Hide & Seek

CHAPTER 8

"Do you like it at school?"

"Why do you care?"

Thorne gazed at Mila with an earnest look. "Straight and honest answers, Mila." He reminds her.

"Why? What do you even mean with that question?" She asked with a look as if she didn't understand the language he spoke.

"Do you think it's a good school, with good teachers and nice people? Do you have friends? And are they good with you?"

"If you had been around more often than you—"

"I am here now." Thorne interrupts her. " —and believe me. I'm trying my best. All you need to do is answer straight, and that's it if you have any questions? I'll answer you later. Now. Do you like it there or not?"

"No. There. Are you happy now?"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't."

"Okay. Let's try this instead. Do you have any friends?"

"I hang out with a few people, but they aren't really people I consider 'friends.' I only hang around to waste time, I guess."

"Do you get bothered?"

"Next question," Mila answered, half looking away.

"Answer me, Mila," Thorne says with staring eyes.

"I'm not like Mom, okay? I'm not a cheerleader and the most popular girl at school. It's a big difference between a dancer and a cheerleader. I'm never doing both as she did. And if I was one in the popular group? I wouldn't put myself above all, walking around school and violating people every break."

"I think I got my answer."

"Good."

"And the teachers?"

"I don't like them. You don't really get a relationship with them or a so-called student-teacher relation—to get fair grades."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier? Did your mother know about this?"

"No."

"Why not?" Thorne goes up a tone.

"Because I never said anything about it."

"Because?" Thorne gives a look that says, 'Go on'.

"I don't know. I never thought about it, I guess."

"Is there anything positive about school?"

"I don't feel anything positive about it, Dad. It just 'is'. "

"Okay, then, outside of school. Do you have any friends?"

"I dance, and you know. That's the only thing I do that's positive. The only one that really is a friend—is Zeke."

Zeke is two years older than Mila. And he's the closest thing to a brother Mila has.

It's very much thanks to him that Mila gets to hang around with the people she's linked with from school. The older people, to be precise. Donna always used to bring Zeke over to their house. As often as Cynthia would bring Mila over to theirs. He's always been there for Mila.

"—Mila. Zeke is like a brother to you. He's family. He more or less grew up in this house as much as you did at his. He lives one minute away!"

"Then, Dad. No. There isn't anyone! Are you happy? Zeke's all I've got, and you know what? It's not that bad. The only person I've had other than Zeke—was Mom. She was all I had. The closest one. My best friend..." Mila said, fighting the tears.

Thorne looked at Mila, thinking, 'This is bad. It's important to have a support system outside the family, too. People you trust.'

"What do you want? I mean. What do you wish happened to your mother's business?"

"That I take over—"

"Mila." Thorne cut her again, serious.

"I shared this interest with Mom, okay? I don't say I want to keep it because it was Mom's business or given that it was her future and vision. But many times, we used to talk about me taking over one day. And it's because it was a hobby we both shared. Everything's not the way you think it is, you know?"

"And what do I think?" Thorne decides to put her to the test.

"That, I don't want to let go of all this because it belonged to Mom, that I drag along every little thing belonging to her. Only to keep everything about her alive."

Mila lies with the truth. That's the exact reason she wanted to keep it all.

Because it made her feel like part of Cynthia was still alive. It made her feel closer to her mother. Like she wasn't all gone.