Suck It And See | A. Turner

[Chapter 1]

"Attention all passengers, next stop is:"

"Sheffied Station,"

There was a notable shiver that ran through the air as the soft, feminine introduction was cut short by the blunt, robotic voice that muffled out the train's next destination. The pit of jitterbugging nerves in Jade's stomach reached a new boiling point as she felt the mobile car gradually begin to slow. She pulled her earbuds out and grabbed her luggage case, yanking it through the tight aisle with all the might she had in her tiny body. The conductor was kind enough to hold the sliding door open for her as she came into the pass and hopped out of the side door. The smell of burning coal and engine oil wafted into her nose and made her shiver in disgust.

The station was teaming with people, all of them buzzing back and forth in order to catch their departing train or eager to head home for the day. Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper; it was a portrait of the family that was supposed to be taking care of her. Her mum's sister, Aunt Joy, as well as her Uncle Cosmo, and her cousins, Oliver, Noah, Charlie, Alfie, and Flora; relatives whom she hardly knew growing up as they lived roughly three hours away by train.

They're faces in the photo were off to her, perhaps it was the fact that nobody was smiling? Perhaps it was that the photo was about five years old and the faces were younger? Regardless, Jade's eyes scanned the crowd until she was able to just make out the familiar face of an older, but gorgeous, well-dressed woman standing by the turnstiles; looking absolutely appalled to be standing so close to the mechanisms. Meanwhile, her teenage daughter was sitting on a bench as she flipped through some random fashion magazine.

Pulling her luggage behind her, Jade tentatively approached the older woman. Once her eyes landed on the teenage brunette, her face lit up.

"Oh, my stars! Jade!?" she exclaimed, seemingly enthusiastic to see her. Jade nodded slowly and cracked a shy smile.

"A-Aunty Joy?" she stammered back.

The older woman wrapped Jade into a tight hug, engulfing her in her pungent, suffocating rose-scented perfume. The teenager -- Flora, she presumed -- was reluctant to put away her magazine and stand up, but she did anyhow and forced a smile onto her face. Flora was wearing tight, ripped jeans and velvet sweater with a black tank top underneath. Her long, honey blonde hair was tied into a tight ponytail atop her head with pom-pom elastics keeping it in place. She had shimmery, silver eyeshadow dusting her eyelids and shiny pink lipgloss smeared over her lips. To Jade, she looked like a washed up circus performer.

Aunt Joy meanwhile held herself with pride. She was dressed in a fine black pantsuit and three-inch pumps. Her voluminous, mousy brown hair was loose and curly, brushing over her shoulders, and every inch of her face was covered in fine, sophisticated makeup. Needless to say, this woman stood out like an onion in a bean dip within the station.

Aunt Joy released Jade from her bone-crushing hug and held her face in her hands, seemingly studying her. Her semi-wrinkled hands were surprisingly soft against Jade's skin, "Aw, you look just like your mother," she gushed, but the soft, kind expression in her eyes suddenly shifted to something more... indifferent, "We'll have that fixed before you leave, dear,"

Jade wasn't sure how to respond to that, besides an awkward "okay,". She turned and looked at Flora, who still had her nose buried in the magazine. Aunt Joy snapped at her.

"Flora!" her posh accent boomed at her, "Put that trashy thing away and say hi to your cousin," she requested -- no, demanded.

Flora rolled her eyes and stood, then she wrapped her weak little bird arms around Jade. Flora wasn't much younger than Jade, only by a few months. Regardless, she was short enough to be confused for a twelve-year-old.