Broken homes

A Step Forward

The next morning, Lily stood in front of her mirror, adjusting the hem of her sweater. She had gotten so used to wearing statement outfits—skirts, blouses, expensive handbags—that it almost felt strange dressing down in something as simple as jeans and a soft knit sweater.

But it felt... right.

Grabbing her bag, she headed downstairs, where Marcus and Karen were finishing up their coffee.

"You're up early," Marcus commented, glancing at the clock. "Usually, you're rushing out the door last minute."

Lily shrugged. "Yeah, well... figured I'd start getting it together."

Karen gave her a small smile, but Lily didn't wait around for a response. She grabbed an apple from the counter and headed out the door, feeling lighter than she had in months.

—

At school, the energy was different. Or maybe she was different.

Instead of slipping off to the back of the library to drink, she actually sat at her locker, flipping through her books.

Instead of avoiding everyone, she let Topanga greet her at her locker with an excited "Hey, stranger!"

Instead of making some sarcastic remark, she actually smiled back.

As they walked toward Mr. Feeny's class, Cory caught up to them, falling into step beside Lily.

"Hey," he said hesitantly, as if unsure where they stood. "You, uh... you look good today."

Lily raised a brow, smirking slightly. "What, did I look like a mess before?"

Cory sighed dramatically. "You looked like you were plotting world domination before."

She laughed—a real, genuine laugh. It felt good.

The Ski Trip Excitement

The hallways were buzzing with excitement. Everywhere Lily turned, someone was talking about the upcoming senior ski trip—who was rooming with who, what outfits they were packing, and most importantly, what drama was bound to unfold.

As she grabbed her books from her locker, Topanga leaned against the door beside her, grinning.

"Tell me you're coming," she begged.

Lily sighed. "I don't know..."

"Oh, come on! You finally started acting like a normal person again, you have to come," Topanga insisted.

Before Lily could respond, Cory appeared beside them. "Yeah, it won't be the same without you. Besides, it's tradition! Every senior class goes, and we all come back with crazy stories."

Lily smirked. "Like when Eric broke his leg that one year trying to impress some girl?"

Cory nodded. "Exactly. And who knows? Maybe this year's disaster will involve Shawn crashing into a tree."

As if on cue, Shawn and Angela walked past them, laughing about something. Lily caught his eye for a brief second before he looked away.

Topanga nudged her. "You definitely need to come."

Lily hesitated. A ski trip with all her friends—well, most of them—sounded fun. But could she really handle being around everyone for a full weekend?

"...I'll think about it," she finally said.

Topanga clapped her hands together. "That's good enough for now."

But something told Lily that by the end of the day, she'd somehow end up on that trip whether she liked it
For the first time in a long time, Lily felt like herself again.