Essie's New School

“Really. That’s where I have to go?” Essie questioned her Father.

  “Yes. I can not have you going around demolishing our respect just because you want to date a girl as an experiment, Esther.”

  “But it isn’t an experiment! I have been seeing her for two years and have adored her for four!” I roar while my eyes well up with tears. “I do not want to go to some school 160 miles away just because you demand to save your counterfeit reputation of being caring and accepting when you have never given those things to me!” 

His eyes widened. Scowl present, he grabbed the collar of Essie’s shirt. “You are going to the school and that is final. You will learn how to obey and you will appreciate the school in the end.”

   He put her down, marched out of the room, and slammed the door. Her mouth was wide open, her eyes overflowing. Why does he despise me? What did I do to justify this? Essie then looked frantically for her phone. I have to call Tessa. Just then there was the racket of shattering glass. She sat up from the floor and rushed out of her room to the kitchen. “Dad, what are you doing!”

 “No phones are allowed at Elliot Finishing School, so I am getting rid of yours.” He picks up the hammer and hits the phone one last time. The phone snaps in two, alongside Essie’s heart. “Go upstairs and pack your trunk now!” She ran upstairs quicker than a brown hare. She swiftly seized her trunk from under her bed and opened it. What was I thinking? She clutched as many clothes as she could carry and threw them in. Her mind overflowed with one million thoughts at once. Is this how mom would have treated me? She couldn’t help but think of that possibility. Would she have been loved? Would she have been accepted for who she is?

      After 30 minutes, she was finished packing and climbed into her bed. What will dad tell Tessa? Will she know I love her? She pulled the cover over her head, then went into the fetus position. As her mind raced, she felt her eyelids grow heavier with every second that passed. Before she knew it, she was dead asleep. “Essie! I’m so glad to see you again!” Tessa beamed. 

“Tessa!” Essie sprang up and embraced Tessa. “I thought I would never see you again!” Essie closed her eyes and felt a tear of happiness fall.

         She was then suddenly tossed to the ground like a piece of litter. “What the hell is wrong with you!” 

Essie gradually opened her eyes, grimacing at the stinging sensation in her arm. “Dad?”

“You are nothing but a disgrace to our family and name. No child of mine will be gay! It’s not normal!” He screamed. She felt his rage in her bones. She witnessed his eyebrows scrunch, and steam comes out of his ears. 

  She was a disappointment, all her life a disappointment. Her dad always told her she was. Then, BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. The blare of her six in the morning alarm. As it tells her to get up, Essie hears her dad stomp up the stairs and pounded on her door. “Get up, Esther! You have an hour before we leave”

  “I’m up.” She groaned. Her torso shifted vertically. Her arms rose to grab the uniform on the top of her dresser. Due to her morning fogginess, she knocked into the sharp corner and cut her leg. As the blood dripped away, so did her hope that her dad was performing a sick practical joke on her. “Get in the car, it’s time to go.” Essie’s dad scoffed. 

She picked up the trunk, which seemed like 200 pounds, and transported it to the car that was ready to escort her to her grim destiny. Well, no getting out of this now. So she grasped the car door handle and gradually opened it. She then sat delicately in the backseat. Essie gazed out the window and began to reflect. Maybe it won’t be so bad. I could make new friends. I could find new people. Even with the false-positive thoughts, she could not stop thinking about one thing. She could only think of Tessa. Tessa was the one who made her heart pound. Essie’s palms get sweaty, and her stomach fills with butterflies around Tessa. She was the one.

Essie felt a wave of melancholy wash over her. The trees seemed to droop to correlate with her emotions. How would you feel if you could not see your soulmate? What would stop you from going deranged? 

Just as she contemplated jumping out of the car to get away, they pulled up to the dreaded boarding school. The anger had finally set in. She felt her head get heated and brow furrow. “I just want you to know, I can not guarantee your liberal constituents won’t hear about this. I will make you lose your seat.” 

“You can try Esther, but no one will believe you.” He chuckled.

No. No was the only word that came to mind. Just then, someone who looked like a teacher approached the car. 

  “Hi there, I’m Principal Smith. I will escort Esther to her dorm.” 

She appeared friendly, but Essie did not trust her. Why would she? “Hi, Mrs. Smith.”

“Nice to meet you! Now Charlie will take your trunk.”

Essie got out of the car leisurely and watched her feet. She looked at the gravel while Mrs. Smith went on and on about the school, its rules, and how the dorms work. She gave Essie a tour but Essie wasn’t paying attention. She was still in disbelief as to how the latest 24 hours had gone. Was this real? Was it a dream? Was she frightened over nothing? 

    “Well, I guess that concludes our tour, any questions?”

“No ma’am.”

“Ok, so I guess I have to tell you about your roommate then. She is new too so you are in this together.” 

Great, now I can’t rely on her either. Suddenly, the dorm door opens. 

 “Hi, I’m Tessa, your…”

Essie's smile was big enough to see from space.