Huffily Puffily || Golden Trio

Diagon Alley || ii

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Friday crept toward Lucy slowly.

On Tuesday, she fidgeted all throughout dinner until Mrs. Cole swatted at her hand with a spoon. "The chefs did not cook you food just so you could pick at it," she snapped.

"Seems like there's nothing else to do with it," Lucy muttered, poking at the soggy vegetables in her soup.

"Fine! Go to bed and don't bother coming to supper until you intend to eat it."

Instead of hastily apologizing like the matron expected, Lucy beamed and jumped out of her chair. Mrs. Cole had the feeling she had just made a terrible decision as she stared at the girl's retreating back.

Lucy blatantly ignored a chance to annoy Jennifer on Wednesday, which was a shock to everyone. While everyone generally disliked Lucy, they could count on her to give a good show— but not today. It was especially surprising because Jennifer was acting worse than usual.

"How's it feel having no parents, Loony Lucy?" Jennifer sneered at her. Lucy hadn't attended breakfast, lunch, or supper, so Jennifer had to stalk through the halls to find her sitting near a window. "My mum's just in a hospital, and then I'm out of this place. What about you?"

"Yeah that's really interesting, Jacqueline," Lucy said absently, turning a page in her book.

Jennifer frowned. "It's Jennifer."

"Okay, Jessica."

"Are you an idiot?! It's Jen-ni-fer!"

Lucy sighed and snapped her book closed. "Just bugger off, Courtney! Honestly I'd rather listen to Mrs. Cole's movie star fantasies than you." A few traitorous friends of Jennifer snickered.

Jennifer's face turned a cherry red. She wasn't used to Lucy not retaliating, and her friends certainly had never laughed at her expense. "W-well, you're just jealous because you have no parents!"

This was the wrong thing to say in an orphanage. A few of Jennifer's friends narrowed their eyes at her, but she didn't notice.

"I like being an orphan," Lucy lied. "Who wants an annoying mum to send you to your room all the time and make you eat your vegetables? I get enough of that from Mrs. Cole!"

She would love to have an annoying mum. At this point she wouldn't care if it was the most wanted person in all of Britain, so long as she could leave Wool's Orphanage. But Jennifer bought her lie, and she stalked off to think of news ways to get under Lucy's skin.

"I bet she killed her own parents," she muttered to one of her friends as she walked away.

"Shut up about the parent stuff," the girl snapped back at her.

One of Jennifer's cronies lingered, debating whether or not he was going to speak. He did in the end. "You don't really like being an orphan, do you?" he asked. Lucy stared at him, and he blushed. "I-I won't tell Jennifer. Honestly, I won't."

"No," Lucy admitted. "But I am one, so what's the point of moping about it?"

"I thought you didn't have any idea who your parents were. How d'you know they're dead?"

"What's your name?" Lucy asked instead of answering.

He hesitated, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. "I'm Nathan. Everyone else here calls me Nate." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I hate it."