Prince of Darkness ~ Gotham

~ Chapter Twenty: Penguin's Umbrella ~

"Holly, I know this morning was very hard for you, but you don't have to go in today if you don't want to," Barbara spoke reassuringly as they pulled up to Anders Prep. "I'll explain everything to your principal, just wait here," But Holly grabbed her mom's hand and stopped her from getting out. "No, I need to go. I need some time to clear my head," Holly sighed. Deep down, she knew that going back to school so soon after her father's arrest was probably not the best idea, but it was far better than being couped up in her room all day sobbing for hours.

Barbara looked back at her daughter with hesitancy. The thought of the other students at the school discovering the news of Jim's arrest made her worry for Holly's wellbeing. But the more Holly persuaded her mother to let her go, she eventually caved in and unlocked the passenger door. "Just... call me if you need me to pick you up early," Barbara insisted. Holly promised she would before blowing her a quick kiss goodbye. Fortunately, Holly was only a minute late to class, but that didn't stop the teacher from glaring at her, sternly reminding her to be more punctual.

As the teacher began to drone on about The Giver assignment, Holly tried to concentrate, but her mother's desperate pleas for her father to run away with them consumed her mind, and all she could think about was what came next. Where would they go? Where would they hide? Surely, her dad had enemies much more powerful than him. And they wouldn't hesitate to kidnap Holly and her mother and hold them for ransom. But as Holly took a silent breath, she guided herself back to reality and continued working on the assignment, taking part in reading the next chapter of The Giver.

"Hey, Hols!" Cara smiled as she and Holly met up in the hallway. "Hey, Car," Holly acknowledged before they walked up a set of stairs. But as Holly stared at the ground, Cara took notice of her friend's prolonged silence. "Everything okay? You seem pretty down," Cara touched her shoulder. Despite the urge to tell Cara everything that happened that morning, Holly didn't want to drag her into all this drama, especially since their relationship was still fairly new. "I'm fine, didn't get enough sleep last night," Holly explained.

"Up all night painting again?" Cara questioned. "Nope, let's just say I went on a Harry Potter binge," Holly answered, cracking a small smile. Cara chuckled, admitting that the series was quite addicting. "I will say though, the books are better than the movies!" Cara said. "No way! The movies are way better!" Holly contradicted. Cara stopped and gasped dramatically, drawing the brief attention of their passing classmates. "You take that back!" she playfully argued. "Come on! The movies got me into the series in the first place!"

"But it all started with the books! You can't just throw them out the window!" Cara shook her head. "I just haven't had the time to read them, alright?" Holly shrugged. Cara rolled her eyes before they continued walking up to the third floor. "You, Holly Gordon, continue to surprise me. Hey, if you're mom's cool with it, how about we hang out at my house after school?" Cara suggested. Holly paused in thought, remembering how overprotective her mother was when it came to Holly's friends. She remembered barely being able to visit her friend's house, and it became a rule that only her friends could visit her house, not the other way around. 

But maybe, just maybe.

"I'll have to text her and ask," Holly responded. As the bell rang and the girls ran off to their next classes, Holly sent a quick text just as she sat down in her seat for Algebra.

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