The Homecoming

Chapter 11

"I'm not going. I'm sorry, Stephanie." Roxy announced, lying on the bed with her face buried in one of Leah's books. The guitar was standing in the corner, collecting dust. She didn't play for days, and now she, out of nowhere, changed her mind about coming to the contest. And she was reading.

"This is so not like you, Roxy." Leah said, while fixing her dress in front of a mirror. Unsure of whether to be worried, disappointed or surprised, she turned to glance at Roxy, who wasn't acting like her usual self: bubbly and energetic.

Stephanie was standing next to Leah and spraying her hair to fixate her charming curls. She didn't seem to mind, but her silence told a different story – she was disappointed that Roxy wasn't going to be there to cheer for her. Neither Leah nor Andrew nor anyone else was going to be loud enough to beat Roxy's motivational shouts when Stephanie steps on the stage to compete for the Miss Hiatune title.

"Stephanie?" Roxy put the book down beside her. "Are you mad?"

Stephanie sat on the opposite bed and stared at Roxy for a few seconds. "Yeah, I am."

"Oh come on!" Roxy jumped off the bed in frustration. "I know what you all think and expect of me. I'm the party type here. Probably the only person on this planet who genuinely likes to have fun. But... I'm not in the mood for partying these days. I'm being honest here. Please don't think about me and go have the night of your lives. I honestly just want to get some rest and think about some stuff that's been bothering me for a while. Please. Go and have fun."

Stephanie and Leah exchanged glances. They both knew, from experience, that trying to convince Roxy into opening up about her secret thoughts wasn't going to work. So, they just decided to leave her alone and let her come to them when she's ready to talk.

But, Leah wasn't having it. She couldn't just leave her best friend in their dorms and go party. Not without at least letting her know she's her safe haven, whenever she needs one.

She stepped away from the mirror and pulled Roxy into her arms.

"I hope it's something you can deal with on your own. If it's not... you know who you can come to." Leah whispered as Roxy rested her head on her shoulder.

"I know." Roxy answered with a slight smile.

"Can't deny that she disappointed us in the last moment." Stephanie said to Leah as she headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind her with a loud bang. Classic rage of a 16 year-old girl.

Leah and Roxy stared after her in astonishment. Although both of them understood that Roxy didn't live up to Stephanie's expectations for that special night, they were still startled by her open outrage and overreaction about it.

"Why is she being such a bitch?" Roxy asked, her feelings obviously hurt.

Leah shrugged and patted Roxy's back. "We can't say that she didn't warn us about that danger."

They both laughed, knowing that Stephanie wasn't going to stay mad for long.

***

After Leah accompanied Stephanie to the rear entrance of the theater where the backstage and the makeup booths were, she returned to the front entrance alone. Mrs. Peterson welcomed her there, in her black elegant dress and a white faux fur coat. She was smiling, this time genuinely. It made Leah's heart jump in joy – everything was taken from this woman, including her family, and she still found that last fibre of strength in herself to take care of the strangers' kids assigned to her. Leah admired her and she deserved to be happy, at least for the night.