There was a kind of excitement in the air that Jonina wasn't feeling. Couldn't feel no matter how she tried. Happiness was a foreign feeling to her and even if it hit her in the face, she wouldn't know it. The kingdom of Mercia was abuzz with excitement. Why? The Crown Prince was coming home after being away for years and yes the citizens were very happy for the Royal family, which was why they had decorated everywhere in anticipation of his arrival. Eleven years ago, he'd been in a fatal accident that had left him paralyzed and the King had sent him away to get better treatment or maybe he hadn't wanted King Elroy of Havindelle to work his charm a second time thus ending the Prince's life for good but either way the announcement was that the Prince was coming home and that was that. 

The sun was blazing hot. It was so hot that you could feel your brain short circuiting in your head if you weren't wearing a hat and that was exactly how Jonina felt as she sat on the stool behind the rickety table that held her tray of oranges. Her stepmother didn't want her sitting alone doing nothing at home since she'd banned Joni from going to her store after a robbery incident that was no fault of hers so she'd gotten a space for Joni in the market to sell oranges which wasn't really a lucrative business but Celestina couldn't care less. She hadn't provided Joni with an umbrella to shade her from the sun and rain so sometimes she had to share a large umbrella with the woman next to her but as fate would have it, the woman fell ill and couldn't come to the market so Joni had to sit there in the sun with a thin scarf covering her head and praying for divine intervention. "God, I'm so thirsty." She muttered and swallo

A week laterSetting foot inside of Imperial Heights High school after a month of being away felt like a breath of fresh air. She was thankfully away from Celestina even if it was for a few hours and her step siblings treated her like an outcast in school so she was good to go. Joni stood by her locker and was about to open it after putting in her code when she heard loud noise coming from outside and she sighed knowing what that meant. The Sebastiani triplets had arrived and everyone was happy to see them. Prince Jaxon, Princess Andreina and their sister Princess Annaliese ruled IHHS along with their snotty royal friends like they owned it even if they actually did own the school. Joni breathed through her nose and opened her locker to dump her school bag inside knowing that the bell was going to ring soon for assembly but before she could get around to doing what she had in mind, her locker door

"Hitch a ride with me?". Leon asked Joni after the final bell rang for the day.   Joni was surprised but she didn't show it. "Um... what about your siblings?".   "They have their own ride." He said.   "Thank you for the offer but my route is a long way from yours. I have to go the market." She said.   "I don't mind." He shrugged.   "Actually... I do." She responded. "You're the Crown Prince and... I don't know you all that well to accept a ride from you."   "Are you saying I'm going to kidnap you?". He didn't sound amused.   "I didn't mean

"Hey loser." Something hit the back of Joni's head causing her to cry out and turn to glare at the culprit.  "What is wrong with you?!". She yelled at Raymond. "I have been calling you for ages." "A tap would have been nice." She retorted.  "Nah, that was more effective." He grinned wickedly. Joni rubbed the back of her head wincing as she felt it begin to throb. She glanced behind her and saw that he'd thrown a stone at her head and she was very tempted to retaliate but she held herself. "You could've killed me." She spat. "Do you expect me to apologize?". He arched a brow. "If you don't have anything worthwhile to do, why don't you take a swim in the Thames river?". She sneered and continued with her math homework. "I heard you're now buddies with the Crown Prince." Raymond began. "You