Ahhhh! all your kind words are really inspiring! thank you all so much! I am SO glad you're enjoying this. This one was a bit harder to write, so if the flow is slightly wonky, that's why. As always, please feel free to call me out on any mistakes!


She walked into her room to grab her clothes and towel before trying a few doors, looking for the bathroom. The first was another guest room, but the second looked like an office. Skye figured she didn't want to get caught snooping, especially since she just got here, so she shut that door quickly.

The third door opened to the bathroom, which was prim and tidy, though Skye wondered if it had even really been used all that much since Garrett and his wife were the only two people living here.

She took a quick shower before jumping back out and putting the sleep shirt and shorts she had grabbed on. She was a bit self conscious about the short sleeves on her shirt, but tried to push those thoughts to the back of her mind, not wanting to think about it now.

She made her way back to her room, setting her dirty clothes in a small pile next to the dresser, then fell into an uneasy sleep.


Skye woke up disoriented by a slight knock and Mr. Garrett's voice through her door.

"Good morning Mary, I just wanted to be sure you're up for school. I'm working late today, and Kathy has a meeting later today, so we would both really appreciate it if you could make dinner today, if you wouldn't mind. Please be timely getting ready so you'll be at breakfast with us at 7:15."

Skye got up, muscles aching from her restless sleep. She walked over to the dresser, wondering if she should test her luck and wear clothes she felt comfortable in, or if she should dress to make the Garrett's happy. Maybe they'll compromise, If I can just find something less.. preppy. She settled on a black skirt she found in the dresser, paired with her faded old red shirt and some knee-high black socks she had. She put on the fingerless gloves she had makeshifted out of old socks, being careful to avoid looking at her arms in the process, and grabbed her worn out pair of combat boots before walking downstairs. She was feeling confident, but hoped that they would notice she was wearing the skirt they had given her.

However, that confidence dropped when she saw the look both the Garretts had given her.

"Mary," Skye could hear the sternness behind the pleasant facade of Mrs. Garrett's voice,"please try to dress a bit more respectable when you are here. We have a bit of an image to maintain."

"Oh, uh. Sorry. Also, I go by Skye, if that's okay."

Skye had said the last part a bit quieter, but she was at least expecting a reply. However, the room was filled by silence yet again. This time, the silence was carried on through breakfast, leading Skye to wonder if they were mad at her. Skye felt more and more uncomfortable, but she decided to just chalk it up to just not being used to how they operate.

She noticed that neither of them would even look at her. they could be mad at you, she wondered, before reassuring herself that this might just be their normal. Skye tried to tell herself that it's better when they don't pay attention to her, but it still hurt.

Soon enough, breakfast was over and she tried her best not to sprint to the sink so she could put her dish in the sink and heading to the door for school.

"I'm going to head to school now, don't wanna be late," Skye awkwardly said. She lingered a moment but got no response, so she left.

The walk was short, thankfully, and she soon found herself at the steps of her new school. She thought it was a bit awkward to be transferring a month into the school year, but she had grown used to it.

Walking through the doors, she found the school riddled with teenagers. The yellowed linoleum floors and the red lockers served to remind her that this was just a school, like all the other ones, and she brushed forward towards what she assumed to be the head office.

"excuse me, Ma'am," she began, "My legal name is Mary Sue Poots. I just transferred. I was wondering if I could have my schedule, please."

The woman smiled at her in return, clicking away a few keys at her keyboard before handing Skye a sheet of paper.

The woman's smile reassured her, so she asked "If it isn't too much trouble, would you be willing to change my preferred name to Skye?"

"That shouldn't be too much trouble, though some of your teachers may not get the memo in time. And, for legal reasons, we have to keep your given name on your student ID," the woman replied, beginning to click away at the keyboard again. "Class starts in 10 minutes, though, so you may want to hurry to find it. You have History in the 300's wing first, it seems."

Skye thanked the woman before walking out of the office and into the significantly busier halls. Thankfully, there was a sign that pointed in the direction of the 300's wing, so Skye didn't struggle too much while making her way to what her schedule had designated to be Mr. Coulson's American History Class.

She took a seat near the back, hoping it wasn't taken, before taking a moment to scope out her classmates. Sitting near the front, a boy with curly hair and a girl with short, mousy brown hair were deep in conversation about something Skye couldn't exactly make out. A girl with bright red hair had just walked in and sat next to her, but didn't notice the new student due to being deep in what sounded like an argument or maybe just a very loud discussion with a blonde, short-haired boy. The boy, whom she heard the red-head call Clint, called the two people in front of Skye (a thin, bleach-blonde guy and a girl with an accent Skye wasn't sure of) into the argument before turning back around. She watched as a fit looking boy with dark hair walked in and sat down diagonal to Skye just before Mr. Coulson called the class to attention.

"Alright, class! we have a new student this morning. Would you like to introduce yourself," he paused, looking down at his paper, "Ma-"

He was cut short by Skye standing up and saying "Just Skye is fine," to which she immediately looked down, embarrassed. she realized she had to say something, however, and continued with "My name is Skye. I transferred from Redwood High because, uh," she paused for a moment, thinking of the Fletchers, "My parents had to move for work."

She knew the lie would come back to bite her eventually, but she had panicked. What was she supposed to say? She was just some foster kid who got thrown around and discarded? She didn't know these people, so she had wanted to play it safe.

She sat back down, feeling everyone's eyes on her. She fidgeted with the edge of her gloves, waiting for the teacher to redirect their attention.

"Thank you, Skye," Mr. Coulson smiled warmly before introducing the Roaring 20's while trying to get the projector to turn on.

"Psst. Hey."

Skye's head shot up, tracing the whisper to the boy with the dark hair sitting diagonal to her, who was now smiling at her.

"Um. Hi?"

"Name's Grant, Nice to meet you. If you want to meet people, I'm hosting a party this Saturday if you wanna come," He handed her a little slip of paper he had been previously scrawling his address on. "Since you're new, and all, I mean. I figured you could use a friend."

"Thanks, I guess." Skye had figured she would do best not to get attached to anyone here, since she'd probably be leaving shortly, but it's nice to know that at least people here were nice.

Mr. Coulson called the class back to attention, but Skye could've sworn a few people were giving Grant a dirty look before refocusing on history.

Skye had actually been paying attention for most of the class. They were talking about the prohibition and moonshiners, so it was already interesting, but Mr. Coulson was able to explain things in a way that not only made sense, but also made them even more interesting.

It had been going well. She was understanding the material, and everyone here seemed nice enough, so Skye had thought things were going swimmingly. up until the point where someone who had been messing around accidentally knocked their water bottle off of their desk, that is.

She felt her palms start sweating and her heart rate skyrocket as she stared at where the water bottle had landed, fighting the urge to pick it up herself and hide. She needed to get out. Other people are going to think you're weird! she thought to herself. Get a handle on it, Damn it! but as fear planted itself further into her gut, she gave in.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" She tried to sound nonchalant about it, but she cringed internally at the quiver in her voice.

Mr. Coulson looked concerned, but didn't press. "Yeah, of course."

Skye wasted no time, practically sprinting out of the room.


Thank you so much for reading! I would be SUPER appreciative if you'd leave a review! see ya tomorrow!