The Newness Of Life

Chapter 3: Space Conundrum

4th July 2016

Harriet stayed in her room for the rest of yesterday. She didn't even come down for dinner, which showed how truly upset she was; Harriet could always eat, and skipping a meal showed dedication to her cause.

Finally, I decided I had to go and talk some sense into her. I knew that the news had not gone down well for Mum, and I agreed with Harriet's reaction, but skipping meals could never be the answer.

I walked upstairs around 10 o'clock. I hadn't been down for too long - don't worry, I'm not one of those strange teenagers who actually likes to get up early - but it was nearly time for breakfast, and I wasn't going to allow Harriet to skip that meal too. She must have already been starving, but she wasn't going to go down unless I went to talk to her. I knocked on her whitewashed wooden door, and waited for the Go Away! which was sure to come.

Sure enough, she shouted that within a few seconds.

"Harriet, it's just me," I said soothingly, "I'm not your enemy. Please will you let me in so we can talk?"

There was a pause, and then I heard quiet footfalls on her carpet from behind the door.

"Fine, then," she grumbled, opening the door wide enough for me to come in. She then flopped back down on her bed, leaving me the option of shutting the door or leaving it open. This was a test, and we both knew it; if I left the door open, it meant I didn't think the conversation important enough to keep it private, but if I shut it, then she knew that I was on her side.

I shut the door quietly and walked over to sit next to her on her bed. She had her head bent and her hair had fallen forward as if to cover her face. I put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to look to look at me, still with her head bowed. She had tears glistening in her eyes. I couldn't think of anything to do apart from pulling her into a hug.

She kept her arms hanging down between us while I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She lent her brunette head on my shoulder with a sob. I let her quietly cry for a few minutes, rubbing her back with one hand and her hair with the other, muttering comforting words in her ear as she shook. Finally, when she had stopped sobbing, she lent backwards, curled up and wrapped her arms around her knees. She sniffed once more and rubbed her nose, before sighing.

"Do you feel better now?" I asked quietly. She scowled as if ashamed of that show of emotion, but when I tilted my head and raised my eyebrows at her she nodded slightly.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Harry," I said, moving a bit closer to her and crossing my legs.

"Come on!" she scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Surely even you know why this is bad?"

"Excuse me!" I reprimanded, "If you speak to me like that I won't try to help you. I came here to try and sort out our problems, and that kind of talk is just going to create more. Now, do you want me to leave, or do you want me to stay so we can talk properly about this like adults?"

She looked at out of the corner of her eyes. "Fine, stay. Let's talk," she said after a moment.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Harry," I started again.

"I just...," she stopped and sighed deeply, looking away, "I just don't want more people around here."

"Why?" I asked carefully. I didn't expect much of an answer, but was pleasantly surprised. Obviously this was something that she had truly been thinking about for nearly twenty four hours.

"Why?" she said, "Because I find the house perfect as it is. We've all got a routine and we're used to it and I don't want it to change. Having five new people in the house suddenly, including some young children, I don't think I'll be able to deal with."