Morgan

Chapter Twenty Four- Mia

I park up in the faculty's parking area. The kids are all dropped off for their first days. I spot Mia and wave. Mia is a part of the sports faculty with me and Carl. Carl is middle aged and hungry for anything football, he is well respected on the field with the boys. He also covered Basketball, wrestling and the boys baseball team. Mia was in her thirties, she joined us half way through last year in replacement for the retired Mrs Phipps, who I had started with. Mia was Swedish, she had the blondest hair I've ever seen, so bright in the sun you had to wear shades talking to her. She had just cut it to her shoulders where it had been long to her butt before that. She worked the athletics side of things, all things track and field with the addition of swimming. Mia always smelt like chlorine, that and sunscreen from standing beside the track in the blazing sun.

"Well look what the cat dragged in" Mia called out jovially as I stepped out of the car. She had waited for me curb-side.

"You know ... I could consider that bullying" I say playfully, locking the car and taking up walking by her side as we made our way on auto pilot to the teachers lounge.

"How was Christmas" she asked in an accent I had long got used to. It was actually kind of sweet. "I went to New York and spent it with Annie and the kids... it wasn't as awkward as expected... but then I got dumped so... New Year ended in the gutter just like always"

"Wait" Mia says stopping me mid stride, her hand on my forearm "you got dumped" she asked taking off her shades and looking to me with her pale blue eyes. "I didn't even know you and Leah were a thing yet... last I heard you were flirting but hadn't met up again yet"

I slowly inhale "I forget I've not seen you in a month. She came up and we spent a week together. It was... perfect" I say drifting off into the memory before slapping it back out of my thoughts "Anyway I misjudged her. I got it very very wrong. She dumped me New Year's Eve and didn't even have the guts to tell me to my face"

Mia frowns "that's horrible" she says taking my arm as we walked on and leaning into me "I'm sorry that happened"

"Thanks... honestly Mia... I don't think I'm loveable. Clearly there's something wrong with me. It never works out... and I always, always, end up this same way...alone" I say sighing through the dark cloud that made its way over my head.

"Not true. You are beautiful and fun, kind and most definitely loveable... heck...I love you" she admits.

I glance her way and smile "yes but I mean in love Mia. I'm cursed to never have that great love I've always desired... and I'm not going to look for it anymore. Let it live in the stars... I'm done" I confess as we enter the building and the cool air of the air-con hits our skin.

"Ooh I missed air con" Mia admits, sighing.
She releases my arm and adjusts the strap of her backpack on her shoulder. "I don't think you should give up on love Morg. If you give up on love you give up on yourself and you are far too special to give up on... and far too beautiful to sit on a shelf alone"

"How was your Christmas" I ask, changing the subject.

She narrows her eyes at me "I saw that subject change... and I'm not done with you yet but I will play... yes it was good. The family are well. I missed that clean air of home" she says with a soft smile.

"And Jonas... did you guys have a romantic time reconnecting" I ask with a wink.

She laughs. Mia had a long distance relationship with Jonas who she had been dating for three years before she moved to the states. He was meant to join her here in the summer "we reconnected once... it was brief... I realised that I didn't feel excited to see him and the sex was awful. I just couldn't get into it. I mean, he wasn't awful. He did all of the right things... but I just wasn't feeling it" she confesses.