Chapter Text
Laudna carefully unfolds the piece of paper out of her pocket and double checks the details the social worker wrote out for her. She is still very hesitant about attending group therapy, but Mr Eshteross is a very nice man, and he always has fresh baked treats for her during their meetings, so she wants to do this for him. She wants to be able to report back that she followed his advice. She also wants the recipe for his gingersnap cookies, but he is still very secretive about that. Maybe if she goes to enough meetings, he might take pity on her and tell her about the cookies.
The meetings for this therapy group are run by a man named Bertrand Bell and apparently, he has worked on and off with Mr Eshteross for years. Laudna took a long time to warm up to Mr Eshteross but once she realised that he saw her as more than a number in the system, things changed. He has helped her to stay in school to finish out her final year, even though she has been living on the streets for the last six months.
Her last foster family kicked her out on her eighteenth birthday and as she had aged out of the system she couldn’t be placed elsewhere. She tried staying in shelters, but most people are put off by her gaunt, pale appearance and the angry purple scarring around her throat. She spent several nights unable to sleep because of the suspicious stares and mumbled threats being thrown in her direction. There were even a few occasions where they ganged up on her and beat her up because they didn’t want her around. So, she’s found a few spots to stay, mostly in the large park in the middle of the city. She’s learned how to curl up under bushes so that no-one can see her while she sleeps, and she knows the restaurants that throw out the best food. She scavenges for what she needs, and she sneaks into the school gym early in the morning so that she can use the showers before any other students arrive.
The other kids at school know that she’s different, they tease her relentlessly, call her awful names, trip her, push her, throw things at her. But they don’t scare her like the people from the shelters do. The kids at school are more bark than bite, but the other people out here on the streets with her are like wild animals backed into a corner. When they feel threatened, they lash out and there is no way to know how much damage they could cause.
She is very careful at school to wear shirts and jackets with high collars so that no-one can see her scars. The other kids are cruel enough without seeing the evidence of Laudna’s greatest trauma. She only has to get through another six months and then she can graduate. She has managed to maintain decent grades, even after years of bouncing between foster homes and her recent homelessness, and the guidance counsellor is fairly confident that she will be eligible for scholarships for college.
The sun is just starting to set as Laudna arrives at her destination. There is a small, faded sign taped to the door of what looks to be an old gym that has Bertrand Bell’s name on it. There is paint cracking off an overhead sign that reads Spire by Fire. She is definitely in the right place. She takes a deep breath that wheezes painfully in her throat before she pushes open the heavy wooden door.
She is immediately hit with a blast of uncomfortably humid air and the thick smell of old, damp socks. The space is surprisingly cramped with very old, rusty looking gym equipment piled high around all of the walls and a small circle of mismatched chairs in the centre of the room. There is a small table off to one side that looks like it has a station set up for hot drinks and a box filled with various pastries. Laudna’s stomach constricts painfully at the sight of the food and she tries to remember if she’s eaten today. She doesn’t immediately go for the food as that is where the rest of the room’s occupants are currently mingling, and she likes to keep a safe distance from others whenever possible. They don’t seem to have noticed her arrival though, so she takes the moment to take them all in.
The first person she really notices is the only other girl in the room. She is ridiculously tall and wearing a flowing off-the-shoulder peach coloured dress that stops just below her knees, accenting a stunning pair of emerald green high heels. Her long hair is dyed in a pastel green and, as she reaches for a pastry in the box, Laudna notices a large tattoo of a monkey on her right shoulder, the tail wrapping down around her bicep. She is beautiful and intimidating and clearly used to being the focus in a large group of people.
Next to the tall green-haired girl is a, much shorter by comparison, boy with short brown hair and kind eyes. He is wearing an athletics uniform from Zephrah Academy and he looks very fit. He is currently dipping a tea bag into a cup of hot water and artfully ducking out of the way of the girl’s flailing arms as she tells a story. Zephrah is a very expensive school and Laudna is immediately self-conscious of her threadbare maroon sweater with the stretched-out sleeves and the skinny jeans with the unintentional holes in the knees and the mud-stained hems.
There is another boy here with thick curly blonde hair and large round glasses. He is wearing a plain white button-down shirt and blue jeans. Laudna didn’t notice the wheelchair at first because he was partially behind the table, but it is painted in a cheerful yellow colour. The boy has a very large smile on his face and Laudna can see a little gap between his front teeth. He looks nice.
The last person here is about Laudna’s height and they are wearing a red leather jacket covered in various patches and dark jeans. Their hair is dyed a vibrant shade of amethyst and it is sticking out in all directions. They have a large, puckered scar over their left temple, and she notices that some hair is missing where the tissue damage extends beyond the natural hairline. Their combat boots are heavy on the wooden floor, and she can see them watching over the boy in the wheelchair.
The door suddenly opens behind her and the rush of fresh air she feels against her back is accompanied by a startled shriek that makes her flinch. All eyes in the room snap in her direction and everyone, except for the tall girl, recoils at the sight of her. Instinctively she steps to the side to press her back against a wall, dropping her head down so that her long, lank, greasy hair becomes a shield to hide her face from the others.She can see now that the person that came in behind her is a much older man currently bent forward and clutching at his chest like he’s trying to ward off a heart attack. He’s wheezing loudly and staring wide-eyed at Laudna like he’s seen a ghost.
“Jesus, fuck, you can’t just be lurkin’ around like that. You’re scary as shit, you know?” The old man finally straightens up to his full height near Laudna’s shoulder and eyes her warily.
“I’m very sorry, I don’t mean to be.” Laudna responds quietly as she fidgets with her fingers. Everyone is still staring at her and it makes her skin crawl, being the focus of so much attention.
“Chet, leave the new girl alone.” A gruff voice calls out and Laudna is surprised to see that it’s the kid with the amethyst hair that spoke up for her.
“I won’t be fucking going near her, don’t you worry.” Chet mumbles to himself as he scurries over to the food table.
Laudna notices that he has wild grey hair poking out from the edges of a well-loved beanie. He is also wearing a brown shirt with the sleeves cut off, old blue jeans and a thick leather belt covered in pouches that have tool handles poking out. He also won’t stop glaring at her. Just as Laudna decides that she has had enough, two more people enter the Spire by Fire. One of them she recognises as Bertrand Bell, because Mr Eshteross had shown her his picture in preparation for this meeting. He is wearing a dark navy suit with a red tie. There is a look of recognition in his eyes when he looks at her, so Laudna assumes that Mr Eshteross told him she would be coming. The other she recognises from school. Imogen Temult. She is wearing a long light blue skirt and a white long-sleeve cropped shirt. Her long lavender hair is falling in thick waves over her shoulders and down to her waist.
Laudna immediately wants to melt into the floor. She didn’t think that she would recognise anyone else here and Imogen isn’t just anyone. Imogen is the one person, aside from Mr Eshteross, that has been kind to Laudna. Imogen is the one that smiles at her as they pass in the halls. Imogen is the one that volunteers to be Laudna’s partner in class after everyone else quickly partners up to avoid her. Imogen is the one that is patient with her, even though Laudna barely speaks to her. Imogen is the one that, only a few weeks ago, put herself between Laudna and two of her bullies after they had shoved her to the ground and kicked her. Imogen is the one that fought them back and earned a split lip and a suspension for her troubles. Imogen is the one that Laudna has been avoiding for weeks now because she was embarrassed for her to have seen her like that. Imogen is the one that Laudna is fairly certain she has a crush on. Imogen is the one that could never like her back. Not like that.
Imogen is here.
Imogen Temult is here in this stinky old gym with Laudna and six other random people and she can’t find out. Laudna can’t let her know her secrets. She doesn’t want Imogen to pity her, or worse, become afraid of her. She wants Imogen to keep smiling at her like she isn’t afraid. She wants Imogen to sit by her and keep pretending that she can’t see how desperately her clothes need to be washed.
She wants Imogen to like her and she won’t be able to if Laudna stays here.
Laudna peels her back off the wall and prepares to make a run for it, but her movement seems to have drawn Imogen’s attention and her blue eyes widen slightly in surprise. Not in fear, just surprise to see someone she recognises. Laudna puts her head down and clasps her hands tightly together as she pushes towards the door. She can’t help the involuntary flinch as a hand grasps lightly onto her elbow.
Her breath rattles its way down her throat as she does her best to keep sucking in oxygen, because Imogen Temult is touching her! Imogen Temult is touching her and it’s not to cause her pain. The touch is soft and gentle and Laudna cannot recall a time in her life that anyone showed her this much care. At least, not in this life. Maybe before, but she doesn’t remember much of that now.
Imogen is kind enough to not mention the solitary tear trailing down Laudna’s cheek. She looks past Laudna and there is a sudden bustle of movement as everyone starts taking their seats. Laudna appreciates that the focus is no longer entirely on her back, but she is starting to feel a bit light-headed, and she just wants to find a safe place to hide out for the night.
Imogen’s grip on her elbow tightens a bit as she leans in closer to Laudna to whisper, “Laudna, are you alright? You’re shakin’ like a leaf.”
Laudna realises that while everyone else has taken their seats, Bertrand Bell is still standing within earshot of the two of them. She doesn’t want him to have to tell Mr Eshteross that she had a complete breakdown before the group even started the meeting, so she does her best to straighten her spine and wills her limbs to stop trembling. The only thing she wants to do is run away, but she forces herself to keep her feet planted to the spot.
“Of course, just missed lunch. I’m a bit hungry is all.” Laudna plasters on a smile for Imogen and she notices Chet cringe out of the corner of her eye, so she knows she used too many teeth. She’s really not good at this at all. Imogen frowns but doesn’t press the issue.
She reluctantly pulls her arm from Imogen’s grasp, missing the warmth immediately, and makes her way over to the box of pastries as Imogen finally greets the others in the circle. She picks up a paper plate and debates which of the several pastries she would like to eat. She is honestly hungry enough that she could eat everything left in the box but that wouldn’t be polite. She decides that taking two won’t be greedy and if she eats one now, she can save the other for later. Maybe, if she leaves it late enough to eat the second one, she’ll get a full night of sleep without the stomach pains keeping her awake. She decides on two that look a bit denser and more bready. One even has jam inside which will be nice, she can’t remember the last time she had fresh jam. She would prefer the croissant, but she needs these to be filling more than anything else.
She sets to work making a cup of tea as Imogen joins her at the table, putting a cinnamon roll and the almond croissant that Laudna desperately wanted on her own plate. Laudna tries not to be awkward as she pours the water over her English Breakfast teabag. Imogen doesn’t wait for a hot drink, she just grabs a bottle of water and walks over to the circle with Laudna trailing slowly behind her. There is only one chair left when she reaches the group, right next to Imogen, because of course it is, and the purple haired kid with the leather jacket on the other side.
She sits slowly, carefully balancing her tea and the plate with her precious treats on it. She tucks in her elbows, careful not to encroach on anyone else’s space, painfully aware that she is once again the focus of the group’s attention. She blows on her tea and takes a small sip before she places the cup under her chair to avoid spills.
“Right then, as we have a new visitor this week we’ll be going around and doing introductions before we get into things tonight.” Bertrand clears his throat and looks at Laudna. “I am Bertrand Bell and I am the one that runs this group. We started up only two months ago, but I think we have been seeing some great progress even in that time. As you are aware, this is a support group for high school students experiencing depression, anxiety and other stress related issues due to PTSD and trauma. You can choose to share as much or as little about yourself as you like, but it is expected that you remain respectful of your peers at all times and that what is said in group stays in group.”
Laudna nods her head in agreement and tries desperately not to think about the food in her lap until after the introductions are over at least. It wouldn’t be polite to be eating while people are introducing themselves.
Sitting in the chair to Bertrand’s left is the crotchety old man that’s been glaring at her since she arrived. He sits up straighter and pops out his chest. “The name’s Chetney Pock’O’Pea, ‘C Pop’ Industries. I’m a Master Carpenter by trade, and before you get all up in my business about it, I know this group is for high school students, but I’m getting my GED right now and that totally fucking counts alright!” His voice pitches somewhere into screeching territory towards the end of his statement but no-one seems perturbed, so Laudna assumes that agitated is this man’s default state of existence.
Next to Chetney is the really tall girl. Her legs are gracefully crossed at her ankles and her dress is pooling across her thighs in the most glamourous way that Laudna has ever seen in real life. She has gold jewellery glinting at her wrists, neck and ears and this girl clearly comes from money. Laudna is once again painfully aware of how grubby she is and she tries to discreetly rub a dirt stain on her wrist onto her pants.
“I’m Fearne Calloway, I’ve been coming to group for four weeks now, I go to Zephrah Academy with Orym and I love monkeys.” Fearne grins playfully and there’s something about this girl that makes Laudna feel like she is in on the joke, even if she doesn’t know what the joke is yet. It is nice and alarming in equal measure.
Orym clears his throat as Fearne elbows his shoulder. “Like Fearne said, I’m Orym Ashari, we’ve been coming to group for a month now and we go to Zephrah. We’ve been friends for a couple of years though. I run track and I do fencing. It’s nice to meet you.” Orym smiles before nudging Imogen next to him.
Imogen clears her throat, “I’m Imogen Temult, as you all know I go to Gelvaan Public High School and this is only my second week here.”
She waits for Imogen to say more but when it becomes clear that she is done Laudna fidgets nervously. She is glad that her tea is safely on the ground tucked under the edge of her chair as one of her hands goes to her throat and teases at the material of her sweater. It’s a nervous habit that she hates because it draws attention to her throat and while people can’t see her scars, she can feel them and it makes her feel too exposed. She smiles with too many teeth again and Chetney pales slightly in his seat, even Bertrand suddenly looks a little sweaty, but that could also be due to the sticky heat trapped in the room. Laudna isn’t usually impacted by warm temperatures as she runs cold by nature, but even she can feel the heat prickling down her spine. Chetney is already wiping his forehead with some cloth he pulled from his belt.
“My name is Laudna Bradbury, I go to Gelvaan with Imogen.” She sing songs in the cheeriest voice she can muster, careful not to let the rasp come through. Someone once told her the rasp in her voice makes her sound like she has a ghoul speaking over her shoulder. It’s why she doesn’t talk much. She doesn’t need another reason for people to be afraid of her. The only way her voice isn’t scary is if she whispers or talks like she is singing.
She looks to her left and raises her eyebrows to indicate that she is done. The kid next to her raises one eyebrow in response and smirks. “Not much of a talker then? I can get behind that. My name’s Ashton Greymoore and I go to the Bassuras Trade School with Letters. We’ve been coming here since group started. It was the two of us and Chet at the beginning. It’s good to have another face around.”
Laudna blinks in surprise, Bassuras is located on the poor side of town and while they cater to the poorer families, students need to maintain high grades to keep their places at the school. Laudna finds she is somewhat relieved that Ashton and the boy she assumes to be Letters, shouldn’t judge her too harshly for her current circumstances as they are surrounded by it daily anyway. Fearne and Orym she is still unsure of.
“Hi, I’m Fresh Cut Grass!” The blonde boy in the wheelchair grins as Ashton snorts in amusement. At a stern look from Bertrand, the boy corrects himself. “Well technically, I’m FCG, I have amnesia and I didn’t have any ID on me during the accident so no-one knows who I am, but the shirt I was wearing had FCG written on the collar so that might be my initials. My friends call me Letters. Smiley day to ya!” Letters finishes his introduction with a wave and Laudna timidly waves back.
This is certainly an interesting group that she has found herself a part of and, aside from Chetney, none of them look unhappy to have her around which is a very nice surprise. She might be able to cope with coming here once a week for the food if it keeps going well. She suddenly finds herself really hoping it goes well, because not only is there food, but she might be able to spend a couple of hours sitting next to Imogen each week as well. That would be very nice. She doesn’t really get to talk to Imogen at school. No-one really talks to Laudna at school. Imogen only has in the past when they have had to pair up for activities in class. They actually share all of their classes, except for gym, but Gelvaan does alphabetised seating and their last names usually have them in opposite corners of the room.
Bertrand shakes his head fondly at Letters before turning his attention to Laudna. She does her best not to be disappointed as she slowly lowers her pastry away from her mouth before having the opportunity to take a bite. She doesn’t want to have a mouthful of food if he’s going to ask her something. It wouldn’t be polite.
“Laudna, would you like to share anything about yourself tonight or would you prefer to observe for now?” Bertrand asks kindly.
He nods in acceptance as she quickly shakes her head in the negative. He then turns his attention to the seat next to her. “Imogen, last week was your first week and you also chose not to share anything. Would you like to share tonight or continue to observe?”
“I’m not ready to share yet, if that’s alright?” Imogen rubs the back of her neck in a nervous gesture that surprises Laudna. She’s never thought the other girl to be timid in any way and it makes Laudna feel a sudden protectiveness of her.
“Of course.” Bertrand quickly checks the notes in his lap. “In that case, we finished off last week with Letters talking about his new wheelchair. Did you have any more to add to that or would you like to pass to someone else?”
“Well, Ashton helped me paint my chair yellow this week, which is great! But nah, I had a quiet week, I’m happy to pass.” Letters grins and affectionately taps his wheelchair.
Laudna spends the next two hours quietly listening to Fearne, Ashton and Letters explain why they are attending group therapy. They decided that with two new members it would make sense to catch them up and Bertrand didn’t seem to mind. She also spends the time eating her first pastry as slowly as possible to draw it out. Halfway through she starts picking at the second one as well. She can’t help it. She is too hungry and it is literally in her lap. She knows that there are some pastries left in the box so she might try to grab another one on the way out.
Ashton and Letters kind of tell their story together. Ashton’s parents were some kind of eco-warrior extremists and when they were fourteen, they built a bomb that exploded while it was still in their house. They nearly died from the head injury that caused their scarring and their parents are across the country somewhere serving life sentences in prison. They haven’t seen or spoken to them in four years and they seem quite happy about it. They went into foster care after that and bounced around until they were placed with a man named Imahara Joe when they were sixteen. Six months after that Letters was placed with Joe as well and they’ve been siblings ever since. Ashton stayed with Joe after they turned eighteen which they are clearly relieved about. Laudna understands the fear of aging out of the system before school finishes as she was one of the unlucky ones that got thrown out.
Letters has total amnesia from before the car accident that left him paralysed from the waist down. He was somewhere between fifteen and sixteen when it happened and genetic testing on the three other bodies in the car confirmed that they were his parents and sister. None of them were ever able to be identified and they were never reported missing. The closest they ever came was confirming that FCG are his initials, and they think his sister’s name was Dancer. He spent months in the hospital before being released into foster care, but Imahara Joe was his second placement, so he was able to settle in quite well.
Ashton is very protective of Letters. Imahara Joe helped them focus their studies and got them into Bassuras with one of his connections. They are both very serious about their places at the school because they know that they need it if they ever have a hope of getting out of living in poverty. They are attending group therapy because they got caught breaking into a museum and Joe was able to negotiate this, over getting a breaking and entering charge on their records. Bertrand has to sign logbooks for them at the end of each session for the courts.
Laudna understands that more than she cares to admit. She knows that no matter how bad her situation is now, she has a chance to improve it if she can finish high school. Just a few more months.
Fearne has a very unusual story and with the fantastical way that she tells it Laudna genuinely can’t tell if it’s even real or if its exaggerated. When she was five, her parents took her on a camping trip and abandoned her deep in the forest. They left her with a tent, bedding, food and water. She survived on her own for a week before she was found by two gorillas that had escaped from a zoo a year earlier. The gorillas protected her and she lived in the forest with them for almost two years before they were found by some rangers. She had gone pretty wild by then and had a very hard time adjusting back to normal life. She was sent to live with her rich Nana Morri and she was home-schooled until she started high school because in the first few years they were worried that she would go feral on another student. Her parents had completely disappeared and until she was found, everyone assumed that she was still with them.
Laudna briefly glances at Imogen and the girl looks as bewildered as she feels. Fearne is definitely going to be an interesting person to get to know.
Fearne is also here due to a court order because she broke into a zoo and let half of the animals out of their cages before she was caught by security. Fearne flashes her blue logbook at the group like it’s a trophy and Laudna can’t help but notice the corner of an identical book sticking out of Imogen’s bag that is tucked between their seats.
Fearne finishes her story by saying that her and Orym have been friends since they started at Zephrah together and she didn’t want to come to group by herself, so she talked him into coming too. Orym does clarify that he isn’t here just for Fearne and that he spoke to his Aunt Keyleth, who he lives with, and they both agreed that the group may be of a benefit to him too. He doesn’t elaborate on why he is here but something devastating passes quickly across his face and Fearne is quick to take his hand and squeeze it reassuringly.
Laudna does her best to ignore the sudden ache in her chest at the sight. She wonders what it would be like to have a best friend that knows all of your hurts and loves you unconditionally in spite of them. She suddenly feels very lonely.
Bertrand calls the meeting to a close and everyone except for Laudna and Orym pull out their logbooks for him to sign. Ashton cracks a joke about wanting to find out what Imogen did to earn herself a logbook, while never wanting to find out what Chetney did. While they’re distracted Laudna takes the opportunity to walk back over to the food table and she quickly pockets two scones. When she goes back to pick up her bag she notices Orym watching her curiously and Laudna has to will back the embarrassed flush that starts to creep up her neck. She has a feeling that she’ll have to watch out for him. He sees more than she expects.
Orym blocks her before she can leave and he notices the very second that her posture goes defensively rigid and takes a quick step back. He doesn’t attempt to touch her though, which she appreciates. “I was just going to say that it was nice to meet you. Have a good night Laudna.”
Laudna blinks owlishly at the shorter boy and shyly nods at him. She is very overwhelmed by the kind sentiment so she whispers a quick “You too.” And pushes past him to get outside.
She has walked past six or seven store fronts when she hears footsteps quickly approaching from behind. She physically braces herself before she hears Imogen calling out to her.
“Laudna! Wait up!” Imogen jogs up next to her with a small smile on her face. “I was surprised to see you tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of school before.”
“I was surprised to see you as well.” Laudna whispers in response. Not nearly as surprised as she is right now, that Imogen followed her out of that meeting to voluntarily keep talking to her. She must be dreaming.
“Well, I’ll be honest, it was actually a comfort to see a familiar face in there. It was kind of intimidating being there by myself last week with everyone already having a friend that they know from outside the group.” Imogen smiles nervously and tucks some of her hair behind her ear.
“What do you mean?” Laudna stares unblinking at the other girl. Surely she misheard her. Not a single person has ever taken comfort from Laudna’s presence in a room. Usually it’s the opposite.
“Well, Fearne and Orym are friends, and so are Ashton and Letters, and now I have you.” Imogen smiles and Laudna’s heart jumps at the sight of it.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Are you saying you want to be my friend?” Laudna asks softly. Surely, she is mistaken. She’s never had a friend before and Imogen is too amazing to want to actually hang around her. Right?
“Well yeah, if you’d like to be mine?” Imogen wiggles her eyebrows and gently bumps Laudna’s shoulder with her own. Laudna staggers slightly from the impact, both from surprise and Imogen underestimating how slight she actually is and still using too much force.
Imogen reaches out quickly and grabs Laudna’s hand to stabilise her. Laudna looks at the girl in wonder as a faint blush dusts across her cheeks, highlighting the blue in her eyes in a way that makes them look almost lavender. Laudna gently squeezes the hand still wrapped around her own shocked at how warm it feels against her icy fingers. Imogen wants to be her friend! She is holding her cold, clammy hand and she isn’t trying to pull away at all. Laudna wonders vaguely if her heart has ever beat this fast before, because it feels like it’s about to race right out of her chest. “I think I would like that very much.”
“Me too.” Imogen’s smile softens around the edges as she looks at Laudna.
“I just don’t understand. Why me though?” Laudna gently removes her hand from Imogen’s grasp and laces her fingers together anxiously. Up close she can smell the fresh floral scent of Imogen’s shampoo and she is painfully aware of her own haggard appearance.
Imogen softly touches Laudna’s bicep to pull them to a stop, a serious expression on her face. “Because you are the only person I’ve ever met that didn’t have any expectations or judgements of me. Everyone always seems to have a lot to say and it all just gets so damn loud and it’s overwhelming. I never felt that with you. I know we haven’t really talked much, but those few times we’ve worked together I just felt so peaceful with you. I don’t know how to explain it. There’s just something about you that helps to make me feel more like myself.”
“Oh, Imogen, that might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Laudna can feel tears pushing at the back of her eyes, but she blinks them away before taking a deep, shaky breath.
“Well believe it, because now that we’re friends I’m gonna tell you nice things all the time.” Imogen wraps her arm around Laudna’s bicep as they start walking again.
“That sounds wonderful. You are wonderful.” Laudna whispers in disbelief. She is vaguely aware of her posture straightening up to match Imogen as they walk. She can’t remember the last time anyone touched her like this. She wonders if she’s ever been touched like this at all. The warmth spreading through her isn’t just from Imogen’s touch against her arm and the close proximity of her body.
They reach the bus stop at the end of the block and Imogen pulls away from Laudna. “Are you not catching the bus too? This is the one that takes us from Jrusar and back to Gelvaan.”
Laudna does a quick mental count of the loose change in her pocket and she knows she doesn’t have enough for the fare. It will take her hours to walk back safely at this time of night, but she doesn’t have a choice. “Not tonight, but maybe another time.” She does her best to smile reassuringly.
Imogen looks confused for a moment but the headlights of the bus coming down the street pull her focus away from Laudna. She quickly pulls out a pen and scrawls her phone number onto the outside edge of the front page of her logbook that she is still holding in her hands, tears it out and gives it to Laudna. “I’ve gotta run right now, Daddy will be waiting for me to come home, but message me later. I’d like to get to know you a bit more.” She hesitates before adding, “You don’t have to tell me why you were here tonight if you don’t want to. I just want to know the basics to start.”
The bus pulls into the stop and Imogen climbs onboard with a small wave. It isn’t until the bus is out of sight that Laudna realises that there is no way for the other girl to know that she doesn’t have a phone. She sighs in disappointment, but she carefully tucks away the piece of paper into a notebook. It’s the first gift she has received in years and she already treasures it.
It’s getting late and it’s a Thursday night so Laudna starts to make her way towards Gelvaan High. It will take her a couple of hours to get there safely on foot at this time of night but at least she will be close by in the morning so she can have a shower before classes start. She pulls one of the scones out of her pocket and slowly nibbles at it while she walks. She won’t even be too hungry tonight so she might get a decent sleep.
As she walks, she thinks about the new people that she met tonight. With the exception of Chetney, everyone was actually quite nice and welcoming, but the older man didn’t seem to like anyone much, so she doesn’t take it personally. They are definitely an odd group, but she finds herself looking forward to getting to know them all better.
She suddenly can’t wait for next Thursday night to see what happens next.