"I understand that this may be weird for you," Lexa says thoughtfully. "Although I hope we can keep things respectful."
"That it might be weird for me?" Ontari scoffs. "You'd think?"
"Ontari...," Lexa says, sighing.
"Now I have two of my cousins being my professors," Ontari grumbles. "But it is fine, whatever."
"I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable, Ri," Lexa replies, not having intended to make this awkward for her younger cousin.
"Just don't let anyone know and we're cool," Ontari says, taking a step back when Lexa moves to hug her. "You know I hate that."
Lexa nods and doesn't try to hug Ontari again. "Anya is the only one who knows," she promises, which is obvious since Anya is their cousin. "How are things at home?" she asks, concerned. She wishes she could hug her younger cousin because she wants to comfort her somehow. "Is your stepmother treating you any better?"
"Better," Ontari repeats, laughing. "Nia has always been and will always be a bitch. Not that it matters anymore."
"It does matter, Ri," Lexa replies, her expressions softening somewhat. "I care about you and your safety," she says, swallowing hard at the purple bruise that's coloring her cousin's knuckles. "What happened?"
Ontari pulls at her sleeve to hide her hand. "You weren't there this summer," she answers as tears well up in her eyes. "I don't even live at home anymore. Where were you anyway?"
"I'm sorry," Lexa apologizes, knowing that she must have let Ontari down while she was dealing with her breakup with Costia. "I should have been there for you." She reaches out to wipe at her cousin's tears, but Ontari swats her hand away.
"Roan and Echo took me in," Ontari says, wiping at her tears with her sleeves. "Great, now my eyes are going to be red. Fuck this."
Lexa is relieved to hear that Ontari's older brother took her in. She knows that Roan hasn't had much contact with any of them ever since he got his own place with his girlfriend, Echo. "I know that you're angry at the world right now because you've been wronged and you've been hurt, and it makes you act out," she says, having heard plenty of her younger cousin's behavior at school from Anya. "I'll be around if you ever want to talk and if things ever turn sour with Roan you can always come to my place."
"I'm not a charity case, Lex," Ontari says angrily as she brushes past her. "And I don't need your pity or for you to suddenly care."
Lexa sighs as Ontari storms away because that didn't go the way she hoped it would. She had meant to help, though it seems she only made it worse. It's a relief that her cousin no longer lives with that cold heartless woman.
She clenches her jaw as the seniors start to walk in and hopes that they will be respectful. Once again she sees a mixture of shock and surprise on her students' faces. With the seniors the age gap is even smaller than it is with her other students, though they should be mature enough to steer away from childish behavior.
Octavia slams the door shut behind her, squealing as she jumps up and down.
Clarke arches an eyebrow up and shuts her book from which she had been revising one of her classes. "Someone seems happy," she says, her lips curling into a smile. "Spill," she says, moving to sit up.
"Yourenotgoingtobelievethis," Octavia says in one breath. She plops down next to Clarke and smiles giddily.
"Okay, take a deep breath first," Clarke replies, curious to hear what has gotten Octavia all happy.
