Mia tapped her foot against the thin carpet, noticing how plumes of dust emitted everytime. Gross. The woman sitting opposite her was still reading the print outs Mia had handed her. She scrutinized them through thick-rimmed glasses that made her look more like a mole than a woman. The floral pattern of her blouse was giving Mia a headache, but she couldn’t leave yet.
Finally, the woman who’d introduced herself as ‘Mrs Parkinson’, looked up and gave Mia a faint smile. “Well Miss Fernwood. You appear to have good grades in all your subjects, although you should work on mathematics to level it up more.”
Mia nodded. She’d expected that anyway.
“However, I am concerned that aside from your academic accomplishments, your extra-curricular activities are rather lacking. Remember you should be writing about those too.”
Mia frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, colleges want to see well-rounded applications. Students who demonstrate more than academic value. Your application should also mention your interests outside your studies, such as sports or after school clubs you attend. Even part-time work can support your application.”
“But…why do I need any of that? It’s not like I’m applying to Ivy League.”
Mrs Parkinson removed her glasses and placed them on the desk. Mia could feel a lecture coming on.
“Miss Fernwood. Many more young American’s are applying for university and college these days. Even if you’re not applying to an Ivy League, you’re still competing with thousands of other applicants. You have to make sure you stand out.”
She regarded Mia for a moment, as the young girl shifted backwards and forwards in her seat, avoiding her gaze. “You must have something to add to these applications? I know this is a new school for you, but you must have attended clubs in your previous one? Or part time work?”
Mia shook her head. Outside of school Mia did nothing. She had never had any interest in taking part in anything that was voluntary.
“No. I didn’t.”
Mrs Parkison furrowed her brow and leaned back in her chair. “I see. Well, I suggest you start by joining something soon. Otherwise, you may find that you haven’t been accepted by any one of these institutions.”
Mia rose out of her seat and slung the back pack over her shoulder. There was a tightness forming in her throat that felt an awful lot like the beginning of tears, and she didn’t want to that in front of this woman. “I’ll sort it.” She said stiffly, before placing her hand on the cold metal handle of the door.
“Oh, and Miss Fernwood, I’ve noticed that all your applications are to colleges in Philadelphia. Have you considered thinking about some other locations?”
Mia shot her a cool look. “No.” Then she left the room.
The thought of having to do anything involving other people here made her feel sick. The whole plan was based on retreating to her bedroom as much as possible, not engaging with after school clubs. What did this woman know anyway? Really? She was working in a backwards high school. Mia was sure she wasn’t the best at what she did.
Mia felt so angry that she didn’t even pay attention on where she was walking. This was a mistake, as she knocked straight into a wall of muscle.
“What the hell freak?!”
Mia screwed her eyes up. Not now.
The blonde jock was standing in front of her. Although this time he was alone. Maybe his cronies had been allowed a break from two stepping behind him. Mia noted with annoyance how good looking the meathead really was. Not that he was her type. But she could see why his angular jaw and ocean deep eyes were attractive to most girls. He was wearing the same football jacket as yesterday.
She stepped back a bit, trying to regain composure. A mumbled apology left her lips before she tried to side step him, but he blocked her way.
“What do you want?” She spat. She was in no mood for this mindless jerk.
The jock tutted. “Now now. There’s no need to be snappy. You’re the one who knocked into me. I bet you did it on purpose…” There was a glint of mischief in his eyes.
“Hah. Sure, whatever. Now let me pass.”
She tried to move the other way, but he blocked her again.
“I want an apology for yesterday first.”
Mia couldn’t help but let her mouth hang open. “What are you talking about it? Why would I need to apologise to you?”
A smirk crossed his face, causing a dimple she hadn’t noticed before to appear on his left cheek.
“For the dirty look you decided to throw me for no reason. I figure seeing as you now live with my girlfriend, you should apologise. Then we can move on.”
The audacity of his statement made Mia smirk right back at him, as well as crossing her arms in front of her. “Yeah? And what about your apology to me? For throwing my stuff everywhere?”
The jock scoffed. “You started it. You’re the one who needs to apologise.” He leant closer to her, his musky scent filling her nose. “If you hadn’t guessed, I’m kind of a big deal around here. It wouldn’t be smart to make an enemy of me.”
Without thinking, Mia’s index finger was jabbing into his chest. She tried to ignore how solid it felt under her touch. “I know exactly the kind of person you are. And I couldn’t care less. You can shove your apology.”
The look in his eyes was hard to discern. They were clouded with anger, but also something else. Mia suspected he was merely surprised that a girl half his size had stood up to him.
“Yeah? And how the hell are you meant to know who I am?”
Mia’s lip curled. “I know you’re a mindless jock who only probably has the total of three brain cells. One for sport, one for vanity and one for being a dick.”
She hadn’t intended the words to come out so venomous, but she was still worked up from her encounter with Mrs Parkinson. If he hadn’t caught up with her right in that moment, she may have reacted in a different way. She may have even apologised just to get him to go away.
There was a pause as they both glared at each other, neither one backing down. “You better watch your back, freak,” he uttered, his threat delivered with sincerity.
Mia laughed and began to walk away. “My life already sucks, so do your worst!”
Just then, a screech from behind her caught her attention. “Get away from my boyfriend whore!”
Mia turned to see Savannah storming towards them. Great.
Mia crossed her arms in front of her and waited for the irate cheerleader to get closer.
“Tell your boyfriend to stay away from me,” Mia hissed. “He’s the one not letting me by.”
Savannah’s eyes darted to the jock.
“She bumped into ME!” The jock retorted.
Savannah fixed her gaze back on Mia. “You’re pathetic. I bet you did it on purpose just so you could touch him.” The girl got closer, glaring at the girl dressed in black. “Dream on bitch. He’s never going to be interested in an ugly whore like you.” Without warning, she gave Mia a sharp shove, causing her to stumbble backwards.
Mia scoffed and retreated. “You’re both as delusional as each other.”
Savannah watched her new step-sister leave before pulling her boyfriend away. His eyes were lingering on Mia a little longer than she would have liked.
The diner was all mustard yellow walls and red shabby booths. A couple of women with pony tails and petticoat aprons walked around taking orders and pouring out coffee from a glass jug with a plastic top. It was a pretty standard American diner.“How did the meeting with the college application person go today?”Mia’s mom had insisted on picking her up after school that day and taking her for ice cream. It had been something they’d done back in Philly. Mia could tell her mom was trying to mimic some of those memories. But how could it ever be the same?“Bad.”She’d responded without even thinking, and now she wanted to punch herself in the face. She should have lied and said it went fine, because any other response would insight the upcoming barrage of questions.Carla left the long silver spoon suspended in her strawberry split, and looked at her daughter with concern. Mia hated that look.“Wh
When they pulled up to their destination, it soon became clear why the kids that hung out here might not want their parents to know. This was the spot for the ‘cool kids’. A few cars and trucks were parked up already, and down by the water a handful of teenagers were sitting on battered deck chairs, cheap brown bottles and cigarettes swinging from their fingers. A few girls were perched on the edges of boys laps, throwing their heads back in an exaggerated motion as if the boy had said the funniest thing ever.Mia realised that without the invasion of high-schoolers, the place was actually beautiful. Clear water babbled over the rocks of the river bed, bordered by foliage and trees on either side. Hamlet would love it here. She decided she would have to find somewhere similar that hadn’t been taken over by jocks and cheerleaders.She reluctantly followed Ryan and Savannah to where the group were sitting, making sure to keep her head held high.
“What on earth happened to you?!”Mia’s mom rushed towards her daughter as she entered the house. Mia was now shivering from having to sit in the back of Tyler’s open backed truck. It had been yet another humiliating instalment in the evening’s events.“Fell into a pound,” Mia muttered. Savannah had already told Mia to lie, and Mia was happy to oblige. She couldn’t cope with the fuss her mom might make if she knew the truth. She also wanted to stop being the object of Ryan’s torment. If she ratted out Savannah, he might up the ante.“Oh dear. You always were a bit clumsy.”Mia gritted her teeth so hard she thought they might crack. “I’m going to have a shower and go to bed.”After she was washed and in fresh clothes Mia sat down on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. Why her? Why was it that nothing ever went her way? She felt Hamlet nudge her arm with h
It took a second for him to register her presence, but when he did, he almost tripped over himself. “Hello F…Mia.”Mia resisted to urge the scowl at him in front of now what appeared to be his mother. Out of all the places she could have looked for work in…“You kids know each other?”Ryan seemed to recover from his small shock, because he managed to smile at Mia in that way of his. Now she knew why Angela had seemed familiar. They looked very alike.“Yeah, Mia is the girl whose Mom married Bob Miller.”Angela looked at her perspective employee with renewed interest. “Oh right! I should have known when you said you were new in town.”Mia did her best to smile back, but the rising panic she was feeling turned it into more of a grimace.“So, what did you come in for Mia?” Ryan’s voice was layered with false geniality.“Mia came into ask about th
When it got to lunch time, Mia took what was now becoming her usual seat right at the back of the hall. It seemed that most of the kids who didn’t have anyone to sit with chose these tables. Unlike the rest of her peers though, Mia was happy with this.She was so engrossed in her book, half a cheese sandwich held aloft, she didn’t hear her voice the first time.“Mia?”Tilly was standing in front of her, a crowded lunch tray within her grasp.“Oh sorry, I didn’t hear you. Are you okay?”Tilly flushed a little. “Er yeah, I just wanted to know if it was okay for me to sit with you.”“Sure, go ahead.” Mia tried to disguise the surprise in her voice.Tilly sat down, slinging off her backpack to the floor. “Thanks. I just wanted to check you were alright. After the run in with Brook.”“Yeah, I’m fine. That was weird though.”Tilly t
“Okay so today I’ll just ask you to put out some new stock and package some stuff up for me. I’ll teach you how to use the register next weekend if you pass the trial today.”Mia nodded her head and wrung out her sweaty hands on her jeans. She hadn’t felt this nervous about something in a long time. But she had no choice, she had to see it through. Part of her also wanted to show Ryan that she was going to do whatever she wanted too.“Okay yeah, that sounds great. What would you like me to do first?”Angela tapped the boxes that were stacked on the counter. “So, these are washers.”Mia bit her lip. She had no idea what washers were.Guessing her thoughts, Angela chuckled. “They are small metal discs that go in between nuts and bolts in order to keep the fixture secure.”“Oh…okay.”“It’s alright. You’ll soon pick everything up.
Mia was shocked when Angela told her she’d passed her trial shift. She’d done okay, but she was sure someone else would have been able to do better. It was great of course, but now it definitely meant that she would probably be bumping into Ryan more than expected.When she got home, she decided to enter the house as quietly as she could. She was tired and couldn’t be bothered to go through all the questions her mom would have.Just as she was about to go upstairs, she heard Bob say her name. She wondered if he’d heard her come in, but as she got closer, she realised he was actually talking about her. Not to her.“Is she even trying? It seems like she’s not trying?” His voice echoed against the metal framed cabinets of the kitchen.“I don’t know…she’s never been right since…well. You know.”Mia’s heart faltered. Couldn’t her mom even say his name? Couldn&rsq
After the telling off of Mia’s entire life, her and Ryan were ordered to stay behind after school for detention. She’d tried to argue that it was all his fault, but the principal said that her reaction had still been ‘disproportionate’. Mia would have argued further if it hadn’t been for the fact the principal threatened her with putting it on her permeant record. That wouldn’t help her college applications. So here they were. Just the two of them in front of some crusty old teacher who clearly didn’t have a life to go home to at the end of the day. Mia had already taken out her homework and had started filling it in. Although it was hard to concentrate when the person who was ruining her life was sitting right next to her. She was so uncontrollably angry with him, that she still hadn’t stopped shaking. The sudden sound of snoring filled her ears, and she jerked her head upwards to find that the teacher who was meant to be watching them, had fallen as