The Bad Girl, The Bullet & The New Beginning (on-going)

5 ~ Nice Moves, Jungle Jane

Lila tried to slip into the house as quietly as she could but she couldn't stop the heavy front door from clunking loudly as she pulled it shut. She rolled her eyes as she heard footsteps approaching.

"Lila, is that you?" Penny called, appearing in the hallway like a concerned ghost. She let out a sigh of relief when her eyes fell upon her niece. "Oh, thank god you're safe. Where have you been?"

"Detention," Lila shrugged, breezing past her aunt towards the stairs to get up to her room.

"Detention?" Penny repeated in horror. "What happened?"

"Just a difference of opinion," Lila muttered. She was about to go upstairs to her room but Penny slipped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Lila, today was your first day. You had to make a good impression," her aunt told her in panic. "Jon and I had to practically beg them to let you in-"

"Oh, don't worry, Principal Franklin made that very clear," Lila retorted with an eye roll. "In fact, the memo obviously got out to the whole teaching staff, who all made me feel like a total charity case all day."

"Look, Lila, I'm sorry. I know it's hard on you to just throw you into this new life so quickly, especially after everything you've been through, but please meet us halfway. We worked so hard to find a place for you here so please just give it a chance before you throw it away," Penny pleaded, her dark green eyes searching Lila's own in desperation.

Lila couldn't help but feel sorry for her aunt. It wasn't her fault that Lake Larson was a stuck-up town full of judgemental snobs that were desperate to label her as a walking tragedy. After all, Aunt Penny had dropped everything to help her when her mom had first called and told her about the whole situation, saving the day like she always did. The least Lila could do was compromise.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Penny," Lila sighed. "I'll try to make it work."

A kind smile broke out on her aunt's face when she heard these words and it softened some of the anger Lila had been feeling all day. She resolved to give Lake Larson a second chance. Anyway, it hadn't been all bad – she'd almost been enjoying herself in detention until the teacher had walked in.

"Thank you," Penny sighed in relief. "Now, about dinner," she said, going straight back into mom-mode now that their business was settled. She heated up some leftovers for Lila, which she ate gladly – detention had proved far more tiring than she'd expected. Once she'd helped her aunt with the dishes, she could finally escape up to the haven of her room.

She immediately fell onto the bed in exhaustion, burying herself under the mountain of pillows that Penny had left there for her. She lay like that for a moment before resigning herself to the fact that she probably should be studying, given the promise she'd just made to her aunt to be a good student from now on.

She let out a groan as she peeled herself away from the comfort of the bed and dragged herself to the desk in the corner of the room. She was just leafing through her bag to find the right textbook when her phone buzzed on the desk. She looked with interest to see who would be texting her, wondering if one of her friends from home had finally remembered that she existed, but instead was surprised.

Vic Jarvis – 19.23 – Hey princess ;) a few of us are heading to the lake tonight, wanna join?

Lila smirked at her phone screen. Vic had ended up driving her home after detention ended and had asked for her number, and now she knew why. She blinked at the textbook lying innocently untouched on the desk in front of her. She'd just promised Penny that she was going to give Lake Larson a chance, she really should stay in and study. On the other hand, though, surely giving Lake Larson a chance included having a social life and making friends? Or at least that's what she told herself.