"I can't do this." Jayden's fists went white from how she gripped the car seat beneath her.
Eyeing the one-story building from the window, she swallowed at the sea of sprightly youngsters in grey and blue; their expressions were one of neutrality or consumed by tired yawns as their parents led them down the winding drive of the school. Her mouth went dry; she'd never seen so many of those her age in one place and even protected behind the window; the sight alone unnerved her.
The blue-skied crisp Monday morning was tranquil. Not even a gentle, chilled breeze disturbed the blazing leaves of red and auburn that littered the sidewalks as a last vestige of autumn. It was a contrast to everything going through Jayden's head. Anxiety gripped her like a hurricane, pecking at her like a bird trapped her ribcage.
Theo rubbed against her neck, the cool surface of his nose nudging her cheek in a vain act to console her, but it did very little for her malicious nerves. She wasn't ready for this- how could she be?
Barley two months had gone by since her escape, and with little time to take in her freedom and recover from the lifetime of torment, it was too soon. School was too soon; what was she thinking when she convinced Tony she was ready?
"Yes, you can," Pepper, from her left disagreed, running her fingers through the brunette's hair. "You've been so excited about this, you can't back out now."
Jayden swallowed and firmly gripped the woman's hand with her left, which was no longer plagued by its irritating cast. It was like the doctor predicted: she healed at twice the rate of unenhanced humans, so instead of six, she only had to deal with the restrictive thing for three weeks. She couldn't be more relieved.
"Er, yeah, she can. We can very easily turn the car around and leave; we don't owe this school anything," Tony, from her right, debunked. Jayden had half the mind to accept his suggestion.
"Tony," Pepper warned, making him turn to her with a pacified, raised hand.
"Alright, alright! Sorry kid, but I suppose she is in the right. We wouldn't want to waste all that time I had to spend pulling strings to get you in here with no prior legal education."
"The point is," Pepper pointed a look at him. "We would have never enrolled you if we didn't believe you could do this. But saying that, if it ever gets too much, you have the option to come home. But I want you to try first, okay?"
"Alright," she whispered, but wasn't entirely convinced. "D-do I need to know anything else?"
"Just do what we've told you, Smalls. Remember your backstory, and don't go showing off Theo or your abilities, no matter how much you want to."
"I'm not stupid."
"Even non-stupid people can think and do stupid things," he said. "But if anyone gives you trouble, then you have my permission to kick them in-"
"I think she gets it," Pepper sighed in exasperation, making Jayden snort; the woman was almost like his personal babysitter.
"Fine, give them a little hell, just a little." He pinched his fingers in demonstration. "They better teach you something worthwhile in there. I'm not paying them for nothing, even if it's only pocket change. "
"You're paying for school?"
"Obviously."
"But what if someone can't pay? Do kids not go?"
He blinked at her and stared for a long second. "It truly amazes me how bright you are in one moment and then the opposite the next."
"Hey!" she whined. "Blame Hydra's educational curriculum."
YOU ARE READING
Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
