Telephone Wires

004.

MIA HELD THE poster in her hands shakily, the brightly red colored font taunting her. She thought about turning back and ditching the party altogether, but a part of her wanted to desperately show up at the party and prove to everyone that she wasn't as antisocial as everyone figured.

She took a deep breath and thought about the pros and cons. Pro: Mia won't seem like a loner. Con: Mia never really had any true experience being around people, especially when it came to parties. Pro: School hasn't started yet, so why not make some friends and explore what her school campus had to offer? Con: Mia is (though sad for her to admit it) slightly antisocial and cannot imagine herself freely talking to people at the party enough for her to make any friends.

While Mia was mentally calculating the pros and cons of going to the party, the door to the building abruptly opened with dozens of students pouring out, each one carrying either a snack or drink in their hands.

Mia was caught off guard and immediately flinched back to avoid being trampled over. Sweat formed on her back and her neck, and seeing the students' beer-filled glasses gave her second thoughts about attending the party.

She was ready to turn on her heels and walk back to her dorm room, her eyes glancing at the concrete ground and the concrete ground only to avoid contact with anyone. I'm an idiot, Mia thought, furiously cussing herself out in her head. Why did I tell my parents anything? What part of me wanted to walk out of the door and to the party?

Before Mia could get anywhere, she felt a finger poke at her on her back.

"Look, it's a Freshie," a voice sneered as several pairs of footsteps began thumping loudly the closer they approached Mia. "Not going to enter the party?"

The breath of the person's odor crept past Mia's ears and to her nose, and the smell was so sour, so disgusting, so strong that she knew it wasn't the person's first cup of beer. Mia instinctively flinched away from whoever's finger was on her shoulder and started walking back to her dorm, a million thoughts and motions entering her mind.

What am I doing here? Mia thought to herself, her voice echoing inside her head. Who is that person? Where's Harper? How come nobody is patrolling the place?

She felt like crying on the spot. Mia had never felt so anxious over something that seemed so small, but to her, it was like the whole world was against her. Mia hated the fact that the crop top she was wearing didn't go past her belly button. She hated how high Harper's shorts reached, making her too self-conscious of what anyone could see from the behind. She hated how the flats she borrowed off her roommate scrunched her toes together until they could barely move, and how tight the flats were that they hurt the heel of her feet. And more than anything, Mia thought as she walked farther and farther away from the party, her head low enough so she could see in front of her but not too much, I hate how I convinced myself to come to this party.

-

As soon as Mia's dorm key jammed in her door and she was able to fling it open, she felt tremendous relief rush over her.

The first thing she did was throw off Harper's flats. She didn't understand why Harper didn't let Mia wear her own sneakers out - it would've saved Mia's toes from suffocation.

Mia jumped onto her bed, all the anxiety that once overcame her body about half an hour ago all washed away. She rubbed her eye and let out a smile, unaware and uncaring of the fact that she smudged makeup all over her face and her hands. Nothing mattered to her at the moment anyway, for Mia felt so relaxed and free even if her face might've looked like a clown's at the moment.