Home Strength

One // Dear Miss Thomson

Things could either go perfectly, or horribly horribly wrong in Mia's life upon opening the letter before her. Her boyfriend, Tom, and her best friend, Lily, sat on either side of her. All three stared at the stamped envelope on the coffee table as if it held the world's secrets, if only they could decode the writing.

Tom and Lily had already gotten into Colombia, the dream school all the way out in New York. Mia was the last to receive her letter, a disappointment in of itself, and now that it had arrived it was a matter of life or death. Not getting in meant staying behind. Mia couldn't bare the thought.

"I'll open it for you." Lily blurted, snatching the letter and looking nervously to Mia. Mia looked to Tom, who looked back just as nervously, then to Lily and faintly nodded her head. Lily tore it open with vigour and tossed the envelope aside, unfolding the paper and standing up, pacing as she read aloud.

"Dear Miss Thomson," she began, casting a glance to her friend before continuing, "Thank you for your interest in our undergraduate studies program at Columbia University. We received many interesting and excellent applications, only some of which we were able to accept this year. We reviewed your application very carefully and note several strong features. There is rigorous competition for entry into our programs and your..." Mia filled with dread as Lily swallowed thickly and paused, "Application was not among those that we were able to accept. We encourage you to apply to other undergraduate schools and we wish you every success with your studies and beyond."

There was a thick, palpable silence between the three gathered in Mia's living room. Nobody dared move before Mia did. "I didn't get in." Mia concluded quietly, staring at nothing while this news set in.

"You didn't get in." Lily agreed softly. Tom stood abruptly.

"That's bullshit, there's got to be a mistake." He cried. Lily looked at him skeptically, and Mia shook her head, letting her short brown curls fall in her face and stick to her tears.

"Tom, don't." came Mia's voice hoarsely. Tom ran his hands through his hair and tugged at it, pacing.

Nobody knew what to say. There was nothing to reassure her. All three of them knew that neither Tom nor Lily would decline their acceptances to Columbia just for Mia, not that Mia would ever let them do such a thing, but nobody bothered to offer.

As the silence dragged on, Mia thought about all the things she had to do going forward after this. She'd have to tell her parents first. Her parents who had bragged to anyone with ears about how their daughter was planning on going to Columbia. She would have to live through that embarrassment, and the embarrassment of telling her brother, her teachers, the kids at school. And what was her plan B? Mia had applied to other schools in the state, but only to ease the conscience of her parents. She couldn't imagine ever going to these schools. And evidently she wasn't really that good at the things required to go into business if she didn't get into the business program at Columbia. What the hell was she going to do now?

"I think I need to be alone for a while." Mia announced quietly. Tom and Lily exchanged worried glances. Mia questioned what they thought of her now. Tom and Lily had just become decidedly smarter than Mia. This information cut through Mia's self-esteem like a knife.

"Okay, we'll leave you. You'll call me if you need anything, right?" Lily said softly, putting the letter down on the coffee table in front of Mia. Mia nodded, her head in her hands, and didn't meet Lily's eye. Tom kissed Mia's hair roughly.

"We'll figure something out, okay?" he said. Mia didn't believe him, but lifted her head to give him a small smile, however fake, to reassure him. Tom returned the favour and planted a small kiss to Mia's lips, before standing and grabbing his jacket from the chair beside him.

"We'll see you later, Mia." Lily said from the door, giving her one last pity-filled smile before closing the door behind her and Tom.

Mia moved to the window bench on the other side of the living room and watched the stillness of her street once she heard Tom's car pull out of the driveway. She sat like this for a while, unmoving. Her thoughts consumed her, gnawed at her core. She didn't get in. There was only one month until graduation, and Mia had no idea what the next September would involve. She hadn't felt this lost before, and wasn't sure how she would find her way.

Mia wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there before she watched her brother's car pull into the driveway. Ren was only a year and a half older than she was, and went to a local college. He lived at home, but now that his first year had come to an end, he was around the house a lot more. Mia and Ren were close, but there was always an odd barrier between the two. Ren could never be as smart as Mia, and Mia could never be as charming as Ren. This had been subconsciously programmed into them by their parents since day one, and both of them resented it.

Mia dreaded the interaction that was to follow, especially seeing Ren's best friend Emory getting out of the passenger seat. Mia could see her tear stained reflection in the window, and wiped her tears quickly, though she knew her face would be red and her eyes puffy. She avoided looking at them as they came through the door, though it was futile.

"Mia!" Emory cried out in over exaggerated glee, approaching her with his arms wide. Ren and Emory had been friends since the first grade. He had become an honorary family member, constantly teasing Mia along with the rest of them.

"Hi, Emory." She said shyly, keeping her attention on the window as Emory's arms wrapped around her head. He pulled back and wiped his arm that gleamed with Mia's tears.

"Did you just slobber on me? What was-" Emory cut himself off upon getting a proper look at Mia, his face contorting in concern. "Oh."

"Sorry." She said quietly, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"What's wrong, Mimi?" He asked quietly, brushing her hair away from her face. Mia blushed further at his tenderness.

"Looks like someone got their letter from Columbia!" Ren sing-songed from the hall, where he had plucked the empty envelope from the floor. Emory paled in realization.

"Ren-" Emory tried to stop him, but Ren had already picked up the letter from the coffee table. Emory and Mia watched in dread as Ren's goofy smile faded, and he looked up to meet Mia's eye.

"Mia, shit-" Ren started, making his way over to her. Mia burst into hot, thick, embarrassed tears again, hiding her face in the crook of her elbow. Emory's strong hand rested on her shoulder as Ren came to comfort her. He sat beside his sister and pulled her to his chest. "I'm so sorry, Mia. I know how much you wanted this." He said softly. This was the first time Ren had seen Mia fail at anything, the first time he'd been witness to her not getting her way.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry- it's just," Mia paused, angrily wiping her tears, "God, I'm acting like a child."

Mia often felt that way in front of her brother and Emory, like a child. She'd spent her whole life wanting to be like them. She put them on an unobtainable pedestal of coolness since day one, always wanting to be their friend instead of the little sister. The feeling never really went away, especially once she discovered the appeal of cute boys and Emory started to become one.

"Come on, Mia, no you're not. Columbia was your dream and you just got rejected, it's fine to cry." Ren said softly.

"I cried when I didn't get into Harvard." Emory spoke up. Mia and Ren gave him a look.

"Dude, you were never going to get into Harvard. I don't know why you applied. You actually cried at that?" Ren asked, pausing his hand that was rubbing Mia's arm. Emory grinned and shrugged.

"I mean, no. I just thought it would make Mia feel better." He confessed. Ren rolled his eyes, but Mia laughed despite herself.

"Thanks, Emory." She sniffled. Emory nodded.

"Anything for you, Mimi." He replied with a smile.

And Mia started crying all over again.