By The Gods
Chapter One~ Foreigner
Why was it so cold? Why was it always so cold everywhere that her parents wanted to go? First it was New York, now it was fucking Norway of all places. Yeah, so what? They needed to move for her dad's work, but she didn't have to like it. Her mother could work from anywhere as long as she had internet, but her dad could only work in a physical office. Either way, it royally irritated her. Not to mention, her Norwegian was not exactly up to par with casual conversation. Formal stuff, maybe, but slang and just talking, she'd have to go through a hell of a lot more Duolingo to get where she could just casually talk to any person off the street. Thinking of that, she pulled out her phone and opened the app, making sure her headphones were turned on and connected. It was already 10 p.m., and she didn't want to end up waking her parents, who were in the room down the hall. Unfortunately, the buildings in Norway were built with walls nearly paper-thin.
She was starting school in a few days, and she was coming in nearly at the halfway point, so trying to play catchup in a place where she didn't even know the language very well was going to be pure hell. It didn't help that her ADHD had been acting up worse and worse over the last year or so. Sighing, she threw herself back on the bed as she went through the lessons.
"Hei, jeg heter Anjelica," she practiced over and over again, quietly. She knew that, with her anxiety, she would probably end up stumbling through her introduction to the class. All she could do to not stutter was practice over and over again.
A sudden flash of lightning lit her room up like the sun, and with the resounding boom that followed half a second later, her bedside lamp went out along with the light in the hall. It had also caused her to jump so bad that her phone fell out of her hand, smacking her in the face before falling onto the fake Persian rug with a thump. She slapped a hand over the injured area, groaning. "Fuck," she muttered to herself. After retrieving her phone from the floor, she went to her window and opened it to look outside. Giant, dark thunderclouds had covered the sky that, not five minutes ago, had been clear enough for the moon to shine into her room. Another crack of lightning and thunder echoed through the air. The wind kicked up, sweeping small raindrops into her face and splattering on her glasses. Even as cold as it was, there was something about storms that calmed her. But there was something different about this. Something in the air felt off, like there was a palpable emotion causing the atmosphere to become thicker. The smell of ozone assaulted her nostrils as she tried to figure it out. She'd never felt a storm like this. It almost felt...angry. The wind whipped her long chestnut hair up and out of her face.
As she stood there in her window, something down the street a ways caught her eye. There was someone out there, a man, standing in the road. He was facing the other way, yelling, like he was cursing the sky. With each scream, it was almost like the thunder was in time with him. The figure suddenly seemed to lose his strength and sagged a bit, like he was about to fall. He stumbled towards a fence, leaning against it. From where she was, she could make out blonde hair, but no facial features on the large figure. Even from where she was, she could tell he was tall, and pretty broad across the shoulders. Whoever he was, something had upset him, and she felt sorry for him. It was almost as if she could feel his pain from all the way down the street. He moved to go inside what she assumed was his house.
Deciding there was nothing she could do about it, she shut the window quietly and moved away from it. Glancing at the time on her phone, she realized it was actually quite late and she needed to be heading to bed. Whoever that was out on the street had nothing to do with her and she couldn't do anything to help them anyway.
)0(
She could feel her mother's gaze on her again as she stared out the car window, watching the houses and other buildings go by as she was driven to school. The school was close enough that she would be walking, but since it was her first day, she was getting a ride to make sure she wasn't late.
"I know you don't like it, honey, but this is a good thing. Your dad's company gave us a great opportunity in this move."
"I know, mom," she murmured, breath fogging up the glass.
"Besides, you never know what kind of friends you'll make in a new place. You've never had trouble finding someone to talk to."
"Mhm."
"Oh, come one, sweetie. It's a new place. You could at least act like you're excited."
In response, she turned to her mother and straightened up with and exaggerated smile, before settling back into her seat and going back to her normal face. "I'm fine, ma."
"Nervous?"
"I guess. I don't speak the language. And I don't know if any of the kids or teachers speak enough English to actually talk to me. I'm the new girl, again. But this time, I have the language barrier, too."
"It'll be fine, hun. Just be yourself."
"Myself?" she scoffed. "Yeah, cause that's gone so well before."
"Oh, stop. You'll be ok. Just breathe, introduce yourself. You never know." At that moment, they pulled into the school. Her mother put the car in park and turned to her. "Remember, you are a beautiful, smart, kind young woman. And if they don't see that, that's on them and you don't need that. Now, go on, have a good day. And try to make at least one friend, ok?"
"Ok. Love you."
"I love you, too, sweetie."
With that, she grabbed her bag from the floorboard, and stepped out of the vehicle. Her mother pulled away, given that she still had to go run errands, and then would be on the way back to try to get some work done at home. Edda Secondary School. Another way of saying high school. All around her, kids were walking into the school, not a care in the world besides what they'd be learning that day, what their friends were up to, what they would be doing after school.
As she went to take her first step, someone knocked into her shoulder, sending her careening forward. Large hands grabbed her arms, catching her from making good friends with the ground.
"Jeg er så lei meg! Er du ok?!" The person set her back upright, and she turned to see a large, blonde-haired young man staring at her with wide blue eyes. Once he was sure she was steady, he released her and stepped back. "Er du ok?"
Her brain finally caught up with her. Haltingly, she responded. "Ja, jag har det bra, takk." Yes, I am fine, thank you. Him and the skinny, dark-haired guy beside him shared a look before looking at her strangely. She knew why. Her accent. "Jeg beklager. Jag er en ny student." I am sorry. I am a new student.
"Oh," he simply said. "Belkager igjen." Sorry again. "Ha det." Bye.
The two of them walked off towards the doors, leaving her to stare after them. Was that the guy from the night before? Probably, she reasoned. But she didn't know how many large blonde-haired guys there were in Edda. Given that it was Norway, probably quite a few. They were, after all, part of the Viking area, weren't they? She shook her head and followed after them. Once inside, she veered right, into the office. The secretary told her to wait in one of the chairs for the principle to call her. While she waited, she thought about the guy that had run into her. He definitely looked like the guy from the street the night before. If it was him, she wondered what it was that had caused him to get so upset.
"Miss Harris." A feminine voice called. Her head shot up to see a statuesque woman with a smooth updo and angular features with a small smile on her face. It seemed that she had called her two or three times before being able to get her attention.
"Sorry!" she stood quickly. The woman inclined her head, then gestured towards the office behind her.
Once they were both seated, the woman placed her clasped hands on the desk and gave her a smile. "My name is Ran Jutul. I am the principal of this school. It is wonderful to have you here with us, miss Harris." The woman's voice, while accented, was clear and easily understandable in English.
"Thanks."
"Now, I have already spoken to your parents. I understand that you have been doing your best to learn our language. I greatly appreciate that, and I'm sure the other teachers will as well. I also understand that it is difficult. That being said, because the student body is majority native, we will not be able to simply teach in English. While the curriculum does include English, as a native English speaker, you will be placed in a special class. But once you are here and in the environment every day it will get easier, I promise. We will do as much as we can to accommodate you, but you are expected to continue your practices. I have taken the liberty of looking for a tutor to help speed the process along. Your parents and I have already spoken about it, and they agree that it would be best for you. You will be placed in class 2A. Do you have any questions?"
"Um...do you know who my tutor will be?"
"Not at the moment, no. But if I am unable to find someone adequate enough to help you, I will take it up myself. Now, at the moment we do not have any textbooks or workbooks for you. We are in the process of gathering them up."
"I figured the school would have extra in case someone lost or ruined theirs."
"Normally, yes. However, we have more students this year than normal, and all the books for your year have already been given out." When Principal Jutul saw her brow furrow, she placed one gentle, slightly chilly hand over hers on the table. "Do not worry, dear. We needed a few new books anyway. Ordering yours is not a problem. It will take a few weeks to get them, though. Until them, I am sure one of the other students would be happy to share. Now," she stood swiftly, inclining her head again. "If you'll follow me, I will show you to your new classroom."
Out in the hall, many of the kids greeted their principal, all of them moving out of her way when they saw them coming. Whether that was out of respect or fear, she didn't know. The bell rang as they were nearing the room, sending all the students into their respective classes. Hers was already buzzing with kids finding their seats and talking to one another. There was already a teacher in there, a younger looking man with red hair, a beard, and glasses sitting at the front desk. When he saw them enter behind a few of the other students, he smiled and stood up.
"Greit, alle sammen. Set deg." He called out. Everyone quieted down and sat. Once they were all seated and paying attention. "Dette er en ny student." He gestured to her, "Hun blir med oss helt fra Amerika." The man turned to her and beckoned her forward. "Hvorfor presenterer du deg ikke?" He asked her.
It took her a moment, but once she realized what he had said, she said, "Oh, right. Um," she stepped forward. "Hej, jeg heter Anjelica. Men du kan kalle meg Anjie." My name is Anjelica. But you can call me Anjie. She managed to get out slowly. "Jeg er ny i å lære norsk, så vær tålmodig med meg." I am new to learning Norwegian, so please be patient with me. When she had finally finished, she could see the skeptical looks from several of the other students. Her face started getting warm. She didn't like all the eyes on her, nor the looks she was getting. A couple of the kids were hiding their mouths behind their hands as if trying to keep her from realizing they were laughing at her. The teacher had turned towards them and was saying something. Suddenly, her ears felt like they were clogged and started ringing loudly. Her breath started to become shallower.
It wasn't until the teacher put a hand on her shoulder that she was able to almost come out of it. She realized he was talking to her, but she couldn't quite hear him. Even if she had, she probably wouldn't have understood what he said. It wasn't until he pointed towards the back of the class and gently pushed her that she realized what was going on. He was showing her where to sit. She nodded mutely, then turned to move, but stopped. It was the desk. It was empty, but it was covered in flowers, candles, and a picture of a girl with short blonde hair with blue streaks. When he noticed what she was looking at, the teacher's face dropped. "Ah, Magne, ka du ta dem fra pulten?"
Her gaze was brought to the young man in the seat beside the shrine or whatever it was, and her breath caught. It was the same guy that had knocked into her at the school entrance. He had a strange look on his face, one that changed to a whole different strange look when the teacher asked him to remove them. He didn't argue, though, and slowly took the items off the desk. One of the girls near the front of the class offered an empty paper bag for him to put them in. The teacher gestured again, and this time she slowly made her way down the aisle to the very back of the class. She kept her eyes down, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. Anjie could feel the eyes on her, and it was making her skin crawl. She sat down, placing her backpack on the ground beside her and opened it to pull out a notebook. The teacher, Mr. Eidsvol, began going over the material for the day. From what she could tell, they were discussing Norse mythology, which she thought she thought was interesting for a history class.
She took what notes she could, but eventually gave up given that she couldn't fully understand what was being said. Anjie didn't even realizing she was nervously bouncing her leg and fiddling with her rings until something blue entered her vision. Looking down and to her left, she noticed a strange item that looked like a mess of wire or something. The guy, Magne, was offering it to her. When she met his eye quizzically, he gave her a very small smile, just the barest upturn of the corner of his mouth.
"Dette er et Tangle" He was talking quietly enough as to not draw any attention away from the teacher.
"Hva er det?" What is it? she asked him quietly.
Magne thought about it for a moment, before he said, "It helps with my focus and when I'm nervous." All this he said in a heavily accented voice, slowly, like she had earlier. It was obvious that English was his second language. She looked back at the Tangle in his hand, before looking him in the eye, something that had always been hard for her, and giving him an awkward smile and taking it slowly from him. When the very tips of their fingers grazed each other, she thought she saw a shift in his eyes. The color had changed ever so slightly, she thought.
"Tusen takk." Thank you very much.
"You're welcome," he nodded just a tad before another strange look came over his face. "Do you need help with notes?" Anjie's eyes widened a little. "I am...dyslektisk?"
"Dyslexic?" she asked. He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Then how can you help me with notes?"
He inclined his head towards his phone. "I record the lesson. I can translate it for you as best I can. Or I can ask Gry to share hers."
After a beat or two, she told him, "Yes, thank you. I would really appreciate that."
)0(
When lunch time came around, Anjie was suddenly at a loss. Everyone else looked to have cliques. Groups of three or more were at every table. It wasn't until she began to turn to sit on a low wall that she noticed one person sitting by themselves. With a deep breath, she moved forward.
Magne's head shot up from staring at his sandwich when he saw her feet enter his line of sight. "Hi..."
"Hej," he said, confused.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?"
He was quiet for a bit, before he sighed. "You won't be very popular if you sit with me." The statement sounded sad.
"Well, I was never very popular to begin with, so I don't think that's gonna be a problem." She waited for his next words. None came, but he gestured with his sandwich towards the seat across from him. "Thanks."
"Ikke nevn dette." Don't mention it. "So where in America are you from. You have a very strange accent."
"Gee, thanks," she snorted as she unpacked her lunch. "I'm from the South. Tennesse. But we moved to New York about a year and a half before we moved here."
"Ah."
The two of them lapsed into silence as they ate. It wasn't until someone shouted something at Magne that he even looked up. Both of their heads shot up. Magne's nostrils flared in anger as his jaw clenched. It was a young black man with long dreads pulled back into a large ponytail.
"Kommer dette til å være den nye Isolde?" He began laughing, his friends joining in and punching his arm.
Anjie looked at Magne, confused, but the expression on his face was one of murderous intent. "Det er ikke morsomt, Oscar." His voice was low, warning.
The boy across the way from them groaned, "Å, kom igjen, det er bare en vits, Magne."
From what she could tell of the conversation, it had something to do with her being new. Or the new replacement for someone. Magne had chided him about it. Then something about a joke. Magne suddenly stood up, his lunch forgotten on the table in front of him. It looked as if he were about to go after the newly named Oscar. Anjie reached over the table and put a hand on his wrist. The sudden contact seemed to create a spark as soon as she did. It was enough to shake him out of whatever rage he was working himself into.
"It's ok. Just ignore them." With flared nostrils, Magne let her pull him back into his seat gently. Once she was sure he wasn't going to lunge, she slowly released his arm. "Is Isolde the girl that the shrine on the desk was for?"
"Ja," he muttered, not looking at her, but nodding a tiny bit.
"What happened to her?"
His eyes lifted, examining her face as if to try to find some sort of malicious intent. When he found nothing but true concern and curiosity, he spoke. "They say it was an accident. That she got struck by lightening." His voice got even quieter. "She hit a power line. I was there when she landed beside the river. She was already dead by that time." There was a waver in his voice that betrayed how hard he was fighting to keep from breaking down.
"Oh, Magne," she reached over the table with one hand to try and comfort him. "I'm so sorry. She was your friend?"
Nodding again, he said, "My only friend."
Knowing sort of what that felt like, losing the only person you felt actually cared about you in school, she took his hand, running her thumb over his knuckles. "She must have been a wonderful girl, for her death to have such a hold on the school."
"It is all fake," he sat up from his hunched position, pulling his hand away from her. "They all hated her when she was living. After she died, it became as if a challenge to see who could grieve the hardest. They make shrines to her, send cards to her dad. But none of them want to know the truth."
Anjie's brow scrunched up. "And what is the truth?" Another moment of silence from the young man as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Magne? What happened to Isolde?"
"Someone killed her." He spoke softly. "There was no storm until an hour later, no harsh winds. And even if there had been, she was an experienced paraglider, she knew better than to fly into a storm."
Eyes widening, she leaned in to speak quieter to him. "Do you have any idea who?"
"I have my guesses." His eyes strayed towards the group that Oscar was with.
"What? Do you think one of them did it?" she whispered.
"I don't know." His gaze fell back down to his lunch and hers followed. He had a stack of sandwiches and a couple candy bars. Whereas her lunch consisted of leftovers from her mother cooking the night before. Pot roast with potatoes and carrots, as well as an orange, which was her favorite fruit. She noticed him staring at her food and smiled.
"Would you like some? I'm not gonna finish all of it. And you look like you could use something other than bread and sugar." She pushed the container towards him. Hesitantly, Magne picked it up and smelled it. His eyes immediately closed as he set it down and then took her proffered fork. The first bite was experimental. "Is it good?"
He nodded quickly before digging into the rest of it while she peeled her orange. "Thank you." Anjie nodded with a smile. "My mother hasn't been able to afford meat for the last few weeks. Between moving and her new job, it's been a bit...stressful for her."
With a little tilt of her head, she asked, "What does your mom do for a living?"
"She works for Jutul Industries. She is a...sekretær?"
She thought about it for a moment, trying to think. When she wasn't able to think of the word, she pulled her phone out of her bag. "Say it again," she told him, pulling up Google Translate.
"Sekretær."
Secretary, was the word that came up. Anjie made a little 'ah' sound, nodding in understanding. "So, she does paperwork for someone high up?"
"Ja, Vidar Jutul." The words were said quietly, almost as if he was hesitant to say it for some reason. Trying to change the subject, she asked him, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to live on Rosesti, would you?"
His head shot up. "Ja, hvorfor?" Yeah, why?
"I think I saw you the other night. When we had that big storm."
Magne's eyes widened. "What did you see?"
She was taken aback at the question. "Nothing much. The lights in my house went out, so I went to the window to see if there was any damage to the power lines or something. You were out there, screaming into the storm. You stood there for a little bit, then went inside." His head was hanging as she spoke. "Was it because of Isolde?" He didn't answer her. "Magne?" Lowering her head to try to catch his eye didn't work, so she reached over and touched his arm. The sudden contact made him jump. "Magne, when exactly did Isolde..."
"The same day you saw me."
She sat up straight in her seat. "Oh, god...I-I...oh," she put a hand over her mouth and stared at him. "I don't even...I can't..."
"It's ok. You don't have to say anything. You didn't know her."
"I don't have to. She was your friend, and you've been very nice to me today, more so than other people so far." The smile on her face lasted barely a second before a sad look overcame her. Rubbing his arm where she was touching, she said, "I am really sorry for your loss, Magne."
They stared at each other, only for the moment to be broken by the bell sounding overhead. Nothing more was said between the two of them as they gathered up their things and headed back to the classroom. Magne and Anjie walked in silence all the way back. He was kind enough to hold the door open for her, to which she gave him a small smile and passed. She had just turned to look back and tell him thank you, but he stopped short, eyes focused over her head. With furrowed brows, she turned and noticed the whole class staring at them. Anjie quickly ducked her head and made her way to her seat, sliding into the chair as quick as possible. Magne followed behind her at a slower pace.
The social studies teacher entered the room, called everyone's attention away from the two of them. She had no idea what was being said, and, in fact, wasn't really paying attention to anything but the rings on her fingers. One particular ring on her right ring finger saw the brunt of her anxiety. Magne's eyes followed the movement, noting that the rose-gold ring with crystals and a larger opal sat almost as a snake on her finger, wound around it with an opening between the ends. The teacher excused them to the hallway for their group projects. Anjie was the only one that sat there, not moving, until the teacher approached her.
"Anjelica?" her head shot up. "You need to be part of a group to receive the grade for the end-of-term paper. Come, we'll see where we can put you." She didn't say anything, just nodded and followed him out into the area where all the other students were. He told her to stay where she was as he checked in with all of the groups first. She watched him, trying to ignore the looks being shot her way from the other students. It wasn't until he was on the other side of the hall that he finally gestured her over. Once she had joined him, she glanced over to see Magne and the blonde-haired girl that had given him the bag. "Anjelica, you will be with Gry and Magne, since they are one short. I believe they are going to be meeting at Magne's house after school." With that, he left, leaving her to awkwardly sit down beside Magne and pull her laptop out slowly.
Gry and Magne shared a look, before Gry, who had had enough of the strained silence, reached her right hand over. "I'm Gry. It's nice to meet you." Anjie gave her a nervous smile and shook her hand. "Do you know anything about democracy?"
Looking between the two of them, she chuckled a little. "I should hope so. I come from the so-called 'greatest country in the world'." She said sarcastically. "Our democracy has been working to a degree since the revolution, I guess. At least, that's what we're told in history class. Indoctrination and all that."
"Do I detect cynicism?" Gry smiled.
"Eh, most kids my age think that America is a joke anyway. So, what do you need me to do?"
"Well, we've pretty much got the topic down, we just need to get the research and put it to paper. How well do you type?"
Anjie looked shocked. "What do you mean?"
"Can you type quickly and accurately?"
"Is that a challenge?" she joked. Gry didn't say anything, but gave her a look that said 'maybe'. "Huh...ok." Opening her laptop and pulling up a new document, she leveled the other girl with a smirk. "Start talking." Gry grinned, as did Magne, and she began reading off the information she had been working on. Anjie didn't even look at her screen or keyboard for more than half a second every few lines or so, watching and listening to Gry speak in somewhat halting English. After five minutes of non-stop reciting, Gry stopped and looked up at Anjie. It took her five more seconds to finish the line she was typing, before she smirked again and turned the computer around.
"Wow..." Gry said, surprised. "You were only a few words behind me the entire time?" Anjie nodded. "Well," she turned to Magne, "looks like we found our person to put everything together. How good is your Norwegian? I know you said that you were new to it."
Wiggling her hand like a see-saw, she responded, "So-so. I can get by on formalities, but some of the other stuff, I'll need translation for. If you guys want me to write everything down, that's fine, but I'll have to do it in English, and then one of you..." she stopped. "Sorry, Magne, but Gry will have to be the one who translates everything."
The young man lowered his head a little, nodding. "I understand. I can do the research, though."
"Good!" Gry clapped her hands together, "Then let's get to it shall we."
)0(
At her locker after school, Anjie was putting the books she'd need for homework in her bag when her phone went off. Digging it from the bottom of the backpack, she put in the password and opened her messages. It was from her mother.
Madre- need some stuff for dinner tomorrow. Can you go by the store?
Anjie- Sure. I'll have to drop it off tho. I am going to Magne's house today.
Madre- Who's Magne?
Anjie- one of my classmates. He lives down the road a little.
Madre- O.o ooo really?
Anjie- ma, chill. It's for our term paper. Our other partner, a girl name Gry, is gonna be there too.
Madre- ok ok ok. But I want to know all about them when you get home.
Anjie- . ok ma. I'll see you when I get home with groceries.
Madre- ok. (picture of grocery list)
Anjie shut the door to her locker, sighing. She jumped when someone next to her spoke.
"Du ok?" Magne asked.
"Jeez, Magne, don't do that!" she swatted his arm. "Nearly gave me a damn heart attack."
A small laugh made its way out of his chest. "Sorry. I was just checking to see if you wanted to walk to my house with me."
Stunned, she stared at him for a moment. "Um...I have to stop by the store real quick for my mom. I'm sure you don't want to wait around for that. But you can walk me to the store." When he made a questioning face, she deflated a little, "I don't know where it is..."
Another laugh. "Oh. Come on, I will show you."
The two of them walked in relative silence most of the way to the store, only talking about small things that had happened at school or what they would need to do when they all gathered at his house. It took no more than fifteen minutes for them to reach the doors of the local market.
"Well, this is me."
"Ok, I'll head home...I guess I'll see you there. Do you know which house it is?"
"Kind of..."
"The one across the way from Nisse's trailer. He's the local drug addict, so be careful when you go by. Our house has a blue door."
Her eyes had widened at the mention of the druggie. "Good to know. I'll see you in a bit."
"Ok, ha det."
Anjie watched him walk until he was out of sight, then she turned and entered the store. There were small baskets beside the door, of which she grabbed one and went on her way to find the ingredients her mother had asked for. She had just turned down an aisle when an older lady in a store uniform dropped the cans she was trying to stack. Without thinking, she darted forward to help her. She stopped the old lady from bending down.
"Jeg har det," I've got it, she told her, kneeling and setting her basket aside to grab the cans and hand them to her. "Der går du." There you go, she said, standing up with the last of the cans in her hand.
The old lady smiled at her, "En så fin jente. Takk skal du ha." Such a lovely girl. Thank you. "Det første trinnet til en heltes reise er det vanskeligste." That part she didn't understand. Something about something starting. Without notice, the woman stroked her fingertips across Anjie's forehead and down her cheek, pushing her long bangs away from her face.
A sudden jolt shook her, stealing her breath for a second as her vision swam a little. Stumbling back, she blinked to clear her eyes. Once she had, she gave the woman a strained smile and picked up her basket, moving around the old lady to finish her shopping. Her feet were a little unsteady under her, but she managed to find what she needed and make her way to the front of the store. The old woman was there, scanning items when she got there. When it was her turn, she stood on the other end of the counter, bagging items. She happened to look down at the woman's nametag, something she should have done before. Wenche, it read.
Wenche smiled at her one last time as she bagged up the remaining items and hurried out the door. Her face downturned from the misting rain, she continued down the road at a quick pace. About halfway home, she happened to stop short, her foot hanging in the air. Just under where she had been about to step, was a single flower, pale pink, wilted and sadly hanging. Cocking her head, she knelt down. How could one singular flower like this manage to break up through the concrete in the first place? Without thinking, she traced a finger over the petals. If there were a way to dig it up and take it home, she would have added it to the small collection of flowers in her greenhouse in the back yard of her house. Sighing, she stood and left the poor flower and went on her way.
If she had stayed just a moment longer, or even looked back, she would have seen the flower raise up towards the weak light, suddenly blooming full of life.
)0(
Her house was a mess of boxes when she opened the door, having to push hard to force it open. Once inside, she huffed at the sight of so much left to unpack. Anjie shook her head, and picked her way through the clutter to the kitchen. Bags on the counter, she hurried to put everything away so she could leave. The refrigerator was nearly bare as she placed the new items in it. They had been living off nothing but canned goods that could be quickly heated up in the microwave until they were able to clean up the house more and her mother could make it to the store. She had just managed to ball up the plastic bags and place them in another bag under the sink when her mother turned the corner.
"Hey, honey." Anjie looked almost exactly like her mother, with the exception of hazel eyes instead of blue. "Did you get everything?"
"Yeah, I think so. Everything's already put up."
"Ok, good. So, you've made some friends?"
"I think I've made a friend." Anjie told her, gathering up her things.
"Really? Well, that's good at least. So, is it this...Magne boy? What's he like?"
Shrugging, she bent down to grab her backpack. "He's nice, I guess. He's the only one that's really talked to me today."
"Is he cute?"
Anjie hesitated. "I...I dunno. He's really tall and blonde and kinda dorky."
"Oh, but, honey, the dorky ones are always the sweetest. Does he speak any English?"
"Mom, most of the people in Edda speak some English at least. It's part of the curriculum." She found the stash of snacks she had tucked away in the back of one of the cabinets, stuffing some into her bag. Picking her way back towards the door, she called over her shoulder, "I'll see ya later, ma. Love you."
"Love you, honey. Be good. Have his mom call me so I know you made it there ok."
Anjie's eyes rolled, but she shot a thumbs up to her mother as she stepped out the door. It seemed to have gotten colder in the ten minutes she was inside, and she pulled her heavy winter coat closed, wrapping her scarf tighter and pulling her knitted hat down farther over her ears. It was a short walk, but it was slightly uphill, and slippery from the rain. As she strode up the hill, lost in her own thoughts, she was suddenly stopped by a scraggly looking man who had stepped into her path.
"God dag." He was twitchy, scratching at his arms.
"Hei," she tried to step around him, only for him to follow her movement. "La meg passere, vær så snill." Let me pass, please. He muttered something incoherent, reaching out towards her.
"Hey!" A voice came from another house. Magne stood in the doorway with his brother and a woman behind him, he came running down the steps and out of the gate to his house. "La henne være!" Leave her alone! As he approached, the look on his face was one of near fury. He pushed who she assumed was Nisse away from her, "Kom deg vekk fra henne!" Get away from her!
"Magne!" the woman at the door called warningly. Magne didn't say or do anything else except stare at Nisse until he stood up unsteadily and ran back to his trailer. "Kom inn nå." Come inside now.
"Er du ok?" Magne asked, putting a hand on her elbow and guiding her towards the house with a glare shot over his shoulder.
"I'm fine. I'm sure he wasn't going to do anything, Magne. He was probably just going to ask for money. I was alright."
"Ja," the dark-haired brother commented as they neared, "But you can never be too careful with druggies. They will rob you blind given the chance."
"Bah, Laurits," their mother swatted at him with the dish towel in her hand. Turning back to them, she beamed. "Hello. My name is Turid. I'm these two boys' mother. It is wonderful to meet you. Please, come in out from the cold." She pushed Laurits's shoulder to get him to move out of the small entryway as she waved them in. Anjie gave Magne a small smile as she followed his mother into the house.
