Being the sole survivor of a massacre wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Josie wasn't even a proper survivor—just someone who died and was brought back. She didn't have a word for what she was. The doctors all called her lucky, her parents called her a miracle, and the kids at her high school called her the final girl of the Summerville Massacre.
Dr. Beatrice Lang, the psychiatrist appointed to her after Josie was discharged from inpatient therapy, would've had an opinion on that line of thinking. She had an opinion on everything Josie did. Bea would've said that Josie didn't truly hate being called a survivor. Josie hated the fact that she survived.
Personally, Josie thought Bea was full of shit.
It was her steadfast opinion ever since their first session. Josie had still been doing inpatient therapy at Roads to Recovery, a mental health facility that specialized in PTSD, when she met Bea. Josie had flipped off her slides, curled her feet under herself, and focused her attention on anything but Bea. The only question Josie answered that day was Bea's final one.
"Where do you see yourself in the future?"
She didn't have a concrete answer for Bea. Josie wasn't exactly focused on the future. She just called it a void.
Admittedly, the one place Josie never saw herself was in her grandmother's kitchen a state away from where she started.
Cold sunshine filtered through the windows and bounced off the shining pink countertops. Josie was slowly getting used to the odd decor of her grandmother's house: bubblegum pink tile in the kitchen, green wallpaper on the attic ceiling, mismatched floral rugs in the living room, stained glass windchimes lining the sunroom, and a closed off fireplace in Josie's room.
It was completely different from her house in Oregon. Her parents had designed it full of modern touches, all reflective surfaces and windows; Josie felt like she was living in a museum. All her father's artwork lining the walls only added to the effect. Her grandmother's house was old, kitschy, and smelled constantly of wet dirt from the houseplants that covered every surface.
Josie loved it.
"Baba!" Josie's voice seemed a few octaves above her usual shrill tone, and she cringed at the noise. It was a miracle the drying glasses on the countertop didn't break. She cleared her throat before hopping onto the counter. "Are you ready?"
"Calm down, JJ!" Baba's thin voice echoed throughout the house. Josie couldn't judge how far away she was, everything echoed in the giant house, but assumed she was at least on the first floor. All of Baba's bingo daubers 'hid' on the first floor. "These little bitches aren't getting away from me. I can smell them!"
Josie wrinkled her nose at the childhood nickname and batted away an errant dangling strand of English Ivy in retaliation. "I'm cold!"
A mass of grey fur ran through the open kitchen door. It plopped its drooling head in Josie's lap before whining lowly. Mango the Great Dane was an unabashed attention whore. She was too busy barking at birds in the yard to follow Josie back in but had quickly realized her human was gone when the petting had stopped.
It didn't take more than a pleading look from Mango for Josie to start scratching behind her ears. The dog's tail threatened to sweep the plants off the table as it swung violently.
"Then shut the door!" Baba's voice was closer. A door slamming let Josie know her grandmother was combing through the coat closet. She was nearing dire straits—Baba only looked there as a last resort.
A gust of wind drifted through the open back door. It bit through the thin material of Josie's oversized shirt and leggings. Josie shivered violently and hopped off the counter. Mango trotted along behind her.
She toed the door shut with one sneaker. "It's not open!"
"Don't lie to your baba!" The sudden faintness of Baba's voice gave away how far she had walked back into the coat closet. "Peaches will get sick if it's too cold!"
The annoyance in Baba's voice made Josie smile. "I'm not! And Peaches is fine!"
As if summoned, the chihuahua ran frantically into the room. A knitted sweater covered every recognizable feature except for Peaches' giant ears. Josie scooped the bundle of wool and fur into her arms.
It had only been a week since Josie had moved in for the imminent future, but she was growing increasingly fond of her grandmother. The old woman lined Josie's pill bottles on the kitchen windowsill with her own, bought Josie's cat a new pet bed, made Josie do her physical therapy exercises during Jeopardy, and refused to come into Josie's room even with an invitation.
Baba was aghast at the lack of personal items Josie brought with her. Josie hadn't wanted anything to remind her of Oregon, so she crammed her entire wardrobe into her moving boxes and left everything else. Baba had dragged Josie to a flea market on the same day she arrived.
As much as she denied it, Josie loved browsing through the second-hand items for things to make her own. She had found great vintage pieces to add to her closet, a pile of old postcards and prints to hang up, and a gilded mirror to balance on the ancient dresser. Baba had managed to haul an old sewing machine into the backseat without Josie's knowledge and refused to return it.
"Found it!" Baba waddled into the room with a bright grin, bundled tightly into her plaid jacket, the hot pink dauber clutched in her hand. She dropped it into the box on the kitchen table with a flourish. "Little bitch was hiding in my coat pocket."
Josie, who had frozen near the kitchen door at her grandmother's sudden appearance, pulled Peaches away from her face to avoid the excited licking. She sent the dog gently on the ground and began pulling her hair up. "The one you're wearing?"
"No, no, this is my jacket. It was in my coat." Baba jammed a knit cap over her white curls. Mango, now in the presence of her favorite person, nuzzled at Baba's hand. "I only use my coat on church days."
"Did you take your lucky dauber to church?"
"Maybe…" Baba's face suddenly became sheepish.
Amusement ran through Josie, and she let her ponytail go with a swish. "Don't tell me you got it blessed."
"Okay, I didn't get it blessed."
"Now who's the liar?" Josie skirted around her grandmother to scoop up her headphones and phone from the counter. She made sure to poke lightly at Baba's ribs as the woman wheezed a laugh. Mango barked happily at the sound and Peaches joined in. "Even the dogs agree!"
Baba clapped her hands briskly. "Enough backtalk, time to leave!"
"I was ready to leave an hour ago." Josie connected her headphones to her phone and shoved one earbud in. She began bouncing up and down on her toes to wake herself up. "Someone wanted to watch me run away into the forest."
Gesturing out the open door impatiently, Baba rolled her milky eyes. "Let me have some peace of mind that you didn't get snatched by karakondjul. Too many dogs howling lately."
"Okay, but it's not even close to night." Josie let her grandmother usher her out of the door, only pausing briefly to protest her grandmother's superstitions. "And it was probably your holy terrors."
Both dogs began barking on cue from behind the door. The sound of Peaches' tiny nails scraping against the door brought a smile to Josie's face.
Baba locked the door and slipped her keyring into her large purse. The box of bingo daubers had also disappeared into it. The old woman shrugged. "My dogs are angels, but things follow wherever one goes."
As her grandmother trekked down the cracked sidewalk to her car, Josie rolled her eyes. If she didn't start running soon, she would freeze into place. "I'll trust you on that."
Baba poked her head out of the open window. "As you should. Do you have your house key? A jacket? Did you refill Kitty's food?"
Josie pulled the chain holding her house key from under her shirt and dangled it between her fingers. "Yes, to both, but I don't think I need a jacket. I'm going on a run."
A gray hoodie hit Josie's face to show just how much Baba cared about what Josie thought.
Slipping the hoodie on, Josie smiled and jogged over to the car. She patted the top of her grandmother's head briskly. "Go win some money."
"I'll see you tonight, JJ." Baba tapped her heart twice and waited until Josie copied the motion before starting to roll her window up.
Josie stepped back to wave at her grandmother's retreating car. She was definitely becoming fond of her grandmother.
After watching the car until it went out of sight, Josie shook her legs out and put her other earbud in. She was going to put off this run as long as she could. It was only when she hit the tree line that Josie finally picked a playlist and began jogging.
Bea had been bothering her about getting back into running. While at Road to Recovery, Josie was forced into some kind of physical activity for an hour every day. She usually chose to run around the grounds instead of joining the group yoga sessions. Josie wasn't allowed her phone, but she would rather listen to her own rough breathing than her fellow patients. Running had been the only alone time she could find.
Once she had switched to outpatient therapy, Josie dropped running. It had been an easy decision. Bea had been attempting to convince her for weeks to start again and Josie had been avoiding it. If it hadn't been for their promise of not lying to each other, Josie would've done it the first time Bea asked.
Fifteen minutes into her run and deep enough into the woods to unnerve her, Josie remembered vividly why she stopped running.
She flopped over on the edge of the path, tugged her headphones out, and put her head between her knees. Why had she let Bea talk her into this? Her lungs were burning, and Josie's mouth tasted distinctly stale. The hoodie had been tied around her waist within minutes of starting. Josie's shirt slipped off one shoulder and the cold wind felt amazing against her sweaty skin.
After checking briefly for mud, Josie let herself slump to the ground fully and tossed an arm over her eyes.
Colors swam in front of her eyelids and Josie let out a pathetically loud groan. She focused on following the breathing exercises for panic attacks (this felt about the same) and letting herself even out. Even after the tightness in her chest faded, her stomach remained in knots. There was no way she was going to make it back to the house without vomiting.
Josie's house key rested in the hollow of her chest, freezing a single spot of sweaty skin, while the rest of her burned. She knew the heat wouldn't last forever, but part of her seriously contemplated laying down and dying. It was preferable to running back.
Just as Josie was about to give herself over to nature fully, a twig snapped loudly in front of her. Despite her teasing, a flash of karakondjul and its sharp teeth passed through her mind.
Ignoring the bite of pain in her left shoulder, Josie pushed herself clumsily to her feet. Standing ten feet in front of her was a tall man in a leather jacket. His hands were resting in the pockets of his jeans in a move that made it way too obvious he was trying to be casual. "What are you doing?"
Her calmed breathing was easing back into panic. Josie cursed not bringing her pepper spray with her on this run. She always had it with her in Oregon, but Josie hadn't expected to see anyone on the running trails behind her grandmother's house.
When Josie didn't answer, the guy stepped a few feet back. He was obviously trying to put her more at ease and Josie didn't know whether to be thankful or suspicious.
"Running. Well, I was running." Josie focused on the man's features to calm herself. They were heavy-handed, all sharp lines and thick brows, and went along with his broad shoulders and wide stance. Confident that she could describe him to the police, Josie shrugged. "Now I'm trying to breathe."
His brows furrowed. "You're running on private property."
Josie's mouth dropped and she inhaled a sharp breath. Her lungs protested the action. "Oh, shit. I am so sorry—I thought I was still on my grandma's property."
The furrowed brows relaxed and then raised. His voice was already high for male standards, but it pitched upwards in question. "Your grandma?"
"Yeah, Elena Strinakova. I didn't even know anyone else lived this far out." Josie shifted nervously from side to side. Her shoulder was aching from the sudden use, and she wanted nothing more than to ice it. "I'm super sorry."
The man suddenly seemed more uncomfortable than hostile. His hands moved to inside the pockets of his leather jacket. "I didn't know Mrs. Strinakova had grandkids."
"My dad lives in Oregon and so do my aunts." Josie's fingers twitched with the urge to pick at her fresh manicure. "Oh! I'm Josie, by the way. Since we're neighbors, I guess you should know my name."
It was an obvious ploy to get his name in return, but he just nodded. "Derek."
"Cool." Josie nodded. "Cool. Nice to meet you, Derek, but I should be going…"
"You should." Derek agreed before crossing his arms. Josie shifted back onto her heels. "It's getting dark."
"Yeah, my grandma says she keeps hearing animals howling or something." She tightened the hoodie around her waist, just to give her hands something to do, before grabbing her phone and earbuds from the ground. "It's probably just her do—"
"If your parents live in Oregon, why are you here?" Derek had stepped a little closer but remained far enough away that Josie was at eye level with him. His eyes were surprisingly hard for the casual conversation.
Josie felt like she should ask for a lawyer. "Change of scenery."
Derek's eyebrows shot up before lowering just as fast. Apparently, his eyebrows were the only thing capable of showing emotion on his face. He nodded before making to go the opposite way of Josie.
Sighing in relief, Josie felt her breathing calm. She was so bringing her pepper spray next time. Before she could fully turn, Derek was calling her name.
"By the way, the property marker is the flag." Derek pointed a tiny neon flag stuck into the ground twenty feet towards Baba's house. It was half-covered in dense brush. The warning was obvious; Josie needed to stay on her side.
"Thanks." Josie had no problem staying away from Derek and his property. She'd had enough odd and stilted conversation with him to last a lifetime. Without saying goodbye, Josie began to jog away.
When she reached the property marker, Josie turned her head back, only to find that Derek was gone.
Even though her lungs were burning, she ran the rest of the way back.
Josie would rather die again than deal with being the new girl at school.
She had begged her Baba to just let her do homeschooling, or go without school at all, but the old woman had disagreed immediately. Baba had claimed it was based on her not wanting to deal with Josie all the time. So, she had ignored all her granddaughter's protests and shoved Josie out of the car with a shout of encouragement.
Mango had her large head lolling out the backseat window while Peaches watched from Baba's lap. Both dogs were reluctant to let Josie leave without extra pets, but even they relented.
Which was how Josie ended up in a congested crowd of students outside her new school. Hands tightening around her coffee, she cleared her throat to rid the aching urge to cry. She had been at Beacon Hills High School for all of ten minutes and was already over it.
Josie had finally passed out around three a.m., surrounded by piles of clothes and shoes, while trying to find an outfit that didn't make her want to die. She eventually decided on a pair of dark plaid pants layered over sheer tights that peeked out at the ankles. Her thick white shirt was comfortingly tight and hugged her arms. She had spent an hour scrubbing her shiny heeled Mary Jane's in the kitchen sink before slipping them on.
One sip of scalding hot coffee brough Josie back into focus. She shook off her worries—her outfit was fine, her makeup was fine, and her hair was fine. She had gotten all the cat and dog hair off her clothes earlier. Everything was fine.
She tried her best to channel the unimpressed look that was on her face most days at her old school. Josie had no poker face, so she was sure that her expression was fully that of a scared deer.
That thought in mind, Josie pushed her shoulders back and relaxed her face. No one else had to be aware of just how much she was dreading this. Josie stretched onto her toes to scan for the easiest way to the benches at the front of the school. Even on top of the steps, Josie could just barely see the metal benches on the front through the crowd.
After her bout of accidental wandering into the school office, Josie was sent back into the cold. Her meeting with the principal was supposed to take place outside the school entrance. It was for some ungodly reason that Josie didn't understand. Instead of asking why, Josie wrapped her too-big jean jacket tighter and braced herself for the wind.
It had taken one minute for her hair to be blown into her eyes. Tucking her coffee under one arm, Josie began to dig through her backpack with the other. She remembered shoving stray barrettes in the front pocket at Baba's insistence.
Cautiously making her way down the steps, Josie's heel teetered precariously on the edge of a step. She looked up just in time to get hit in the face.
Her coffee cup hit the ground as both of Josie's hands went to clutch at her face. The pain was centralized in her nose but was slowly branching into cheeks. Eyes squeezed shut, Josie took a moment to run through her pain. Other than her throbbing nose, and a slight burning on her ankle from spilled coffee, Josie was fine.
"Oh my god, I can't believe I did that, is your face okay? I am so, so, so sorry, dude." The rambling voice seemed to be addressing her. Josie cracked open one eye and came face to neck with a teenage boy. She had to stretch up to find him. His eyes were comically wide and flicking uncomfortably all over Josie's body.
Though she vehemently disliked this situation, Josie decided to be mature. She ignored his continued apologies and swiped a hand under her nose. A wave of relief settled over her when it came back clean. As long as there was no blood, she (and her shirt) would survive.
At the same moment, a fat drop of blood fell lazily onto the back of her hand.
Josie immediately cupped a hand under her nose and tried to focus on anything other than the nauseating feeling of warm liquid pooling in her palm. She disliked this situation so much. Maturity be damned, Josie stomped one foot against the concrete in her own small tantrum.
Just as her eyes started prickling with tears, a handful of crumpled tissues was thrusted into her field of vision. During her pity party, Josie had completely forgotten about the person who had ended up hitting her in the first place. Annoyance was quickly added to her pile of emotions.
The boy was frantically waving his arms as he talked, the tissues moving in and out of Josie's reach, and she reluctantly grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie to keep it in one place. Plucking the tissues delicately out of his hand, Josie released his sleeve as if it burned her.
That seemed to shock him into silence. Now that she had pressure easing both the blood and the pain, her panic subsided. She was sure her face was as bewildered as her voice. "It's okay. You can stop apologizing."
He swallowed thickly. After a few moments of tense silence, his voice was shaky. "You sure? 'Cause you're, like, bleeding all over the place?"
"It's fine. I'm fine." Josie tugged the bottom of her shirt away from her stomach to check the damage. At the lack of bloodstains, Josie even gave a half-hearted attempt at a smile. "Not a complete crime scene yet."
The boy was gaping at her with a confused look but attempted a nod. It was a valiant effort for how bad Josie's joke was. "I see you have, uh, extremely high hopes for the day."
Josie leaned down to snatch her empty cup from the ground. When she straightened up, the boy's cheeks were even more flushed than before, and his eyes were pointedly on Josie's face. "Well, I lost the coffee, so if I murder someone, you're an accessory."
Her joke obviously fell flat as the boy's face somehow became more confused. To hide how embarrassed her face had become, Josie spun on her heel and began walking away. She didn't care if it was the right way or not—just that it was away. She muttered a soft, but meaningful, "What the fuck, Josie?"
Behind her, the boy was stuttering out a response that made Josie walk faster. Her heels clicked against the pavement and eventually they drowned out his voice entirely. The bell rang loudly, and the flood of teenagers moved into the building.
Positive it was safe, Josie checked her bloody nose (which had slowed to a trickle) and carefully sat herself on the nearest bench. She replaced her tissue with a fresh one and tossed both the tissue and coffee cup into the trash can.
Out of things to distract her, Josie began tapping her nails on the bench. She refused to call Baba, which felt more like a concession than a distraction, or give into the needling itch to smoke. The pack of cigarettes and lighter in the bottom of her bag were taunting her.
Just as Josie was about to reach for them, a gentle voice interrupted.
"Is that seat taken?"
The girl speaking had an angular face with high cheekbones and wide doe eyes. By the way she fidgeted with her dark curls, Josie could tell she was as nervous as she was. The realization comforted her, and Josie slid to the far side of the bench.
"Are you okay?" The girl looked legitimately concerned and it took a beat too long for Josie to remember the bloody tissue pressed against her nose.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Josie checked the tissue and tentatively checked for fresh blood. At the knowledge of her nose having dried up, a believable smile was easier to conjure up than before. "Ran into someone's elbow when I got here."
The smile and explanation put the girl at ease. She sat down easily, shoved her oversized bag to her other arm, and extended her hand. "I'm Allison."
"I'm Josie." Just as their hands were about to connect Josie abruptly pulled back. She flashed Allison the inside of her blood-covered hand. An embarrassed laugh bubbled up on its own. "God, I am so sorry. I'm pretty sure you don't want my blood on you."
After rifling through her bag for a moment, Allison triumphantly waved a small bag of makeup wipes in the air before depositing them on Josie's side of the bench. "Got 'em! I knew I had these in here."
"You're like a Girl Scout." Josie eagerly scrubbed the blood off her hands.
Allison finished the second half. "Always prepared."
It was enough to coerce nervous laughter from them both. Josie's giggles were shriller than usual, but Allison didn't seem to mind.
A real smile blossomed on Josie's face. "Were you actually a Girl Scout?"
"Oh, no way." Allison shook her whole body along with her head. "I'm not really a fan of the whole sash and badge thing. Plus, my family always moved around too much."
"Does that mean you've been the 'new girl' before?" At Allison's nod, Josie leaned in slightly closer. She lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "What's the secret to not vomiting?"
"Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth." Allison's tone was joking but her sympathetic face was serious.
Josie scrunched her nose at the thought of vomiting in front of one of her classes. "I will keep that in mind."
"So, what brings you to be the fellow new girl?" Allison smiled before shock quickly overtook her face. "Oh my god, that was so invasive. You do not have to answer that."
"You go first?" Josie had this answer planned out for weeks but didn't want to seem too eager. Bea was always reminding her to give other people time to speak.
"My dad just moves a lot for his job." Allison tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before shrugging. Her smile was self-deprecating. "It's not that interesting, but I am basically a professional at this whole new school thing."
Josie nodded. "Mine is super boring, too."
Allison giggled and raised her eyebrows.
"Not that yours is super boring!" Josie's (now clean) hands flew to cover her mouth. At the feeling of lip gloss, she pulled away. "Shit, I'm sorry."
Relaxing back into the bench, Allison just kept giggling. "No, no, go on. I am very interested in this."
"I haven't talked this much in forever." The words seemed to fly out of Josie's mouth of their own accord. Horrified at her own honesty, Josie's hand went to fist into the material of her pants. Desperately trying to salvage the mood, she smiled wanly. "I moved in with my grandma a few weeks ago and it's been a lot of HGTV reruns."
"That's my house every day." Allison agreed. "If I hear the opening for House Hunters one more time, I am going to go insane."
With a triumphant smile, mood successfully saved, Josie nodded excitedly. "Right! I'm guessing your mom likes it?"
"Try my dad."
Josie's faux scandalized look teased out more laughter from Allison.
A shrieking ringtone broke through the easy silence and sent both girls scrambling for their phones. Josie found hers in the side pocket of her backpack, shoved under her water bottle, and was immediately relieved when her screen was still dark. She didn't know which was worse—if her parents had called her or if they remained radio silent.
Allison's eyes widened in exasperation. "My mom has already called me, like, five times since dropping me off."
Josie gestured for her to answer it and settled back to eavesdrop.
"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing." Allison's lips twitched as she began to dig through her bag. Despite her protests, she clearly didn't mind having her mom check in on her. "Everything except a pen. Oh my god, I didn't actually forget a pen."
Josie's hand flew to her bag sitting neatly beside her. "Do you need one?"
Allison shoved her phone between her ear and shoulder. "It's fine, I'm sure it will turn up." She coughed a little to cover a laugh. "No, Mom, I was talking to my fellow new girl. What? No, you can't talk to her!"
At Allison's horrified tone of voice, Josie's giggles threatened to start again. The other girl lightly shoved at her shoulder. Josie easily dodged the hand which only made Allison fight a smile.
Relief flooded over Allison's face. "I gotta go, Mom. Love ya."
Josie faked a pout and propped her head on one hand. "What if I wanted to talk to your mom?"
"Then I was saving you from a bad decision." Allison retorted. Her gaze flicked over Josie's shoulder and the girl's earlier anxiety was back in full force. Josie turned to see the school's vice principal striding towards them.
"Sorry to keep you ladies waiting." The vice principal gave a nod to them in what Josie assumed was an apology. "Glad to see you two are getting along so well. We don't usually have students transfer at the same time."
Allison stood up, with Josie quickly following her lead, and fell into step with the vice principal. She offered the older man a smile. "It's been nice having someone to talk with."
The vice principal gestured for the girls to follow him into the school. "That's a good thing—you both have a decent number of classes together. Perhaps you can keep each busy today."
Josie raised her eyebrow before hurrying after the two. Allison was a professional at this. Even with her heels, it was a struggle to keep up with two in front of her. Their pace, and conversation, moved too fast for her to latch on.
The walk to her Josie's first period was devastatingly short. There wasn't even time for her to be properly nervous. Josie had barely avoided running into Allison, who sent a teasing smile over her shoulder, as they all stopped short.
Even though she was a state away, everything looked the same as her old high school. The familiarity gave Josie a sense of calm over her. She didn't give shit about her old classmates' opinions of her, so why should she care about what these people thought?
Allison sent Josie a nervous look just as the vice principal opened the door to the classroom.
"Class, these are our new students, Allison Argent and Josephine Strinakova-Tantama. Please do your best to make them feel welcome." With that, the vice principal disappeared back into the hallway.
Josie blinked in surprise at his sudden departure. Okay, then. Good thing she didn't need anything.
Already uncomfortable at the jilted pronunciation of her last names, Josie felt her cheeks begin to heat as everyone stared. The teacher seemed very unimpressed with the two of them and just gestured towards the back of the room.
Allison didn't hesitate at escaping. Josie stuttered a beat too long and trailed behind her. The sound of her heels, which had made her feel powerful in the hallway, just made her embarrassed in the silence. To stay calm, she focused on the desk in the back corner of the room.
Allison slid into the desk across the aisle and sent Josie a grimace. To keep from smiling, Josie pursed her lips as she took her own seat. Knowing she had a (temporary, at least) ally eased the tightness in her stomach.
Just as Josie went to turn towards the front, a flash of movement caught her eye.
The boy in front of Allison turned and offered her a pen. With his shaggy brown hair, dopey smile and warm eyes, Josie couldn't think of any way to describe him but sweet. All his attention seemed to be focused on Allison, even as the teacher started his lecture at the board.
Allison stared at the pen for a moment before taking it, a smile of her own growing on her own face. "Thanks."
The boy turned back around with a proud smile while Allison just stared at the pen. When the girl turned to send a confused look to Josie, she was already staring at Allison with a smile twitching on her lips. Shaking her head, Allison mouthed stop before purposefully facing front.
The romantic in Josie swooned at the gesture. Within two minutes, Allison had already had the boys tripping over themselves. Deciding to stop her unabashed staring, Josie focused on the teacher.
Or she tried to. While she had just stopped staring, the boy in front of her seemed to just start.
His body was fully turned at the waist with his arm resting on the very front of Josie's desk. His face was achingly familiar, and Josie couldn't help herself from staring. His jawline was strong in contrast with how soft the rest of his face looked. Moles and freckles were dotted delicately over his cheekbones along with faint blush. Josie decided that if she ever painted him, it would be in watercolor.
With running away not available, Josie wasn't sure what to do. After a few seconds of deliberation, she decided on waving her hand in front of his face.
The blur of crimson nails a few inches from his eyes seemed to lift the fog. He jumped violently. The movement brought back memories of an elbow flying into Josie's face and her coffee spilling all over the ground.
Her face morphed into a horrified expression and Josie's hand flew to her nose. The action confirmed that yes, she did remember him. The boy managed to seem just as horrified, slapping a hand over his own mouth, and violently turning around. His desk gave a loud screech against the tile.
It was nice that he was more embarrassed than she was, Josie decided. Comforting in a way.
The rest of class passed without further incident. He seemed to be intent on not facing her again, even passing the syllabus over his head, and Josie was content to let him. The second the bell rang, he was clumsily escaping from class with Allison's lovesick boy chasing after him.
Unluckily for him, it seemed that they had most of their classes together. After being clued in on the situation in between classes, Allison decided it was hilarious. Josie preferred the girl's brief, righteous anger before she had explained it was an accident.
In retaliation, Josie asked Allison to borrow her pen.
They had spent lunch sequestered in the corner of a table at the far side of the cafeteria. Josie found out about Allison's strict parents, inability to hold down a hobby, and the fact that she had crashed her car twice since getting her license. In return, Josie explained the pet dynamic in her grandmother's house, where her last names came from, and how she didn't have a license at all.
Even when Allison wasn't in her classes, Josie survived. She kept to herself and stuck to one-word answers. Other than giving a brief compliment in the girl's bathroom, Josie had managed to avoid human interactions.
Leaning against the bank of lockers that Allison had pointed out as her own, Josie shifted her weight from one leg to another. Her locker was across the hall, unfortunately placed next to the boy who had run into her that morning, and Josie had attempted to shove all her books into it. The endeavor had failed miserably, and Josie was left awkwardly holding her English and Art textbooks.
Just as she was about to leave, promises to Allison be damned, the girl appeared next to her.
"Jesus shit!" Josie dropped both her textbooks on the ground with a deafening bang. She exhaled an amused breath before crouching to the floor. "You scared me half to death."
Allison laughed and began fiddling with her locker. "I can tell. What was that—Jesus shit?"
"I will stay down here until you promise to be nice." Josie threatened as she gathered her books. Her crouch had turned into kneeling on the ground when pain began shooting up her calves.
Peering down at her with warm eyes, Allison smiled and shut her locker. "Okay, okay, I promise."
Both textbooks safely propped on her hip, Josie stood back up. She began swiping at the dirt marks on the fabric of her pants. Josie so did not want to scrub the stains out later. "Since you're being nice… how was your first day at school?"
When Allison didn't respond, Josie finally looked up. The other girl was ignoring her in favor of staring across the hallway at the same boy from first period. Josie didn't try to hide her smile as Allison made eye contact with him and beamed.
It was only when Josie knocked her books into Allison's arms that the taller girl snapped out of it.
"What?" Allison laughed nervously.
"Staring at lover boy instead of paying attention to me?" Josie placed the back of her hand on her forehead. "I think I may faint."
Allison's mouth dropped. "I wasn't staring!"
Just as Josie was about to argue, a girl approached them gracefully. It was only the fact that Josie had already talked to her earlier that kept her from running away. A brief conversation in the girl's bathroom caused enough social obligation.
"Josie, you didn't tell me that you were already friends with the other new girl." Lydia smiled and swiped her strawberry blonde curls behind her shoulder. Their earlier conversation had been short, but it seemed like it was enough to make an impression on Lydia. "And that her fashion sense is as good as yours."
Unsure of what to do, Josie just shrugged at Allison's confused look. "Um, Allison, this is Lydia. We talked a bit earlier."
"That jacket is absolutely killer. Where did you get it?" Lydia's tone quickly gained an undercurrent of appraisal. The only reason Josie could recognize it was because she heard it earlier. Lydia's delicate features had remained innocent, but Josie got the distinct feeling it was a test.
Allison recovered quickly, sending Lydia a tentative smile. "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."
A smile blossomed on Lydia's face and softened her features. She pointed at Allison with a neatly manicured hand. "And you are my new best friend!"
Josie raised her eyebrows at Lydia. Ouch.
"The 'you' is being used in the plural pronoun form." Lydia informed before turning her hand towards Josie. It was as if Lydia could sense the pettiness beginning to grow inside Josie. "As if I'd forget you and those shoes, Josephine."
"They are nice shoes." Josie agreed. She lifted one Mary Jane in the air to properly show it off. Both Allison and Lydia made appreciative noises as the glossy black material shimmered in the hallway lights.
"Do I want to know what the hell is going on?"
Where Lydia was small with elfin features, her boyfriend was the exact opposite. He was broad with a classically handsome face that seemed to belong on a Greek statue. Whenever Josie had seen him, he seemed to simply not care about whatever was going on around him. It didn't make sense for a person as intense as Lydia to be with someone as indifferent as her boyfriend.
The two latched together for an intimate kiss as he slipped an arm around Lydia's waist. After they finally detached, Lydia leaned back against him. "This is my boyfriend, Jackson."
Jackson nodded slightly as his eyes roamed over both Allison and Josie. His gaze was more analytical than sexual, and Josie felt as though he was mentally quantifying all her flaws. "And you two are Allison and Josie."
Allison gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Good memory."
He shrugged. "Nothing interesting happens ever around here, so news travels fast. Even deathly boring news."
Unsure of whether to be offended at being categorized as 'deathly boring,' Josie's eye flicked between Allison and Lydia's reactions. Lydia didn't seem surprised by Jackson's callousness, but Allison had straightened up.
Staring Jackson down with a challenging look, Allison asked, "Nothing ever happens here?"
Lydia just rolled her large eyes. She sent a look back towards Jackson. "Nothing fun, at least."
"Well," Jackson's mouth pulled into a smirk. "Someone did find a dead body last night."
A metallic taste filled Josie's mouth as she bit into her cheek. The pain helped ground her, giving her enough time to compose herself, before answering Jackson. "Ew, really?"
Allison shared the sentiment as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "My dad was talking about it this morning. Someone was cut in half or something?"
"Transversely." Lydia confirmed. When she noticed how Jackson had pulled away enough to stare at her in confusion, Lydia's mouth dropped open and she batted her eyelashes. "Or something."
"That's across-ways, right?" Josie, not the best with vocabulary, looked over to Allison for confirmation. She made a slicing motion across her torso in demonstration.
"If my biology knowledge holds up, then yes." Allison answered. Her eyebrows furrowed softly, and she crossed her arms tighter across her body. "I vote we stop talking about dead bodies."
"Seconded. Now, back to business." Lydia clapped her hands softly. She relaxed even farther into Jackson, head resting on his chest. "So, this weekend, there's a party."
"A party?" Allison's voice pitched up in what could either be nerves or excitement.
Josie attempted to hide how excited her voice was. "Really?"
While she wasn't a fan of human interaction, Josie was a fan of free alcohol. The fact that no one knew her made it even better.
"Yeah, this Friday." Jackson responded. "You guys should come."
"Oh, I can't." Allison waved her hand helplessly. "It's family night on Friday—thanks for asking."
"I am totally going." Josie flinched in surprise as Lydia gave an excited exclamation. The strawberry blonde's smile was bright and it surprised Josie how easy it was to return it. It felt worryingly natural.
"Yeah, everyone is going after the scrimmage. Even Josie, apparently." Jackson continued.
Allison jumped at the chance to change topics. "You mean like football?"
Even with his lofty tone, a light seemed to come on behind Jackson's eyes. "Football's a joke here at Beacon. The sport here is lacrosse—we've won the state championship for the last three years."
Lydia messed with Jackson's hair softly before giving the girls a pointed look. "Because of a certain team captain."
"Lacrosse is the sport with the sticks, right?" At Josie's old school, basketball was the big sport. It was also the only sport that she knew anything about due to how many games she was forced to watch. "That have nets on the end?"
Jackson looked physically in pain. "That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, but you're not wrong. Look, we have practice in a few minutes, and you can learn something."
Before either girl could respond, Lydia did for them. She grabbed Allison's hand and tugged her down the hallway. "You're coming."
Just as Josie thought she avoided it, Lydia called back over her shoulder. "You too, Josephine!"
Josie reluctantly followed them outside to the lacrosse field. Her protests about needing to call her grandmother for a ride were easily shot down by Allison. While Lydia was grabbing her things from her locker, Allison pulled Josie to the side.
"Please stay?" It was Allison's turn to beg. Josie wished she could ignore how desperate Allison seemed. "I'll give you a ride home."
Josie just crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.
Even now, sitting on the freezing metal of the bleachers, Josie was pouting. It was obvious, and very childish, but she couldn't help it. She absolutely hated the cold.
Lydia and Allison were talking about their shared French class, but Josie couldn't make herself pay attention. She pulled her jean jacket tighter around her before covering her face with her hands. There was absolutely nothing interesting about sports for her.
Just as Josie was about to call Baba for a rescue, she noticed a familiar face making his way across the field. The second that the boy saw Josie looking at him, he ran for the bench on the sideline. His back was facing her, but Josie could still see him twitching. She smiled into her palm. It was kind of nice to have someone be the embarrassed one, so that she didn't have to.
"Who is that?"
Josie tore her eyes away from the guy on the sidelines in time to see Allison nod towards the goal. Lover boy was positioned inside, his face just visible from their vantage point on the bleachers.
Lydia tilted her head before frowning. "Him? I'm not sure who he is." The lack of knowledge seemed to bother her, and Lydia's tone became annoyed. "Why?"
Allison shrugged. "He's just in my English class."
Instead of calling her on her shit, Josie let Allison pretend that she didn't care much about lover boy.
Looking at the team preparing to run drills, Josie suddenly became much more interested. Nets on the ends of sticks were fun and she always had liked contact sports the best. If her gaze kept drifting to the sidelines, then that was just coincidence.
Even with the example of how the conversation would go, Josie couldn't push her curiosity down any longer. She leaned forward to make eye contact with Lydia. "My turn—who's that?"
Following Josie's finger to the bench, Lydia huffed. "What is up with you two and being attracted to nobody's?"
Allison smiled. "So, I'm guessing you don't know who he is either?"
"No." Lydia admitted. She wrinkled her nose in displeasure before visibly composing herself. Josie had to hide her smile when Lydia's narrowed eyes flitted back to her. "If you say he's in your English class…"
Just to be annoying, Josie nodded innocently. Before Lydia could attempt murder, she quickly amended her statement. "He also bumped into me this morning."
"And gave her a bloody nose." Allison informed Lydia, both girls leaning closer together as Josie watched in amusement. It wasn't really gossip or secret information, but Lydia seemed betrayed anyways.
Lydia's face morphed into one of indignant anger as the content of the statement hit her. Her eyes were glaring sharply at the back of the guy's head; he could obviously feel it and looked behind him at the same time Lydia shrieked, "He did what?"
The boy almost threw himself off the bench with how quickly he tried to turn around. Josie could imagine that the three of them weren't being very subtle with their conversation. The boy scrambled to right himself frantically as they continued to stare.
"It was an accident, Lydia." She patted the black fabric of Lydia's sleeve briskly. It got the other girl's attention enough for her to tear her eyes off the back of his lacrosse jersey. "His elbow bumped my nose. Blood was expelled."
"Then he should watch where he's going." Lydia snapped. Her curls smacked Allison in the face as she whipped her head around. The other girl sputtered for a second, but Lydia didn't seem to care.
Josie remembered how upset, and vaguely nauseous, she was that morning. There was no way she was paying any attention to where she was going. Her thoughts had been too filled with the cold, her old friends, and her parents. "It really wasn't his fault."
Pushing her shoulders back, Lydia pursed her lips. After a second of contemplative silence, Lydia nodded. "Fine. But let me know if he acts up again."
Allison attempted to cover up her laughter with a sudden coughing fit. Josie sent her a look for being supremely unhelpful during the conversation, but Allison just smiled back innocently.
The whistle blew shrilly, and Josie jumped at the sudden noise. She had almost forgotten about lacrosse practice.
Her reaction was nothing compared to the goalie, lover boy, who had dropped the lacrosse stick entirely to cover his ears through his helmet. It obviously didn't do much, and he was pelted in the face with a ball.
As he collapsed to his back, laughs rippled through the crowd. Josie couldn't help the gasping laugh that escaped her as the crowd jeered. It was mostly shock and sympathy, but a small part of it was funny. Allison sent a chastising look to her, and Josie shrugged.
To his credit, he got back up and seemed to shake it off. He caught the next shot on goal easily. He continued to block every single shot until almost the whole line was up. The crowd had started cheering, his friend on the sideline the loudest, and Josie clapped along. She wasn't completely sure what was going on, but she went with it.
Allison tilted her head with a soft smile. "He seems like he's pretty good."
"Yeah, very good." Lydia begrudgingly agreed.
Josie glanced over at Lydia, but all she could see was a mess of strawberry blond curls shoved under a knit hat. She hoped Lydia's face matched her easy tone. "For clarification, this is what being good at lacrosse is?"
Lydia looked over at Josie and pursed her lips tightly. After a few moments of contemplation, she nodded reluctantly. "Yes."
Just as Josie was starting to enjoy watching, someone started to shove their way through the remainder of the line. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Jackson.
Perking up, Lydia pointed a gloved finger towards the field where her boyfriend was charging towards the goal. Her lips tugged up in a smirk. "He's what being great at lacrosse looks like."
Tension covered the bleachers as everyone held their breath. Even though she didn't understand the love for sports, Josie couldn't help but wait anxiously along with them. The crowd erupted into cheers as he blocked Jacksons' shot.
The guy on the sidelines had leapt to his feet, arms out pinwheeling, while cheering excitedly. He turned around briefly, Josie just catching the grin on his face, as he yelled, "That's my friend!"
Josie and Allison clapped along with the rest of the crowd, but Lydia had gotten to her feet to cheer. It was confusing, Lydia's sudden change in feelings, but Josie couldn't bring herself to care. It wasn't anything good if the challenging look she sent Jackson was anything to go by.
The goalie stared at Allison as he tossed the ball over his shoulder, it landing perfectly into a waiting net. He lifted his chin up in acknowledgement in her direction.
Even with the cold wind sending shivers down her spine, Josie couldn't help but share a bright smile with Allison.