6

“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 his wet nose, and she scratched behind his ear.

“I wish it was just you and me boy. I hate it here.”

The threat of tears appeared again for the second time that day, but Mia refused to let them win. She knew the only thing she could do now was to concentrate on her college applications. She thought back to what Mrs Parkinson had said during their meeting and felt a stab in her chest. What if the old crone was right? If none of her college applications were accepted, she’d be stuck here with people that thought it was fun to throw her in a river.

Loading up her laptop, she decided to check some of the message boards of the colleges she’d applied to. She hadn’t bothered before. She honestly thought because not all of them were high ranking, her grades would be enough.

As she trawled through, her damp hair soaking into her sweater, her mood got lower and lower. Everything Mrs Parkinson said had been true. These days, she had to prove that she was not only academically capable, but that she also had a life outside school. That meant social clubs or part time work.

She rested her head on the desk, the weight of everything that had happened pushing her down. After a while, she took out her faithful diary and made an entry.

September 9^th

This place is even worse than I thought. I can’t believe I have to be here a whole year.

New plan to get out.

1. Find a group to join
2. Find part-time work
3. Spend as little time with new ‘family’
4. Get accepted by a college in Philadelphia
5. Get the hell out of here

While she’d been sitting at her desk, Hamlet’s black and white body had found it’s way onto her feet. He was snoring, and a soft smile spread over Mia’s lips. Sometimes she wondered if he was the only thing that ever made her smile anymore.

The next day Mia walked up to the school notice board to see what activities had been posted. There was the usual stuff like mathletes (but her mathematics wasn’t great), band (but she hated brass instruments) then a list of sports, including cheerleading. Due to total lack of coordination, that was all out too. Her eyes scanned down to a poster advertising the school paper. Her hand hovered over one of the tabs. Maybe that could work. She didn’t mind writing, and it wasn’t so ‘team’ oriented. She pulled off the tab with the info, and stored it in her jeans pocket.

“Hey freak, how long did it take to get dry?”

Mia wanted to bang her head on the notice board. Why?

Turning round with a withering look, she addressed the blonde jock. “What do you want?”

“You know, for someone who is meant to be working on their apology for me, you aren’t being very friendly.”

Rage bubbled under the surface of Mia’s skin. “Is your life this dull that you have to interfere with mine?”

A couple of students started looking over on their way past, no doubt hoping for another spectacle to watch.

Ryan shrugged. “Remember, you’re the one who started this. You can finish it…if you apologise.”

Mia brought herself up to her full height and inched towards to him.

Ryan was a little startled by her boldness. Her usually plump limps were set into a thin line, and the gold flecks in her eyes seemed to be on fire. There was something about her that made him want to continue to anger her, if only to see the light in her eyes so bright.

“I’ll apologise to you when hell freezes over.”

To her surprise, a soft smile spread over his lips, making that dimple appear once more. “I’ll see you around then. Freak.”

Throughout her next two classes, Mia struggled not to think about what had happened with Ryan. She had been bullied before, and had been able to ignore it every single time. But there was something about him. Something that got underneath her skin and refused to leave. She told herself over and over again to stop dwelling it, to concentrate on what the teacher was saying about calculus. But every time she got a grip, mere minutes would pass and she would find herself back thinking about the way he spoke to her. The way he looked at her. That expression that was mixed with both amusement and curiosity.

After school she decided to enact the next stage of her plan. Part-time work. Mia had sometimes had the odd job during the summer holidays, but nothing too permanent. As she came to the high-street, she was greeted by a typical small-town scene. It was all creams, whites and brick work with quaint signs suspended like flags swaying gently in the breeze. Mia knew it was a lot cleaner than Philadelphia, but she found herself missing the grime. This was a little too ‘nice’.

After approaching a couple of the independent cafés, it became apparent that none of those had any vacancies. Some of the other stores needed people, but they wanted full time hours. Nothing a girl in high-school could commit to. Mia was about to give up when she came across a hardware store. A poster had been taped to the inside of the window.

‘Saturday help wanted.’

Mia couldn’t believe her luck. Without even taking another moment to think, she pushed open the door. The tinkling of a bell greeted her as she entered the shop. It was a little darker in here then it had been on the street, mainly because the only natural light was coming from the front window, which was heavily populated by power tools and price tags. Shelving units went from floor to ceiling stocked with everything you’d expect from this type of shop, and doubt began to creep into Mia’s mind. She had no idea about any of this stuff…was this such a good idea?

“Hey, I’ll be with you in a second” A cheery voice sounded.

“Er yeah sure.”

Mia made her way through the maze of shelves and managed to find what looked like a register at the back of the shop. It was shabby, but tidy. All of a sudden, an athletic woman in her 40’s made her way out of the beaded curtain that kept the back room from view. Mia realised she looked familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why.

She looked at Mia in surprise. “Hello darlin’, I’ve not seen you before. How can I help you?”

Mia did her best to put a friendly smile on her face. It felt like a long time since she’d made the effort. “Er hi. Yeah, I’m Mia my Mom and I just moved here.”

“Well, a pleasure to meet you Mia, I’m Angela. I own this store. What can I get you?”

“Actually,” Mia moved from one foot to the other. “I wanted to ask about the poster in the window, the one asking for Saturday help?”

Angela raised her eyebrow. “Oh yes, looking for some work are you?”

“Yes, would I be able to apply?”

Angela gave her a smile. “Do you know much about the items I sell?”

Mia felt herself go red. “Well…no,” she answered truthfully. “But I am a quick learner. And I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.”

Angela nodded and gave her a small smile, the lines around her eyes creasing. “Very well. I’ll give you a trial shift this weekend. Let’s see how we get on from there.”

Mia beamed at her. “Thank you, Angela, I really appreciate that.”

She was about to turn and leave when a familiar voice caught her attention. “Hey Mom, what are we doing about food tonight?”

The blood drained from her face as she watched in horror as blonde jock emerged from the beaded curtain. No way.