Mya forced her way through the staff meeting, through the goodbyes, through the tears of friends leaving, all in the hope that she would find the envelope snuggled alongside adverts for Chinese takeaways and cleaning services lying on her hallway floor.
Aggravated that the meeting lasted so long, Mya drove out of the school car park and took the ten-minute journey across town to her house. A house she was extremely proud of, a house she had bought and decorated herself, a house full of memories and promise. It was also a house she also truly hated. It served as a continuous reminder that she was alone.
She opened the door swiftly and almost stalked the pile of letters as if she were a cat, circling its prey and pounced. She saw the exact letter that she had seen in the video not three hours previously before reaching for her home phone, pressing 2 and waited for the inevitable ring…
"Mya! Oh my God, did it arrive? Did you see the video? I'm so excited that you've called! I'm sorry I've missed our Skype sess…" Saraya rambled on. Mya knew she had to stop before she couldn't remember the questions that her friend was asking.
"Saraya! Stop. Please. Thank you so much for the ticket, I need a break from this place, everything is becoming very suffocating... I'm only going to work and coming back again… But that's enough about me… The video was incredible, so well thought out, almost like a promo! How can I pay you back? What will I be doing to help you?" Mya was desperate to find ways to pay her friend back the money that she had put into this for her and she needed to let her know that she was willing to do whatever it took to pay her back. Her dad's words echoed in the recesses of her mind 'The only person you can ever truly rely on is you'.
"The only thing I need from you Mya are your superior driving skills and organizational mind", noted Saraya. "I need someone to help me get myself organised and to get me there on time to do it – I know that you can help me do that, right? Plus I love you like a fat kid loves cake and I miss your face all up close and personal-like! Skyping you just isn't the same! Plus there are, like, all these super hot men here! You'll love it!" Saraya laughed, a proper full-on cackle, a laugh that Mya also attempted, but it got stuck in her throat. She couldn't be around too many attractive men, it meant that they would try and talk to her, that they may see what she saw, what she knew to be true.
"I don't need one of those," mumbled Mya quietly "I just need to spend some quality time seeing the sights with my bestie, that's all. So what should I bring with me?" Mya moved on swiftly before Saraya could start chastising her for talking down about herself. She answered enthusiastically, informing Mya what she should bring with her and she took notes on a small pad. Mya kept her talking, asking about her recent matches and other things before noticing something out of the corner of her eye. A photo, and a recent one too. Mya was in shock as she thought it had been thrown out with all of the other 'memorabilia' she had gathered up only a few months before.
Saraya noticed that Mya had become uncharacteristically quiet on the phone. "Mya? What's happened?" She could hear Mya's breathing becoming laboured, something that she had experienced four months ago when Mya had had serious issues.
"I found a photo… of him…" She inhaled sharply. "I need to go. Text me any extra details I may need to know before I see you in a few weeks. I miss you Sazzy Bear." Mya spoke quickly, knowing that she needed to relax before she went to bed. She'd gotten too worked up. It had been over for months but she was still suffering. She walked calmly to her front door, and put the chain on.
Mya slowly padded into her bathroom and opened the cabinet. She saw the pill bottle resting against the spare toothbrush she kept there, in case she had any visitors. She didn't know why she did this anymore; no one had stayed there apart from him. He hadn't wanted anyone else to stay there in case they noticed something. She opened the pill bottle, took one, and walked to her bed. She saw her fluffy pyjamas, put them on quickly, curled herself up into a ball underneath the duvet and began to ponder her choices.
The trip could not come quickly enough, she mused sadly.
"I need to get out of here" Mya muttered before she fell into a restless sleep.