Lost Girl Ch. 01

"He almost is," Winona said with a smile. "Give him another year and he'll officially be an adult."

Claudia, who was standing just inside the threshold of her mother's room, found herself thoroughly curious to put a face with the deep voice, and anxiously waited for this faceless individual to drift into her line of sight.

Several seconds passed and then nearly a minute, before the clomp clomp of boots resonated off the walls of the narrow hallway. Then, with a palpable hesitancy that Claudia immediately picked up on, a lanky figure came to a stop just outside of the threshold.

"Come closer, Tristan. They won't bite," Winona said before adding, "You remember Mona, don't you?"

"Yes." He crossed the threshold while offering a nod of acknowledgment. "Nice to see you again."

"It's great to see you, too," Mona said. "You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you."

"Yep." He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his well worn jeans before awkwardly shifting his weight.

"And this is her daughter, Claudia." With a nod of her head, Winona encouraged Tristan to look her way. "You probably don't remember, but you two met as toddlers."

As Tristan looked at Claudia, she looked right back at him, and for the first time since he'd entered the room, she got a good, hard look at his face.

"Hello," he flatly said.

"Hi." Her lips curled into a faint, yet friendly smile.

In the silence that followed, Claudia found herself checking out not only his deep brown eyes, but also his lashes, which were thicker and longer than any other man she'd ever seen. The next thing that stood out to her was his hair.

Worn in a punky hairstyle that was short around the sides and left long enough on top to flop over his forehead, he had the type of haircut that drew attention to his square face and strong jawline. His lightly tan skin was a color that was an identical match to his mother's, and his chocolate brown eyes possessed an inner calmness and depth that suggested he was an old soul.

"Don't look so glum, Tristan," Winona said before speaking a few words in Blackfeet. "Ii kii tam mi ksis tsi ko."

Broken from their steady gaze, both Tristan and Claudia diverted their attention to Winona, who stood beside Mona with a pleasant smile on her face.

"A happy day for you, maybe," Tristan moodily replied. "I have nothing to celebrate."

"Please, Tristan. I know you're disappointed about earlier today, but now isn't the time for you to lash out at me, alright?"

"I'm not lashing out at you," he said. "But I can't stand here and pretend to be happy when I'm really pissed off."

"You think that's what I'm asking you to do?" A brief pause followed her question before she fired off a string of words that were laced with sternness. "An nat, Tristan, before I tell your father you were acting rude."

At the sound of these words, Tristan's mouth drew into a thin, straight line. A tenseness came into his body as he stared at his mother, and for a moment it seemed as if he was going to offer a rebuttal. But as suddenly as discontentment had set in, Tristan grudgingly turned on his heel and with a barely audible, "whatever," walked out of the room and headed back to the front of the house.

"Sorry about that." The expression on Winona's face more than hinted at her embarrassment. "His father took his car keys away this morning, and ever since then he's been in a really sour mood."

"No problem," Mona said. "I've got a teenager of my own, remember?"

The two women shared a smile, then headed out of the bedroom and down the hallway with Claudia trailing behind.

"I had Tristan pick up a few groceries to tide you over for a few days, "Winona said as they reached the living room. "If you need anything extra, there's a convenience store five minutes from here, but the nearest supermarket is twenty minutes away."

"We brought plenty of food along with us, so we should be good until the end of the week," Mona said.

"What about places to hang out?" Claudia asked. "Are there any movie theatres or fast food restaurants nearby?"

"I'm afraid I don't know much about hang out spots, but aside from the Qwik Stop out on Highway 2, there really isn't a whole lot out here on the reservation. In order to find restaurants and movie theatres, you'll have to drive into town."

"You can always catch a ride with me," Mona said before adding, "If you're not too embarrassed to be seen with your old mom."

"Yeah, maybe." Claudia managed a weak smile before casting a glance through the living room window, which looked out on a gray sky that was packed with billowing clouds.

"Well, you two make yourself at home, okay?" Winona said. "And if you need anything at all, you know where to find me."

"Thanks again for letting us stay here, Winona," Mona said as she walked her friend to the front door. "Ever since Claudia's father passed away, things have been pretty rough for us, so we really needed this fresh start."

"No need to thank me, that's what friends are for." As they stepped out onto the porch, Winona turned to face Mona and gave her a big hug before adding, "I really am sorry about Reuben. You ever need to talk, I'm always here for you."

Mona nodded and gave her a faint smile.

"It was great to see you again, Claudia, and I hope you'll enjoy your stay here in Three Rivers."

"Thanks." As Winona pulled her into her a hug, she warmly returned it.

"I'll give you a call later this evening so we can catch up, Mona," Winona said before turning and making her way down the creaky porch steps.

Tristan, who was leaning against a gray Toyota that was parked in the yard, had been watching the three women with a faint scowl on his face. This didn't seem to deter Mona in the slightest, however, because she offered a wave, followed by some friendly words in parting.

"Nice seeing you again, Tristan."

He offered what could barely be considered a wave in return, then got into the car and slammed it shut behind him.

"Friendly guy," Claudia said as she stared at Tristan from her spot on the porch.

"He's a good kid. Just needs a bit of coaxing to get him out of that shell."

"I think he needs more than coaxing."

As Winona honked the horn, both Claudia and Mona waved goodbye, then watched as she pulled out of the yard and took off down the street.

"Looks like it's just me and you, kiddo." A soft smile crossed Mona's face, and with optimism in her voice, she added, "This'll be good for us, Claud. You'll see."

"Will it?" Uncertainty laced her voice, and with eyes full of unconcealed sadness, she opened the screen door and disappeared into the house.

* * * *

"Have a good day, sugarplum," Mona said as she put the car in park and waited for Claudia to gather her bookbag.

"I'll try." The nervousness in her voice was more than enough for her mother to pick up on.

"It'll be fine, you'll see." A warm smile tugged at her lips. "Just remember, they're only staring because they're curious."

"Of course they're curious. I'm probably the first black person they've seen in a long time."

"Think of it this way," Mona said while primping her hair in the rearview mirror. "Would you rather be stared at or completely ignored?"

"I'm not like you, mom," Claudia said. "Maybe you forgot, but I'm the one who has to begin her senior year in a brand new high school that's in an unfamiliar town."

"I thought you hated your old high school. You said yourself that it was full of fake people and you were counting the days until the end of the semester."

"I did hate it and I definitely couldn't wait to get out of Fenway High, but I wasn't expecting to spend my senior year at Browning High School."

"You don't know anything about this school. At least give it a chance before you decide you hate it."

"Why couldn't we have gone to New York?" She asked. "I've always wanted to live there."

"We're broke, Claud. Your father left us with debts that will take years to pay off."

"What if I got a job to help you pay them off? Then could we move to New York?"

"No," Mona said. "Now get your butt out of this car and into that school. Study hard so you can get a good scholarship."

Clearly filled with hesitation, Claudia gazed out of the window at the students who were milling around the entrance to the high school.

"Go on, get out of here." With a gesture of her head, Mona encouraged her to exit the station wagon. "Show them what you're made of, kiddo."

Doing her best to fight the growing nervousness in her stomach, Claudia got out of the car, looped the strap of her messenger bag onto her shoulder, and mumbled a goodbye to her mother.

She walked slowly so she could study the schedule of classes that was in her hand, and mentally began rattling them off as she approached the steps that led into the school.

AP World History, Biology, AP English Literature, Government, AP Calculus...her eyes drifted lower until they came to land on her electives, which consisted of a fine arts class and a forensic science course. Aside from the fact that there were more AP classes than she had expected, her schedule seemed pretty doable.

But she didn't have long to focus her attention on the slip of paper, because the toes of her shoes bumped against the flight of steps leading up to the double doors of the high school.

A light curse passed her lips as she tripped, but before she could fall she righted herself and continued on her way. As she was climbing the stairs, her eyes scanned the sea of students for Tristan, but as far as she could see, he wasn't anywhere in sight.

Perhaps it was just as well, because he hadn't been very friendly to her on their first meeting, so attempting to initiate a conversation with him would most likely be painfully awkward.

*A familiar face would still be nice*, she thought while continuing up the steps, and that was when she heard a deep, male voice call out from somewhere in the crowd.

"Hey, lost girl."

Turning her head in the direction of the voice, she noticed a group of boys who were decked out in baggy jeans and oversized T-shirts, but on noting that they were all huddled in a circle and talking excitedly to one another, she realized that the voice had come from somewhere else.

"Over here, lost girl," the voice called out once again.

Now certain that this unknown person was indeed calling out to *her*, she averted her attention to the metal railing of the stairs. And that was when her eyes came to land on *him*.

It's that Chevy truck guy. The one that was following me in the parking lot of the Qwik Stop.

These were the first words that passed through her mind, and recalling that his hair was no longer in a low ponytail, but in two long, narrow braids that reached his hipbone, she found herself drawn toward him like a fish on a hook.

"Hey, what's up?" He gave her a wide smile as she reached the metal railing that he was casually leaning against.

She returned his smile and with a question mark in her eyes, she asked, "Lost girl?"

"You looked like you were lost that day I met you, so I figured it was a good nickname."

"Fair enough."

Unable to keep from staring, she indulged herself in the sight of his gorgeous face, which had a nose that was high and bridged and cheekbones so sharp they could have cut glass. The pair of jeans, T-shirt, and flannel hooded jacket that covered his six foot two inch frame couldn't have been more casual, and yet he wore it in such a way that made it impossible for her not to stare at him.

She was careful not to focus too hard or long on him though, because standing directly next to him was a pretty Native girl that Claudia recognized from the day she'd first seen him. Shooting Claudia an expression that clearly conveyed jealousy, the girl that stood beside him gave her a look that was unapologetically cold.

In return, Claudia gave her a smile, which she hoped would be perceived as a message that she wanted nothing more than to be friendly. Judging from the scowl that curled the other woman's lips, however, Claudia's attempt at camaraderie had been swiftly rejected. As if suddenly remembering the handsome, broad shouldered man that stood before her, Claudia allowed her eyes to drift back to him.

"I go by Claudia, not lost girl," she softly said while locking her eyes into his deep brown ones.

"You answered to lost girl, though." His grin stretched so wide, it nearly split his face.

"You're right, I did," she said.

For a moment she considered confessing that her nickname for *him* was 'Chevy truck guy', but she was worried that it might come across as silly, so she decided instead to just keep it to herself.

"So you really do live on the rez," he said.

"Actually, I live in Three Rivers."

"Same difference," he replied. "Still Blackfoot territory."

As he studied her, she studied him, allowing her eyes to drift along his smooth face, which was darkly tan with ruddy undertones. It wasn't that she was *trying* to gaze so intensely at him, because she was trying very hard not to. But it was sort of difficult to look away when the man standing right in front of her was not only ridiculously attractive, but eyeballing her with what seemed to be a fair amount of interest.

"Ai tso po kii ai sto yi," said the girl who was standing at Lucas's side, and looping her arm through his, she added, "Take me inside and warm me up."

Claudia didn't have a clue as to what the first part of the girl's statement had meant, but it was obvious by the latter part of her sentence that she and Lucas weren't just friends, but most likely lovers.

"Yeah, all right. Just give me a minute." Lucas responded before directing his gaze to the crowd of students that were continuously pouring in from the parking lot. "Just waiting for Kitchi to arrive so I can get that money he owes me."

Now gazing back at Claudia, the Native girl looked her up and down, as if sizing her up. Yet instead of continuing to give her the evil eye, she instead allowed a faint smile to cross her lips.

"The 90's are over. You know that, right?"

"What?" A bit surprised to hear her finally speak, Claudia waited for her to elaborate.

"Those clothes you're wearing. Nobody dresses like that anymore."

Mortified, Claudia looked down at the outfit she had picked out, which consisted of a velvet babydoll dress, black tights, and a pair of thrifted Doc Martens. Her cheeks grew warm as she realized that several other students who were standing close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation were smirking and whispering to each other, but instead of allowing embarrassment to get the best of her, she decided instead to just brush off the insult and pretend nonchalance.

"Come on, Misty. That's not right." The smile on Lucas's face, however, belied the words that he spoke. "She's new. Be nice."

"I'm doing her a favor," Misty said. "She'll get torn apart in this school if she keeps dressing like that."

"She doesn't look so bad." His eyes drifted to the hem of her dress, unabashedly focusing on her thighs before coming to rest on her face. "Actually, I think she looks pretty cute."

A snort preceded Misty's sarcastic reply of, "*Right*." Then with an air of unfriendliness that surrounded Claudia like a cloak, she brushed right past her and made her way through the double doors of the high school.

Still wearing his trademark wide grin, Lucas said, "Welcome to the rez, lost girl." He then turned to follow Misty inside.

With eyes on his retreating form, Claudia was left to stand there all alone. She took a moment to glance around her at the multitude of students that were trudging up the stairs and past the entrance that led into the building. Then with schedule in hand, she disappeared through the double doors and into the halls of Browning High School.