Guys, guys, guys, guysguys. I have finished one of the stories I was talking about would be finished soon. YAY. One down, six to go (it was supposed to be five. But I started a two-shot for Epilepsy awareness too) I don't know which one will be finished next as I don't know exactly how many chapters are left on each. But I think that "stranger defended" might be the next.

Maya's mum is portrayed by Katie Eichler.

"Well it's settled then. You, Maya will be moving into Jody's room and share with her instead of Candi-Rose. If you both want to we could rearrange the room as you both want it. Of course, the same goes as always. You cannot have your own TV or a big stereo system. But you can get some new color or wall paper. You can go to your room and do some brain storming right away- I only have to go and get the clothes I've figured for the dancing competition. But Maya, don't move your things yet. If we're going to paint the walls in your new room then you have to spend another few nights in there."

"Whatever you say, boss."

I could see Mike giving a short laugh in the rearview mirror as he turned into the driveway outside Ashdene Ridge and I and Jody unbuckled our belts.

"I'm just going to go sort something out. I have an idea for the clothes for the phoenixes."

"I thought Candi-Rose wanted to do that."

Mike peered smiling, whatever he would come up with now it was probably ugly. But for the moment I couldn't care less when I and Jody walked up to the house.

"I wonder what plans these are…" We split in the hallway to get changed and I wasn't so sure what Jody thought. But I needed some time of my own before the rest of the day. "…Whatever it is. I don't think everyone's going to like it. Especially not Candi-Rose."

Jody only nodded and sent me an agreeing look.

"And here they are." Mike dumped a bunch of bags on the kitchen table as soon as we were all gathered again. "Our clothes for the dancing competition. Our group name is "The phoenixes" and phoenixes are gold, red, orange… anyway. Five of us will be wearing all yellow, five all orange, and five all red. I already made out who will be wearing what colors and you'll have to go with that as they are bought in sizes that I have noted." He held up a piece of paper he had had in his pockets. "So… Candi-Rose."

"Please not yellow, please not yellow, please not yellow."

"Yellow."

"NO! MIKE? WHY?"

Candi-Rose was never going to shut up about this now.

"Here's yours." Mike put what he had chosen towards her again. "And… Archie…" Mike moved on not wanting to start a fight and ignored Candi- Rose. "Red ones." In difference from Candi- Rose, Archie raised a hand and boxed happily in the air while Mike handed him a red outfit. "And next… me… Red…. Maya…"

Please let me get the orange one.

"Orange."

I bit my lip and tried to hide my feelings when I reached out and took the orange outfit Mike reached me. And while Candi-Rose turned to Chloe to whine instead of Mike, who kept ignoring her he handed out the other red, orange and yellow outfits.

"Can you all try them on so we can check so I got the sizes right?"

Each of the outfits had a pair of tights, a knitted sweater and a pair of low converse with regular, white laces. The tights were of the athlete kind, and all the sweaters were at least a couple of sizes.

"These are adults' sizes." Archie told everybody, his red shirt hung down to his knees. "How are we supposed to dance if we can't even use our hands?" He held out his arms to the sides, the sleeves hung half a meter away from where the shapes of his fingers could be seen under the fabric.

"Just imagine them as feathers. I know they're not exactly the nicest…"

"Not the nicest?" Candi- Rose pulled her shirt over her head with a grimace. "They're the absolute ugliest."

"Come on." When I saw Mike turn to Candi-Rose to finally understand Jody came up behind me and patted my shoulder. "We don't want to see this. Let's go to our room and brainstorm about how we want it and what should be changed." I nodded before I could hesitate and came with her. Jody was right- Candi- Rose was moaning about the clothes and we had had enough of that. So I just followed Jody and within a few seconds we stood side by side in the room that would soon be both mine and Jody's.

"This room is pretty small you know…" I looked around and on Jody's bed that stood in the middle and said only because it was the first thing I could think of. "Maybe, if we want to have a dresser and a few other things and still want to be able to move in here. A bunk bed would make more space than having two single beds. Or what do you say?"

"Sure. That's a good idea. Can I have the top bunk?"

"Fine with me."

We kept on pointing back and forth, brainstorming and discussing ideas. Somehow, I wasn't sure how we decided that we'd start with painting the walls all white. And then put up frames or something so we could change it if we wanted to. Jody and May- Li went to buy paint and I went to my room with Candi- Rose to look over so I had my things gathered to move them all later.

"But don't you want to still share with me?" Candi- Rose seemed hurt. "I thought we were friends."

"We are. And you've done nothing wrong. It's just that we are so different and I and Jody are more alike and are in the same homeroom and everything. But look at the bright side. You will finally have a room of your own and can spread your things all over the room as you want… Can you leave me alone in here? There's just something I have to do."

Candi- Rose looked as if I had just broken her heart. But she did leave thankfully. When the door closed behind her I opened one of my dresser drawers and pulled out the small jewelry box I had hidden in the back. Opening it my mum's old necklace laid right under. A silver chain, with an eternity symbol, half of the symbol was covered in orange- colored gem stones.

I had really hoped I'd get any use for this ever.

Twisting the thin, silver chain in between my fingers I remembered when I was about three and dad had found this in a drawer.

"Here… this was your mother's. Use it well."

He had laughed. As dry and as loud as he always did when he wanted to let me know that I was as useless as he thought my mother had been.

Even my three year old self had taken the box carefully, then hid it where my dad couldn't find it and throw it away.

It had stayed hidden since then. I had never found an excuse to wear it. What if I did? What if I dropped it or broke it somewhere? I was so clumsy. I probably would.

I carefully put the necklace back in the box and hid it in the back of my underwear drawer again.

Sometimes I wished mum had been buried with that necklace, wearing her favorite piece for eternity. But then of course, my dad was in charge after her death and had chosen exactly the pieces she hated the very most.

Except for the small jewelry box hidden in my drawer I had a shoebox under my bed that I sat down on my knees and pulled out.

There wasn't much in the box, except there was a lot of things, some photos, wristbands from every single one of the surgeries I had had. A couple of cd's, a copy of Anne of the green gables, nobody had to know that was one of my favorites. And at last a framed photo of my mum holding me when I was a baby.

I reached down under all of those paper wristbands and to the frame and pulled it up. I had always kind of wanted to hang or put the photo standing somewhere. But I had never really gotten to do it. Sharing room, or bullies or whatever was the reason for me not to- I had never done it.

It was said that revenge was never the answer. But I would do anything to get revenge on my dad for what he had done. But then… he was already in prison. And what could a person do to get revenge for killing someone.

The thought hit me like a train.

Of course, telling dad I hated him, insult him or cutting him completely out of my life wouldn't help. He already thought I was useless and he'd only get back at me.

I would have to do the exact opposite and so to speak- be the bigger person. And do my best I wasn't as usual as he thought I was. Show him that I had managed to get a life despite him trying to take it from me.

I laid the things back in the shoebox and pushed it in under my bed again. Then quickly got onto my feet and hurried down the stairs. I knew exactly how I wanted this to go!

"Mike?" I knocked at the already opened door and Mike looked up from his computer work. "I'm just wondering something. I was thinking… maybe it's possible. I'd kind of like… well… not like exactly but… I guess it would be cool if my dad could come watch the competition. I'd kind of liked it if he was there."

Mike raised an eyebrow in surprise. I couldn't blame him- if I was him then I'd expect myself not ever wanting to see my dad again. He had tried to kill me four times after all. Not succeeding any of the times but still.

"I would just kind of like to prove to him that I managed to make a life despite everything he did to me, said to me and called me."

I couldn't say what I thought. But something in Mike's eyes looked as if he might understand anyway.

"I'll see what I can do." He told me. "I'll do it right away before I can have the time to forget. Do you want to be here for the calls to the social services? I have to call them first." I hesitated, then shook my head. "Well. I'll come and get you when I know something. I can't promise you anything but I can promise I'll do my best." He grabbed the phone and did something on the computer. I nodded and turned. I was way too nervous about this to hear what Mike was saying.

Archie came from the other direction when I came out of the office. He had barely even been able to look me in the eyes after he told the secret I had asked him to keep. But I wasn't so sure if I should hate him for it or not. After all, he was too little to really know what had been going on. And I didn't quite want to accept to myself that he had done the right thing.

"Maya's quite a mystery though. Isn't she? She's practically told us nothing about herself."

When I walked by the living room, where many of the others were I could hear them talking. I recognized Tyler's voice talking, and silently, so that no one would hear me took a few steps closer to the door so I could hear what they were saying.

"And she doesn't have to." I heard Jody's voice. "Maya's private life is just that- private! Just like all of ours."

"When she doesn't tell us anything…" That was Candi-Rose. "…We're bound to wonder though. Not even I know anything and I've shared a room with her since she got here."

I didn't answer or even show them I was there. But it did sound like it was most of the others, if not all of them who were in the living room and I knew It wouldn't stop right there.

"Jody's right." That was Finn's voice- he was always so kind. "Maya's our friend. We're supposed to want her to feel good and if she doesn't feel good telling us anything then that's the way it is. She's one of us- we've all been through more or less terrible things. That's why we're here. But I wouldn't like people talking about me behind my back like this. We should just leave her be."

I couldn't help but to feel grateful that Finn was in there, some people thought he was stupid for having Down's syndrome and not being able to talk properly or fast. But he really did say the best things sometimes and almost always he was right.

"There is just one thing I'm wondering about…" I knew that tone in Joseph's voice when it started again and I suppressed a sigh. "I wonder where those scars come from. They look kind of like burn scars but I'm not sure…" I was tired of waiting, stepped into the living room and he silent. "…Sorry. We were only wondering."

"My dad threw a kettle of boiling oil over me- that's what happened."

For a second I was about to tell all of the others about the earlier times. That dad had broken the breaks of the car and then my toddler car seat before mum went away and how mum died but I ended up in just the part of the car that wasn't all mashed. How when nine months later he had cut my whole arm open, thought that it would be too late and then taken me to the hospital and claimed that I had gotten in the way while he was chopping onions. Or how he had fed me peanuts when I was three and pretended he had given me chocolate he didn't know was peanuts in. And not remembered until I stopped breathing from an allergic reaction.

Then when each time had failed so far…

Well. It was at the burns someone at the hospital had finally understood that what dad had been doing weren't just accidents. And after not much time dad had been taken to prison, and I had been taken into care.

But I was still scarred for the rest of my life wasn't I?

Instead of telling all the others. I just decided I didn't want to, turned around and hurried up the stairs and into the room that still belonged to me and Candi-Rose.

One would think I was used to the thought about what my dad had done by now. One would think I was used to hearing people whispering behind my back about what I looked like and wondering about what.

But as I felt tears rise in my eyes I knew that I would never get used to it at all.

Random fact

I have downloaded the edit from Polyvore the edit with what Maya and Jody's room look like. It's just that it's wrong because there are pink sheets for the-one-who's-not-Maya since I originally planned for Maya to keep sharing with Candi- Rose. I don't think Jody would right sheets that are white and light pink… Anyway. I'll sort it out and change it somehow and then a picture with the things will be up on my Instagram page "Linneagbfanfiction" and so will also the pictures of the clothes and what characters wear what color for the dancing competition.

I have also found what the clothes for the competition looks like. They will be up on Instagram as well.

Those who review will get a shoutout.