Riverview School For Girls [GxG]

seventeen

When History finished, Sydney, Dahlia, and Val, all splintered off to attend their respective classes, leaving Willow and Jordan to linger in the corridor, eyes not quite meeting.

"I suppose you'll be heading to the library?" Jordan asked.

Willow shrugged, "That is where I usually spend free periods, yeah."

"Well, then," Jordan smiled, "I'll see you later—"

"Unless you had a better idea." Willow cut her off, her cheeks flushing red, "I mean...if you..." She cleared her throat awkwardly, "We can hang out instead, if you want?"

Jordan's smile twisted into a grin, "You better keep your voice down. If Burke hears you being nice to me, she might throw you in detention too."

"I'm really sorry about that." Willow sighed, "She took it too far—"

"I was asking for it." Jordan shrugged it off, "It's no one's fault but my own."

"Still..."

"I had Dr Lloyd." Jordan flung an arm around Willow's shoulder, guiding her down the corridor, "He came to my rescue."

"Yeah." Willow breathed out, "I've never seen him talk to another teacher like that."

Jordan laughed, "God, I'd love to see the conversations that go down in the staff room."

"I don't reckon Miss Burke leaves her office much." Willow mused, "Probably likes to stay away from all the teachers threatening the school values." She rolled her eyes.

Jordan stopped walking abruptly, lingering in front of a crooked picture frame holding an old photograph Willow had spent years staring at. "Hey, wait a minute." She cocked her head to the side curiously.

"What is it?" Willow paused beside her.

"This is the photo you're always looking at, isn't it?"

Willow shrugged, "No." Her eyes instinctively flicked to the girl in the corner, "Only sometimes."

Jordan caught her gaze, "Who is she?"

"My grandma."

Jordan nodded in acknowledgment, "Which one?"

"Just here." Willow pointed to the curly haired girl, her fingertips lingering over her bright face.

"Are you two close?"

"We were." Willow smiled fondly. "I spent a lot of time with her as a kid. My parents worked a lot, so she was always the one to pick me up from school, and make me dinner, and read to me before bed."

Jordan smiled, her eyes tracing the faded faces, "She looks like you."

Willow chuckled, "Barely."

"Did your Mum come here too?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "I suppose my daughter will too, if I ever have one."

"C'mon, I wanna show you something." Jordan grabbed Willow's sleeve, pulling her down the next corridor, passing endless rows of school photographs, some from the last century, and some from recent years. Jordan stopped in front of one labelled 1986, and pointed to a girl in the middle, smiling proudly at the camera, "That's my Mum."

Willow had walked passed this photograph everyday for years, dreaming about ghosts, and the forgotten faces of past students. There really was a ghost in this corridor, and it was Jordan's Mother. "She was pretty."

"She was Head Girl." Jordan told her, "Hard to imagine, right?"

Willow couldn't help but laugh, "And here you are, tarnishing her legacy." She joked.