Mila had heard people say that Crestwood City never slept.
She understood that now.
It was past midnight and the highway was still thick with headlights. The city stretched
out beyond the car window like something that had been switched on and never turned
off - towers of glass and steel catching the glow of a thousand signs, the kind of
skyline that made everywhere she had ever lived before feel like a practice run.
She pressed her forehead against the cold window and felt the knot in her stomach pull
tighter with every mile.
Her mom had been talking almost the entire four-hour drive. About the house. About the
school. About fresh starts and open doors and how this was exactly the kind of
opportunity that didn't come twice. Mila had nodded in the right places. She had smiled
when her mom looked over at her.
She had not told her that her chest had been hurting since the moment they pulled out
of their old driveway.
This move was not cruel. She knew that.
Crestwood Academy had offered her a full
academic scholarship - the kind with a letterhead and a wax seal and her mom's name in the thank you note. When it came, her mom had read it three times at the kitchen counter before she started crying. The good kind of crying, the kind where you press both hands over your mouth and your whole body shakes.
Mila had hugged her and said yes before she even sat down.
What else was she going to do.
She pulled out her phone. Four messages from Jade. Two voice notes from Priya. She
opened Jade's last one.
"Okay i'm not going to be dramatic about this but also i'm going to be VERY dramatic
about this, you can't just leave."
She laughed even though her throat was tight. She typed back something short and put her phone face down on her lap.
The car turned off the main road and into a residential street that looked like it had been
designed by someone who had never seen a bad day. Wide roads. Big trees. Houses
set back from the road like they were trying to give each other space.
Everything quiet and clean and lit softly from the inside.
They stopped in front of a double-storey house with a porch light on.
Mila climbed out of the car.
The night air hit her. Cool, sharp, carrying the faint smell of rain that hadn't arrived yet.
She stood on the pavement and looked at the house. It was the nicest place they had ever lived. That should have felt good.
Somehow it just made the distance from home feel more real.
"Help me with the bags," her mom said from the boot. They had not packed much. Fresh start, her mom kept calling it. Mila approached the boot and carried two bags inside and tried not to think about all the things they had left behind.
The house smelled like fresh paint and something warm, like her mom had been
burning a candle in there when she came down last week to set it up.
She had done that. She had taken three days off work, driven down alone, and got the house ready before Mila ever set foot in it.
Mila never asked her to do that. She just did.
That thought alone was almost enough to undo her.
"Come." Her mom held her arm. "I want to show you something before you sleep."
She led her up the stairs, down a short hallway, and stopped at the second door on the left. She pushed it open.
"This will be your room Mila and I hope you like it."
She then steps aside and Mila opened the door.
Mila switches on the lights and gasps in surprise when she saw what lies before her.
The wall directly across from the door had been painted a deep, rich burgundy - her
favorite color, the one she had told her mom about three years ago and assumed she
had forgotten. There were fairy lights strung in an arc above the bed, a desk by the
window with a small lamp already on, and on the bookshelf against the far wall, every
single book Mila had left behind because they couldn't fit them all in the car.
Her mom had made a second trip.
"What do you think Mila"
"I love it! Thank you, mom!"
"You are more than welcome my love. Now go wash up you have a long day ahead tomorrow."
"Don't." Her mom held up a hand and her eyes were already bright. "If you cry I'll cry
and I just did my makeup."
"But you're not wearing makeup."
"I know. I was lying so we both wouldn't cry."
Mila crossed the room and hugged her properly - both arms, face tucked in.
She felt her mom hold on tight and for a moment neither of them said anything.
"This is going to be good," her mom said quietly. "I need you to trust me on that."
Mila pulled back and nodded. She meant it.
After her mom left she decided to unpack her bags because she didn't feel tired at all.
She didn't want morning to come because the long day ahead entailed her to be the new girl at school.
After she finished unpacking, she went to the bathroom to just wash her face. She was too lazy to shower. She splashed the cool water on her face and then she took a towel and wiped the water from her face.
She looked in the mirror and saw that she was a mixture of her mother and father.
She went back to the room and lay down underneath the blankets.
She still couldn't help but wonder what types of people she would encounter at her new school.
She finally picked up her phone and decided to check for messages. She answered Jade and Priya both at once in the group chat.
She had a couple from her friends from back home. It made her heart very warm at the thought of her friends missing her. She sent a voice note. Priya sent back a crying emoji and seven question marks.
By the time she put the phone down on the dresser, it was nearly one in the morning.
Tomorrow was Monday. She was walking into Crestwood Academy as the new girl with no history, no allies, and no idea what she was stepping into.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep.