Dear Life(15)

“Is this seat taken?” a small voice asks from behind me. Glancing back, I see a blonde, porcelain-skinned girl wearing a long-sleeve turtleneck with snowflakes decorating the fabric. Added to her appearance are frumpy, acid-washed overalls, creating a mom pouch in the front that I know she doesn’t have by the look of her petite frame. Yikes.

The circle of chairs around the room are not quite full, she could have chosen a different seat, but I guess it’s better to sit next to snowflake than it is to sit next to the heavy breather marking his territory around the sugar packets.

“Nah, go ahead,” I answer her, nodding my head at the chair.

“Thanks.” Taking a seat, she turns toward me and holds out her hand. By her approach, I would say she’s outgoing and very social, but by the way her hand is shaking, my guess is this is all new to her. “I’m Daisy.”

Daisy. Yup, the name fits her perfectly. Innocence brands her with her sweet smile, rosy cheeks, and wide blue eyes. Her milky complexion gives away her embarrassment. By the way she’s dressed like a seventy-year-old woman and twitches nervously, I’m guessing she’s more than just shy.

She’s pretty though. Looking past the frumpy clothes and thirty-year-old clogs on her feet, she has a very beautiful face, a stark contrast to Sasha’s dark and strong features. And whereas Sasha would be hanging off my arm—all the confidence in the world when it comes to her sexual appeal—Daisy shows no signs of confidence, and what little she attempts to show comes off as complete and utter nerves.

I wonder what she’s here for.

No, scratch that. I’m not here to make friends or carry other people’s burdens on my shoulder. I’m here to listen, do the minimum, and get out. I don’t care what she’s here for.

“Hey,” I nod, not wanting to make small talk.

“Hey,” she answers back awkwardly.

Pressing my lips together, I nod and turn away. Okay, that was uncomfortable.

“Carter, I’m surprised to see you here,” Hollyn says as she struts toward me, her bright red hair smoothly hanging by her shoulders. I thought about asking her out before I started seeing Sasha but when I found out she was engaged, I kept my distance. And then when she lost her husband, I took an even bigger step back, not just because she was grieving, but because she turned into a raving bitch.

I can’t stand the woman and can you guess it? She can’t stand me either. Maybe it’s the combination of two volatile people coming together that makes us rather explosive. My uncle knows better than to have us working the same shifts, and if we have to, we are separated as much as possible. Why he keeps her around, I have no clue. My guess: he feels sorry for her.

“You know why I’m here,” I say back as she takes a seat next to Snowflake, who is fidgeting with the straps of her overalls.

“Never thought your uncle would follow through with his threat.” She talks over Daisy who is awkwardly between us.

“Bullshit,” I seethe. “You suggested this hoax of a program just to fuck with me. I’m just wondering why you’re doing it?”

“If we can all take our seats, I would like to get started,” the lady from registration cuts in, putting an end to the short conversation between Hollyn and me.

Leaning forward for a brief second to catch my eye, Hollyn says, “Just stay away from me.”

“Easy enough, I’d rather not catch the venom seeping from your pores anyway.”

Hollyn rolls her eyes, huffs some retort under her breath I can’t quite hear, and leans back in her chair, arms crossed.

Snowflake taps her feet on the ground, her hands on her thighs now, rubbing them nervously. “So, it seems like you two know each other,” she announces awkwardly.

“Perceptive,” I mumble sarcastically as a man in a baseball cap and glasses sits next to me. His body is quite broad, taking up a lot of the space between our chairs. I find myself leaning closer to Snowflake so I don’t have to be kissing shoulders with the guy.

“Welcome. My name is Marleen, and I’ll be your mediator for this course. Under your chairs you’ll find guidance packets for each and every one of you. These materials will help you through this program for the next few months. In there you’ll find pens, letters, envelopes, and a task booklet. Please do not lose these materials or share them, they are for you and you alone.”

Everyone is bending over to reach for their packets so I do the same because, hell, I want to know what kind of free pen I get. Enter sarcasm here.

“Oh, what lovely stationery,” Snowflake coos next to me, running her hand over the notepad found in the packet. A pocket full of sunshine, this one.

“Since we have such a large group, we’re going to break off into smaller circles.” Well, isn’t that great. “I’ll section you off.” To my horror, Marleen starts grouping everyone together by where they are sitting. Mapping off the room in my head and the pattern Marleen is making, I realize I’ll be grouped with not only Snowflake, but Hollyn as well.

“And you four,” Marleen says, pointing at the guy next to me, me, Snowflake, and Hollyn. Yup, just when I thought I’d hit rock bottom. “Now, within your groups, form little circles and introduce yourselves. Please remember the NDAs you signed earlier and be friendly, your group will also be your support circle.”