Between Us

Chapter 2

"Do you want the chocolate-flavoured chips?" My mom asked, taking a look at the chips I held in my hands. Her dark hair was cut short in a bob, and the front hairs had turned greyer than they ever had. She looked ten times older ever since...I shook my head. "No? I thought you loved these."

"No, I do," I said, putting it in the red shopping basket I was holding. "I was thinking about something else."

"Oh? What about? School?"

"Yeah," I lied. I hated lying, but throughout the years I'd learnt to only do it if it was sparing their feelings. And that only happened whenever I thought or daydreamed about Saria. "I'm kinda scared to go to college. I haven't seen people my own age in a long time."

My mom pulled me closer by the shoulder and placed a kiss on my head. "You'll be fine," she said, rubbing my arm up and down. "We probably should have been a little bit more lenient on you, but this is good for you."

Was it actually good for me? I loved spending time at home and learning from home. The only person I ever really missed from school had been Sai. But being homeschooled hadn't been enough to escape so we left the town, too.

I wasn't so sure about speaking to new people and even seeing people. What even was interaction? Even if it was just for a little while, at least I could ogle Jordan. I mean not ogle, but...watching him sometimes over my fence was the best part of the day. I didn't even need to speak to him.

"Shyla, right?" The girl behind the register asked.

She was wearing the grocery store's red uniform, her hair the colour of the orange sunset, tied up into a neat high ponytail and finished with a red cap. I blinked, trailing her features; pale skin, innocent brown eyes and big lips spread into a bright grin. It was the same girl that had shown me around my new school two weeks ago before it had closed for the summer. Dang it, what was her name?

"Yeah, um, you're the one that showed me around," I blurted stupidly.

She laughed. "Yup, that's me. I'm Paris."

"Paris. Sorry, I'm not so good with faces. I mean, names."

"Neither am I, usually. I remember you because we're in the same course."

My shoulders relaxed. At least there was potential that I had already made a new friend! My mom leaned in and asked, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, she's the nice girl I told you about? The one that I accidentally bumped into when I got lost."

"Oh! Well, it's nice to meet you," my mom said, reaching her hand out for a shake. "I'm so glad my daughter's made a new friend already." She smiled, but the crinkling of her eyes from how I remembered her to be wasn't there anymore. In its place was a grimace. Believable to others, but not to me. My own smile wavered seeing it, and I turned away.

"It's not every day we get new people here. It's a pretty small town." Paris beamed at me, handing us our bags after scanning everything. "Trust me, you'll love it here."

I really hoped so. I'd be lying if I said I loved it, but I didn't entirely hate it. The school was like an old mansion and the houses were cute and like they were ripped straight out of story tales. If only I could fully involve myself with the goings of the town then maybe I really could be happy here. And maybe so could my parents. Would we ever, though? Would we ever be a true family without her?

We'd have to be. Wherever she is, we'd assume that that was the case.

"Hey, don't leave just yet," Paris whispered as we gathered our things and got ready to head out. I stopped. My mom stood nearby the self-opening doors. "You want to come over to my house? My shift ends in, like, ten minutes."