ariana is deeply in love with her boyfriend demario. they've enjoyed a bliss-filled life while studying abroad in rome. she's certain her future with him will be long and joyous. but, this imagined future suddenly comes crumbling down once she disco...
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Ariana Belle Fletcher Rome, Italy 9:42am
i pull out my phone and look at the time.
i'm checking my calculate how quickly i need to bike over for my next class. i would not dare to be late now since my future education depends on me being an ideal student—the perfect role model.
before my phone disappears and return to the bag. i notice demario has sent me a message.
"hey, i just wanted to see how your meeting went?"
he is anxious to know how my meeting with dean paci went.
i'm curious to know why he sounds so eager. but he'll have to wait; i'm nearly late for my first class.
i arrive to class just in time. as soon as i enter the classroom, i'm met with my classmates' blank stares and terrified faces.
immediately, i know what they must be thinking.
oh, god. everyone must have heard what happened. they all must think i'm some monster
i wish i could be back in my fortress of an apartment, and human contact is the last thing that i want now.
i turn my gaze down and find a seat at the back of the hall. even the other self-classified misfits, students who sit as far from the teacher as possible, avoid my gaze.
how long must this go on for?
i wonder in my pit of despair.
the professor drones on and on about the italy under fascist rule. the class seems to stretch on forever.
after two long hours, the professor graciously stops talking. finally, i'm free and finished for the day. now i get to escape this hell on campus and run off to the comfort of loneliness at home.
once i'm in the safety of my tiny apartment. i make a cup of coffee and pull out my phone.
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