Light the Fire (Jackson's Hollow #1)

Chapter 4

Home. Jo thought about what Ms. Blue said the next day as she got ready for college orientation. Most of her clothes were still in her suitcase or boxes, but she managed to throw together a decent outfit: aka something that wasn't too wrinkled and that actually fit the season. She really should've put more stuff that she wanted to wear into the suitcase, but she had thought that she would be faster at unpacking. Apparently that wasn't the case.

Was this house really a home? Was the town her home? It didn't feel like it yet, though maybe that was because she was uncomfortable in her own skin these days. But just because people here were nice to her and knew her grandparents and dad didn't mean that this place was for her. It was temporary, a place to hide out while she unraveled her current predicament.

Anyways, she guessed that actually going to the college and getting more settled in would make it feel a little more like she at least lived here. Right now she felt like a random renter who was somehow well known.

Properly dressed and hopefully not looking too much like she had grabbed the first cleanish things out of her clothes boxes, she headed into town. She hoped she had enough money to cover the books. While she wasn't poor, she knew most of her money would have to go into some restoration projects to make the house a little more livable. New furniture was a must.

The community college was actually situated outside of the city limits on the other side of town, nestled in between pine trees and boulders. Someone had built it with the surroundings in mind, so the buildings seemed to blend in better with their environment than some built in the small downtown area.

With a large bag in tow for all her books, Jo headed toward the auditorium, where the new students were having orientation. There were lots of people milling around, talking, sitting in groups on the grass in front of the building. She guessed that they came from the surrounding towns and villages because there was no way all of these people lived in Jackson's Hollow.

The community college itself was named after a local tree and definitely wasn't intimidating: Sugar Maple Community College. It sounded sort of delicious? But she hoped the mascot wasn't something like the Sugargliders. Though, actually, that'd be hilarious.

Jo joined the crowd moving into the auditorium, noting briefly the bear statue in front of the building. Ahh, probably the Grizzlies or something then. So did they, what, grrrr at games? Jo grinned. Hey, she was getting better at keeping herself entertained. Something to be said for this country life.

The auditorium was only about half full, with the crowd breaking into traditional stereotypical seating positions. There were a bunch of bored kids in the back, lounging in the seats without any backpacks or notebooks--probably kids who could care less about college but were forced to go for one reason or another by their parents. In the front were the academics and the must-be-seens, distinguished by their dress--sensible versus stylish. And in the middle were her people, the ones who just wanted to be lost in the crowd but cared enough to not sit all the way in the back.

Jo decided to sit toward the back end of the middle section, hoping that would protect her from getting-to-know-you small chat. She had never had much tolerance for "the weather is lovely" type of conversations. Much to her mom's eternal despair.

Several people filed to the side of her, but left a few seats between her and them. Perfect--a buffer. From Jo's observations, people avoided those awkward one to two seats between groups like they carried the plague. Fine with her. A few more people sat in front of her as well, but seemed absorbed in their conversation with each other. Perfect.

"Is he coming today?" A brunette in front of her asked a guy with wavy blond hair. "They've been keeping him busy this summer, haven't they?"

The guy shrugged. "Yeah, you know how it is. Something came up yesterday too that needed his attention. But he said he'd be here."