Talitha Cumni
March 06, 2007 2:10 AM
Homesickness by Talitha Cumni
"Love to everyone, Talitha..."There, the weekly letter home was done. It was full of news and not much else. Mother would read between the lines and know. She would send back all kinds of advice like, try to get to know people, have fun, things will get better as time goes on, be confident in yourself and all the other loving gobbledygook that parents write to homesick kids.
Talitha sighed. It was a lot easier to give advice than to act on it. Well, at least her letter sounded fairly positive. She told her Mother truthfully that classes were going well and she really did like all of her teachers. Especially Professors K and O'Leary. Talitha knew that her mother would be pleased to hear she was going to try joining Charms Club. Mother would be particularlly relieved to know that "It" hadn't happened, yet...
Talitha folded the letter and tucked it into her bag for mailing later. She opened a text book and pretended to study as she wondered what to do. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of auburn hair and sweeping black robes in the hallway. That would be Professor O'Leary.
It wasn't fair the way the other kids spoke unkindly about him. He did act scary and he was strict, but Talitha liked him anyway. He had what Nana would call "old soul" eyes. Talitha had a sneaking suspition that he was a lot like Uncle One Paw--all gruff on the outside and full of mush underneath.
It was almost time to eat. That made Talitha's stomach go into knots that had nothing to do with hunger. She would have to face that huge, loud crowd eating and laughing and talking all around her. The same old fear crept up and attached itself to her. What if "It" happened in front of everybody?
Maybe she should go to the hospital wing. Her nerves did nothing for her appetite and all her clothes told her she was loosing a lot of weight. It would be wonderful to not have a constant tummy ache. No, the healer would just advise her to relax and get a grip, like her family did just before she left.
Thinking about home and what everyone was doing at the commune made her loniness more acute. Frustrated, Talitha wiped a tear from her cheek that had the gall to escape and threw her long black braid back over her shoulder. She hadn't allowed herself to cry once since she'd gotten here and she wasn't about to start. She'd just study though dinner and then head for bath and bed. The first meeting of Charms Club was tommorow. Maybe, just maybe tomorrow would be better.\n\n
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