"Seriously, she's actually quite nice."
"Shut up Jana, she's a hick!" Nicole sneered at her friend and returned to braiding Bekka's hair.
"She's not Nic, she's really sweet. She has a little brother called Blake and her mom's a doctor."
"Oooooooh, what are you; her stalker? Watch out Alana, Iljana's out to get you."
"Shut up. And her name's Lanie, not Alana." Jana said quietly, picking at her nails.
"I don't care, she's weird. Come on Bekka, let's go and meet Ryan." Nicole stood up and brushed down her skirt. "Laters Jana." The two girls hurried out of the room, but not before Bekka could throw a sympathetic glance in Jana's direction.
Trailing down the stairs, Bekka's mom waved as she opened the door.
"Thanks for having me, Mrs Conaway."
"Bye Iljana, see you soon." She jogged home, not caring her braids were coming loose, or her shoes were all wrong for running in.
"Is everything ok Jan?" Her dad peered out of the kitchen as she exploded through the door. She'd forgotten his shift ended at 8.
"Erm…yeah." He caught her arm as she rushed past and she stopped.
"What happened? You were meant to be staying at Bekka's. Have you fallen out?"
"You could say that." She mumbled. "There's this new girl in school called Lanie Malone. I have biology with her. Nicole and Bekka…kinda don't like her. They said she's a hick, but she's not. I met her walking to Bekka's and she's really sweet. Her mom is a doctor over at Kingdom."
"And you fell out about it?" Luka shook his head. "You girls confuse me. It's times like these I wish…" He stopped and looked away.
"You wish mom was still here?" He nodded slowly and turned back.
"Look-don't worry about them. They'll come to their senses."
"Hope so." Jana shrugged her father's hand away and walked into her room.
"I understand her less every day Pa." Nik said from the couch.
"Can't you do that weird twin thing…find out if she's really ok?"
"Invasion of privacy…plus everything I find out is confidential." Nik laughed and slouched further down the seat to read his book while Luka rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Never be a lawyer Niko, please!"
"But Mom! I hate rice!"
"Blake, I swear I'm gonna…"
"Lanie, mom's gonna swear."
"Mom, not in front of Poppy!"
"I wasn't going to swear. Just eat it Blake, and stop whining."
"But Lanie doesn't have to!"
"That's cos I'm allergic, doorknob."
"Ok, quit it you guys!" Maggie held up a hand. "Blake, eat your rice. Abby, don't swear. Lanie, chill."
"Thanks Gramma." Lanie said handing her a plate. "Sometimes these two are more like the kids than I am!"
"Hey." Abby squeaked, laughing, "I'm not as bad as Blake."
"Aren't you all glad I'm here?"
The rest of the meal went without a hitch as they chatted about the respective days.
"Cody is the coolest! He's an only child and his mom bought him an Xbox for going to school without a fuss last week. His dad is an oil digger so he doesn't live at home."
"Well, I met loads of new people at school. I think I like English best." Lanie chewed on a carrot and smiled.
"Well I finished my sweater today, and started on a dress for Lanie."
"And I delivered six babies today- four boys, two girls. Jamie, Michael, Todd, Lee, Torie and an undecided." Abby smiled at her collective family, sat around the table. "And Poppy spent the day playing with Lego, didn't you Pops."
"Yeah." She squealed, flinging a spoonful of rice over her shoulder. "Oops." Her bottom lip wobbled but Lanie quickly scooped up the food and planted a kiss on the little girl's head.
"I'll wash up tonight." Maggie said, and pulled Blake into the kitchen to dry.
"I'll go and give Poppy a bath."
"And I'll do my homework." Lanie added, gathering up her books.
Nik slammed the door and threw himself on the bed. He couldn't stop thinking about the girl he'd seen earlier; her whole demeanour had intrigued him.
He'd been waiting for the bus when he first saw her, sitting two metres away reading a book. Her tawny hair fell in a curtain around her face and hid her from sight. He had been in a detention but she didn't look the type to be in trouble. When the bus came she closed the book and tucked it into her bag while he hopped onto the vehicle. Once seated he watched her as she too chose a seat, her hazel eyes scanning the seats and finding most were full.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked, gesturing to the seat next to Nik. He gulped and nodded, pulling his bag onto his lap. She sat down, placing her bag on the floor then sitting back. A rush of vanilla musk washed over Nik and he breathed it in softly.
He was almost sad when his stop neared but as he reached to press the bell, her slim hand flicked out and pressed the button too. They got off together and he smiled as she walked away, a gentle flicker passing her lips also. She walked a mere four steps ahead for at least five minutes before he turned right and she kept going.
Nik hoped she hadn't continued much further, his morning run might cross their paths if he was lucky. But he still didn't know her name.
Suddenly he heard Jana's voice and the front door shut.
"Hey Jan, what's…" He stopped as he came face-to-face with Bus Girl. "Erm…yeah…right."
"Nik…you were saying?"
"What's for dinner?" He murmured, ripping his eyes away from her.
"Stew, I think. Do you mind if Lanie stays for dinner? Her mom's working and her grandmother's taken the two little ones out."
"That's fine. Want me to reheat it?" The more he spoke, the easier it got. Jana nodded and moved to the fridge.
"Lanie, this is my brother Niko. Nik, this is Lanie Malone."
"Hi," Nik held out a hand and she smiled and shook it.
"Hiya." Her hand was cool and she had a cute ring on her pinkie.
"Come on Lanie, let's go to my room." Jana grabbed two cans of coke and forcefully dragged Lanie away.
"Omg Jana, you never said you had such a cute brother!"
"Ew! He's disgusting." Jana laughed and handed a can to Lanie, who took it dreamily.
"Seriously, he has such adorable eyes."
"Seriously, stop talking about him! I'm gonna puke! Right, that report- what shall we do it on?"
"It can be any mental disorder…right?"
"Yep, any. Let's find something interesting." Jana flicked open the biology book and scanned the chapter.
"What about bipolar disorder?" Lanie asked quietly, sipping a little coke in the silence.
"Is that the one…"
"Where the person experiences severe manic and depressive mood swings. It's controlled by drugs mainly."
"Sounds scary."
"It is."
"How do you know so much about it?" Before Lanie could answer, the sound of the door closing made Jana jump up.
"That'll be my dad. I'll check you're allowed to stay."
"You didn't ask? Jana!"
"He'll be fine. He likes us having friend's over." Jana hurried out and ambushed her father. "Hi dad."
"What do you want?" He said, chuckling.
"Can Lanie stay for dinner?" He looked up and smiled
"Sure. Hi Lanie, I'm Luka." She reached and shook his hand.
There was something about her that made Luka's mind whir. Something in her eyes seemed…familiar. Something about that smile, the way she held herself was recognizable.
But who did she look like…?