Mia & Mistletoe

Mia was examining herself in the bathroom mirror of her high school. Rearranging her plaid headband till she was sure no hair stuck out. Tightening her belt so that her skirt and shirt didn’t feel too loose. ‘Loose clothes are baggy clothes and baggy clothes never look good.’ After several minutes, nearly half an hour, Mia looked to the mirror content with herself. Smiling at how beautiful she was. How lovely she made herself. 

The illusion broke with the sound of approaching small chatter. Mia flinched and found herself looking around the empty bathroom, the thought of people approaching spooked her. As to why, that was something even Mia did not know. Is it not ordinary for a teenage girl to be in front of a mirror? It’s not like there’s a time limit. Who are they, the vanity police? 

When she gathered her things and fled into one of the stalls, she gathered herself and laughed at how embarrassing she was acting. She was hiding in the bathroom, standing above the toilet seat, leaning against the door, with one eye looking through the crack. 

In came a couple.

“Ugh, I love you. Keep doing that.”

“We really shouldn’t, you're my brother's best friend.”

In came two women making out across the stall Mia was hiding in. 

“Mistletoe rules,” said one of the ladies, dangling a small branch of mistletoe tied to a long gold chord over the pair. “And since when does the class president break rules?”

Mia backed away from her unintentional peephole and waited awkwardly patiently for the pair to finish. If her vanity wasn’t embarrassing before, her actions now definitely were. 

Time was passing incredibly slowly in that stall as Mia grew tired of standing. Looking at her phone she saw there were only two minutes left until the fifth bell rang. Two very agonizing minutes that the pair didn’t care for because as the fifth bell rang the two continued being entangled with one another. 

‘Oh my god, get out already!’ thought Mia as she looked through the crack rolling her eyes. 

Another girl came into the bathroom, eyes glued to her phone, ignoring the rest of the world as she went straight into a stall near the pair. 

“Guess that's our cue”, said the class president. 

“But first,”-leaning towards her partner, who thought she was going in for another kiss, removed the mistletoe necklace from her neck- “there, no more rules.”

The class president threw the necklace like a bride throws a bouquet at weddings, unaware that Mia would be the lucky receiver. As the tiny gold charm landed right between her eyes, Mia faltered and one of her feet slipped into the toilet.

‘Oh come on!’

As Mia rinsed her foot off in the sink and removed her icky, soggy, sock she cautiously proceeded to exit the bathroom to her locker. Hoping not to get caught scoring the hallways shoeless and sockless. 

“What in the world? Hey, you there!” said an upperclassman who clocked Mia scanning the area. Slowly walking on her tippy toes. 

Mia was only a few steps away from her locker and as she did not want a confrontation she raced over and began entering the sequence to her number lock. As the man drew closer Mia fumbled with the turnings, going far too left and right on the markers. 

“Hey what are you doing,” said the man. 

“Can I help you?” said Mia, not turning away from the lock she was desperately trying to open. 

“Hall Monitor”-he pointed out the name tag on his uniform jacket- “and you are?”

“Trying to avoid this conversation.”

“Mia had finally managed to open her locker and began gathering her things. Placing her shoe and sock in a separate pocket of her backpack. Then grabbing her phone which was in another pocket and texted her mother to come pick her up early. Excluding the bit of her being down a shoe. 

“Oh you're still here?” said Mia in a sarcastic tone but genuinely forgot that the man was there.

“Yes.”

“Well”- she pointed to the conversation on her phone- “Imma just be off now.”

Within a matter of seconds after walking away Mia was lifted off the ground and into the arms of the Hall Monitor. 

“What are you doing?!”

“Couldn’t stand to see you walk barefoot. You're headed to the front gate, right? It’s a long hop over there.” 

As Mia tried to cool off and replayed everything that went wrong that day, she looked back to the man holding her and thought, ‘Well at least he is not so bad.’ Then she noticed he wasn’t just looking back at her but staring down.

“Hey, my eyes are up here.”

“Sorry…I was actually looking at your necklace just so you know.”

“Uh Huh.”

“It’s true”- he put Mia down now that they were at the main entrance- “you know I should get some compensation, and that is mistletoe.”

Mia put her finger up and said, “Oh no, let me stop you there. Mistletoe rules. Kisses only count when you're under mistletoe, not when it’s under you.”

As she dangled the charm in front of him, he without hesitation went in for a kiss. Mia was startled and began to back away slowly but he ended it short before she could. She didn’t completely like it but she didn’t hate it. 

“There, I didn’t break any rules,” said the man now dangling the charm above them.

A honk came from Mia’s mom’s car and without a second thought Mia fled to the car.

“Bye,” she said as she ran off. 

“Hey wait. Don’t you want your necklace back?”

“It’s not mine. Feel free to give it to the next girl.”

The Hall Monitor would have asked to see her tomorrow but Mia fled so fast he never got the chance. As he walked away and headed towards the bathroom with his strange gift in hand, he bumped into another girl whose eyes were laser-focused on their phone.