who can say?
Clarke stared down the redwood she was leaving behind with each passing second her mom’s foot remains steadfastly on the pedal. It wasn’t fair that her dad died. It wasn’t fair to her mom, or to her. She tried to be as understanding of her mom as possible. She had just lost the love of her life. One can only imagine how much pain she must be going through. Yet, she just couldn’t understand why her mom was sending her away- to boarding school, at that.
After Jake’s death, Abby threw herself into work. The trauma thrust upon her from being unable to save her husband from a gnarly car accident ignited a burning desire within her to make sure everyone that came under her care went home. There can never be enough help at a hospital, you see, so she was never turned away.
With Abby practically living at the hospital, Clarke (at a tender age of 15) was left to fend for herself most days. That was until Abby came across a pamphlet for a certain religious private school.
“You won’t have to eat pizza anymore.”
“You mean I won’t get to eat pizza? I love pizza!” Clarke tried to reason with her mom.
“With all my hours at the hospital, it’d be better for you. You’ll have people taking care of you,” Abby explained.
“Hours that you chose for yourself? I don’t need strangers taking care of me. I need my mother. Or did you forget-” Clarke stopped short.
“I didn’t mean-”
“No honey,” the doctor interrupted, “You did.”
“You’re going. The decision’s final,” Abby stated, her tone firm and resolute.
///
“Welcome to Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrows!” a latina greeted. “My name is Raven and I’ll be your guide for this tour. Come to me if you have any questions.”
“Do you need help with your bags, Clarke?” Abby asked.
“Nope, I got it,” Clarke shrugged her backpack-strapped shoulders.
Abby hesitated. “It’s just- I have a major operation in 4 hours and it’s a 3-hour drive…”
“It’s okay mom,” the blonde assured even though her watery eyes told a different story, “I know you gotta go.”
The doctor pulled her daughter into a hug and kissed her forehead. “I love you, darling.”
“Love you too,” Clarke said softly. Abby then turned around and walked towards her parked car. The blonde watched silently as her mother drove away. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
“Let’s get you settled, shall we?” Raven asked.
Clarke nodded and followed her up the front steps.
///
“This is the courtyard,” Raven gestured with her hand, but Clarke wasn’t listening. She stopped listening the second she laid her eyes on a beautiful brunette with piercing green eyes.
“The one you’re so openly ogling, is Lexa,” said Raven. “She’s the star lacrosse player of the school. Because of her we’re going to nationals.”
“I hear she has a dick. That’s why she’s rarely in a skirt,” a brunette gossiped. “They let her ‘cause she’s the captain of the lacrosse team and they’re the only sports team that OLPS can be proud of.”
“That’s Octavia,” Raven introduced. “And except on Mondays. No exceptions for chapel. For anyone.”
“What’ll they do? Spank me?” Clarke joked.
“They don’t do that anymore, but Lexa might,” Raven winked at her suggestively. The blonde simply shook her head, chortling.
They left the courtyard to move on with the tour but not before Clarke stole another glance at tan sculpted thighs.
///
“Alright, settle down, class. Welcome to the final term of the year. We have a new student with us today. Clarke, mind introducing yourself?” asked Miss Diyoza.
The blonde student walked apprehensively towards the front of the class.
“Hi, I’m Clarke. I’m from Arkadia,” she smiled awkwardly. Clarke never liked being in the spotlight.
Just then, Lexa stumbled through the doorway. “Sorry I’m late,” she apologized sheepishly.
“On the first day, Lexa? I expect more from you,” the teacher reprimanded.
The lacrosse captain simply smiled tight-lipped before taking the only seat available.
“You may return to your seat, Clarke,” the teacher dismissed.
The blonde walked back to her table and sat down beside Lexa who smiled politely at her.
“Hey, can I borrow a pencil?” the brunette asked.
“Sure,” Clarke handed her a pencil, their hands brushing lightly, “Here you go.”
Lexa thanked her quietly.
“So, class, we’ll be doing a project. It’ll be 25 percent of your final grade,” the teacher handed out some papers. “Look to your left slash right, they’ll be your partner for your experiment.”
Clarke and Lexa stared at each other wide-eyed.
“The report is due on the eighth week. Duration of the experiment is up to you to decide. Now, let’s turn to page thirty four…”
///
“Take a picture, it lasts longer,” Anya leaned in to whisper to Lexa whose eyes were trained on a certain newcomer.
The brunette snapped out of her trance and rolled her eyes at her friend. She cast another glance at the blonde; the image of her head tilted back in laughter was what entranced Lexa prior to Anya’s disruption.
“I heard you and new girl are paired up for a project?” the dirty blonde asked.
“Yeah,” Lexa sniffled. It was getting chilly this time of year. “We couldn’t choose our partners.”
“Speaking of which, I’m gonna need the room tonight. We’re gonna brainstorm.”
“And why can’t I be around for that?” Anya raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
Lexa sputtered, “I just- I don’t want there to be any distractions, okay?”
Anya chuckled, “I doubt I’ll be the one doing the distracting.” She patted the athlete on the shoulder, mock-sympathetically.
“Oh, shut up. Just go over to Raven’s.”