Trapped

No Ordinary Day Part I

"Ari hurry, you'll miss it!" Mom yells at the edge of the field, followed by a smile.

I've always loved her smile. It's so warm and inviting. It's the kind of smile that will make even the most depressed person happy.

I take off with my arms extended through the tall brush in the fields. The brush passes through my fingertips and each blade of grass illuminated by the blinding sunrise.

Just as I jump to her to feel her warm embrace, everything withers away- She withers away. The bright sky fades to black- everything fades to black. My hands begin shaking at my sides out of fear. My jump turns to a collapse into the darkness.

Where did she go? Where am I? How do I get out of here- wherever here is...

My knees loose the strength to hold me up as my world withers away in front of me. I kneel down to the ground and bawl. Hot tears stream down my face.

Honk!

Honk!

I look up to see blinding lights bolting in my direction. What is that? Whatever it is, I need to move. It's moving really fast. I need to move. Why... why can't I move? I squint my eyes as tight as I can to block out potential pain.

Nothing happens...

I hesitantly open my eyes revealing my school counselor, Mrs. Stewart's, office.

"Ariella, it seems this dream is still bothering you three years later, have you thought what this reoccurring dream could mean?" She asks, slightly furrowing her well groomed brows.

Mrs. Stewart slightly tilts her head and purses her perfectly glossed lips into a fine line. She situates in her chair, crossing her left leg over her right.

I sigh and spin in my chair, whilst peering up at the cream toned ceiling tiles. With my response- or lack thereof, she speaks once more to cut the rising tension.

"I'm just trying to help you."

I stop in mid spin and raise my brows. I look down at her and scoff. Does she really have to ask? It's just a dream, no more, no less.

"Look, it's just a meaningless dream where my mom dies, that's it." I shake my head and quickly roll my eyes.

There is no meaning, she dies, I wake up. Since this topic is useless, I have to do something to keep myself occupied... I tightly cross my arms across my chest, and resume looking up at the ceiling tiles.

The ceiling tiles move in the same direction as I do, suddenly blurring my vision. Wait a second, why did she ask about this? I pause and face the wall.

"I have a question for you, why are you asking about this if it happened three years ago?" I turn to face her and blatantly stare.

She remains silent for a moment and uncrosses her legs. She leans forward in her chair and subtly clenches her jaw. She places both palms on the desk, her rings click! on her desk.

Oh God, shit's about to go down...

I'm screwed.

Tension vastly builds in the room, practically strangling her plants by the window sill. With the increasing intensity, my heartbeat becomes audible in my ears. She sighs,

"I just want to help you, I called you in here because your grades have dropped drastically- to the point that there is no way you could bring them up," she pauses for a moment and scans her desk, I guess she's trying to think of something to say? Well if she won't, I will. I slightly open my mouth to speak but she raises her palm to me to silence me. "If this occurred three years ago, I would understand perfectly as to why this is happening and we could have figured something out, but my question is, why is this happening now and not three years ago?"

This is... this can't be happening... there really isn't anything she can do about it? There has to be something. I open my mouth once more, trying to form a coherent question. Oh my God, I'm going to fail. I'm not going to get into a good college. What am I going to do? Hot tears race down my cheeks.

"Please Mrs. Stewart, there has to be something I can do, I have to bring my grades up."

She relaxes in her chair, gently pressing her shoulder blades to the back of the chair. She crosses her arms across her body as I had previously done. She looks down at her scattered paperwork on her desk.

"I am sorry to tell you this but you know the rules, at this point, there is nothing you can do. These are the principal's rules, not mine. If it were up to me, I would be willing to work something out, however, I am just the messenger."

I firmly grip the arms of my chair until the pigment drains from my knuckles. I slowly rise from my seat and faintly smile at her.

I understand that she can't do anything but this isn't fair. I don't know what I am going to do. I swallow the rest of my worry, they crawl down the back of my sore throat.

"I understand, I know this isn't your fault and I did this to myself. I will pack my stuff and move out immediately. Thank you for always being there for me and informing me yourself."

I turn around to grab my bag from the back of my chair. I slowly walk out of the room, waiting- hoping, that she would stop me.

She doesn't.

All that is left is awkward silence that fills the void. I walk to the hall, pulling her door shut as I exit. I walk down the quiet hall and wonder, how am I going to tell Dad?