Dear Hope [UNDER EDITTING]

Letter twenty [EDITTING]

Dear Relief,

Thankfully, everything ended up going well. I was reluctant to go to school but I knew my mother wouldn't buy any lies about being sick. She never bought them.

So, I unwillingly got ready and went to school. As I had presumed would be the case, Jemma didn't wait for me. Usually, she was there before me at about ten to eight. Not today. I waited till eight o'clock, and she still hadn't come. So I sighed and decided that I would have to go by myself.

The ride was quiet. No chatter, just the sound of nature and cars. I was still alone with my thoughts. I didn't want to be. They raced through my head, Regret and Anxiety being my companions. The journey to school was anything but peaceful inside my head.

I arrived at school and walked to the usual spot. I wondered if Jemma would be there or not. I had my fingers crossed that she would be. Thankfully, she was there, though still as quiet as yesterday. There wasn't enough time to talk to her now, but there would be at lunchtime. I was as silent as Jemma, unwilling to talk at all. Alyssa and Melissa ignored both of us and continued talking.

I couldn't really focus in class. I wasn't in the mood to do work, but there was no getting out of it was there? So I spent my time staring idly at the clock, waiting for time to pass. But, the closer it got to lunchtime, the more I wished that the time lords would just spare me and give me a couple more centuries. I risked setting of angry Jemma if I attempted to apologise to her.

Time went on like normal though, and soon it was the start of lunch. I know saying nothing would have made the whole situation worse, so I tried to convince myself that Jemma wasn't going to be that scary. As we left the class, I took a deep breath and walked up to her.

"Umm Jemma..." I whimpered.

"What?" she snapped back.

"Umm... I just wanted to say... that I'm sorry about yesterday," I stammered, trying my best to sound as sincere as I felt.

"You shouldn't be apologising to m-" Jemma started to say the inevitable.

"I know, I will apologise to Sally the next time I see her," I sighed, cutting her off. "But you deserve an apology too. You tried to tell me before to fix all of this before it went way too far ages ago. But I didn't listen. You were right, you've been right the whole time."

Silence filled the air. Finally, Jemma smiled softly at me. "It's okay. I understand why you did what you did, I just know that Sally... nevermind, just make sure you set things straight with Sally."

I smiled back, you, Relief, making a grand entrance and seemingly patting me on the back. Hope had come and pulled me through, thank goodness. Jemma and I chatted again like we had before.

"Oh, you guys are getting along again?" Alyssa asked, though she didn't sound like she cared. "What even happened in the first place?"

"Don't worry," Jemma asserted. "It's none of your business."

"Jemma, come on," Melissa pleaded, 'please don't fight' engraved in her expression.

"Don't 'come one' me. You know she wouldn't care, and I know that you don't really care either," Jemma snapped.

"And if I don't?" Melissa snarled, folding her arms defiantly.

"Oh don't worry, you never cared, it wouldn't change anything," Jemma replied, her fists clenched. "Why do I even stay here? All it does is make me angry. Forget it, I'm going elsewhere."

"Good riddance!" Alyssa called out, the biggest grin on her face.

I didn't understand. Why did Jemma get so mad at them? Why was Alyssa happy that she was going? Why didn't Melissa care? She seemed like the one person that would.

"Aren't you going to go cheer her up?" I asked confused, directing the question mainly at Melissa. "She's our friend, right?"

"It doesn't matter, no one likes her anyway," Alyssa said, making no eye contact with me. "Hey, Calvin! Where were you this morning?"

I frowned at Alyssa before looking at Melissa who shrugged and turned away to Calvin and Alyssa. I looked back and then at them again to find they were going. I picked up my bag, paused, then speed walked after Jemma.

"Jemma!" I called out to her. She turned around as I walked in beside her.

"What?" she mumbled, continuing to walk.

"What just happened?!" I exclaimed.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," she raised her voice, shaking her head.

I looked at my feet as I walked. Jemma sat by the garden. I didn't say a word as I sat beside her.

"I bet you're really confused, huh," she muttered in a monotone voice.

"You don't say," I concurred sarcastically.

Jemma sighed and looked down. It wasn't like her. No one was acting like how they usually did. Jemma was defeated, Melissa was being insensitive and Alyssa was delighted to get rid of her friends. I thought that I had read all of these people. Then I remembered that I don't really know anything about any of them. I was still relatively new to this school.

"It doesn't matter, though," I corrected myself, trying to be polite. "But... Did something happen between you and Melissa and Alyssa?"

"Well, kind of," she muttered evasively. "Anyway, don't expect me to sit with them from now on. I'm officially over their drama."

Regardless of everything that just happened, I felt slightly better about the other day now. It's still a little hard to forgive myself though. I think I will go and see Sally on the weekend.

Close one,

Relieved girl