Shards of a Heart

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Now

"Dad?" I walk down the wooden stairs hesitantly. In the living room I hear a muffled cough then the sound of a bottle being opened. I bite my lip and walk in, averting my eyes.

    "Celia, I don't need to be bombarded. Can't you tell I had a horrible day? This job is sucking the energy out of me," I look up as he cusses, starting the same rant I hear everyday I try to talk to him. He meets my eyes, and for once, he shuts up. "Why are you crying? You're supposed to be the strong one" I can't help but grin a little at his comment.

    Ever since we moved last month, Dad hasn't been himself. Well, he hasn't been himself since he almost lost his little girl, but it got worse. He comes home so stressed that he barely eats anymore, and refuses to even watch sports. He made our living room his office, so I barely hang out in there anymore. One thing he also said was that I was the one who was keeping him strong, the one who didn't let this tear me apart. The thing is, Jade's the one who been keeping me strong, so I disagreed with his statement.

    "Cam called" My voice doesn't sound real, like I still didn't believe he was back. My dad's face changes quick, as though he doesn't know how to react. He settles with a shocked look and blinks twice. I don't miss the look of anguish that covered it for a fraction of a second. He is remembering.

    I start explaining it to my dad. He stays silent throughout the whole thing. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

    "Cee, that's... great," he finally says, then grabs his beer bottle and takes a sip. I nod, while he coughs again. "I really need to do this project for work now..." he adds. I fake a smile and nod again, retreating back to my room after grabbing a sandwich that I had made this morning on the counter in the kitchen.

    I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I wake the next morning to find that my little lamp in the corner that I had used for light instead of the overhead one had burned out. I sigh and flip the switch, the room illuminating in an unnatural white glow that makes my sleepy eyes blink fast. Day two of school, and I have to be out of house in ten minutes. Dad was surely gone by now, so I undress in my room and walk across the hall to the shower. The water is cold, but I let it numb me. I have this uneasy feeling that last night was all a dream, so I'm cautious as I check my phone history.

    It wasn't a dream. I smile a little as I get into my car and start the quick drive to the school.

    You'd think that I wouldn't miss the twenty minute drive from my old school to my old house, being that it was just a waste of time, but I did. I don't have time to think anymore.

    After pulling into the parking lot and maneuvering my car into a spot, I secure my bland coffee hair into a loose bun. There really wasn't any need to try to look nice. There would be no difference in today than yesterday.

After a mindless haze of walking to my first class, I find my seat and sit down.

"Hi," the voice comes from my right, so I turn to look into the eyes of the Junior sitting next to me. She looks familiar, and a closer examination reveals she's the girl who gave me back my necklace. I smile back at her with a quick nod.

"Are you new?" she asks. It appears like everyone knows each other in this place, because they can spot a newbie in an instant. I sigh and nod again.

"Im Autumn, you're Celia" She states. I raise an eyebrow. "I read the class list yesterday." she smiles genuinely. Something about her personality attracts me, and I find myself starting a conversation with her. I was planning on being a loner this whole year, but I guess it doesn't hurt to make a few friends.

"Thanks, by the way, for getting my necklace," I say. Her face widens with surprise.

"You do remember me! That was a very pretty piece, I've never seen anything like it."

"Custom," I say as the bell rings.

"You're in my lunch Celia, sit by me okay?" She grins and turns back towards the teacher.

Maybe I don't have to be antisocial to forget about Seattle. Maybe the best way was to create a new life for myself. I smile and look up as Mrs. Ware starts talking.

⋯

At Hawthorne, there are seven class periods each 55 minutes long. I have the earliest lunch, so after third hour I make my way to the cafeteria. I search through the small room crowded with tables for Autumns familiar ponytail, which I had decided was more of a blonde than a red. She's not hard to find because she stands up and waves me over. I plaster a smile onto my face and walk over to her table. A few other girls sit with her, and they give me a genuine look.

"Where's your lunch?" Autumn asks after I take the empty seat next to her. She pulls out a floral bag from her backpack and places it on the table, grinning as she opens it.

"Oh, I'm not particularly hungry right now, I'm probably just going to get a bag of chips from the vending machine" I reach into my pocket and pull out a dollar bill, standing up.  Autumn stands up too, getting in my face and I take a step back. She squints at me. "What?" I ask, unsure if this is her normal behavior.

She laughs a melodic tune, her whole body shaking. "I'm trying to figure out if you're anorexic, because you're not completely a twig," I fake a gasp at this, pretending that I care, "or if you only like eating junk food and the school doesn't carry any,"

"Or I could just be telling the truth maybe," I smile

"Riiiight," She stretches it out then literally hops back into her seat. "I've never known a person who wasn't hungry for" she pauses to look at the swinging sign above the lunch line. "Popcorn chicken with creamy apples. Wait- what the heck is a creamy apple?"

"Exactly my point. Just the names of these foods make me lose my appetite"

Another lesson from Ms. Penny; the easiest way to make a friend is to play along with their humor. Go with it and they'll take a liking to you immediately. Just make sure you have enough to contribute to the conversation so it's not a one person show. Today I learned that I can do that, and it's not even that hard.