Jerica's voice was soft, almost reflective, as she answered. "I was… not alone," she murmured, looking somewhere beyond the room, as if her words were reaching back through the years.
"There were other kids like me there, and eventually… we learned to have fun together." She paused, her voice gentling as she added, "It was tough at first. I didn't make any friends; didn't even try to. I was just this kid with walls up, pushing everyone away."
A faint smile touched her lips as she thought of her time at boarding school. And then, the memories came back more vividly. "Harold… Harold was the one who broke through," she said, her voice warm with affection as she recalled the boy who'd managed to shatter her defenses.
