“Emma Reynolds?” the dark haired lady at the reception desk asked.
Reflexively, Lucy looked behind her then caught herself. Oh, yeah. That’s me. She nodded, feeling her eyes moisten again. Just another reminder that she wasn’t supposed to be here. Her name—her real name—wasn’t even on the list.
“It says here that you’re transferring from Ashworth Academy?”
“We were having some bullying issues,” her not-dad said from behind her, squeezing her not-mom’s shoulders. “We thought she could get a fresh start here.”
“Well, I can say we’ve never had a new student join us on Christmas day.” The woman bit her lip, which made her look like a vampire with her two large canines. “Unfortunately, the principal is busy with Christmas celebrations upstairs, so we can’t give you the normal tour, but I’d be happy to show you around myself.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” not-mom said in her way-too-soothing voice. “I’m sure you can give her the tour whenever it’s convenient. We’re really just dropping her off.”
“Alright,” She replied, obviously relieved. “I’ll need you two to sign—”
“We’ve already filled them out online.” Not-dad interrupted, taking some papers out of his briefcase and sliding them across the desk. Meanwhile, not-mom knelt down on the brick floor, looking Lucy in the eyes.
“You sure you’ll be okay?”
The genuine concern in the woman’s eyes made her want to cry all over again, and she had to hold back her tears. At least she didn’t have to act. All she could do was nod in response.
“Okay. Call me if you need anything.”
Of course she couldn’t really call not-mom or not-dad. They were just Witness Protection agents. They probably wouldn’t even remember her in a day or so. To them, she was just another job.
Still, she nodded.
“We love you, honey. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.” For a second, the woman’s facade melted, and she was just another adult looking at her with pity. It would have been better if she had just stayed in her role as not-mom. As if on cue, not-mom’s forehead creased and she held out her arms.
Lucy took a step back. First this lady forced her to pretend to like her, and now she wanted Lucy to hug her? No way was that happening. “Yeah, well it does,” She shot back, crossing her arms.
For a moment, everyone stood there awkwardly, then the receptionist vampire cleared her throat. “She’s in good hands. We’ll get her settled in. I know it must be hard. Situations like this are always less than preferable. You can come and see her anytime you want to.”
Not-dad said something, but Lucy didn’t hear him. It was all too much. She had to get away. Turning, she slipped past the receptionist, tears blurring her vision. She could barely see where she was going, but honestly she didn’t care. She just had to get away. Bricks and doors seemed to blur by, until she found one that was open.
Stepping inside, she sank against the wall and cried, for her family she would never see again, for the darkness in the world. Her parents had just tried to shine light on the darkness, and now they were separated forever, split apart over a good deed. That was the world. Cruel to those who were kind and wanted to help and kind to those who were mean and wanted everything for themselves.
She felt the boards under her shift, and her heart sank. Why won’t people just leave me alone?!
“You okay?” a girl’s voice asked.
Lucy looked up, turning to the face that was only a foot away from her own. She wanted to scream, that she wasn’t okay, that she would never see her parents again, but instead she just started sobbing, all the pain from the past week pouring out.
The other girl didn’t say anything, just put an arm around Lucy.
Lucy let the warmth flow through her. The girl didn’t say anything, but Lucy could feel the compassion flowing from her. Finally, she collected herself, taking a deep breath of cool air.
“I’m Erin,” the girl said before Lucy could think of something to say.
Lucy turned to the girl. “L—” she caught herself just in time. “Emma.” The lie stung, though was it really a lie? She was now legally Emma Reynolds.
“So, are you new here?” Erin asked.
Lucy just nodded, turning her gaze to the brick floor.
For a moment, neither of them said anything, and the only sound was the ticking of an old clock.
“You want to talk about it?” Erin asked finally.
“I just miss my family.” She didn’t really know why she said it, why she trusted this girl when she didn’t trust anyone else.
“Yeah, me too.”
Lucy looked over at Erin, and for the first time she noticed red stains around the other girl’s eyes. “I thought Christmas was supposed to be about family and memories,” she said, suddenly angry at her own parents and whoever Erin’s parents were who hadn’t had the decency to spend Christmas with thier daughter.
“Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s not about us at all.” She seemed to see Lucy’s confused expression, and she continued. “Maybe it’s about hope. Jesus came to bring hope and love to a hopeless world. Isn’t His holiday supposed to be about Him?”
Lucy nodded, though how could she focus on Jesus when the ache of homesickness was trying to drown her?
“If you want, I can celebrate with you. At least then you’ll have a friend.”
The next moment, Lucy found her arms around Erin’s neck, and she was crying again.
“I’ll always be here for you,” Erin said, hugging her back.
For the first time since she had been taken from her family, a flicker of light spread through her chest, brighter than any candle. A flicker of hope and love.
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