His Thorns (History of Us)

2.

Joy has always preferred writing resolutions at the beginning of the school year. She believed that it was exactly when the good habits need to start. It is a lot easier to create structure when it is forced upon you after a lazy summer holiday. In the newness of the school year, she was more motivated to study harder, spend less and exercise more. By New Years Day she had already gotten used to all the bad habits of the first semester and found it pointless changing but on the first day of school, she could be a new person. 

This year, however, Joy had decided that she didn't need any resolutions. It would be best if she remained the way she was. Yes, that was her resolution: to remain the same. In the last few years, Joy had gone through enough transformation. She was quite content with who she had become. She was no longer that quiet, timid girl that could  barely make eye contact with her classmates in 7th grade. She had become blunt and cared little for the opinion of those with little impact on her life. Even as she looked in the mirror, on the morning of the first day of school, Joy was content with who was looking back at her. 

"Joy, its time to go," She heard her mom call from downstairs. 

 Even though she didn't have any real resolutions, Joy was determined for this year to be her best. All that was left was for her to finish of strong, something her mother reminded her of every single chance she got. Now that they were seated in the car together, Dr. Enzi took it upon herself to go about her usual lecture of 'you are already on the path for success' and 'don't get distracted by friends'. Joy knew that this was her mom's way of showing love. It had been hard for Dr. Enzi to raise Joy and her older sister after Mr. Enzi had passed. It was a slow painful experience of hospital visits and running from one country to another. Dr. Enzi was forced to bury herself in work to pay the bills and even after her husband's death she had to bury herself in work to forget her pain.

All she wanted was for her daughters to go to good schools and she was already half successful. Joy's older sister had managed to get into a school on par with the Ivy League, leaving Joy's college admission as the last piece in the puzzle. Despite knowing her mother's nagging came from concern, she had heard this rant a million times and had assured her mother a million times that she would get into a good school. She silently watched the trees pass as her mother drove, her mind wondering into space. 

The car came to a halt and Joy was snapped back into reality. She exited the car, grabbing her bag from the backseat and waved to her mom who was still giving her advice. 

"Be good, ok?"

She nodded with a sarcastically sweet at  expression before running into the school gates. 

Little had changed since the last school year. The walls had gotten a fresh coat of paint and she saw some unfamiliar students but for the most part, everything seemed the same. That was the thing about being in the same school for so many years, change occurs so slowly that you almost don't realize that you are in a whole new environment. When Joy thought about how her school had been years prior it was completely different from the place she had just entered. Different teachers, fewer buildings and triple the amount of students in her grade. 

By now only 25 students remained in her graduating class. Everybody knew everybody. In some way Joy was grateful that she didn't have to see new faces or remember new names. She would be around people she had always been comfortable with. Very few people tended to transfer into her school during senior year. At least that had been the trend for the last couple of years. She hoped this trend would continue. Maybe when she was in middle school she would have hoped for new faces to befriend but by 12th grade she was content with the friends she had made. They were dependable and trustworthy, they could tell when something was wrong simply by how much she ate or how little she said. 

As she walked to homeroom, she greeted teachers she was already familiar with and stopped  to chat with some about her summer and the classes she would be taking this semester. A 3 minute walk to class became 15 minutes after stopping to say hi to so many people. Finally, when she reached her class, Joy was immediately attacked by the hugs of Tabitha and Kristy. Tabitha had changed so much since the 7th grade, she had dropped a couple pounds over the summer of 9th grade but still had the same toothy grin and bubbly personality. Joy and Tabitha met Kristy in the 8th grade. She was quiet and spoke very little but was thoughtful and artistic. She had a kind personality that drew people to her.  

"We haven't seen you all summer, how have you been!" 

The three girls dove into deep conversation over their summer shenanigans. Tabitha had spent her summer interning at her aunt's pharmacy 3 states over whilst Kristy was working on her art portfolio. They had barely seen each other because of schedule differences and various issues that separated them. Tabitha gossiped about all the weird people she had attended to. From the way she talked, you would think she was working on the set of a movie rather than a pharmacy. There were a handful of drunks, teens buying pregnancy tests and a questionable number of older men trying to ask her out.  

"I'm telling you, these men are so dumb that they don't even realize that you are playing dumb," We laughed loudly at her stories. It had only been a summer yet so much had happened to the three of us. Kristy had started selling her art and Tabitha had gotten a couple marriage offers from grown men. "What about you Joy, what were you up to,"

Joy wondered what the most vivid and descriptive way to say 'absolutely nothing' was.  She had spent the entire summer before 12 grade studying for the August SAT which was only 2 weeks away. Getting a good score was of her utmost priority so she didn't have any time to waste over the summer. 

"Just the usual, girls, studying until I question my life choices," They all laughed as if she wasn't being completely serious. 

By now the class was already filled up. The clock struck 8 and her homeroom teacher, Mr. Zeva,  began the usual 'first day of school spiel'. He was a teacher most in the room were familiar with, he had taught them English in the 9th and 11th grade. Most teachers in the school knew students well so he didn't have to say much as an introduction. 

As he spoke Joy's eyes wondered around the classroom of familiar faces. She was right, there weren't any new faces. Though some people had grown taller or grown facial hair, they were all people who had been in her grade in 11th grade.  

"You guy's are seniors which means you are eligible to run for student council president," her homeroom teacher broke through her daydream, " I know a lot of you are excited about that so start thinking about your campaign and consider the direction you want to take,"

By 'a lot of you' everyone knew he meant Joy. She had run for president last year but lost for reasons she still had not yet understood. This year she was determined to succeed. Besides the spot that so desperately desired presidency on her CV, she truly believed she could do so much for the school she had spent so long in. People joked about it being an easy win for her but she only laughed it off, explaining that there was equal opportunity for everyone who wanted to run. 

Mr Zeva droned on for 30 more minutes before the bell rang. Everyone stood up quickly, packed their bags and ran off to class. 

The first week of the first semester of the last year of high school had finally begun.

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Deep sigh

Hello my lovlies,

It may seem weird that I hit y'all with a chapter so soon after the last but I (kind of) mistakenly drank an energy drink which I didn't know would stop me from sleeping all night so I thought, hey why not drop a chapter. I am severely sleep deprived but i have an 8am class I need to get ready for ( it is currently 6am). 

Pray for me T_T

Or if you vote on this chapter my sleeping stats may be rejuvenated, its up to you really. Anyways, I gotta go but I hope you liked this chapter, see ya later. 

- urfavehistorian ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ