Disclaimer: I don't own Higher Ground or any of the characters but Janey, in this part. Even Brenda is an actual Horizoner.
Peter sat across his desk from Janey. She hadn't said a word since she'd walked in. A knock resounded throughout the silent room.
"Come on in!" Peter called.
Juliette Waybourne, a seventeen-year-old, bubbly brunette, bounced into the room. She took one look at Janey and, for all intents and purposes, squealed.
"A newbie!?" she asked, her delight showing immediately. Janey stared at her in disbelief. This girl was too happy to be true.
"Juliette," Peter began. "You wanna do me a favor and show Janey here around for a few days? Get her settled?" Janey knew it, like a lot of things Peter said, was not a question. This did not seem to faze Juliette.
"Sure!" she agreed. "Janey, did you say? You'll like it here."
"I already do." Janey smiled sarcastically. She turned to address Peter. "I want to know what this girl is on. Sign me up!"
Juliette looked puzzled, but Peter merely shook his head at Janey warningly.
"You two can put Janey's stuff in the Cliffhanger girls' cabin, then you can show her around, Jules."
Juliette nodded, beaming, and picked up two of Janey's bags. Janey grabbed the last one, shot a glare at Peter, and followed Juliette.
It only took a few minutes for the pair to get to the cabin, and Juliette showed Janey to the empty bed inside. Janey dropped her stuff on the bed and sat at the foot of it.
"You okay?" Juliette asked, concern creeping into her voice.
Janey shoved a strand of her shoulder-length hair behind her ear and looked at Juliette blankly.
"Come on," Juliette urged, eager to show Janey the campus. "I'll show you around and introduce you to people."
The younger girl shook her head stubbornly.
"Janey!" Juliette frowned. "Should I get Peter or Sophie? Are you okay?"
Janey stood up jerkily and creased her forehead into an impatient expression. "I'm fine. Jeez, have a freaking cow."
Juliette looked startled at this sudden personality switch, but she shrugged it off and led the way to the door to begin her tour.
A half hour later, Janey was convinced she could locate everyplace on campus blindfolded and with her hands tied behind her back. Juliette had shown her every minute landmark, from the wood-chopping block to the main office, from the kayak "barn" to the kitchen hall.
Janey decided that Juliette must stay so skinny by bouncing around all the time. It burned more calories, she reasoned, when you were a happy-freak than a pessimist. Janey was not a pessimist, but a realist, as she often told herself. She knew the real side of life.
After prancing across a field littered with teens playing football, or soccer, or just walking and talking, Juliette arrived at the basketball court. She shrieked a hello at Auggie, Scott, Shelby, and David, and they dropped the ball to see what the cheerful girl had up her sleeve.
"Guess what!?" Juliette asked. "Newbie!"
"Newbie, eh?" Auggie repeated, looking past his girlfriend to see Janey. "Come on over, chica." He didn't say it unkindly, and Janey took a few steps closer, then froze.
"Guys, this is Janey," Juliette said, throwing an arm around Janey, who immediately pushed it off. "Janey, this is Auggie, David, Shelby, and Scott."
Janey's response was to glare daggers at her fellow Cliffhangers. Scott pulled Shelby close and kissed her on the side of her head. Shelby leaned into him and returned Janey's glare.
"We-heh-ell, what do we have here?" Shelby asked in her typical sarcastic manner, though not rudely. "Not the greatest greeting."
"I don't 'greet' skanks," was Janey's reply.
"Cut it!" Scott said angrily.
Janey spun to face him. "Bite me."
"Hey!" Auggie stepped in, acting referee. Scott ran a hand through his hair, and looked slightly embarrassed. Shelby frowned at Janey.
"Watch your mouth, kid." Shelby put her hands on her waist.
"Watch your hands, skank," Janey retorted. "Who knows where they've been?"
"Shut up! I'm tellin' you…" Scott warned.
"You shut up, and shove off!" Janey yelled at him.
Before Auggie could react, Scott jumped Janey, hitting her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. He fell to his knees and punched her again. Janey struggled to fight back, managing to get in a few good licks.
Auggie and David tried to haul Scott off of the younger girl, but he fought them too, and Janey used the opportunity to score several kicks to Scott's own stomach.
Peter raced over as soon as a crowd began to gather, and grabbed Scott roughly, dragging him backwards. Scott struggled. Janey forced herself to stand up, aching, then rushed Scott, almost knocking both Peter and Scott to the ground. Peter released Scott and got between them before Scott could get to Janey. He put a warning hand on Scott's shoulder and caught Janey's shoulder harshly.
"Who started this?" Peter demanded. Scott pointed at Janey and Janey pointed at Scott. "I guessed as much." He turned to a student nearby, watching the proceedings. "Brenda, go grab me some rope. Thin rope." She nodded and ran off. "The rest of you clear out." Muttering, they obeyed, but Shelby and Juliette hung back, Shelby feeling responsible for Scott and Juliette for Janey. "Now, Shelby, Jules."
They left too, reluctantly. Brenda came back and handed the rope to Janey and Scott. She took one look at Peter's face and cleared out quickly.
"All right, you two. You're gonna need to let bygones be bygones. Capeche? Scott, hand."
Scott held out his right hand with a set jaw, and watched Peter tie the end of the thin rope to his wrist. Peter then took Janey's left hand and tied her wrist to Scott's. Both kids looked expectantly at Peter, refusing to meet the other's eyes.
"A mile," Peter said. "A mile together."
Janey stood still, slightly unsure, and Scott gave a jerk with his wrist, and she was forced to follow him, giving Peter a rueful glance over her shoulder.
In the field, acutely aware of the many pairs of student eyes watching them, Scott started at a slow jog. He, standing at over six feet, had much longer legs than Janey, who was only four inches over five feet. She had to move her legs twice as fast to keep up with him.
Watching her struggle to keep up, feeling her skin touching his where Peter had tied their wrists together, Scott began to feel physically sick. And the things she'd said to Shelby! She didn't even know Shelby.
Scott picked up the pace, watching Janey's legs move at almost a blur as he moved into a run. He ran faster and faster, but his height and athletic prowess was too much for Janey. She ran hard, but finally found herself flying through the air, then landing heavily on the hard field, gasping for breath.
Her falling pulled Scott's wrist down, and he had to bend over her as she sat on the ground, panting.
"Too fast," she managed. "Too fast."
"Too bad," he said, mimicking her vocal inflections. He jerked her up, and she yelped as the rope rubbed against her now-raw skin. He started running again, even faster, if such a thing were possible.
Before long, Janey found herself back on the ground with a few more bruises.
"Get up," Scott demanded.
"No," she gasped defiantly. "You aren't playing fair."
"This isn't a game!" he returned angrily. "Get off your butt. Come on!"
She had no choice. It was only slightly over a minute later that she landed on the ground again. She kicked Scott furiously in the leg, and he jerked her wrist, ignoring the pain it sent through his own arm. Peter jogged over, pulling Janey up, and holding her untied arm.
"Cut it out," Peter reprimanded. "Unless, of course, you want two miles?"
"No," Scott said heatedly. Janey didn't respond.
"Your mile starts over. Cooperate." He dropped Janey's arm, and she bit her lip, glancing at Scott. He nodded at Peter, and started to run again. Janey was able to keep up, but she noticed that Scott kept her on the very edge. If he went one-eighth of a pace faster, she would go flying again, and he knew it.
After the mile, breathing hard, they went back over to Peter. He took out the same pocketknife that he'd earlier used to cut Janey's handcuffs, and now cut loose the twine that bound the two enemies' wrists together.
Both kids instantly clutched the offended wrists, and faced Peter with livid looks.
"Scott, K.P."
"What?" he whined. "Now?"
"Get over there, unless you want shuns," Peter said seriously, determined not to let the boy get away with this behavior. Scott started wandering in the direction of the kitchen hall. "Pick it up, Scott!" Peter called after him, and Scott broke into a jog.
Peter turned to Janey, who returned his look. "Janey, fighting is not allowed here. Did I not make that clear to you?"
Her mouth tightened, but she didn't look away. "I know this is not a comfortable situation for you right now. Is there anything I can do to help? You wanna talk?"
"I want out of this group," Janey said clearly, shoving her sweaty hair out of her face.
"Tough," Peter said. "You can learn from them; they can learn from you. Even Scott."
"I hate him," Janey said. "And you're shaping up to be another person I hate."
"Hate is a strong word, Janey," Peter commented.
"Fine. Passionately dislike, then."
"You're on room restriction till dinner," Peter said, letting her proclamation slide. "You can get back to your dorm?"
"Yeah." Janey turned and walked in the direction of her dorm. Peter sighed, looking at his hand holding the remains of the rope that had, for a little while, bonded the unbondable.
Sophie came up behind him.
"What happened?"
"Scott and Janey got into a little fight."
Sophie nodded. "Are you sure putting them in the same group is a good idea?"
"Janey wants out," Peter told her.
"Are you letting her?" Sophie wanted to know.
"No," Peter said. "That'd be taking the easy way out. I put her in the Cliffhangers. I want her in the Cliffhangers."
"Yeah, I understand," Sophie said. "I just don't want her too stressed. That's not a good thing at this point. If she's going to have problems with Scott—"
"—and Shelby, from what I could tell," Peter interrupted.
"Shelby? That can't be good."
"Nuh uh," Peter agreed.