Juniper and her best friend are spending the summer in Hawaii at her friend's aunt's house. They have finished their exams and are looking forward to enjoying the warm weather, sipping on cocktails, meeting hot guys, and attending concerts on the be...
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The phone rings early in the morning; Lexi had to come wake me, gently shaking my arm:
"Hey." She tries to keep her voice low. "Your mom called."
"Yeah?" I get up and rub my eyes, slightly stinging from the light coming from the stairs.
"She's on the phone. She says it's urgent."
"Okay. I'll be down in a minute." Lexi leaves the room, and I slide my feet onto my flip-flops. I make my way down the stairs and grab the phone. "Hello?"
"Good morning, Juniper. Were you still asleep?" She says with a reprovative tone.
"It's four am here." I justify myself.
"Right." She makes a pause, dismissing my point. "I got a letter from Yale." My heart starts ringing in my ears, almost drowning my mother's voice. "Turns out something went wrong with the candidate processing system. They hired new staff, and some of them are really incompetent." Her reprovative tone thickens and darkens. "You were rightly approved. With a full scholarship. They offered a free accommodation on the first semester as an apology."
The only one that should be apologizing is your mother. - I hear Avril's voice in my head.
"So I was approved?"
"Yes, you were." No congratulations, no apologies. Typical Laura Lockwood style.
"Okay. That's good news." I try to answer in her style, but those cold answers aren't programmed in my system.
"Right." She stays quiet, as if pondering whether she should hang up or not. However, she owes it to me to stay on the phone with me. My mom might be strict but not impolite. "When are you coming back? You have to be back before September. We have to get the things for your dorm."
"I think I'll be back on the twentieth." I answer, the realization suddenly haunting me that I'll have to return in less than a month. "I don't need to get much, though." I try to ease the ball of threads forming on my chest.
"I still want to see your accommodation." My mom answers, leaving no room for discussion. "And you need to do your laundry and pack your belongings." I sigh, real life hitting me hard.
"Sure, Mom."
"Very well. I must go now. Call me on the house phone whenever you can."
"You won't be in the office?"
"No, now I must go. Goodbye." Her voice sounds urgent, and I almost stutter when I go to answer her.
"Bye." She hangs up quickly, leaving me alone with the beeps on the line.
"Are you okay, kiddo?" I place the phone back, and Lexi surges from the stairs. "Tough call?"
