I don't own any of the characters from Higher Ground
Please R&R
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." – Eleanor Roosevelt
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Parker looked out the window towards her new school. It was called Horizon. She sighed to herself. She had always thought of Horizons meaning new hope, but today she felt hopeless. That was her problem. Lately she had just felt hopeless.
Her mom looked at her worriedly. "Parker I don't want to do this. Please don't make me… no that's not what I mean. I want to help you. And I think this will. You're my baby girl, all I have. I can't stand to see you so sad. Please don't hate me for this."
"I don't hate you mom. I couldn't." If I could just erase the past it would be okay, she thought. Her mom didn't know what had happened, why she was depressed. And if she found out she'd never look at Parker the same.
"C'mon sweetie lets go." Parker and her mom got out of their Jetta. Parker looked back at the car and smiled. She remembered how excited her mom was when they got that car. It was the first time her mom had gotten a new car, and they had gone to the dealership together to get it. They used to be so close, but now… well they had drifted. Or Parker had drifted. It didn't really matter either way, she figured.
"Hello I am Peter Scarbrow. You can both call me Peter."
"Hello Peter, I am Ms. Callendar and this is Parker."
"Hello," Parker said.
"Its very nice to meet you both. Why don't you take your stuff with you and come to my office." Parker picked up one of her bags and her mom picked up the other. They followed Peter through the front doors, down a hall into his office. Inside Sophie was waiting. "This is Sophie Becker. Parker, here at Horizon everyone is in a group. You will be in Sophie's, the Cliffhangers. If you don't mind Parker, Sophie will get you checked in- check bags, a physical by our doctor, etc.- so that you can join the Cliffhangers before lunch."
"Sounds good, I guess. Goodbye mom." Parker hugged her mom tightly.
"Its okay honey. I'll visit in a month. I love you, be safe, okay?" Her mom had tears in her eyes. Parker shook her head, unable to meet her mom's eyes. "Feel better, baby."
Her mom let her go and Parker walked out with Sophie.
"You are one of the few kids upset to leave their parents," Sophie observed.
"I'm all she has," Parker explained. "I don't like leaving her because I know it's killing her. But when I was home, she was still sad because I was so withdrawn, as she put it."
Sophie just nodded as they headed into a room where they could do the check.
Scott ran his hand through his hair. He was bored out of his mind sitting there waiting for the new kid.
"How long is this going to take?" Shelby asked to no one in particular. Scott smiled at her, noticing how she knew exactly what he was thinking.
Jules and Auggie sat on the couch across from them. Jules hadn't said much all day, and Scott was a little worried, but he figured Auggie could help her if she needed it. You're the ex, Barringer, remember? He thought. Still he felt as though Jules was like his sister and he had to protect her.
Shelby watched him deep in thought. "What are you stressing about in there," she said, tapping his head.
"Truth? Jules. She's been so silent lately, I just think that something is up." Scott noticed that Shelby's expression changed, but not to its normal stop-talking-about-Jules-look. It was a more softened look instead.
"We all have fallbacks in our moods," she said shrugging. Scott could tell she was thinking about something, but he didn't press for more. Shelby and Jules had a twisted relationship. He wasn't about to dive into a subject that could drown him.
Jules watched Scott and Shelby from the across the couch. They were whispering, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with her. Shelby hadn't given Jules any of her usual BS, much to Jules' delight.
"Why are you staring at them?" Auggie leaned near her ear and whispered.
"I just was wondering what they were talking about, that's all." Jules looked over at Auggie. "When are your parents coming?"
"Next Monday."
"A whole week! I was hoping it was coming sooner than that!"
"Really? I thought you were still anxious about the whole spending time with them, feeling out of place thing. Which, by the way, was purely something of your imagination."
"Thank you Augusto." Jules hugged him.
"Alright Cliffhangers, sorry to keep you waiting. This is Parker."
Parker stepped out from behind Sophie. She had beautiful honey colored hair, which fell over her shoulders in that messy but good way. Her green eyes glanced around the room. She was pretty to say the least. Jules heard Auggie take a breath in quickly. She knew he would never cheat on her, but she didn't like the idea of him looking at other girls very much. She elbowed him lightly to make sure he got the point.
David was the first to jump to his feet. "Hello Parker, I'm David. Call me if you ever need anything, day or night." David looked very serious as he said all this.
"Um, thank you." Parker looked scared.
"I'm Juliette." Jules spoke on instinct.
"Auggie."
"Daisy."
"Ezra."
"Shelby."
"Scott."
Kat had already gone off to get settled in as a counselor. Jules got sad just thinking about Kat not being a Cliffhanger anymore. She was going to work with the Ridge runners since she didn't know most of them. It was supposed to make the situation more challenging for her when she didn't already know the kids and their problems. Jules attention snapped back to Sophie, when she heard her name.
"Jules? Jules? Listen please. You will be showing Parker around okay?"
Jules nodded. David groaned.
"No fair," he murmured.
Jules stood up and went over to Parker. "Lets go to the dorms, and then we'll head to lunch."
"Okay." Parker picked her one bag up and Jules got the other.
They headed off their way, and the rest of group broke up. As they headed up the stairs to the sleeping dorms, Jules started to try with small talk.
"Sorry about David. He is just annoying and jealous because he is the only single one in our group."
"So I noticed." Parker smiled at Jules. "I'm guessing you and Auggie- right? Um the two blondes-"
"Scott and Shelby."
"- And they Daisy chick and that guy, E, E…"
"Ezra." Jules smiled back. "You got it right! What about you? Got a boyfriend?"
"Sort off. I'm not sure, we didn't end on the best terms before I left."
"Sorry. What's his name?" Jules tried to look for feelings in Parker's eyes.
"Jake. He was so great. He actually started out as my best friend and then one day… well you know how it goes."
"There's been a lot of that lately. Daisy and Ezra just became an official couple. They've been best friends though, since like, they met."
"That's cool," Parker responded briskly and Jules realized they had walked right past their dorm.
"Oops Parker back here. This is the one." They walked through the door and Jules pointed to a bed on the other side of hers. Kat's was across the room form Jules, but she felt it was too sacred to give up. "You should take that bed. You can be next to me and a window is right there."
"Sounds good. So how bad does this place suck?" Parker placed her stuff on the bed and walked into the bathroom looking around.
"Its okay once you get settled in. But for awhile you'll probably hate it…. We all usually do."
"What changes?"
Jules looked at Parker and pondered for a moment. "It becomes home here. The people your family." Jules felt her eyes watered as she thought about Kat leaving. Even if Kat was still at Horizon, she was no longer a Cliffhanger. Jules felt as though she was losing her sister even though she wasn't lost. Blinking away tears, Jules focused on Parker.
"Are you okay?" Parker said worriedly.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It just sucks you know?" Jules sat down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"What does?"
Jules sighed. "Change."
Scott watched Shelby from across the dining hall. He thought she was ever as gorgeous today as she had been all dressed up at the morp. Her blonde hair was in a messy/bun/ponytail combo, but it drew attention to her face. Especially her eyes that were ice blue. Scott moved out the chair next to him, as Shelby got closer.
"Hey." Scott was startled by a voice. He looked up and found two stunning green eyes were watching him.
"Hey. You're the new girl right? Parker, right?"
"Yeah." Parker looked at him and half smiled. "You're… Scott, right?"
"Right. Here you can sit down next to me if you want. All the groups sit together because its supposed to help bring us together, or something." Scott gave Parker a quick look over. He could tell she definently wasn't a druggie, but she didn't seem to be the eating disorder "type". Scott shook his head slightly. He had a bad habit of associating people with eating disorders looking like Jules. Still Scott couldn't tell what the Parker's story was.
"Hey." Scott turned around startled and saw Shelby.
"Hey, Shel." Scott motioned to the chair that he had pulled out for her already. "Sit."
Shelby hated the food at Horizon in general. She looked at her plate disgusted before finally deciding to eat some of it. She looked to see what Scott was watching. Or who. To Shelby's dismay he was looking at Parker who was sitting on the other side of him. Shelby stared back down at her plate when Scott suddenly turned his head back to her.
"So, um. Shelby are we going to do something tonight?" Scott mumbled the words.
"Maybe. I'm pretty tired though. You should maybe check and see what Parker is up to." Shelby instantly wished she hadn't let those words slip. She got up quickly so that Scott could possibly not catch up, but he did.
"Shel, don't walk away from me. Not after you say something like that. Whats up with you anyway?" Scott was out of breath from talking and walking so quickly.
"Scott its nothing. Leave me alone."
:I won't leave you alone Shel. Whats wrong with you? You think, what, that I want the newbie?"
"You said it not me." Shelby winced as she said this.
"No I didn't say it. Shelby, you can't keep treating me like this. Shutting me out. Its not fair. I finally thought we were getting somewhere…"
Shelby walked away tears in her eyes before he could finish.
"… and then you walk away." Scott's voice was soft and wavering. He turned and headed back to the dining hall.
TBC
Please review- 10 again please thanks.
Please R&R
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." – Eleanor Roosevelt
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Parker looked out the window towards her new school. It was called Horizon. She sighed to herself. She had always thought of Horizons meaning new hope, but today she felt hopeless. That was her problem. Lately she had just felt hopeless.
Her mom looked at her worriedly. "Parker I don't want to do this. Please don't make me… no that's not what I mean. I want to help you. And I think this will. You're my baby girl, all I have. I can't stand to see you so sad. Please don't hate me for this."
"I don't hate you mom. I couldn't." If I could just erase the past it would be okay, she thought. Her mom didn't know what had happened, why she was depressed. And if she found out she'd never look at Parker the same.
"C'mon sweetie lets go." Parker and her mom got out of their Jetta. Parker looked back at the car and smiled. She remembered how excited her mom was when they got that car. It was the first time her mom had gotten a new car, and they had gone to the dealership together to get it. They used to be so close, but now… well they had drifted. Or Parker had drifted. It didn't really matter either way, she figured.
"Hello I am Peter Scarbrow. You can both call me Peter."
"Hello Peter, I am Ms. Callendar and this is Parker."
"Hello," Parker said.
"Its very nice to meet you both. Why don't you take your stuff with you and come to my office." Parker picked up one of her bags and her mom picked up the other. They followed Peter through the front doors, down a hall into his office. Inside Sophie was waiting. "This is Sophie Becker. Parker, here at Horizon everyone is in a group. You will be in Sophie's, the Cliffhangers. If you don't mind Parker, Sophie will get you checked in- check bags, a physical by our doctor, etc.- so that you can join the Cliffhangers before lunch."
"Sounds good, I guess. Goodbye mom." Parker hugged her mom tightly.
"Its okay honey. I'll visit in a month. I love you, be safe, okay?" Her mom had tears in her eyes. Parker shook her head, unable to meet her mom's eyes. "Feel better, baby."
Her mom let her go and Parker walked out with Sophie.
"You are one of the few kids upset to leave their parents," Sophie observed.
"I'm all she has," Parker explained. "I don't like leaving her because I know it's killing her. But when I was home, she was still sad because I was so withdrawn, as she put it."
Sophie just nodded as they headed into a room where they could do the check.
Scott ran his hand through his hair. He was bored out of his mind sitting there waiting for the new kid.
"How long is this going to take?" Shelby asked to no one in particular. Scott smiled at her, noticing how she knew exactly what he was thinking.
Jules and Auggie sat on the couch across from them. Jules hadn't said much all day, and Scott was a little worried, but he figured Auggie could help her if she needed it. You're the ex, Barringer, remember? He thought. Still he felt as though Jules was like his sister and he had to protect her.
Shelby watched him deep in thought. "What are you stressing about in there," she said, tapping his head.
"Truth? Jules. She's been so silent lately, I just think that something is up." Scott noticed that Shelby's expression changed, but not to its normal stop-talking-about-Jules-look. It was a more softened look instead.
"We all have fallbacks in our moods," she said shrugging. Scott could tell she was thinking about something, but he didn't press for more. Shelby and Jules had a twisted relationship. He wasn't about to dive into a subject that could drown him.
Jules watched Scott and Shelby from the across the couch. They were whispering, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with her. Shelby hadn't given Jules any of her usual BS, much to Jules' delight.
"Why are you staring at them?" Auggie leaned near her ear and whispered.
"I just was wondering what they were talking about, that's all." Jules looked over at Auggie. "When are your parents coming?"
"Next Monday."
"A whole week! I was hoping it was coming sooner than that!"
"Really? I thought you were still anxious about the whole spending time with them, feeling out of place thing. Which, by the way, was purely something of your imagination."
"Thank you Augusto." Jules hugged him.
"Alright Cliffhangers, sorry to keep you waiting. This is Parker."
Parker stepped out from behind Sophie. She had beautiful honey colored hair, which fell over her shoulders in that messy but good way. Her green eyes glanced around the room. She was pretty to say the least. Jules heard Auggie take a breath in quickly. She knew he would never cheat on her, but she didn't like the idea of him looking at other girls very much. She elbowed him lightly to make sure he got the point.
David was the first to jump to his feet. "Hello Parker, I'm David. Call me if you ever need anything, day or night." David looked very serious as he said all this.
"Um, thank you." Parker looked scared.
"I'm Juliette." Jules spoke on instinct.
"Auggie."
"Daisy."
"Ezra."
"Shelby."
"Scott."
Kat had already gone off to get settled in as a counselor. Jules got sad just thinking about Kat not being a Cliffhanger anymore. She was going to work with the Ridge runners since she didn't know most of them. It was supposed to make the situation more challenging for her when she didn't already know the kids and their problems. Jules attention snapped back to Sophie, when she heard her name.
"Jules? Jules? Listen please. You will be showing Parker around okay?"
Jules nodded. David groaned.
"No fair," he murmured.
Jules stood up and went over to Parker. "Lets go to the dorms, and then we'll head to lunch."
"Okay." Parker picked her one bag up and Jules got the other.
They headed off their way, and the rest of group broke up. As they headed up the stairs to the sleeping dorms, Jules started to try with small talk.
"Sorry about David. He is just annoying and jealous because he is the only single one in our group."
"So I noticed." Parker smiled at Jules. "I'm guessing you and Auggie- right? Um the two blondes-"
"Scott and Shelby."
"- And they Daisy chick and that guy, E, E…"
"Ezra." Jules smiled back. "You got it right! What about you? Got a boyfriend?"
"Sort off. I'm not sure, we didn't end on the best terms before I left."
"Sorry. What's his name?" Jules tried to look for feelings in Parker's eyes.
"Jake. He was so great. He actually started out as my best friend and then one day… well you know how it goes."
"There's been a lot of that lately. Daisy and Ezra just became an official couple. They've been best friends though, since like, they met."
"That's cool," Parker responded briskly and Jules realized they had walked right past their dorm.
"Oops Parker back here. This is the one." They walked through the door and Jules pointed to a bed on the other side of hers. Kat's was across the room form Jules, but she felt it was too sacred to give up. "You should take that bed. You can be next to me and a window is right there."
"Sounds good. So how bad does this place suck?" Parker placed her stuff on the bed and walked into the bathroom looking around.
"Its okay once you get settled in. But for awhile you'll probably hate it…. We all usually do."
"What changes?"
Jules looked at Parker and pondered for a moment. "It becomes home here. The people your family." Jules felt her eyes watered as she thought about Kat leaving. Even if Kat was still at Horizon, she was no longer a Cliffhanger. Jules felt as though she was losing her sister even though she wasn't lost. Blinking away tears, Jules focused on Parker.
"Are you okay?" Parker said worriedly.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It just sucks you know?" Jules sat down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"What does?"
Jules sighed. "Change."
Scott watched Shelby from across the dining hall. He thought she was ever as gorgeous today as she had been all dressed up at the morp. Her blonde hair was in a messy/bun/ponytail combo, but it drew attention to her face. Especially her eyes that were ice blue. Scott moved out the chair next to him, as Shelby got closer.
"Hey." Scott was startled by a voice. He looked up and found two stunning green eyes were watching him.
"Hey. You're the new girl right? Parker, right?"
"Yeah." Parker looked at him and half smiled. "You're… Scott, right?"
"Right. Here you can sit down next to me if you want. All the groups sit together because its supposed to help bring us together, or something." Scott gave Parker a quick look over. He could tell she definently wasn't a druggie, but she didn't seem to be the eating disorder "type". Scott shook his head slightly. He had a bad habit of associating people with eating disorders looking like Jules. Still Scott couldn't tell what the Parker's story was.
"Hey." Scott turned around startled and saw Shelby.
"Hey, Shel." Scott motioned to the chair that he had pulled out for her already. "Sit."
Shelby hated the food at Horizon in general. She looked at her plate disgusted before finally deciding to eat some of it. She looked to see what Scott was watching. Or who. To Shelby's dismay he was looking at Parker who was sitting on the other side of him. Shelby stared back down at her plate when Scott suddenly turned his head back to her.
"So, um. Shelby are we going to do something tonight?" Scott mumbled the words.
"Maybe. I'm pretty tired though. You should maybe check and see what Parker is up to." Shelby instantly wished she hadn't let those words slip. She got up quickly so that Scott could possibly not catch up, but he did.
"Shel, don't walk away from me. Not after you say something like that. Whats up with you anyway?" Scott was out of breath from talking and walking so quickly.
"Scott its nothing. Leave me alone."
:I won't leave you alone Shel. Whats wrong with you? You think, what, that I want the newbie?"
"You said it not me." Shelby winced as she said this.
"No I didn't say it. Shelby, you can't keep treating me like this. Shutting me out. Its not fair. I finally thought we were getting somewhere…"
Shelby walked away tears in her eyes before he could finish.
"… and then you walk away." Scott's voice was soft and wavering. He turned and headed back to the dining hall.
TBC
Please review- 10 again please thanks.