Willow sighed. “It isn’t that easy for me to go against my parents. Besides, I don’t see a point. In the end, all that matters is that… There’s no more arguments.”
Willow couldn’t be angry with Jenny for the things she said. She was right. It didn’t matter how harsh her tone was, Willow needed to hear someone encouraging her to live her life. Because despite her will to please her parents, deep down she wanted to follow her dreams. She continued to listen to Jenny, trying to keep her expression as neutral as possible.
She took a deep breath, nodding along to what Jenny was telling her. “You’re right. But that’s just how it is.” She looked around the room, observing everyone’s reactions. Though it was far from the truth, she felt their eyes stare into her soul like daggers. Every passing second felt longer than the last. Willow wished she could just hide away. Especially when she felt like she spoke up about something so insignificant and burdened the entire group.
When Jenny started talking about herself again and turned the attention away from her, Willow felt a sense of relief wash over her.
Her lips curved into a small frown as she listened. For Jenny to be judged by others for her mistakes, without truly being known, sounded heartbreaking. Willow didn’t think much of Jennifer before they started talking, only that she heard rumors of her being a troublemaker. She knew better than to believe rumors, especially since she didn’t know her personally. But in fact, she had suspected something might be wrong at home. Willow had heard that when teenagers act out and rebel, it can’t be without a cause. So Willow was curious what drove Jenny to stand out. As much as she didn’t want to admit, she was curious about her life. But how could she ask without intruding?
“I don’t know you, and I can’t judge you based on what I heard about you. I’m sure we’ve all made mistakes, some we can’t come back from…” she trailed off.
Mistakes, like the night with Fern. If only she could go back in time and stop herself from doing that, then she wouldn’t have put her… friend’s life at risk. Nobody had asked them about the conversation in the bathroom yet, but she knew it was bound to be soon. They were suspects. Her heart started to race and she tightened the grip on her pen again, as her eyes landed on Fern. She had been silent for a while.
Willow shut her eyes for moment, turning back to Jenny. “I’m proud of you for making effort to change. It’s never too late to learn from your mistakes. The label they put on you doesn’t define you.” she smiled at Jenny, but her eyes kept looking across the room.
Opening up about her life at home, strangely felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. But on the other hand, now other people were aware of her struggles, even if that was the tip of the iceberg.
“Well… As sad as it may sound, I’m used to it. But I think I’ve talked enough about myself.” she forced a smile, trying to avoid making the rest worry. She looked around the room again, wondering if anyone else would like to speak. There were only a few students left, including… Fern.
@Tina.G × Jennifer Avery Boyd
@Jass × Fernanda Briggs (mentioned)
This post is kinda bad but for some reason I don’t feel inspired to write these past few days