Open On The Sidelines

[Leah Thorne]

Leah didn't want to be here but not being at the ball seemed even worse. She felt ridiculous. She had thought she had packed a different dress for the ball but her mother must have swapped it out with this one at the last minute. It was a fine dress but the fact it wasn't one she had picked out for herself made it awful in her eyes. If she had been on the fence about her plan to stay at school for the holidays this had done it. By this time tomorrow the castle would be nearly empty and she couldn't wait. The only small comfort she felt was the winter scene around her. It felt familiar and reminded her of home and her childhood. She looked around for Cyrus to see if he wanted to skate with her. She sighed and sat at a table nearby, just wanting the night to be over.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha was trying to tell herself Raafe was just busy at these events because of his new Accio thing, and that he definitely wasn't avoiding her. It was almost working, though there was a feeling of doubt that wouldn't quite go away. Things had been weird between them lately, and she hadn't had time to figure out why because she had been too busy studying every free moment she had. She wondered if Dorian was doing the same thing, though he didn't seem nearly as tired as she was. The last few times she had seen him, he had looked annoyingly good and well-rested. Anisha adjusted her dress, then looked around for anyone familiar. She saw Leah and realized her friend looked kind of down. She headed over. "Hey, you okay?"

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah had been slumped in her chair sulking when she heard Anisha greet her. In a flash she was sitting up straighter and trying to straighten out her dress. "Oh yeah I'm fine." she said reflexively. After going to the dance together last year her infatuation with her roommate was a full blown crush, not that she was brave enough to do anything about it. She guessed she could trade rooms with Raafe it it really blew up but she didn't want that. So she swallowed it down and tried to avoid this very situation. The lie had come out before she had a chance to think but as her initial shock wore off she sighed. "No, I'm not." Leah leaned back in her chair. "I don't think I'm going to go home for the holidays." she admitted.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha raised her eyebrows skeptically as Leah said she was fine, there was clearly something going on. The other girl didn't keep up the pretense long, finally admitting she wasn't fine. Anisha frowned and pulled back another chair, sitting down and leaning close to her friend. "Oh no." She said when Leah admitted she probably wasn't going home for the holidays. Anisha couldn't imagine. "Why not? If... you don't mind me asking."

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah felt a sense of dread as Anisha sat down and of course she looked beautiful. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked up towards the ceiling in a way she hoped looked poetically stubborn and not dismissive. She shrugged. "It's just my parents." she sighed. "They've been divorced over six years and they still keep fighting and putting me in the middle. Then there's my mom who just doesn't....get me at all." She knew she sounded like a child but she couldn't find it in herself to care. She was a child. She was their child and they seemed to keep forgetting that.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha watched Leah as she looked up at the ceiling, wondering for a moment if she was about to cry. She hoped not, Anisha wasn't good at dealing with crying people. She was quietly relieved when Leah's voice sounded quite steady as she spoke, even if what she was saying was very sad. "Oh, that really sucks." She said, frowning. She hesitated. "Do you think staying here will send a message to them? Or that... it might be nicer for you?" She asked hesitantly. Anisha could get frustrated with her family, but she still couldn't imagine not spending Christmas at home.

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah hadn't been looking for sympathy. She hadn't been looking for anything at all by telling the truth. She just didn't feel like lying. So when Anisha looked at her with a frown she sat up a bit straighter. She wasn't sure what she was say that would warrant such a reaction, it was just the truth. She shrugged. "I'm not sure if they'll get it but it's not like I'll be missing anything. We haven't had a genuine family holiday in years." she said matter-of-factly. "I don't think my American grandparents like me very much. My dad's family is good but it's still awkward sometimes." Leah shrugged again and wasn't sure how else to explain her family.