Editing Character Vignettes (section)

=='''End of an Era'''==

Wiping tears from her eyes, Tilly had steeled herself.  She couldn't face things anymore, and it was clear to her that the hurting would never stop.  Besides, there was no one who would miss her, anyway.  Nobody understood her.  Nobody cared.  Even if anyone who knew her had been there, they surely wouldn't want to stop her.  Closing her eyes, she'd stepped out in front of the speeding truck, confident that she'd be dead instantly.  A final Christmas present to herself.

The strong hand on the back of her jacket that had abruptly yanked her back out of the street had taken her completely by surprise.  It had hurt, of course-- she'd taken the hard pull on her armpits and throat, and felt half choked.  She had turned tear-filled eyes up to her rescuer, expecting an adult.

Instead, it had been the scariest girl her own age that she'd ever seen.  As she tried to catch her breath, she'd realized that there were, in fact, several of them present.  The looks they'd given her were confused, concerned, surprised.  Tilly had no idea how she could explain what had happened, but she hadn't had to.  The tall asian girl, frightening as she was, had just said, "Come on, kid.  We're late for the Christmas party."

It had been the better part of a year since then.  She'd changed her lifestyle to reflect her new outlook, and found herself at home with her new friends.  And especially Hana.  She knew, of course, that Hana didn't feel about her the way she felt about the older girl, but there was always a chance.  

Which is why she was staring in shock at Hana and Judy now.  Judy's transfer to another school, of course, was not a surprise.  She'd moved up in the world, with her mother marrying her former employer.  She now had money, status, success-- and Tilly didn't begrudge her one bit of it.  A girl as smart as Judy really belonged at a school like Ashford, anyway.  And, on some level, Tilly knew that Judy's departure would let her get at least slightly closer to Hana.

But Hana had said, "And Judy's helping me swot up for the tests.  I'm trying to get into Ashford, too."

The rest of the conversation had seemed like a blur.  Hana and Judy would almost certainly be gone after summer.  (Tilly realized that Hana, while not a genius like Judy, was smart enough to get into Ashford-- especially with Judy's help and pull.)  Then what?  The gang would lose its leader.  Most of the girls had already scattered.  Who could take Hana's place?  Sorcha, while skilled, didn't have Hana's sheer force of personality, and the only other likely candidate, Blue, nobody would actually follow.  Who would help take care of Emily?  Who would stand up to Carter?  It was the end of her entire circle of friends.  The end of belonging.  The end of everything.

She'd wandered in a daze for the rest of the day.  Where should she go?  

"Heeeeeey Tilly!"  Tilly jumped as Chloe half-tackled her.  

"Chloe, stop it!"  But Chloe didn't care, and was, instead, trying to force a cat-ear headband on her.  "Chloe!  Cut it out!"

"Aw, come on, Tilly!  You looked so down!  Smiley faces!"

Tilly sighed.  "Everything's falling apart, Chloe.  It won't be the same thing without Hana, at all.  I don't know what to do."

Chloe considered.  Or so it appeared... Tilly was never entirely sure what Chloe was thinking.  Nobody was.

"I know!" she said brightly.  "Why don't we just transfer to Ashford, too?"

Tilly blinked.  The thought hadn't occured to her.

"What?  But..."

"If Hana can get in, we can get in," said Chloe, seriously.  "This is important enough to work hard for, right?  Let's do it.  Besides, Blue was talking about transferring, too.  We can't let her be the only one."

"Blue?"  Tilly's head was spinning again.  "But... I thought Blue hated Hana."

Chloe shrugged.  "I think Blue's all ''complicated.''  Anyway, let's be study buddies, OK?"

Tilly took a deep breath.  "All right."

---

Malika approached Sorcha and Grace cautiously.  They were talking, and she had an idea of about what.

"...So I bet we can get the old gang together again, Sor.  Be like old times."

Sorcha shook her head.  "It's not going to be like old times, Grace.  You know it."

"Well, what else are we supposed to do?"

Sorcha said nothing for a moment, so Malika cleared her throat.  Grace and Sorcha both turned to look at her.  

"Um... I wanted to talk to you about what's coming next.  I don't know if I'd fit in with your old crowd, Sorcha.  You know why."

Sorcha nodded.  "Yeah, you and Ruby'd both have trouble, wouldn't you?  I don't know what to do about Emily, either.  This is a mess."

"Without Hana, we'll all have to work a lot harder, too," Malika pointed out.

"I know.  But what are we supposed to do?  There's no way any of us could get into Ashford.  And Hana would tell us not to follow her, anyway."

Malika laughed.  "Sorcha... I just had this idea.  I mean, I never asked Hana if I could follow her before.  What if...?"

---

Jae-Sun frowned as he closed the door, aware of Hana's impatient eyes on him.

"Come on, bro.  I'm not going to be late for this."

"Hana, it's just a meeting."  Jae-Sun had been thrilled when he'd heard that Judy was transferring to Ashford, but discovering that Hana was transferring also left a taste like ashes in his mouth.  Why did she have to do that?  If he was at the same school as Judy, perhaps he could finally tell her how he felt.  Hana's presence would ruin that, he was sure-- whenever Hana was there, Judy just talked to her, not to him.

"I don't care, Jae.  This is me first look at the new school.  Besides, Juds should be right outside by now.  So let's go."

Jae-Sun followed Hana downstairs.  ''Well, at least it'll just be Hana and Judy.  It's not like the rest of her...''  He stopped just in time to not colide with Hana, who stood frozen in the doorway of their building.

Hana was staring, standing stock still.

Judy was waiting for her... surrounded by familiar faces.  So many of them... Sorcha, Malika, Chloe, Ruby, Emily, Grace, Tilly... ''Blue!?''

"What the ''hell'' are you lot doing here?"

Sorcha grinned.  "Party was too good to leave yet, boss!  We decided that you weren't going to be shut of us that easily!"

Hana stood there a long moment longer.  It was '''not,''' of course, that she was deeply touched and even choked up at the sight of her fr... her gang, waiting for her.  She didn't need friends.  There had to be another reason that she waited so long, somehow keeping control of herself, before she stepped out of the doorway, smiling.

She just didn't know what it was.