The next day:I woke up in my bed, and Leona wasn't there. I wondered if she was still around, but I did sleep quite a bit.It doesn't matter; the sleep cleared my mind a lot. I am still sad and hurt, but I can get by.After changing my clothes, my stomach started to growl; well, it ain't that great; I need to make some food for myself. I still have school, but I have a bit of time before csses start.I opened my door only for the smell of boiled potatoes and meat to invade my nostrils; it smelled pleasant and seasoned. What did actually happen?Descending the stairs, I can see Leona sitting at the main table, seemingly waiting for me."Good morning, Hikari. Come on, eat, all for you" – Leona seated me next to her; she wasn't pushy and gently guided me to the chair."Why are you still here?" - I looked down at the food on the table; it looked delicious: mashed potatoes with meat. It's not something I ate, but it's worth a try."Well, I fell asleep after holding you for a while, I woke up a few hours before you and gone home and got something to make you some breakfast. Plus, I live just next door.""Next door?" - I don't know how to react to this one."Yea. I can come to check up on you any time" – Her voice is smug and caring at the same time, or maybe her accent makes her sound smug."Well, thank you, but why did you help me there? Do you have a reason?" - I know people don't help you without a good reason. There must be something that she wants or needs."A reason? I don't really have a good reason to help you aside that I want to help you, or maybe because I hate seeing people that are hurt or in pain, at least the people that don't deserve it" – She looked away from me for a second and then looked back."You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but, why don't you think of me the way they do?" - I stopped eating and looked at her."Well, same thing did happen to me in my country, my parents sent me here alone to study, they didn't want to do anything with me. They found out I didn't like guys a few months ago; they asked so I told them, best decision they could do, I won't miss those troglodytes" – Wait, Leona, she had been through the same stuff I had been through?"You too?" was all I had said before starting to eat again; I was hungry enough to ignore my feelings and eat."Guess the same happened to you, but do you still have any lingering attachment to them? I say that you give up on hoping that they will ever accept you; I have seen this scenario repeatedly. Try to get on your own two feet as soon as you are an adult" – This is sound advice, but something stops me from severing all the bonds with my family."It's easier said than done, Leona. Were you able to do that?" - I asked while chewing my food. It looked disrespectful, but I wanted to know if she could live up to her words."Yeah, sure. My dad was the worst, a scammer and hypocrite, he tried to kill me and my mom quite a few times until now, the st time he tried he burned our house down, now my mom is with some rich dude, but they don't accept me for who I am, so they sent me here, can't say I feel bad, I dodged a bullet" – She said all of this, with so much ease, like it was nothing."How can you say this with so much ease?" - My reply stopped her from saying anything else for a few minutes."Look, I don't need to bawl my eyes out just because I have been through some bad stuff; that doesn't get me far. In my life, up until a few years ago, freezing or doing anything of the sort would end up in me dying. There was no time for me to do that; bottling up my emotions isn't good either, but I am not used to crying that much" – She looked me dead in the eyes and didn't flinch, her words firm and quiet.I returned to eating the food she had prepared for me; asking her more wouldn't be helpful.I got ready for school and biked there with Leona, but on the road, I got the dread of going there, the rumours she spread about me, how I would get called, and the fact that I was sitting alone."Hey, wanna race to school?" - Leona is biking slowly alongside me."I don't know, I don't want to get in trouble.""It's gonna be fun, trust me" – I need something to get my mind off this; maybe I should take her on the offer."Sure, why not!" - Smiling. I started to bike as fast as possible while avoiding obstacles. There weren't many, but I was getting a reasonable speed. Leona was always catching up to me, and somehow, she was pedalling even faster than me.My legs couldn't keep up with her, but I tried my best. In the end, I couldn't catch up with her. I was close but still far away from her; we both stopped when we were close to school and stopped to rest."Good job, you did good"- Leona looked tired, breathing faster than usual."You, think. So?" - I am out of breath from all that fast pedalling. I never was the type to enjoy sports that much."Yea, you gave it your all and that is what that counts."My legs feel like jelly; I don't know if I can walk for a while.But we still have to get to css even if we don't want it.

  My legs feel like noodles right now, but I have no choice but to rest for a bit before going to school, it was fun biking and not caring for once.

  It seems like things look a lot better now.