Survival

7. Life of the Party

A bright rush of cool air filled Stephanie's lungs with much needed oxygen. The unrest that had spread itself like an illness through her body subsided, leaving her broken and withered and very, very bone tired. This little town was so easy to be attached to, but so difficult to live in.

Just behind her, the bell rang, and people streamed out into the hallways, plain to see over her shoulder through the glass floor length windows. One would think that this town was wide open, calm and friendly- and it was, the people just weren't. Not that that made any sense.

Stephanie turned her attention back ahead of her as she walked, resolving that she couldn't go back after such a dramatic exit. It had been a rushed decision, fueled by tiredness and hunger and overall was just bag judgment. Whatever. It couldn't be changed.

"Hey Stephanie! Wait up!"

Stephanie turned to see Kirsten jogging down the walk toward her. Bringing her walk to a stop, Stephanie turned to greet her. Why was Kirsten still trying? Most people stopped after the first rejection. Hope rekindled in Stephanie's chest.

"Hey Kirsten, what's up?" she asked casually, camouflaging her fatigue with the tone.

"Alright, look," Kirsten said. "You have this weird force field around you, that you don't seem to want people to pass, but I know that it's not what you want."

Stephanie took a surprised step back, at a loss for words.

"This whole 'woe is me' thing is getting really irritating, and I understand pushing Aaron away, but me?" She carried on, her voice leaving no room for argument. "There's no reason for it." Kirsten shrugged and stared Stephanie down, daring her to speak. "Now, this is my last offer. You're coming with me to a football game at seven, and you're going to speak to people and at least act like you're having fun. Okay?"

An overwhelming need to smile pulled at the edges of Stephanie's mouth, but she kept it under wraps as tightly as she could as she nodded. "Okay," She answered.

It was Kirsten's turn to look taken aback, but she stifled it quickly. "Okay," She affirmed, before spinning on her heel and trotting away to class.

Only then did Stephanie allow herself a little smile, but it quickly spread and it didn't fade until she got back to the hotel.

Closing the black out curtains, Stephanie sat down on her bed. The overpowering need to sleep descended over her, a soothing blanket for a worn out mind. She didn't fight it, in its place she gave in and fell asleep.

Stephanie sat in the social worker's car, her skin against weathered, unkempt, cold leather seats, unable to move or speak. Everything had happened so quickly, too fast for her to get away. Stephanie was hardly prepared to live by herself. What could she have done? It was too difficult to get her mind out of the past long enough to see ahead, which had landed her here in the first place. Stephanie knew that this wasn't right- she needed to leave. She couldn't be taken into a human's care but what then? If she managed to escape she'd have to evade the police and social workers, as well as gathering enough money and resources to live on, and find a place to live. The list was dauntingly impossible. So, Stephanie did nothing.

When she woke up, her mood had plummeted and the remnants of sharp edged dreams still clung to the periphery of her conscious. It hurt, to relive the details of things in the past, but the real hurt only came after a good dream of the past. The raw feeling of longing and disappointment was much worse.

Even with the interruption of the dreams, Stephanie felt ready to be awake, and everything was clearer in her head. Sleep was all she had needed. The tight pain in her stomach reminded her that it wasn't quite the only thing that she needed. Rolling over, she glanced at the clock; it was six o'clock. She had an hour until the game.