If seeing is believing, surely this is real, Mia thought as she looked around, dumbstruck. The world around her was devastatingly beautiful. Every vivid color, stunning detail, left her in awe. The flowery scent of lilacs floated through the air, mingling with the hot cinnamony scent of apple pie. Warm gentle wind blew back her black hair, and the affectionate sun kissed her ivory cheeks. She spun in a circle, letting her simple, yet beautiful cotton sundress fan out to her sides. This must be heaven.
"MIA!" She cringed as she was startled from here daydream brought back into the real world. A world she wished she could truly escape.
She sighed. "Yes ma'am?" She looked undaunted into her teacher's icy blue gaze and met her stare with the same ferocity.
"Are you going to answer the question or not?" The professor, Mrs. Roux, leaned on the desk and hovered so close to Mia's face she could feel her hot coffee scented breath on her face. The crystal clear automated sound of a bell sounded over the loud speaker and released the class. Saved by the bell, Mia thought with an inward smile.
Mia threw her lightweight canvas bag over her shoulder and lifted up her English textbook. "Looks like not," she said audaciously. As she got up to leave, she felt Ms. Roux hand on her shoulder.
"You aren't welcome there, but believe me, you don't want to be."
"Excuse me?" Mia looked into her teacher's strange and distant gaze. What was she talking about?
"Hmm?" Mrs. Roux flashed back into the world. "Did you say something?" Mia narrowed her eyes but shook her head and headed out the door. Mrs. Roux was definitely known for being a bit of a nut job. It wasn't worth even worrying about what she had said.
Mia boarded the bus, slide into her normal seat, and dropped her things to the floor. She sunk down into the seat and positioned herself to look out the window. She dazed off into the school parking lot.
The bright sun shone down on the same meadow as before, surrounded by the same color sights and smells. It was so wonderful her, and she allowed herself to sneak off to hear as often as she could. Taking in the familiar aroma, she sat down in the long grass and picked a few wild flowers. Never did she venture from this spot, and it was quite familiar to her. She slipped a wildflower behind her ear.
"Yo Mia! Daze much?" Caroline was sitting next to her munching on a granola bar. Her curly blonde hair, pulled up in a ponytail was bobbing up and down as the bus rolled along.
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"Dude, you like slip into these like, I don't know, you like leave this world! It's kinda scary, and you've been doing it a lot lately," Caroline said as real concern filled her blue eyes.
"Oh, I was just daydreaming." Caroline smiled, truly trying to believe her friend. Mia seemed to slip so far past the normal daydream. She became unreachable. All blank faced, slacked jawed, and completely and utterly unreachable.
"That's a really pretty flower," Caroline tried to change the subject.
"What flower?" Mia looked up confused.
"The one in your hair, silly," she giggled and pulled out the beautiful red wildflower that had been tucked behind Mia's ear. "Where did you get it?"
She gasped at the sight of the flower Caroline held in her hand. It was the same wildflower she had picked in her daydream. "Uh . . . um . . . the florist in town," she stammered out quickly. She didn't want Caroline to start questioning her sanity.
"Cool," Caroline smiled and turned back to her iPod. Mia looked the flower over. It couldn't be the same flower. It just couldn't. But of course, it was.