She looked around the room quietly, unsure whether to be intimidated or impressed. They had so much stuff- clean blankets folded and resting in a small cabinet, throw pillows on the couch- and none of it had ANY blood on the fabric. Not to mention the clocks and the other nicknacks dotted around the room.

She suddenly felt uncomfortable- a lot more self-conscious about her ripped up jeans and stained t-shirt. It suddenly occurred to her the nicest thing she was wearing was Daryl's leather jacket, and she pulled it closer around her shoulders, eyes darting to her bow- it rested between her and Deanna on a glass coffee table. She gripped the arms of the armchair uncomfortably- she wanted this 'audition' to be over, now.

Deanna offered her a smile, and she quickly looked down at her boots, starting to fidget uncomfortably. Should she start talking...?

"You're just like you're father." Deanna admitted, watching her fondly. "He wouldn't even sit- just paced the room." Jamie smiled slightly- she could picture that. "How'd you get that scar?"

She must've looked confused, and Deanna frowned for a moment. "Here..." she motioned to her cheek area, and she realized what she was talking about. The bullet graze- from Terminus.

Nobody had really brought it up to her before, and she was, once again, feeling self conscious. She honestly hadn't even noticed it- she was always covered in dirt and grime anyways, and nobody had pointed it out to her- they all had old wounds, scars, somewhere.

Deanna was still looking at her intently, and she shrugged. "It was a bullet graze." she admitted. "These guys were shooting at us, I got hit. Got lucky- just a graze."

Deanna frowned. "Did you cry? It must've hurt..."

Now it was her turn to look at surprised. "No... I dove for cover and grabbed the first gun I could find. Wasn't time to cry- I mean, sure, it hurt like a bitch, but I didn't think about it at the time."

She could see the way Deanna was looking at her, and she shrugged. "It's really not a big deal- everyone who's been out there for awhile has a scar."

Deanna still didn't look convinced, and she remained silent for a moment or so before she asked the next question. "Would you like to stay here?"

"Well... yeah. You've got walls. It'd be a nice place- don't expect me to beg- YOU'RE the ones who invited us here. Dad and I can just as soon move on..."

"You really think you can survive out there?" Deanna asked, looking skeptical.

"You think we can't?" Jamie asked, a slight smirk on her face. "We've got this far." this woman had no idea who she was talking to.

Deanna nodded, looking slightly surprised at her confidence, before she smiled. "I think you're going to like it here." she admitted, moving to turn off the video camera.

Still, Jamie realized something as she looked around the room. Deanna clearly hadn't been out there- and if she had been- she'd forgotten what ti was like, repressed it. Not everyone had their scars.

"You coming, or what?" Carl asked. She looked up from her bow, hesitant.

"What's the point?"

"It's school. And I don;t wanna be all alone. C'mon- please?" Carl asked, sitting down on the porch steps beside her.

She looked up uncertainly. "And if we don't like it?"

"We leave. What'll they do about it- give us detention?" His grin was enough to convince her. Still- she brought her bow with her.

"You think I look stupid?" she asked quietly. Carl simply shook his head. "No. I have a knife in my boot."

She nodded, ignoring the looks some people gave her as she held her bow, starting towards the garage.

There were a few worn looking desks spread into two rows of 3. She chose the back left corner, setting her bow on the wooden surface.

"I'm going to have to ask you to put that to the side, please." the teacher, a sharp looking man of about thirty, said, face serious.

She hesitated, before obeying, setting her bow up against the wall of the garage. Still, she left her quiver on her back, pulling an arrow from it and holding it before her.

"You don;t have to have a weapon, you know. You won't be attacked." the teacher looked serious.

"You have a heart attack- fall down. Within two minutes, you're dead. Another minute, your corpse is trying to eat us all. I'll keep my weapon, thanks." she got out with surprising precision, and the classroom was silent.

The teacher cleared his throat, and the lesson began. It was boring as hell- she remembered how to read and write, but why the fuck did she need algebra? she didn't get it, and even then- she didn't want to. She had her back to the open garage door- she could hear the younger kids, whose classes were finished in the morning, laughing and playing, the sound the breeze made as it swept through the grass...

School sucked. Maybe she wouldn't come back tomorrow- Daryl would probably like to have her go hunting with him anyways. A bee was buzzing around the garage, and she vaguely wondered if she'd be able to shoot it out of the air with a well-paced arrow...

THWACK! She didn't know what it was, but she reacted to the gunshot like sound with cat-like speed, launching herself at whoever had assaulted her, forcing the body to the ground, sharpened arrow in hand-

"No!" Carl pulled her off, pinning her to the cement floor of the garage with her wrists held above her head.

"It was just a ruler, Jamie..."

She nodded slowly, and he released her arms, letting her sit up. She could see it- the ruler the teacher had slammed into her desk, and the way the man was sitting on the floor, looking shocked. The other pupils- Enid, the other two boys... were all staring as well, shocked.

She felt her cheeks flush, and even worse, her heart was still racing, adrenalin still pounding. "Shit... I'm sorry." was all she muttered, before she'd grabbed her bow off the garage wall and was gone, sprinting out of the garage, racing back towards the house.

Daryl was sitting on the porch steps, whittling something, when she came tearing through the yard.

He was instantly on his feet, whittling forgotten, when he saw the wild look in her eyes.

"What happened?"

She shook her head. "S-school. I can't do school. I panicked, thought he was a walker..."

"Anybody get hurt?"

She shook her head, fighting tears diligently.

Daryl nodded, taking it in. "Alright. You wanna go outside the wall?"

She nodded eagerly, still biting her lip.

"Lemme go sign out our guns. Go inside."

She didn't question his orders, and Daryl, in reality, was looking around them. When people had seen her come running through the yard, they'd looked up from their tasks- curtains had peeled aside, and some had even come out onto their porch to watch her come over to them. Daryl felt a flame of contempt begin burning- didn't these assholes have anything else to do than ogle them.

He met Carl on his way to the armory, and nodded to the boy. "She's fine. Go back."

Carl hesitated, and Daryl moved closer to the boy, voice lowering. "Go on. I got her."

Carl was convinced, apparently, as he did as Daryl told him and headed back to school. He wordlessly signed out their guns- his rather beat-to-hell pistol, and Jamie's .22, heading back towards the house.

He felt a brief flash of anger when he saw a small group of people had congregated in a small group on a neighboring porch, talking in hushed tones and shooting glances at the house every now and then. Couldn't these assholes mind their own damn business?

"Jamie- we're ready."

She stepped out onto the porch, and Daryl purposefully handed her her gun, ignoring the feeling of stranger's eyes on them.

"Ignore them. Fucking rubberneckers." Daryl growled, placing an arm protectively around her as they headed for the gate.

The man on duty looked at him uncertainly. "Deanna didn't give permission for us to let the kids out..."

"She's with me." Daryl said seriously. The gruff note in his tone must've convinced the man, as the rusty gate slid open.

Daryl nodded to her. "Go on. Find a game trail."

She fairly sprinted for the treeline- she couldn't take this place, the people- she would rather be in the woods.

Even other survivors- as fucked up as they might be- would be easier to deal with than the people of Alexandria. They would've been realists, at least. If there was one thing she'd learned, it was the fact that, just like with the people from Woodbury- she'd NEVER be one of them. Because not everyone had their scars.

MAILBAG

Jhill88, Chapter 88

I honestly think Enid aka random chick is hiding something which is why she's so quiet. Remember they showed her sneaking out of Alexandria.. maybe she has a group that she's informing of the in and outs of Alexandria... or maybe she 's trying to get revenge for lost family, there's no way a teen would've made it alone and the other boys said she's been there for a month. Or maybe she doesn't see a point in getting attached if I lost people and most likely watched them die horrifically then I wouldn't try making friends either but might think about it.

After seeing this week's episode- I think Enid might have something to do with a rogue group as well. Not to mention all the walkers being marked with a W on the forehead- she might be a part of a cult?

I also don't like her style- Sure, throwing the timer to distract the walker is smart, but why not finish it while it;s distracted? All you've done is advertised your position needlessly and wasted a perfectly good timer. I understand her caution, but why let the walker live and pose a danger on your return trip?

Finally- I don't like the way she ponies up to Carl. When he complements her knife, she says, "It was my mom's..."

I just feel like she's begging for pity, you know? Jamie;s had a shit time too, but she never lorded it over people or asks for pity because of it.

And the way she shamelessly flirts with Carl in the tree- I like the fact that Carl does nothing in return. Jamie hides her strength, her strategy- she lets everyone over estimate her and makes up for the difference when it comes down to the wire. Enid just goes and reveals everything to Carl on their first meet.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents- sorry if it's character bashing, but it's my feelings on the matter.

Guest, Chapter 88

I love how she is a semi Mary sue character it feels like a lot of twd stories feature a damsel in distress which is tiresome and tedious and really boring to read. (Should I care about blah blahs tragic past that kepps her from full potential) you gave the badsss attitude character that daryl needs. thanks for the awesome read

Firstly, glad you're enjoying the story! Second- I'm glad you appreciate Jamie's character. I didn't want her to be over the top- sure, she;s got a tragic back story, but who the hell doesn't nowadays? She's gotta be capable- she wouldn't have made it this far without skills. But at the same time, she's damaged- not too much to be noticeable, but enough to where she doesn't trust people she doesn't know. People are surprised by the way she handles walkers, but in reality- it's what she's best at. Fighting the undead is an absolute. It's people she can't predict, and while she can fight her way out of most scrapes, people are sentient, harder to fight, and harder to read. Glad you're enjoying it!