"What can I say? I like seeing you struggle."-
"Can't wait for the moment I beat your ass with a stick."
Jordyn had no idea that befriending the lovely idiot who broke her locker would turn her life upside down. But here she was, amidst bionics, sec...
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The hallways of the school were crowded, as usual. To reach their friends, people were fighting their way through the jungle of others. They passed a variety of groups on their way to the lockers. Chess club, book club, art club, and so on.
One girl weaved through the crowd, trying to turn out the chaos around her. She always kept her head low and made sure not to touch anyone. In addition, she held her breath so that her ragged breathing would not be heard over the excited chatter.
Finally arriving at her locker, she opened it to be greeted with an assortment of things.
With the exception of a random nail file that had fallen out of the overstuffed makeup bag, it was mostly organized. The girl quickly returned it to its proper place.
She glanced at the clock across the hall, taking a sip from her water bottle. The break had barely begun so she had 10 minutes left to relax and prepare for her next period.
One of the pictures on her locker door captured her attention since it had become loose and was in danger of falling. She sighed as she put the water bottle down and inspected the photograph while fixing it. It showed a young, pale girl being hoisted between two tanned elderly people by her arms. Their wide smiles demonstrated how happy they each were at the time.
Closing her eyes, the memories hit her like a powerful wave from which she was helpless to flee.
Jordyn Soto-Barkeley thinks she had a pretty normal life up to this point. It may not be an ideal one, but it made her the person she is today.
Yes, the absence of a stable friend circle or at-home parents could seem lonely at times, but Jordyn deems to be an introvert anyway, so it doesn't bother her anymore.
Back in her childhood, when she had to spend all her days with her abuelos instead of her parents, naturally, she felt abandoned and wouldn't understand what she did wrong for her parents to not want to spend any time with her.
Jordyn peered at a sticky note next to the pictures after once more opening her eyes. "Always thinking about you, Mamá", it said. A heart next to the message.
After getting used to her situation, she had understood that her parents' jobs just weren't an optimal condition to raise a child and spend all their time with her. They were successful in their careers; her mother Eliana as a CMO of an event management company and her father Craig as a surgeon, and they couldn't simply stop. Those jobs were their passion and no one should be denied what they love to do, she thought.
Jordyn shook her head, blinking away her tears. She quickly focused on the plush cat; a parting gift from her abuelos. A sad smile overtook the girl's features.
She wasn't mad at her abuelos for moving back to Spain once they had the possibility of doing so. It meant that twelve-year-old Jordyn had to fend for herself when her parents weren't home but the times they actually were, made up for everything. Her mamá told her all about the places she traveled to and the newest gossip of the elite while her father, who she saw on a more regular basis than her mother, liked to joke around with her, help her with schoolwork and teach her the basics of medicine–well, he tried.
