Jimmy laid on the bed, his hands crossed behind his head, his eyes fixed on the ceiling even though he couldn’t see it.
His last conversation with David kept replaying in his mind over and over again, trying to find a way to let Athalya know that he knew and that it was ok. He felt like she needed to know, it probably would make her feel better. At least he hoped it did.

She was trying so hard not to show anyone her grief or that she had no parents. The way she spoke to her grandparents, she always found a way to avoid it. Jimmy frowned to himself as he recalled Brian walking back home after school “Dad, I’m home” he would say. Athalya? She just said: “I’m back.” It wasn’t very obvious, but knowing her whereabouts, it was just another clue.
How long was she going to keep up that facade? Keep to herself? Was she going to stay depressed all the time?

Images flashed in his mind, Athalya walking upstairs with her grandmother to prepare the room, how she made sure he was well settled… It was so different to her behavior at school, always on the defensive, not talking much. Like she had built up a wall, a closed room, keeping to herself and dwelling in her misery. He just wanted to breach the wall, knock it down and let some sun shine into the room.

He felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep when he jumped in his bed, a heart-breaking scream piercing the quiet night. In the blink of an eye, Jimmy threw away the covers and scrambled to his feet, grabbing his glasses before heading out of his room. The screaming continued and he quickly entered Athalya’s room, climbing on her bed without question, turning on the lamp on the bedside table and lightly shaking her awake.

She stopped screaming, panting heavily and starring at him with her eyes wide, her cheeks wet with tears.

“It’s ok, it was just a bad dream. I’ll get you some water.” He said, quickly turning on the light in the hall and heading downstairs to the kitchen.

He heard a door opening downstairs and walked into the hallway. Suzan stood there, tying her bathrobe around her waist.
“I got it Suzan, it’s ok.” He said, trying to smile at the older woman.

“You sure?” she asked, her voice hoarse with sleep.

He simply nodded and headed back in the kitchen, grabbing a small bottle of water and heading back upstairs. He switched off the light in the hall and got back in her room, keeping the door opened.

“Here.” He whispered, twisting the cap open, bringing the bottle to her dry lips. She took the bottle in her shaking hands and took a few long gulps.

“Thank you Jimmy.”

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” he asked, putting the cap back on the bottle and setting it aside.

She shook her head, bringing her knees to her chest. He went to the windows and grabbed a pillow from her windowsill and put it next to hers on her bed.
He laid down and motioned for Athalya to do the same. She slowly did.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. She shook her head.

“It’ll make you feel better.” He said. She hesitated for a moment.

“I was at the hospital.” She said, her voice hoarse. “They were taking her away… I wouldn’t let them.” She whispered, tears in her eyes. “She wasn’t dead but they were taking her away and I couldn’t stop them. She was asking me for help and I couldn’t do anything…”

Jimmy moved closer to her, brushing the hair off her face.

“It was a nightmare Athalya.” He said, trying to soothe her as she started crying again.

“They were taking her away and then it was the funeral and… and…” she sobbed. “I couldn’t move. I stayed there. She was g-g-g-gone…” Jimmy gently pulled her closer to him. She tensed up for a few seconds, her body shaking with sobs.

“You did everything you could for your mother, there was nothing more you could have done. It wasn’t your fault.” He said and immediately regretted it as he heard her hold her breath. He kept rubbing her back softly. They stayed silent for a few moments before she draped her arm across his chest and sniffed.

“I miss her.” She sobbed. “I miss her s-s-so much.”

“Of course you do.” He whispered, still rubbing her back. He let her cry herself to sleep on his shoulder. Once he was sure she was asleep, he let himself close his eyes and fall into slumber.

---

“Shitty thing” muttered Jimmy, his head in the motor. Athalya was standing a few feet away, her backpack over her shoulder.

“Come on kids, let me take you to school.” Said David. “Jimmy, I’ll take a look at your car while you’re at school.”

“Oh no, I’ll take it to the garage.” Retorted Jimmy, shaking his head.

“Jimmy, he used to work in mechanics.” Said Athalya, before briefly checking her watch.

“You sure you don’t mind?” asked Jimmy, slightly embarrassed.

“No problem, let’s go. You’ll be late otherwise.” Said David, leading the way to his car. Athalya sat on the backseat, leaving Jimmy in the front.

The drive to school was uneventful, Athalya was looking out of the window, her mind busy. She felt so bad, waking Jimmy up in the middle of the night with her screaming. Could her brain just stop bothering her when she was asleep? Give her some kind of break?
Sighing softly she recalled Jimmy talking about her mother. Her grandparents probably told him and she couldn't even blame them. She felt relieved, somehow, knowing that someone beside what remained of her family knew about her mother’s passing. He would no longer make comment like ‘your parents are really cool’ or something along those lines. Her eyes looked up to the sky, spotting some white fluffy clouds.

Was she sitting on one of those? Looking down at her, watching out for her? Tears prickles her eyes as she pictured her mother sitting up there, her slim legs dandling off the edge of the cloud, a gentle smile on her face. She would have loved Jimmy.
She adverted her eyes from the clouds and looked to the seat in front of her, spotting Jimmy’s hair spiking out in every direction. Were they friends now? She looked down at her shoes.
The car stopped and she heard the car door being opened.

“I need to go to the office, about my expulsion yesterday.” Quickly said Jimmy, unbuckling his seatbelt. “See you in class.”

“All right.” She said, unbuckling her seatbelt too.

“Bye David, thanks again for the ride.” Said Jimmy, waving before he closed the door and jogged off.

She went to the driver side and kissed her grandfather goodbye.
“Thank you Papy, see you later.”

“Have a nice day at school Athalya. I’ll pick you and Jimmy up after school?”

“No, we’ll take the bus this time, but thank you!” she said, forcing a smile and waving at him.

She turned around, putting her backpack on her shoulder and heading towards the building.

“Your dad seems old.”

Frowning, she looked to her side, seeing Justin, a cigarette between his lips.
He kept his eyes on her.
“Your dad seems old. Your mother’s a gold-digger?” he said.

“What?” she asked, surprised.
He nodded in her direction.

“Your dad has a lot of money? Is that why your mother’s with him? Because he looks ugly.”
She froze in place, her green eyes wide in surprise and confusion, her mouth slightly agape.

“I… What are you say-” she stopped herself mid-sentence, tears in her eyes as she was proceeding what he was implying. Taking a deep breath, she walked away, her hands gripping her backpack tightly. She kept her eyes fixed on her feet and ran straight into Zacky. Quickly apologizing, she rushed to class, hearing their laughter behind her.

At lunch, she was making her way to the usual table when she spot Justin. He looked at her, an eyebrow raised, daring her to sit with them. She looked down and kept walking, sitting with Johnny.

She hadn’t been there for over 2 minutes that the seat next to her moved and Jimmy sat down.
“What’s going on?” he asked, leaning on his elbow, his face really close to Athalya’s.

“Hello to you too Jimmy.” Mumbled Johnny, picking at his fries. Jimmy gave him a dismissive wave of the hand, his attention focused on Athalya.

“Did I do something or said something?” he asked, looking worried, his eyes scanning every inch of her face.

“No…” she said, trailing off, not looking at him.

“Then why aren’t you sitting next to me?” he asked, his expression going from worried to annoyed.

“Justin, he’s… I just don’t want to face him today.” She said, starring at her plate.

“What did he do again?” he asked, sitting up.

“It’s nothing, he’s just being a jerk… I just don’t feel like dealing with him today. I’m tired.”

Jimmy said nothing, he simply grabbed her tray and before she could protest he marched back to the table, setting her tray down.
She sat still on the plastic chair, not daring to move. Jimmy waved Johnny over.

“Come on, otherwise he’ll come back to carry you.” Said Johnny, nodding in direction of Jimmy. Athalya reluctantly stood up and followed Johnny.

“You don’t mind, do you? Of course you don’t.” said Jimmy as Johnny sat down next to Justin, the only empty seat available.

“So what now, are we becoming the fucking “Court of Miracles”?” asked Justin with a very thick French accent, quickly glancing between Athalya and Johnny in disgust. Zacky almost choked on his drink with laughter.

“I supposed it is, you were here first.” Said Johnny, glancing at the older dude.
Athalya looked down, trying not to chuckle.

“There’s a party and I’m not invited?” asked a young guy, around Johnny’s age, pushing between Justin and Zacky, placing a plastic chair.

“Not you…” mumbled Zacky, rolling his eyes.

“What, got enough of me at home? You know you love me.” Said the new guy, ruffling Zacky’s hair.

“You must be the new girl Johnny keeps talking about. I’m Matthew, that douchebag’s little brother. Call me Matt.” Said Matthew Baker, shooting a smile to Athalya. She faked a smile and focused on her plate, picking at her food.

Everyone started their own conversation, except for Athalya. She kept her eyes on her plate, briefly glancing in Justin’s and Zack’s direction as they were talking. Justin was speaking with a very pronounced accent. It sounded like French.
Was she really speaking like that? No one ever said that to her before. She knew she wasn’t as good as natives but still. Her mother or her teachers would have told her if her accent was that bad, right? She sank further in her seat, ignoring Jimmy’s curious glance.

“She doesn’t speak like that.”
Justin turned his attention to Johnny.

“Were you talking to me?”

“She doesn’t speak like that. I know what you’re trying to do, that’s not nice.” Johnny said, glaring at Justin.

“And you’re telling me that because..?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. “I don’t give a fuck what you think shortshit, you should know that.” Said Justin, his voice full of disdain.

The bell rang before Athalya could say anything. She waited until Justin and Zacky had left before she made a move.

“You should insult him in French, put him back in its place.” Said Johnny, glaring at Justin’s back.

“I don’t even know what his problem is.” She whispered, frowning. “Sorry for today Johnny, you got your share of insults too.”

Johnny shrugged. “I got a thick skin, I don’t care what he says. He can’t play bass for shit anyway.” He added, shoving his hands in his pocket as he walked out.

“Plays bass?”

“Yeah, the guys are in a band. Justin thinks he’s a badass and shit but he sucks.” Said Johnny, rolling his eyes. “I keep telling them, no one listens, too bad.” He walked with Athalya to her locker.

“I’ll see you after school?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, but definitely tomorrow morning.” She said.

“Cool, see ya.” He said, shooting her a smile.

“Bye Johnny.”

“Stop flirting with kids, he’s too young for you.” Said Justin, walking behind her.

“Don’t you have anything better to do than insult me?” she asked, slamming her locker shut and heading to class, ignoring Justin and Zack.

**
“Don’t you think that Justin’s being a bit hard on Athalya?” asked Michelle, quickly glancing at the French girl sitting a couple of rows ahead of her.
Zacky rolled his eyes.

“It’s nothing hurtful, he’s just messing with her.”

“She doesn’t seem to appreciate the attention.” Whispered Michelle.

“Oh come on, she’ll loosen up and retort back and Justin will stop bothering her. You know he likes to push people’s boundaries.” Said Zacky, shrugging. “It’s no big deal ‘Chelle, don’t bother. It’s just fun.”

“We should sit with her next time.” She said.

“What for? She obviously doesn’t consider us as her friend. She only has eyes for Jimmy and Johnny. Don’t waste your time.”

Michelle was about to reply when the bell rang and the students emptied the classroom at the speed of light.

Athalya grabbed her stuff and walked to the teacher, asking him a couple of questions about the upcoming test. She thanked him, feeling slightly relieved and hurried out. It took her a couple of seconds to spot Jimmy. He was hard to miss, waving his arms around as soon as he saw Athalya. She smiled to herself and hurried to him.

“Matt’s giving us a ride.” He said, swinging his arm across her shoulder. She said nothing, just looked up at him and gave him a short smile.

Jimmy tightened his grip as they walked past Justin and Zacky, talking to other teenagers.

As they reached Matt car’s, Jimmy dropped his arm and opened the backseat door for Athalya.

“Where to?” asked Matt, trying to sound like a chauffeur.

“Athalya’s place.” Said Jimmy, buckling his seatbelt and reaching for the CDs in the glovebox.

“You guys are living together or what?” asked Matt, chuckling.

“Not yet.” She said from the backseat.

Matt and Jimmy starred at each other’s. Jimmy turned in his seat, trying to get a good look at her while Matt looked at her from the rearview mirror. He shot her a dimpled smile and winked at her while Jimmy just starred at her.

“I was joking Jimmy. I’m sorry, it’s lame. I tried.” She said, her cheeks getting red in embarrassment.

“We should get married.”

“What?” asked Athalya, her eyes widening while Matt just laughed.

“Before I move in, we need to get married.” Said Jimmy, looking at her from over his glasses.

“That, or we can just live together like in the tv series ‘Friends’, they share an apartment…”said Athalya.

“Roommates.” Said Matt.

“Thanks Matt, that’s it. Roommates.” She said, nodding to herself.

“True, could work to.” Said Jimmy, shrugging and sitting properly, facing the road. “Once I graduate, I’ll probably move in with Brian, you should totally live with us.” Added Jimmy.

“You used to live at Brian’s house.” Said Matt, stopping at a red light.

“That’s Brian senior’s house. I’m talking about getting our own place with Gates. Should be fun.” Explained Jimmy.

“You’ll be smashed half of the time dude.” Laughed Matt.

“That’s life baby.” Shouted Jimmy, startling Athalya with the loudness of his voice.
Shortly after, they reached their destination.

“Thanks for the ride Matt!” said Athalya, getting out.

“Anytime!” he smiled before driving off.

Athalya unlocked the front door “Mamie, we’re back.” She said, calling out for her grandmother. Jimmy couldn’t wipe out the smile off his face.

“Your grandmother left for the grocery store.” Said David, glancing briefly at Jimmy then focusing back on his granddaughter.

“Oh ok.” She mumbled, taking off her shoes.

“I took a look at Jimmy’s car. Nothing serious, it should be alright now.” said David. “Want to take a look?” he asked, looking at Jimmy.

Jimmy nodded and opened the front door again. Athalya shrugged and headed to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of milk and climbing to sit on the counter. From her spot, she could see Jimmy and her grandfather, talking mechanics. Jimmy seemed relieved as David showed him something. Jimmy nodded, smiling.
She adverted her eyes from them and took a deep breath, still on the counter. Starring at her socks, she was thinking back to her few days here. She was ripped out of her thought by Jimmy and David coming back inside.

“Athalya, I’m going to the park now, you coming?” asked Jimmy.

“No, I got to do my homework.” She said, looking up at him. “I will see you tomorrow at school?”

“Oh yeah ok.” He mumbled.

“Bye Jimmy.” She said, giving him a small smile.

“See ya tomorrow.” He said, as David opened the front door. “Thank you again David.”

“No problem Jimmy, drive safe.”

Athalya got down from the counter and took her glass of milk to the living room. She hurried to her bedroom and came back shortly after with books.
She settled herself on the coffee table once again, sitting on the carpet while her grandfather sat down on the armchair, picking up a magazine.

“You can turn on the TV you know.” She said, opening the biology book. “I can multi-task.” She whispered, grabbing the remote and handing to her grandfather.

“You don’t need quiet?”

She shook her head. “I used to do my homework with music, but it worked also when Maman was watching TV.” She explained, picking up her pencil. “Plus I like having company.” She added, not looking up.

David moved from the armchair to the couch and sat down near his granddaughter, turning on the TV and settling on a documentary about royalty in Europe.
About an hour later, the front door opened with Suzan.

“What took you so long?” asked David, getting off the couch to help out his wife.

“I ran into some acquaintances.” She explained. “Is Athalya here?”

“Doing her homework in the Livingroom.” Replied David, putting on some shoes and following his wife back to the car.

“Is the TV on?”

“Yes, she said she didn’t mind.” He said, opening the trunk and taking out the bags.

“I thought she would be with her friends.”

“Jimmy came over, he asked her but she refused.”

“She should get out of the house more.” Whispered Suzan, concerned. David tried to hide a smile.

“You must be the only person in this street wanting the kids having fun instead of studying.”

“Jimmy has a good influence on her.” Said Suzan. “I trust him.”

“I know honey.” Said David, putting the bags in the kitchen.

“Sweetie?”
Athalya looked up from her book, surprised to see her grandmother.

“Hi Mamie! Do you need help?”

“No, it’s ok. Your papy has it. How was school?” asked Suzan, sitting on the armrest of the couch.

“It was ok.” She said, shrugging.

“Are you done with your homework?”

“Almost. I’m working on the biology test for next week.”

“How many of your friends will be coming over tomorrow after school?” asked Suzan. “I was planning on baking some brownies as well as your favorite cake, will it be enough?”

Athalya raised an eyebrow, confusion all over her face.

“What for?”

“Sweetie, tomorrow is September 6th.”

“Oh merde.” She whispered, her face falling. “Do I have to?”

“You’re turning seventeen.” Said Suzan. “Ask some friends over after school, no?”

Athalya looked past her grandmother, seeing the bags of groceries in the kitchen as her grandfather was putting them away. Her grandmother was already planning to bake cakes, she just couldn’t tell her no.

“Yeah, fine. I’ll ask Jimmy.” She said, with a sigh.

“How about your friends at school?” asked Suzan, hopeful. “You could go to the park and ask them?”

“Mamie…” whined Athalya. She really just wanted to forget about her fucking birthday. It wasn’t worth celebrating. Seeing her grandmother’s concerned face, she just couldn’t say no. She didn’t have the heart to.

“Fine, I’m almost done anyway. I will check with Jimmy.” She said, getting up from the carpet.

“He’s probably still at the park.”

Suzan smiled warmly at her granddaughter as Athalya kissed her cheek and grabbed her hoodie in the hall, sliding on her shoes with the shoehorn.

“I’ll be right back.” She said, zipping up her hoodie and walking out.

She waited until she had walked off before she let out a deep sight, rolling her eyes. “Fais chier.” She whispered under her breath, her feet leading her past Brian’s house and towards the park.

Birthdays… she never really liked them. Always felt awkward with people giving her presents for the day she came into this world.
The less people knew about it, the better. She couldn’t invite everyone and not Justin and Zack, that would look bad. She kicked a small rock. Jimmy wasn’t even a question. Of course he was coming. Matt and Val? She wasn’t that close with them, but Val was always very nice to her. She couldn’t possibly ask Val and not Michelle, that wasn’t polite. That would mean Jimmy, Matt, Val and Chelle… Does it mean that she had to tell them about her grandparents? That thought made her stop in her tracks. Her eyes scanned the park, she could see them hanging out.
No, she wasn’t ready just yet. Having Jimmy over was ok, he knew. But she wasn’t ready for the look of pity or the questions.
But she couldn’t just ask Jimmy over, her grandmother would worry that she didn’t have any friends.

Athalya rubbed her neck and started walking again. The first one to notice her presence was Johnny. His face broke into a smile as he waved at her excitedly.
She took one hand from her pocket and waved back slowly. He motioned for her to come over. She complied but was surprised to see him jogging in her direction, meeting her halfway.

“Jimmy said you weren’t coming.”

“Yeah, I was doing my homework. My head hurts, I needed fresh air.” She lied.

“You wanna play?” he asked, motioning to Justin swinging the bat.

“No, thanks. Just taking a walk around.” She whispered, her eyes on Justin. Then, it clicked.

“Hey Johnny, are you busy tomorrow after school?” she asked, her eyes on him.

“No, why?”

“Maybe we could hang out after school?” She offered. Johnny nodded immediately, smiling.

“Sure, I’ll save you a seat!”

“Cool, see you tomorrow then.” She said, taking a step back. Johnny shot her bright smile and waved at her as he headed back to the game.

Heading back to the gate, she was thinking about a way to ask Jimmy when felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Frenchie!”

She looked up, surprised to see Jimmy and Brian.

“Hi Jimmy, hi Brian.” She said.

“We went to buy b… stuff.” He said, giving the beers to Brian, out of Athalya’s view.

“Oh ok.”

“You done with your homework?” asked Jimmy, his arm around Athalya.

“Almost, but I needed some fresh air.”

“That or you missed me?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

She shook her head, smiling.
“Are you coming?” asked Brian, nodding to the game.

“No, thanks. I should head back.” She said, feeling awkward as she tried to step away from Jimmy’s grip. Damn, tomorrow…

“Jimmy, could you come over to my house tomorrow afterschool?” she asked, looking at him. Her eyes fell on Brian. “You too Brian, if you don’t have anything planned and if you want to, of course.” She added. Oh God, she felt just awkward, wanting to dig a hole in the dirt and bury herself. How lame was she?

“Sure, you know I’m always up to go to your place!” said Jimmy wiggling his eyebrows. She shook her head, holding back a sigh of relief. Jimmy started running towards the others, leaving Brian with Athalya.

“You coming?” he asked, still with the pack of beers in his hand.

Her eyes fell on the drinks.
“No, I will head back.”

“Just let me show you something.” He said, leading the way. They headed for the trees.
Athalya slowed down.

“I… I don’t…” she trailed off.

Brian looked at her for a second then at the trees, his face flushed red in embarrassment.

“No, no!” he quickly explained. “This is what we call [b]the spot[/b], we often meet there with everyone to chill out, drink and shit.”

She looked at him with a blank face.

“My point is that we are here most of the Friday evening and stuff, if you can’t find Jimmy anywhere else, that’s probably where he is.” Said Brian, wanting to smack his forehead at his stupidity.

“Oh…” she whispered. “Sorry, you freaked me out for a second.”

“Sorry.” Muttered Brian, quickening the pace. He pushed some branches away and let Athalya walk in first. She was watching her feet, careful.

“Well, here we are.” Said Brian, sitting down on one of the old tree trunks, setting down the beers.

“I thought the legal age was 21.” She said, her eyes on the beers.

“It is.” Said Brian, taking out a pack of cigarettes, bringing one to his lips. She took a step back, watching silently as he took a lighter and brought the flame. Putting the lighter back in his jeans pocket, his eyes fell on her face. She was still standing up, hugging herself while starring at the cigarette. Her face was blank but her eyes looked sad.

He opened his mouth to ask her if she was alright when some ruckus could be heard, followed by laughter. It died down as soon as Justin saw Athalya. His eyes immediately fell on Brian.

“What the fuck dude, it’s supposed to be our secret spot!” he hissed, turning his back to Athalya.

Brian shrugged.
“She knows where to find us if needed.”

Zack rolled his eyes.
“She’s not our friend, is she?”

Athalya rolled her eyes.
“Have fun, see you at school.” She said, pushing past Matt and Johnny, trying to get out of the ‘spot’ without tripping and falling face first.

“Could you stop being an ass when she’s around?”
It sounded like Matt, but she couldn’t be sure. She wrapped her arms around her chest and headed back to her grandparents’ house.

---

Athalya was staring at the game, her hands tucked under her thighs. She sucked at sport. The morning had been uneventful, except for the immeasurable effort it took her to look happy as her grandparents wished her an happy birthday. Yes, it was her birth day but it wasn’t happy in the slightest.

Hearing her name, she looked up, sighing. She had managed to avoid PE until today. Val was waving at her. She reluctantly got up.

“You’ll be with me and Matt against Justin and Zacky and Michelle.” She said.

“Oh, ok.”

She tried to smile back as Matt gave her a thumb up.

Volley ball.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to get ready and do her best.
A couple of minutes into the game, she was getting the hang of it and the teacher nodded in appreciation as she walked past their small team. By some miracle, Athalya managed to score and Matt immediately turned to her, giving her a high five.

“Good job, we just won that one.” Said Val, high fiving her again. Athalya kneeled down to tie up again her loose shoelace when out of nowhere she heard her name being shout and next thing she knew, she felt a vivid pain on the side of her head.

“Hey, hey Athalya, look at me!” whispered Val, gently taping her cheeks. She opened her eyes, she was laying on her back, her ear was buzzing. She tried to sit up and winced in pain, her hands reaching out to hold her head and cover her ears. She felt something sticky and brought her hand to her face. Blood.

“Oh shit!” muttered Val as the teacher was rushing to the scene with the first aid kit. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine Val, it’s ok.”

“That fucker.” Hissed Matt, getting up. Athalya’s gaze fell on Justin while Michelle was yelling at him.

“You hit her on fucking purpose! She was tying up her shoelace, we were not playing.”

“It was an accident!” he said, trying to defend himself.

“You throw the ball at full speed, on her fucking head.” Said Zacky, shaking his head. “That’s not cool dude. You went too fucking far.”

“She’s bleeding dumbass.” Said Matt, glaring at Justin.

She felt herself being help back on her feet and getting out of the gym. It was all blur, she could recall the nurse asking her question, flashing a light in her eyes, having an icepack on her forehead. People asking her if she wanted to go home...
After a while, she was allowed to change back in her normal clothes that Michelle had brought back. She got out just in time for lunch break and slowly made her way to the usual table. She was the first one there. She started eating her vegetables when the seat next to her moved and Jimmy sat down.

“You weren’t in PE?” she asked, her voice a little hoarse.

“No, the teacher doesn’t want me there…” he said with a shrug. “Missed me?”
She looked down at her plate and kept her mouth shut. No, she shouldn’t tell him.

“Are you ok?” asked Michelle as soon as she sat down next to Jimmy. “Are you still feeling dizzy?”

Jimmy looked at Michelle weirdly.

“Justin throw a volley ball straight to her head, on purpose.” She explained, frowning.
The look on Jimmy’s face when he caught sight of Justin…

Athalya kept her eyes on her plate, trying her best to ignore the awkward silence.
“Did you get detention?” asked Michelle.

“No.” replied Justin, his voice low.

“You should have.” Said Val while the guys remained quiet. “At least you could apologize.”
Justin briefly looked at Athalya “Sorry.”

She kept picking at her food, trying to finish her vegetables. With no use. She rinsed it down with a gulp of water and then grabbed her apple. She took a bit and winced. Munching was waking up the pain on the side of her head.
Matt brought up a random subject, trying to ease up the tension. It worked as everyone started chatting, except for Athalya.

The bell rang and everyone got up quickly, Jimmy quickly grabbed Justin’s shoulder, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his grasp.

“I wasn’t there when it happened, so I won’t say anything. But you hit her again, I’ll make sure you regret it. I mean it.” He simply said, shoving him as he let go of Justin’s shoulder, before grabbing his tray and Athalya’s.

“Do you want me to drive you back home now?” he asked, trying to help her get up.

“I'm fine.” She whispered, as Jimmy’s eyes were on the white patch under her ear. “It’s nothing. The ball hit me and my earring pierced the skin. It’s ok.”

Jimmy said nothing.

“You’re still coming after school?” she asked, grabbing her bag.

“Sure. We’ll pick Brian up to, I talked to him yesterday.” Said Jimmy, looking at her.

“Oh cool. Could we pick up Johnny too?” she asked, taking a look at her schedule.

“He’s coming too?”

“Of course.” She said, putting back her schedule and heading towards class.

Jimmy waved at her and kept his eyes on her, worried, until she disappeared in the crowd.

**

Athalya tried to rip off the small patch and yelped in pain.

“What the hell happened?” asked Johnny, his eyes wide.

“Nothing important.” She mumbled. “It is bad?” she asked, leaning towards Johnny. “I mean, is it visible?”

Brian looked weirdly as Athalya was leaning so close to Shortshit. He opened the passenger door and got in.

“Hey!” he greeted, probably louder than he intended.

“Hi Brian!” she said, while Johnny was looking at the small mark, his face really close to her neck.

“It’s barely visible.” He said and she sighed in relief, letting her hair down.

“What’s going on?” asked Brian, looking at them and then at Jimmy.

“Justin.” Stated Jimmy simply as he started the engine. He turned on the CD player and Metallica blasted through the speaker, making her sink down her seat. Brian turned down the volume.

They drove in silence, Jimmy making small chit chat with Brian as he drove towards Athalya’s house. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was all about.

After a couple of minute, he turned into her street.

“You live near Brian?” asked Johnny, as they drove past Brian’s house. She nodded.

“Guys, whatever happens or whatever she says, please don’t look surprised ok?” she quickly said as she got out of the car. The three men looked at each other confused.

“I’m back.” Called Athalya, making her way into the house, kicking her shoes off. They all mimicked her action and followed Athalya into the living room.

“This is Jimmy, you obviously know, and this is Brian, and Johnny.” She introduced as David got up from the couch.

“Please, call me David.” He said, shaking the kids’ hands. He knew that she probably didn’t tell them.

“This is my wife, Suzan.” He said as Suzan walked in, looking busy. She gave a warm smile to the three teenagers.

Jimmy starred at the plates and glasses on the wooden table before he was pulled into the kitchen by Suzan.

“Can you please help me with the candles?” she asked, giving him a lighter and pushing him towards the counter. [i]Happy birthday Athalya[/i] was written, along with a lot of candles. He counted them as he light them up. Seventeen.

He could hear the chairs moving in the living room while David made small conversation with Johnny and Brian, asking them if they were in the same school as Athalya and so on.

“You’re done? Good. Please go sit down Jimmy, I’ll be there in a minute.” Said Suzan, handing him the infamous ice-tea. Jimmy walked back to the living room and sat down next to Athalya.
Suzan showed up holding the cake and started singing, quickly followed by her husband, Jimmy, Brian and Johnny.

Shitty, wouldn’t even describe Jimmy’s feeling at the moment. Just when he thought he was doing a good job at the friend’s thing… He swallowed the lump in his throat as he recalled the incident in PE with Justin…
It was her birthday, her fucking birthday and she kept quiet the whole day.

“Make a wish.” Said Suzan, as the cake was now in front of Athalya, whose cheeks were red in embarrassment. She quickly closed her eyes really tight and joined her hands. She stayed like that for a few seconds and then opened her eyes and blew the candles out.

“Presents!” said Suzan, clapping her hands.

“Oh no please…” she groaned.

“Sor-” started Johnny. Suzan looked at Athalya’s friends.

“Oh damn. I forgot your presents in my locker.” Lied Athalya, looking at her grandmother then at Johnny, hoping he and the others would get the hint.

Brian and Jimmy shared a distressed look.

Suzan handed a small package to her granddaughter. Athalya unwrapped it, her cheeks on fire. She hated having 5 pairs of eyes on her like that.

“Oh cool!” she smiled, looking at the cover of the books. Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen.

“Thank you!” she said, getting up to quickly kiss her grandparents’ cheeks.

David smiled as he got ready to cut the cake while Suzan went back to the kitchen, bringing brownies.

After a while, the awkwardness wore off and small conversations started, somehow drifting off towards music.

After a while they made a move to leave and Athalya showed them back to Jimmy’s car, while they thanked Suzan for the cake and everything. The older woman was beaming as she watched her granddaughter going with her friends.

“Bye guys, thanks for coming!” she said, hands in her pockets.

“Thanks for the invitation” said Johnny.

“Do you need a ride?” asked Jimmy.

“No, I live a couple of streets down. Bye guys, bye Athalya.” He said, waving.

She smiled at him and waved before putting her hands back in her pocket, facing Brian and Jimmy.

“I need to get going.” Said Brian, pointing in direction of his house.

“Thanks for coming Brian.” She said, looking up at him. He nodded, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off.

“Is he mad?” asked Athalya, turning to look at Jimmy.

“Nah. Just not used to be inviting over someone’s house for a birthday without knowing.” Said Jimmy leaning against his car.

“Oh… about that. Sorry.” She mumbled, running her hand through her hair. “I just didn’t know how to bring it up and my grandmother insisted that I had [i]friends[/i] over.” She said, emphazing the word. “Johnny and you are the closest thing to a friend… and Brian too, somewhat. I just couldn’t bear to see her face if I came back home alone today.” She shoved her hands in her jeans’ pockets. “Plus I knew you wouldn’t make fun of me.” She added, looking up at him.

They had been talking quietly next to Jimmy’s car, out of earshot from Suzan. Not like she cared, she was beaming as she was loading up the dishwasher.

“Stop smiling so bright, it’s blinding me.” Joked David as he looked at his wife’s beaming face.

“Athalya’s friends are so nice. I’m so glad they could make it for her birthday. I was kind of hoping she would have some girls around but if she’s comfortable with them, it’s fine. Jimmy is such a sweetheart.” She said, seeing the two teenagers talking by his car. Out of the blue, Jimmy pulled Athalya into a hug.

“Stop spying on them…” chuckled David before he headed back to the living room, grabbing the empty glasses.

**
Athalya was sitting on her bed, surrounded by her stuffed toys, looking at old postcards. Her grandparents never missed one birthday and she always got a book, from as far as she could remember. She remembered how excited she always was for her birthday because it meant she had a package from her grandparents.
Her mother too, she always had a birthday card, along with money. She could recall her mother’s smiling face as she opened the birthday card and how she would roll her eyes when there was money.

With a heartbreaking sight, she put the old postcards back in the small box, put the box by her bed and laid down on the bed, her head falling in the stuffed toys. She was glad Jimmy didn’t make fun of her for it, he probably didn’t notice. Sure, she had just turned seventeen but she was still a kid at heart. She picked up the small mickey mouse, he was in such a bad state. The paint that used to draw the eyes were scrapped, the light blue color was washed off, the ears were stretched but she loved it beyond reason. Her grandmother had looked surprised when she saw it on her bed, apparently it was about as old as her. It had be given to Athalya a couple of weeks after her birth. Suzan was surprised she hadn’t lost it.
Speaking of losing it, she fought back a smile as she recalled the day she got into the flight for the US after her mother’s funeral. She had been devastated, Daniel had drove her to the airport in Paris and saying good-bye had been painful. She remembered the embarrassment she felt as every time she had to open her backpack, there was about three stuffed toys sticking up between her CD player and earphones.

One of the guy at customs had cracked a smile as he saw the old mickey mouse in the teenagers’ bag. It did look weird. There she was with her old chucks, her mother’s Green Day T-shirt, old jeans and hoodie…

Airport.

She leaned on her side, holding the Mickey Mouse against her chest and closed her eyes as she thought back to the incident in the airport in New York.

“Excuse me…” she tried,

“Excus-“

“Sorry, can you..?”

She tried to slow down her breathing, feeling panic overwhelming her. This was a big airport, too big.
She tried to step out of their way as someone bumped into her hard, she lost her balance and she fell on the tiled floor. She blinked few times, wondering how she fell and why her when an extended hand appeared in front of her. The hand belonged to the man that had bumped into her just seconds ago.

“I’m sorry!” he apologized as he helped her back on her feet.

“It’s okay…” she whispered, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall. She didn’t hurt herself too much during the fall, but she was exhausted, lost, confused and her mother had died only a few days ago. She just felt exhausted and wanted to catch her flight.

“Hey, don’t cry! I’m sorry if I hurt you! Are you alright?” asked the man. Athalya shook her head furiously, and whipped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

“I’m lost.” She said.

“You’re not from here, are you?” the man asked. She shook her head once again.

“I’m from France, and I’m supposed to catch my next flight to Los Angeles, but I don’t know where it is, if I should grab my suitcase or not and…”

The man quickly glanced at the huge clock above them.
“What flight were you on?”

“The one from Paris.” She whispered, shifting the weight of her bag.

“Do you have your plane tickets?” he asked. She nodded and took them out of her backpack.

“Come with me.” He said, pulling at his small suitcase. He stopped in his track. “Do you need help with your duffel bag?”

“No.” she said, her grip clenching on it. He shrugged and led the way to an officer.
She stayed a few feet behind, watching attentively as the man tried to explain the situation to the officer, showing the two tickets and pointing at her. He looked her way a couple of times and she pulled at her oversized T-shirt.

“Ok, so… You need to get your suitcase, then go to terminal 2. You can catch the free shuttle on the lower level and then when you get to terminal 2, you go register your suitcase again. You still have a couple of hours, it should be fine.” He said.

“Oh…” she whispered, feeling relieved.

“Will you be all right?” he asked.

“I think so…” she mumbled, looking at the flow of passengers.

“Do you need help with your suitcase?”

She glared at him.
“I’m not going to steal it.” He said, holding back a chuckle. “You just seem to be struggling with your bag so I’m assuming it’ll be difficult for you to handle your suitcase too.”

“You don’t have a plane to catch? Or luggage?”

“No” he said, shaking his head. “Just let me help you with your luggage ok? As my apologize for running into you?”
She nodded, reluctantly, and followed him to the luggage. He easily found the ones from the Paris’ flight.

“Which color?” he asked as she stood by his side, anxious.

“Black.”

“Figured.”he muttered, trying not to roll his eyes.

“With a purple ribbon on one of the handle.” She said quickly.

“Ok, that narrows the possibility.” He said, pushing down his sunglasses slightly, scanning the luggage.

“This one.”

The man grabbed the handle and took it off, pushing it towards its young owner.
She knelled down and starred at the suitcase intensively, inspecting it. She sighed in relief.
His eyes fell once again on her T-shirt and he took off his sunglasses, putting them in his vest’s pocket.

“Nice T-shirt.” he asked.

“Huh?”

He nodded to her T-shirt. She looked down at it and her face broke down in a sad smile, her eyes lightning up for a second.

“Favorite band, Green Day. You know them?” she asked, curious.

“Yeah, heard of them. They’re ok.” He said, nodding to himself.

“No, they’re brilliant.” She said, glaring at him.

“Have you ever seen them live?” he asked, taking a trolley and putting her suitcase on it before placing his own.

“No… I was supposed to, but something came up. You’ve seen them live?”

“Yeah, a couple of times, you know.” He trailed off, still looking at the young woman. “Do you even know what they look like?”

“No…” she trailed off, shrugging. “Is that even important? I think I saw their faces on the album or something but huh, I didn’t pay much attention. I love their music, it means a lot to me.” She said, struggling once again with the duffle bag. With a huff, the man grabbed it and put it down on the trolley.

“Don’t you have a flight to catch?” she asked, curious as to why the man was being so nice to her.

“I do, I’m going to San Francisco, but my plane is tomorrow.” He said, pushing the trolley forward, towards the lift.
She looked at him with wide eyes and tried to catch up with him.

“Really? Woah, you’re so lucky.”

He shrugged. “It’s a nice place.” He said, before putting on his sunglasses again as they boarded the lift.

“Green Day are from near San Francisco.” She said, glancing at her T-shirt again.

“Are they?” he asked, feigning to be interested by the tiled floor.

She nodded, even though he wasn’t looking.
The lift came to a halt and they got out.

“Here’s the shuttle to Terminal 2.” He said, pushing the trolley in that direction. He handed her the duffel bag and loaded the suitcase in the shuttle while she was rummaging through her backpack, looking for her wallet. She tried to hand him a 10 dollar bill but he just chuckled, pushing his sunglasses up to the top of his head.

“Put that away and take care of your belongings.”

“But-”

“Come on, I made you fall on the floor. You owe me nothing you know.” He said, looking amused as her cheeks reddened and she opened her bag again, not paying attention.
The man kneeled down and looked weirdly at the stuffed toy in his hand.

“Oh no! Mickey!” she cried out, hurriedly taking it from his hand and blowing the dirt from it.

“Sorry about that” she mumbled, holding it in her arm as she pushed her wallet to the back of her backpack and put the mickey mouse back on top, she zipped it up carefully.

“Thanks for your help… sir.” She said, taking one step towards the shuttle.

He looked shaken up.
“What’s your name?”

“Athalya, and you?” She asked, while the driver called for the last passenger. “Thanks again, goodbye.” She quickly said, getting inside the shuttle and taking a sit by the window. She briefly waved at the man.

She got shaken out of her thought by her name being called from downstairs.
“Coming.” She replied, letting go of Mickey and heading downstairs. She was surprised to see another jacket being hang in the hall and headed to the living room.

A man was sitting there, she frowned.

“Athalya sweetie, this is your mother’s friend we told you about.”

Her mouth made the perfect o-shape as she took a couple of quick steps to stand in front of him. She had so many questions to ask him.

“Hello, I’m Athalya.” She said, extending her hand before looking up at him. She froze as he leaned and shook her outstretched hand.

“Nice to see you again.” He said, smiling.

“You’re the guy from the airport!” she said, louder than intended as she took the sit next to her grandfather.

“You remember?” he asked, sitting back down on the armchair and taking the glass of water Suzan had placed in front of him.

“Of course, you were really nice.” She said, before leaning forward. “I’ve got like, so many questions to ask you!” she said, blushing slightly. “But first, I didn’t quite catch your name last time…” she said, resting her elbows on her knees.

“You can call me Billy” he said, avoiding her eyes for a second and reaching for the glass of water.

“Billy…” she whispered, trailing off. Her eyes fell on the carpet, her mind scanning her memories, trying to remember if her mother had ever mentioned him.

“Before I forget, happy birthday.” He said, smiling at her. She smiled back, half-heartedly.

“Thanks, my Mamie told you?” she asked, leaning closer to her grandfather.

“No, I know the date.” He said, reaching out for his bag at his feet. As David wrapped his arm around his grand-daughter’s shoulder.

“Will you stay for dinner?” asked Suzan, getting up again from her seat. She just couldn’t stay still, she kept fidgeting with her hands, her eyes on Athalya.

“With pleasure!” said Billy, smiling as he looked up from the bag and handed Athalya a poorly wrapped packet. “I’m sorry, it got wrinkled in my backpack at the airport.” He apologized.
She took it with both hands, slightly embarrassed as she sat up straight and rested the bundle on her lap. She slowly unwrapped it and was surprised to see a piece of clothing. She rose an eyebrow as she unfold it and held it at arm’s length.

Her face broke into a smile and tears sprung to her eyes. She hugged the piece of closing to her heart, closing her eyes for a brief moment before she looked at Billy again.

“Thank you.” She said, her voice cracking. She swallowed the lump in her throat and her fingers kept stroking the fabric.

It was a Green Day t-shirt. The design was simple, it was the cover of the nimrod. album printed on black fabric. “Thank you” she repeated once again. Her thoughts immediately went back to the first day she listened to the album with her mother, she clenched her jaw.

“So Lya, you said you had questions that you wanted to ask me?”

Notes

Sorry for the long wait, was busy with some unpleasant things.
Thanks again for the comments on the last chapter, hope you will like this one as well :).
21 pages on Word, I hope it's not too long.