A Little Hope ((G/T))

Chapter Five

Jenna sat in the very back of the bus, her book bag clutched to her chest as she stared out the window to avoid looking at anyone else on the bus. She hated the forty-five-minute ride to her high school, which includes stopping and picking up other students.

There was suddenly pressure on the seat she was in. Someone sat next to her, but she was too nervous to look over and see who. Instead, her arms wrapped tighter around her book bag when a familiar voice piped up. "Jenna?"

With a relieved sigh, Jenna turned her head and looked at her friend. "Cassandra. Sorry, but you know how much I despise bus rides. I'm going to beg my mom to let me be homeschooled tonight though." She slumped back in the seat, closing her silver eyes.

Folding her arms over her chest, Cassandra watched her with an annoyed look. "You tell me that every day and yet you never ask her! Besides," She then lowered her voice, "Chris is at your house a lot, don't you want to stay away? Oh! You should spend the night at my house! Or I should go over to yours. My mom and dad are fighting again, I doubt they'd notice I was gone." 

A small smile fell onto Jenna's face. Her and Cassandra met a while back when Jenna had been crying in the girl's restroom, and then Cass came in and they started chatting. Once Jenna spilled the beans about what was going on with Chris, Cassandra admitted that her own home life was pretty horrible too. Since then they've been nearly inseparable friends.

"You should come over to my house. I trust you. Also, it'd give you a chance to meet another friend of mine. He's different, like us, but in a totally different way. He's really cool though." Jenna smiled as her grip on her bag loosened. Cassandra was one of the only people she'd tell about Terrance. Cass was the only person Jenna told everything.

"I'd love to meet him!" Cass squealed excitedly. "Your judgment of people is like, one of my favorite qualities about you. You can just look at someone and know if they're good or bad, and it's fantastic!"

Jenna began laughing as the bus pulled to a stop in front of the large high school building. "I guess so, but this one's a little hard to tell. He seems good though, I guess we'll just have to wait." She stood, waiting for the people in front to move then for Cassandra to step out into the aisle. A boy stood in the way, blocking their paths with a smirk. 

"Come on Jackson, move your jock butt out of the way." Cass looked at the teenager, slinging her backpack off her shoulder. "I have three two inch textbooks in here and I will break your nose."

Jackson only laughed, grabbing the backpack and tugged, throwing Cassandra into the floor of the bus as he quickly took off out before the bus driver could do anything. 

Jenna knelt down, extending a hand to her friend with a deep frown. "Come on. Let's head to the principles office. For the possibly eighth time this week."

While this whole thing was going on, Terrance was wandering the house curiously. He'd never really taken the time to explore, considering he was always either hiding or scavenging as fast as he could. 

He then stopped in the middle of the upstairs hall, a framed picture hanging on the wall catching his blue eyes. He began backing away, looking up at it until he could make out the cute little scene. Jenna stood in front of her mother around ten years old, her father standing next to her mother as well. They were really a cute family.

But then Terrance saw something else. Her father, he looked familiar. He felt like he's seen him somewhere before. A clicking began a close distance from him. He ignored it, staring at the picture as he racked his brain to see why he feels he knows that man. The clicking drew closer and Terrance snapped out of his daze and looked around the hall. Immediately he ran to the stairs, hiding behind one of the pillars that held the railing up and held his breath, watching a pair of black heels with black slacks walk down the hall and make their way to the steps.

He breathed a sigh of relief before making a mad dash across the hall floor, right into Jenna's room. It was dangerous for him. In the midst of the curiosity and that portrait, he'd nearly forgotten. 

Her father just seemed too familiar. Maybe it was because he's lived in these walls since before her father died. His own parents had abandoned him in the woods. Left him to die. Luckily he knew enough to survive and take care of himself. He had made his way to this town and found this house to live in.  And now he's got a human friend that would hopefully never abandon him.

And that my friends, is an encouraging thought for this Mini.