Some Thorns, Some Roses

XXVII | How Much I Love You

I was anxiously waiting for her to say something because I knew it wasn't going to be good. I hadn't done anything I was supposed to do and now I had to face the consequences of it. 

"What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked me with raised eyebrows. 

I sighed and answered, "Everything I would say would be an excuse." 

She continued to look at me and wait for an answer. "I'll be the judge of that. Speak now." 

"My biological mother died and then I got sick for a couple of weeks. It was bad, I thought I was going to die and my brothers left school because of it. I had to stay at a long-term care facility because I really thought it was it for me. Now that I am back, I still can't go home because the kind of therapy I need involves me having to stay at another facility." I explained to her, not even stopping to breathe. "It's an excuse really." 

Her annoyance quickly turned into understanding and she felt bad for me. "God, that's not an excuse Serena. That is a legitimate reason. Why didn't you notify the school, we could have given you some kind of aid or time." she asked me with confusion. 

What lie are you going to come up with now? 

"I-" she looked at me expectantly. "I begged my parents not to say anything because I was embarrassed and the rumors around this school spreads fast." 

Her face softened and she sighed. "I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that. Especially alone. However, this is all information schools want to hear." 

"I got into Juilliard, I don't need apply anywhere." I reminded her of my scholarship and that's when things took a turn.

Her face started to morph. "That was another thing I wanted to discuss with you." she started and I already knew where this conversation was headed. 

"They pulled the acceptance and the scholarship." I finished for her, blinking slowly. "Of course they did because life can't just kick me once." 

"I really wish you would have said something because then we would have been able to help you a bit more." she continued to explain my situation. "They don't like a tardy student who rarely shows up to class." 

"I am the best dancer in this school!" I argued my right to be at Juilliard. "Hell probably in Parrish freaking county!" 

She sighed and nodded her head. "I don't argue that at all, Serena. I am well aware of your talent, but talent doesn't mean anything if you don't show up and you half do your work. When's the last time you have been to a dance class outside of PE?" 

I looked to the side and bitterly laughed. "I couldn't exactly just drop by at a class and dance when I was bed-ridden!" 

"But in their eyes, you weren't sick, you were a truant." she told me calmly, giving me a sympathetic look. 

H20, liquor, same difference. 

I continued to laugh at my predicament. "So there is absolutely nothing we can do?" I asked again with a sad expression. "There's nothing?" 

She nodded her head no. 

"I'm sorry." she apologised to me. "However there are a couple of schools who have noticed how excellent you were at art. LSU-" 

There is no way in hell you are going to LSU. 

I nearly started to panic when she suggested that. 

"I have to go to school in New York. PJ and I were supposed to be close, that was the plan." I interrupted her and looked desperate. 

LSU is a great school, but I really wanted to be near PJ. Like we had always planned.