Herondale High

Chapter 29- New Students

Josette P.O.V.

Two nights after my delivery to Jake, my fight with Magnus, and my moment with my brother I sat in the Emerald Dancer still confused by everything. I woke up this morning, not to one of my nightmares about the plane crash I didn't even see but an actual memory. I'm sitting at a cafe table waiting for my brother. I haven't seen him since I was three and he was only a year old. I know he won't remember me but even if I can't have a relationship with my parents I should get one with my brother and finally after months of negotiation my dads said I could meet with Jace. Apparently, they are here on vacation but I don't care I just want to see Jace. I see him walk up the epiphany of gold. He grew up so handsome. He sits down and I immediately start talking. "Jace I'm so happy you agreed to meet with me I've missed you. I know you probably don't remember me but that's okay there's plenty of time to get to know each other." I can feel my grin on my face.

Suddenly his face contorts and he looks at me with disgust. "Look I only agreed to meet with you to tell you I want nothing to do with a half breed like you so just leave me alone okay. Looking into the eyes of this 12-year-old boy that are filled with so much hatred, for me, something inside me breaks and I know I'll never be the same. But I refuse to let him or my parents know that they have broken me so I give the fiercest glare I can muster. I know it works because he flinches back as I stand up.

I don't know if it was the word half-breed that set me off but I hear myself say, "God you're just like them. I should've realized. Just forget it Jace I changed my mind I wish I never would've met you," before storming away.

I woke up in the same cold sweat as I usually did but with these very real memories in my mind and a ringing phone that turned out to be Jake accepting my invitation to hang with our old group. I was in a pretty shitty mood so I told him I was busy. My day just got worse from there because I was late to class but I convinced the teacher not to send me to lockout. Then Magnus kept trying to talk to me and stared at me the whole class which I just wasn't in the mood for. Then at lunch, some whore came over to Jace and said MY friends were worthless so I went off on her. After that, I panicked a bit wondering when I began considering Jace's friends as my friends so I called Jake back and told him my schedule just cleared. Finally, in French class, Jace got all pissed off at Clary and decided to talk to me like we were friends. I wanted to believe him but all I could hear in my head was him saying he wanted me gone and him calling me a half-breed he wanted nothing to do with so I told him not to act like we're friends because he made it clear he doesn't want to be friends. My first spout of luck that day was that the bell rang after I said that and I about sprinted out of there. Jace tried to follow but I managed to escape.

I hurried up and got ready before heading to the Emerald Dancer. So here I am sitting with Zach, Jake, and Eddie at a casino table. "Okay if nobody is going to say anything about it I will." I start. "I thought this was a strip club since when the hell is it a casino?"

Jake asks why I would think it was a strip club at the same time Eddie grins and responds, "Oh the Emerald Dancer is many things just like its namesake. Sometimes it's a strip club, sometimes a casino, sometimes a regular club. Whatever I like really."

"Right, and you have a license for all those?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, of course, criminal activity is a lot harder here in America Jo-Jo." I laugh as much as the old nickname he hasn't called me in years as the way it sounds with his mixed French and American accent. He has the dealer deal us texas hold 'em. I prefer blackjack but I usually win most poker games so this is really just time for us to talk.

Zach takes advantage of this in-between bets and raises saying, "So my aunt is in rehab." My gaze immediately snaps over to him. I knew he had filled Eddie and Jake in on what happened but I didn't know about his aunt.

"Wait if she's in rehab how is she going to take the pills" Jake just grins at me.

"Well, I took a page out of my old friend Josette Herondale's book and acted like she needed the pills to live which wasn't far off the truth I guess."

"Well, that's good right?" He makes a face at my question.

"It is it's just, I've been taking care of her for four months so I haven't been going to school and I don't know any school that would admit this late so I'll have to wait another semester which means I'll be bored for a few more months." He right most school won't admit at the beginning of November.

I want to make him laugh so I joke about how Herondale would admit anyone I told them even Jake. They both laugh and I thought that was the end until I was called to admittance the next afternoon because they put me down with the words "Very Important Recommendation" down. They asked if they should admit them and I thought back to all the fun we had in Paris so before I could stop myself I said yes forgetting all the bad things we had also done together. Come Wednesday morning I was meeting them at the front doors to give them a tour of the school because apparently a few weeks here and you're experienced enough to be a student guide.

The day was probably one of the best I had had all year. My favorite part was French class. As always, I sat in the back but after Monday, Jace, Izzy, and Clary had decided they had to sit in front of me I was dreading this today because I had managed not to see Jace at lunch having been showing Jake and Zach around. Turns out I didn't have to worry about it because Jake and Zach sat on either side of me and talked the whole time. First about how there were so many underclassmen to which I told him this was French one. Then they asked why we were in French one to which I responded that they couldn't find a French two and three teacher. They asked why this teacher couldn't teach those classes and I told them she barely understood French one. This made them both laugh and the teacher give us an odd look. The look was probably because I usually sleep through this class but I had to admit it was fun to have our dysfunctional trio back together again. The fact that it bothered Jace and especially Magnus to no end was just an added bonus. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.