Lost and Found

Chapter 6 | White pages

The weekend flies by. Olivia, Matt and Julia had been to the lake to swim, and they had watched some more movies. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed she hadn't seen Mason again.

Her head softly bumps against the window with every uneven patch on the road. The trees flash by as the car speeds along the road. They're really leaving the forest, lake, and cabin behind.

Goodbye beautiful nature and handsome Stranger Danger.

Olivia's music plays in the background, breaking the silence between them. Julia suppresses a yawn, but exhaustion and some sore muscles are well worth it for the weekend of fun she had..

The greenery is traded in for farmland and eventually more buildings. Too bad Julia can't see much outside the car's window with the darkness of the night.

The closer they get to her aunt's and uncle's house, the more nervous she feels. She chews the inside of her cheek as her fingers play with the skirt of her dress. "Don't worry too much, okay," Olivia says. "You and your mom will work things out, and before you know it, things aren't awkward anymore. Besides, you can always come to me."

She gives Olivia a weak smile. "I know. Well... the last part. I'm not sure about the first one."

"At least give your mom a chance." Olivia glances at her as she holds up her pinky. "Promise me."

Julia rolls her eyes and locks her pinky with hers. "Promise." To be fair, it isn't just her mother she worries about. Will people like her at school? Cecil is going to show her around, but Julia doesn't trust Cecil will keep her promise.

They turn into her street, and the house comes into sight. The lights shine through the split of the curtains of the living room. The rest of the house is dark. Let's hope her mother isn't too mad at her. It's eleven o'clock, and she promised to get home before dark.

Olivia stops at her house. "Do you need help with your bags?"

"Nah. I'll be fine." She hugs Olivia goodbye. "Thank you for the weekend. It was fun."

"I had fun too."

Yeah, Olivia had. In the shower, on the couches, in bed. Julia giggles to herself. "Drive safe," Julia says before closing the door. She takes her bag and suitcase out of the trunk and drags them to the house. Why does she have so much stuff? She waves one more time at Olivia before she drives away.

The door swings open. "Hi, sweety," her mother says as she takes the bags from Julia and lets her in. "Everyone else is already in bed. Did you have a fun weekend?"

"Yeah, I hiked, and we went swimming." Julia follows her mother to the living room. "Sorry I'm late, though."

"Don't worry about it." Her mother waves her hand, dismissing Julia's words. "Shall I make you some tea, or are you tired? I got the photos you sent. They look great. You have genuine talent."

"Thank you. The beautiful nature helped. It was awesome out there. A lot different from the Netherlands."

An emotion she can't place crosses her mother's eyes. Her mother smiles at her, but the smile doesn't reach her mother's eyes. Julia shifts from one foot to the other as her eyes drift to the side. Julia and her mother have the same fake smiles. Her mother pushes a strand of Julia's hair out of her face. Her fingers brush her cheek. As soon as Julia meets her mother's eyes, she pulls her hand back. "You're a little pale."

"It's because I'm tired."

Her mother nods her head. "Time for bed then. We can talk tomorrow."

Julia's legs protest while walking up the stairs, and so does the rest of her body. Her mother puts her bags in the attic as Julia quickly brushes her teeth. Gosh, she does look pale. Sleep sounds great right about now. With her last energy, Julia nestles herself in her pile of pillows and blankets.

"Sweet dreams," her mother says before turning off the light and closing the door. The steps of the stairs creak as her mother walks down to her own room.

Her blankets hug her frame, and she embraces the warmth they give her. Her mind starts wandering. Mason's smile keeps popping up, followed by his glaring.

She failed to make a friend. Or did she? Matt is her friend! Now she had Olivia and Matt. Two friends. But they're not going to the same school as her. What if people in her class think she's weird too? Or what if Matt is wrong and the problem is her?

She turns on her side. Her eyes fall on the silhouette of her notebook. Stupid white pages. With a sigh, she reaches for her phone. She doesn't need to fill the white pages. Julia only has to write, and she can do it on her phone.

Julia 1; white pages 0.

Her therapist wouldn't mind going digital. Turning on her back, she stares at the screen as her finger taps at the side of her phone. Dear diary? No, that's such a cliché. A yawn escapes her, and she quickly types.

Summer, August
Friends 3
Johanna, Matt, Olivia

Things were weird this weekend, but I learned something. If I don't want to be alone again, I need to do something about it. It's daunting. I have no idea what to expect from high school here. Or from my mom. All I know is I don't want to feel alone again. An outsider. I'm not that ill kid anymore. I've changed. Promise.

And done. Her psychologist can be proud of her. Okay, it's not a lot, but she started. That's what matters. Every great story starts somewhere, right?

Julia puts her phone back on her nightstand and crawls into her blankets. Everything is going to turn out okay. Her eyes fall shut as sleep takes her over.

***

The next day, Julia spends most of it in bed. Too exhausted from all the hiking, swimming, and her emotions. The day of sleep helped, well—a little. Will her constant fatigue ever be completely gone?

Her mother thinks Julia is doing better now, too. She keeps coming to her and showing her pictures of the houses she found. Her mother can't wait to move out of her sister-in-law's house. They don't get along well. Julia wishes she knew the drama behind it. Or maybe her mother is like her, always scaring people away.

"Can we move closer to Olivia? I could go to school with her and Matt." She stares at the pictures of the different houses. A white wooden house with a nice porch. Two stone brick houses, also with a nice porch. One house with wood and brick and a nice porch. She's starting to see a pattern.

Her mother thinks going to the same school as Cecil would be the best. Cecil can show Julia around–so could Olivia at her school–and give her a ride to school. Movies didn't lie about this part. Almost everyone goes by car or bus.

Is it weird she's kind of excited to see a yellow school bus? She has never seen one before. In the Netherlands, almost everyone bikes to school. Of course, the Netherlands is built better for transportation by bike with separate bike lanes and a lot of shortcuts. In the city she lived in, it was faster to go somewhere by bike than by car.

Her mother goes with her hand through her dark brown hair. "The area where Olivia lives isn't great. You can get more opportunities at Pleasant Hill."

Mental note, the school's name is Pleasant Hill. Good to know, in case someone interrogates her again. Hmm, maybe she should take a digital note too. Taking out her phone, she opens the journal.

Still Summer, August

The school's name is Pleasant Hill. Let's see if it's really pleasant... or not.

She giggles at herself, and her mother raises an eyebrow. Another mental note; stop laughing at her inside jokes.

---

I wasn't sure if you wanted to leave out the last day of Julia's vacation, but it would either be a very short chapter or a lot of time jumps in this one.

Would you like a bonus chapter of the last day of their trip? 

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