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J A M E S
The familiar scent of clove and pine cleanser greeted James as he pushed open the door of his and Sirius' flat. He dropped his heavy bags on the floor with a laboured exhale of breath, his arms aching from carrying them up five flights of stairs because the lift had broken down. Again.
Hogwarts had really spoiled him the past three months with its luxurious lifts made entirely of glass that slid soundlessly and speedily from one floor to another and had enough space to fit up to ten people. Being back home was like snapping back to reality after a lovely dream. His world in Florida was different from his world here in London, where he lived in this building that was at least ten years old and in desperate need of renovation, in a rented flat he shared with his best friend, where the electricity occasionally went out, and there was no guarantee when the lift would work-the building maintenance guy came in once a week to fix it, but it always broke down again.
Nobody had prepared James for how big of a shift it would be, to go from living comfortably off his parents' money and never having to think about the price tag of something, to then entering a financial crisis basically overnight, having to move in with a friend and being forced to work a minimum wage job that only served to pay the bills. The tragedy of losing both his parents and the wealthy lifestyle he'd led since he was born because of his arsehole uncle's bribery hit him back to back, so James never got the chance to slowly ease into this transition.
He experienced more difficulty with the adjustment than he ever let on. That's why he was eternally grateful to Remus for giving him the crash course on money management he'd never needed before-given that unlike James, Sirius, and even Peter, he was the only one who knew what it was like to grow up in poverty and struggle to make ends meet. It was thanks to Remus that James realized the value of money, and what a privileged mentality it was to believe that money didn't buy happiness.
He slumped on the couch of the sitting room and closed his eyes. He had struggled to get any sleep the entire flight after those anxious, confusing dreams about Lily and Jessica, where their faces blended and blurred with one another's. James didn't want to put any thought into the meaning behind such dreams. But they had unnerved him enough not to let him get any sleep again for the rest of his flight, which had made him grow restless with anxiety. It was that same anxiety that brewed in his stomach now; that same anxiety that kept him alert and awake, despite every inch of his body craving some rest.
He had texted Rick as soon as his plane landed. Rick responded by saying he would let Jessica know James wanted to see her, and asked if the park opposite the coffee shop on Greenleaf Street was a good spot for them to meet. James knew the park was only a ten minute walk from the flat, so he said okay. Before boarding the flight, James called Rick, who reassured him that Jessica was not, in fact, missing or in any grave danger. It didn't reduce James' anxiety as much as he'd hoped, but at least he was able to cross off his mind the worst case scenarios of what could've happened to her.
