The Wrong Harmony

thirty one

Harmony wasn't sure what time it was when Isabella came into her room and climbed into her bed, all she knew was that it was early in the morning or really late at night because it was still dark outside. She ignored the time and woke herself up a little more so that she could see what Isabella was crying about that couldn't wait until the morning.

"You're gonna have to stop sobbing so loud or go sleep in mom and dad's room. Now take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong," Harmony coaxed. She had to remember that Isabella was only nine. She was still just a little kid in a brand new environment and she couldn't tell her to shut up and suck it up like she wanted to.

"I don't wanna go to school," Isabella cried. Isabella cried in the weirdest way. Every sob sounded like she was choking and they were so drawn out that Harmony had to make sure that she was still breathing.

"Isa, we've gone over this. You'll be fine, okay?" Harmony wrapped her arms around her but Isabella shook her head.

"No, I don't know anyone and what if people don't like me? What if I can't make friends?" Isabella whimpered, trying to wipe her tears away but it seemed to only be making things worse so Harmony wiped her face for her.

"You know Kenzie and Chloe and Sarah all go to that school, right? You can make friends with them and it'll be okay," Harmony reminded her, but Isabella still wasn't convinced.

"I'm scared too," Harmony admitted, releasing a deep sigh.

"But you're not scared of anything." Did Isabella really see her in that light? Did she really come off as someone who wasn't afraid of anything? That wasn't how she felt. She was afraid of a lot of things, like her parents splitting up again and all of the work that she had done in therapy going to waste and becoming a complete failure.

"Well I'm scared of going back to school. I don't have any friends to go back to. The friends that I had aren't friends with me anymore, so I don't really have anyone. But that's not gonna stop me from going to school," Harmony started. School was the one thing that she was dreading but she hadn't been brought up in fear and since school was something that she had to do, she would have to suck it up and make new friends or not have any friends at all.

"Not everyone is gonna like you. You're not gonna be best friends with everyone in your class. You might not even like some people in your class. But you can't let that stop you. You like to go to school so why would you stop just because you're not friends with everybody, or someone doesn't wanna be friends with you? You're young but that's life. You just have to face it with a positive attitude because mom and dad aren't going to allow you to just not go to school," Harmony explained. Isabella still looked unsure but at least she had stopped crying.

"Now don't start crying again because I'm tired and I'm not giving you another speech." Harmony pulled her covers back over her body and Isabella fixed the covers over herself too. Harmony turned away from her sister and closed her eyes, already feeling herself drifting off.

"I love you Harmony," Isabella whispered.

"I love you too."

Before she exited her car, Harmony placed her Beats in her ears and selected a neverending playlist. If she couldn't hear what people were saying about her, she wouldn't have to worry about it. She never really applied herself to school and since she didn't have any friends to gossip and giggle with, that was all that there was left to do.

Harmony slammed the door to her car shut and fixed her sunglasses on her nose. She shouldered her signature Celine bag and adjusted the straps of her backpack before strutting towards the main building. She kept her eyes on the doors because she didn't want to see anyone whispering and pointing at her or smirking or wondering why the hell she was back when she had been gone for so long.