Nomads

Chapter 12

Today was the day.

After three days of sitting around at home waiting for her cell phone carrier to get her new phone to start working, and two nights of possibly the worst sleep she'd ever had in her life, the first day of Mara's senior year finally reared its ugly head.

Her aunt had come in that morning with a tray of burnt pancakes and undercooked eggs, and the gesture made the girl smile.

"It's, uh, it's probably not very good, but I did also cut up some fruit downstairs for you to eat, and even I can't mess up fruit. I don't think."

"It's wonderful. Thank you, aunt Clara."

The older woman grinned at the positive response she got and said, "I have something else for you."

She pulled a small gold box with silver ribbon out of the pocket of her robe and held it out to the teen.

"Aunt Clara, you- you didn't need to do all this."

"Ah ah ah, you're my niece and you're living in my house now so that means I get to spoil you all I want. Now open it."

Mara set the tray of breakfast down beside her and took the box, gently pulling out the bow and taking off the lid. Inside the cute little box was a beautiful charm bracelet with a little house on it.

"Aunt Clara..."

"I just, I feel so horrible that you have to be here. The situation is less than ideal and my own son has told me countless times that I'm not exactly gonna win mother of the year award anytime soon. I definitely work too much and I'm a terrible cook and this is a lot of change to be dealing with and all that jazz, but I want you to feel as much at home as you possibly can. I gotta, you know, do this justice, for your dad's sake."

Mara watched with tears brimming in her own eyes as Clara wiped a tear away. "I know you must miss them. I really miss them too. But um," she cleared her throat. "I may not be them, but I am here for you, Naomi." Clara cringed. "Mara, sorry. Gosh, I should just stick to calling you hun."

Mara laughed weakly, wiping tears from her eyes and reaching out to embrace her aunt. "Thank you so, so much. I love it."

Clara hugged her back tightly before letting her go, glancing at her watch with a yelp. "I gotta get to work, hun. School starts at 8, and it's about a ten minute walk from the house. They'll probably go easy on you since you're brand new, but I'd still try to get there on time." She placed a kiss on Mara's forehead before standing up and heading for the door. "Have a good day at school! Knock 'em dead! Oh, and remember that we're having dinner tonight! Love you!"

"Love you too!"

Mara eyed the suspicious breakfast for a moment before tossing her blankets aside and heading for the bathroom.

After showering and brushing her teeth, Mara checked the weather app on her phone (Which had only started receiving texts and calls that morning but still wasn't sending them yet) to find out that it was going to be 86 degrees out today.

With a sigh, she rifled through her drawers and pulled out some gray athletic shorts and a yellow tank top, slipping the clothes on and turning to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were immediately drawn to all the scars on her skin, each one with an amazing story that reflected the grace and power of God, and were testimonies to His faithfulness.

But a bunch of teenagers were gonna see a bunch of scars and label her a freak, like those kids at the pizza place did without having met her or even seen all that much of her in order to back up their claims.

So, at the last minute, she pulled a dark green sweatshirt over her head and a pair of gray Nike sweatpants on over her shorts, thinking that a girl in sweats on the first day of school was better than a girl showing off all her (literal) battle scars.

And without further ado, Mara whisked about the house to finish getting ready for school.

***

The first thing Mara noticed about the school was that it was shockingly small. She shouldn't have been so surprised, but she couldn't help but do a double take as she stood in the doorway of the cafeteria full of students.

The cafeteria was small, with various brown and gray tables stretched out in lines in an orderly fashion. The exterior wall was made mostly of windows, bathing the room in the morning light. Students from all grades were gathered together in the somewhat spacious room for what seemed to be an assembly. They chattered and gossiped, laughing and hugging their longtime friends that they may or may not have seen all summer.

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. These kids knew each other for more or less their whole lives. She was going to be an outsider, she could feel it.

After all, she wasn't going to change who she was in order to fit in with these kids who probably still wouldn't accept her if she did. And she was weird. She had scars, she had dark skin, and best of all (or worst of all, depending on how you look at it), she loved Jesus. A lot. And she wasn't afraid to show it or say it.

But it didn't matter what people thought of her. She planned to keep her head down and avoid the spotlight as best she could. That way, the most they could do was talk about her behind her back.

Straightening her shoulders and steeling her resolve, she stepped inside the cafeteria and breezed past the slowly quieting students who pinned her with stares and whispered as she passed.

"Who is that?"

"Could she be Clarice Henderson's niece?"

"She looks so exotic."

"She looks scary."

"I heard she was put in protective custody because-"

She sat down at the corner of an empty brown table, setting her grey backpack down gently beside her and pulling out her phone.

There were a few messages from Iosif and Helena wishing her a good first day, and one from a friend who lived in South Africa.

Nothing from Luca, though.

He must think horribly of her by now for not calling him. Would he let her explain herself? Would he be angry that she didn't try harder to call him?

What if he'd forgotten all about her by now?

A shadow stood over her, blocking out the sunlight from the windows in front of her. She heard a new round of loud whispers float to her ears.

"Naomi?"

Her head snapped up and she blinked several times, not believing her eyes.

There he was, standing with his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants and a cheesy grin plastered on his face.

Her Luca.

Her own grin creeped up on her face as she took him in, almost certain that she wasn't hallucinating.

"I'm sorry," she drawled, her accent thick, "do I know you?"

Oh my goodness this is one of my favorite moments so far. It's so cute. 

So what do you think about this chapter? Were you expecting Luca to make the first move? 

What do you think will happen next?

I gotta say, I'm super pumped for what comes next. Don't forget to leave a comment!

<3 Ava