peaches | fillie

eleven

Finn swung his legs off of the bed, frowning. He had felt Millie's presence leave earlier that morning, heard her whisper three words. All he wanted was for her to stay with him forever. She silenced his need for violence and anger, filling him with hope and happiness instead. He reached his arms up and shut the open window. Finn's foot brushed against something on the carpet by the glass pane, startling him. He glanced down, noticing a lump of light pink cloth on the floor. His tired mind quickly sorted out that Millie had dropped her shirt on the floor in the hustle of leaving last night. Finn's frown turned upward into a slight smile, picking the fabric up and shoving it into a drawer. She did take his leather jacket, so he felt that he should keep something of hers.

"Finn! A letter came for you, honey," his mother called from below. He rushed down the stairs, greeting his parent and snatching the envelope. He tore it open and read the contents aloud.

Mr. Wolfhard,

Thank you for your previous letter regarding our summer program requirements.

One of our scouts recently stumbled upon some of the photographs on your Instagram page, which are truly exquisite. After careful consideration, we have decided to offer you a scholarship to our three-month photography workshop. There, you will be able to improve and perfect your craft.

We would still request that you submit a more recent collection of photos, so we can add them to your portfolio and use them to determine the wager of your scholarship.

We look forward to seeing more of your work,

The Photography and Media Department

California Institute of the Arts (CALArts)

Finn folded the letter back up, dumbfounded. He glanced around at his family, who all provided the same wide-eyed stare.

"What the fuck," Nick whispered. "Ditto," his mother commented.

Finn held the paper to his chest, slamming his feet against the floor heavily as he ran back up to his room. He slung his camera around his neck quickly and threw the phone up to his ear, yelling a short message to Millie on the other line.

"I'm coming over, I'll explain when I'm there, be ready for pictures," he panted. "Uh, ok? My dad is here-" she said between Finn's breaths. "That's fine, gimme six minutes tops, I love you, bye," he ranted, hanging up and shoving his phone into his sweatshirt pocket. He didn't catch what he had said at the end of the phone call, but Millie had blushed when he said it.

Finn glanced at his appearace in the mirror, green pajama pants and all. He shrugged, jamming on a pair of sneakers and running down the stairs. "Going to Millie's, bye mom," he called behind him, sprinting onto the lawn and hopping onto his bike.

Mrs. Wolfhard turned to Nick, confused. "Girlfriend," he explained easily. She sighed, returning her focus to cleaning the counter.

***

"So," Millie began, posing with her arms above her head as Finn snapped a couple pictures. "how long would you be gone again?"

He ushered her next to a different bush, pink and white flowers blooming cautiously from within its leaves.

"It would be almost the entire summer, three months, but we get breaks," he explained. She nodded slowly, still trying to take in all of the information that had been thrust upon her.

"And where is it?" Millie dropped to her knees, lips parted and hands pushing against her fair skin.
He grinned, positive that Millie's modeling skills would win over the director's chair of the photography department, just as she had with him.