Issues / ROMAN GODFREY / #wattys2019

Eighteen.

School had been over for nearly three hours by the time Mariana finally decided to go home. A text from Queen Bitch told her she was officially off the team, but she was too overwhelmed to even care at this point. She sat in her car, before violently smashing her hands against the wheel and letting out a scream.

She made sure to add a few curse words in as well before stepping out and slamming her door, feeling only a little better now that she had expressed some anger. Mariana went inside the house, ripping off her jacket and throwing it on one of the chairs. She began to pace, wishing her mother was still around, she needed guidance, she needed comfort.

Mariana paused in the middle of the living room, her eyes searching for something. She saw the remote resting on the arm of the couch. She stared at it, trying to make her mother's words make sense.

channel that anger channel that anger channel that anger

She had stood there for about five minutes, but nothing happened. The remote didn't budge, and she didn't feel any better. She was starting to think it was a crazy hallucination; just another vision to keep her feeling like she was going crazy.

"This doesn't make sense!" she said to nothing, bringing her hands up to her hair, "NONE OF THIS MAKES FUCKING SENSE!"

The sound of the garage door opening startled her, and she saw Miguel pulling in. Mariana rushed up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door and diving under the covers. He would be disappointed to hear she was no longer on the team.

She heard him downstairs, and soon he had walked upstairs, gently knocking on her door. "Maria?"

"You can come in," she said, sitting up to make herself look less suspicious. Her father peeked in, giving her a smile. "How was school?"

Mariana smiled brightly, maybe a little too bright but her father didn't notice. "It was good, there's no homework for the weekend, so,"

"Well that's good," he said, suddenly yawning. "I am going to take a shower, I will give you some money for food, I ate at the hospital," he said.

"Sounds great, I'll just be in here," she said. Miguel closed the door, and she waited to hear the shower turn on before taking out her phone. She automatically went to Peter's contact but stopped herself. Would he even care enough?

Mariana's hands shook as she went further down the list and found Letha's. She pressed the phone to her ear and listened to it ring, but it ended up going straight to voicemail. "Damn it," she huffed, ending the call and plopping onto her back.She was starting to feel her headache coming back, so she went downstairs, reaching into the vitamin cabinet for some Advil. She had sucked down an entire bottle of water before taking another, draining that like it was nothing. She tossed them in the sink, placing her hands against the counter with her eyes closed.

Unknowingly, Clementine Chasseur stood outside the window, taking picture after picture. She looked around, making sure nobody was watching before taking one more, turning to head back to her car. "They should really invest in some blinds."