so much in Mr. Hugo's class. He was one of her favorite teachers.
Éponine began reading about Napoleon Bonaparte when she felt a strange feeling, like someone was staring at her. She slowly looked over and saw the left eye of the boy who came late to class staring at her. She quickly covered her face with her hair and continued reading. She didn't want too much attention.
The bell rang and everyone collected their books and made their way to the door. Clark/Mark ran towards the door hurriedly, but not before Mr. Hugo had anything to say about it.
"Mr. Mercer," The teacher called out. He was right by the door; only two steps and he would be home fBut Mr. Hugo knew better. He was one smart teacher. "Please stay a minute." The boy sighed and slowly walked towards his desk. Éponine was the last to leave, hoping not to catch Clark/Mark's eye again. She wanted nothing to do with him.
"Eilene, very nice report." Mr. Hugo said as Éponine walked towards the door. She barely turned around and looked only at Mr. Hugo, not wanting Clark/Mark to see her.
"Um, thank you, Mr. Hugo." He smiled at her and she walked out of the classroom with her books covering her chest. She wanted to get to lunch fast. Clark/Mark frightened her a little.
She walked down the long hallway and made her way to the cafeteria. Cassie and Elke always sat at the same table every day, so she knew exactly where to go. It was the third to last table on the right side, closest to the cafeteria line. She held a five-dollar bill in her hand so she could buy lunch.
In the lunch line, she couldn't stop thinking about Marius. Where he was, what had happened to him…she just wanted him to be with her. She just wanted to know he was alright. She noticed how dangerous this new world was. Joly was right; bad things became worse over time.
"Eilene!" She heard her second name being called by Cassie. She and Elke were sitting in their usual spot eating lunch. Éponine smiled and walked over to them with her hamburger and water bottle. "Hey, what's up?"
"Just really tired. I was up late last night reading this book."
"You're always reading books. Take a break once in a while, watch some TV." Elke said to her. She didn't have a TV in the hotel and she didn't want one. She liked reading more.
For most of the lunch period, Elke and Cassie were talking about Prom and their "soon-to-be-dates," something Éponine was not a part of. She wasn't planning to go, mostly because she wouldn't have a date. Marius still wasn't found, and he was the only one she wanted to go with. She sighed as she ate her hamburger and wished things were different.
"Hey, Eilene, are you okay?" She looked up from her half-eaten hamburger at Cassie and Elke staring at her.
"What?" She replied, swallowing her hamburger before speaking again, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. What's wrong?" Cassie asked her. They both rested their chins on their hands, awaiting an answer.
"It's nothing." Éponine replied, trying to dodge the subject, only making it worse. They saw right through her.
"Oh, it's a boy!" Elke screamed, "Tell us! Now!" Éponine's face grew pale and her cheeks rosy red. "It's really nothing, I just-"
"Girl, we know when someone is in love." Cassie said, "You better tell us now." Éponine looked at Elke, who gave her the same look. There was no getting out of this.
"Well…" She began, not sure how to say it. Should she tell them him name? Would they question? Names surely have changed, given the fact that her friends were Cassie and Elke, the strangest names she'd ever heard of. She found no harm in telling them a strange name from her hometown. "His name is Marius."
"Oh! That's a fancy name!" Cassie said as they both clapped in triumph for getting Éponine to speak.
"Ha, yeah, well he's from France."
"When were you in France?" Elke asked. She forgot she wasn't speaking to someone on the streets who knew everything about her. They knew nothing, and she was only increasing their suspicions the more she talked.
"I've lived there all my life. But then, I just ended up here." Éponine said, hoping not to arise anymore questions.
"Ah, parents made you move." Elke said.
"Something like that." Éponine lied, "Anyway, I just really miss him." Her face showed it all; the undying love towards someone who was in love with someone else, someone she completely loathed.
"Well, maybe you should go back. Like, ask your parents if you go to France for the summer or something."
"Yeah, maybe…" Éponine said. She was done talking about, mostly because it hurt her too much to. So she lied again. "I have to go; I didn't finish my calculus homework."
"Kay, see ya later." Éponine packed up her things and threw her lunch away. She was headed for the library; hopefully, she could get some peace and quiet to finish her book.
She opened the book and started reading along the way, her other schoolbooks in her arms. She only had a few chapters left before she finished, then she could start another one. She opened the door with her eyes still glued to the book, and accidentally bumped into someone else. "Ah!" She shouted and watched her books fall to the ground. She groaned and bent down to pick them up.
"Oh, pardon me." He said, picking up her pre-calculus book. He held the book out for her to take and she looked him right in the eyes. Chocolate brown eyes with the matching hair…she found him! It was Marius!
"Marius…" Éponine whispered to herself. It was him; she found him at last!
"Um, excuse me?" He asked her.
"Sorry, I mean, I'm sorry." She replied, pushing her hair behind her ears. She wanted to look presentable for Marius. They hadn't seen each other in a month; she missed him so much.
"Have I seen you before? I think you're in one of my classes." Her face dropped. Was he blind? Did she change that much wearing the school uniform and looking like…a normal human being? What was wrong with him?
"Um, yeah, I'm Ep-" She started with a vulgar tone, angry that he didn't recognize her, but then something hit her. He was the boy from her history class, the one that sat next to her. If he knew who she was, he would have said something. "Um, I'm Eilene."
"Nice to meet you, Eilene. I'm Mark." He held his hand for her to shake, but she became as silent as a library. It was true; for some reason he didn't know who he was or who she was…she blanked out. He smiled and walked away, leaving her alone. She followed his path and made sure he didn't see her. She found him, but he didn't find her. She was alone again.
"Oh Marius, what's happened?" She whispered to herself. She lost him again – only now, she had to face him every day and know he was oblivious to their relationship.
"Hey!" Someone grabbed her arm and she turned around – Joly. He saw him, too. "That's Marius, isn't it?" Éponine nodded, tears beginning to fall down from her eyes. Joly embraced her and let her cry.
"He doesn't remember," She told him, "He doesn't remember me or him or anyone." Joly stroked her hair in comfort and told her everything would be alright. She knew it wouldn't be alright; that's exactly what her parents said when she they weren't going shut down the inn, when they said they would manage without Cosette and her mother's money. This was reality; and her reality sucked.
Éponine's heart is just crushed at this moment. Without Marius, her life feels empty. Now with him here as a completely different person, her heart is completely broken. She is learning reality doesn't always have a happy ending (But then again, she's known that her whole life. It's just getting worse here). I hope you're all pumped for the next chapter, because one special revolutionary man joins the gang in New York, with a different story than most we've seen...
Anabelle ;)
