Rapunzel went about her day the same as always, waking up earlier than the average (almost) 18 year old to brush through her unbelievably long hair, then filling in her blonde eyebrows before putting on a cute outfit and matching purse. She fit the stereotype of an utterly dull and dumb female, but she was actually extraordinarily smart, she had skipped a grade and was among one of the select few 17 year olds already in college. It was a common occurrence for Rapunzel to get into an argument with her mother, Gothel, as she was strict, enforcing rules that no other mother had, at least, not to Rapunzel's knowledge. Rapunzel was technically home schooled all through grade school and high school, but Gothel wasn't exactly her teacher, mainly she taught herself through copious amounts of reading. She used to spend her days holed up in her bedroom, painting and sewing and studying astrology, and now she enjoys doing those things at her local community college, where she feels much more free than at home.
"Mom, can I ask you something?" Rapunzel inquired, combing through her hair with her fingers.
"Of course darling," Gothel replied. She always had a sweet tone, except when she wasn't getting her way.
"Well, my birthday is coming up and there's this concert I really want to go to."
"You know we've talked about that before sweety."
"I know, its just that I'm turning 18...I'll be a legal adult and its a band that I really want to see."
"I'm sorry hun but you know how rowdy concerts can get! There are thugs and rapists and drugs-"
"But Mom if you'll just-"
"I've already said no, do not make me say it again."
Rapunzel blew some hair away from her face and reached for her backpack, leaving without another word. Her mother never let her out of the house except for school. She was too worried that she would get kidnapped or something, she barely let Rapunzel go to college for that reason. Rapunzel had originally wanted to go to a high-class private college, and Gothel wanted her to stay home and take online courses, so they compromised. Rapunzel was at least happy that she was able to get out and socialize with real people, so she felt confident the compromise was good for her.
Rapunzel's school may have seemed small to someone from a university, but to her it was huge, and she was always meeting new people, taking electives, joining clubs, and volunteering. That day she was about to start a new volunteer opportunity with the outreach program for "troubled kids" however, they weren't kids anymore, just young adults that grew up in the system and were still getting used to being productive members of society. Rapunzel was excited, and after her last class of the day, she practically skipped into a building she had never stepped into before.
Climbing to the fourth floor, Rapunzel found the room she was supposed to meet the group in, and stepped in with a grin on her face.
"Hello!" A tall woman greeted Rapunzel as she walked in.
"Professor Gardner?" Rapunzel asked.
"Please, call me Arianna, you must be Rapunzel,"
"That's me! I'm so excited to be here!" Rapunzel was always happy, regardless of the situation, she always knew how to make light of a dark day.
"Alright well lets get started, all the other students have been paired up with their volunteers except for one, Eugene?"
A young man with ragged looks and a leather vest nodded his head and Rapunzel strode over to introduce herself.
"Hey there," she grinned, "the name's rapunzel, you're Eugene?"
"My friends call me Flynn. Inside joke."
"If you're telling me that then I can presume I can call you Flynn?"
He shrugged and flashed a smile.
"Which means we're friends! Oh we are off to a great start! So tell me, what did you do to get in here? Did you steal something? Loiter? No wait, its none of my business. Graffiti a building? Nope sorry, not my business. Please tell me!" Rapunzel, being the bubbly person she was, was always happy to make new friends, but sometimes she couldn't hold her excitement in.
"What got you in here?" She repeated.
"Destiny," he rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay I'm sorry," she smiled, "what progresses have you made that I should know about?"
"How about you just read your little-" he looked down at the stack of books on Rapunzel's desk, "advanced astrology textbook and I'll just chill, and we can call it a day."
"Nono, you're progress is way more important."
"Look blondie, I've been in this class for longer than I'd like to admit, but I'm probably not going anywhere, so lets just you do your thing and I'll do mine."
"When is the last time you've read a book?" She grinned.
"Never," he shrugged.
"C'mon lets get you something to read." Rapunzel had a huge grin on her face. Gothel had always made her promise to avoid men like the plague, and because of that Rapunzel had grown to fear men, but after being in college for almost 9 months, she had learned that they weren't all bad, and she quickly befriended many men and women equally. She lost her fear and replaced it with helpful courage. She then grabbed Flynn's wrist and pulled him up, he seemed confused, but didn't pull away, so Rapunzel lead him out of the room and through the campus to the library.
"This is my favorite place on campus," Rapunzel smiled upon reaching the building. Flynn looked over at her, initially thinking the word nerd, but upon seeing the glow of her face in the early sunset shining through the windows while she gazed upon the high walls of books created the word beautiful in his head. He didn't know where it came from, but he would never admit that he thought it.
Rapunzel gathered some books she thought he might be interested in, and took a seat in the center of the library. Together they explored the pages searching to peak Flynn's interest. nothing really did, but he found himself happy that she was happy, a feeling that was strange to him. He eventually settled on a book about gems. Rapunzel excitedly checked the book out for him and they found a spot in the courtyard to start reading.
Flynn tried to stay focused and actually commit to reading the book, but he kept finding himself getting distracted. He would occasionally glance over at Rapunzel, she was deep into her astrology textbook, her golden hair glowing in the last of the sunlight. She caught him staring at a point and looked up at him with her bright green eyes.
"Are you enjoying your book so far?" she grinned.
"Um yeah," he replied.
"What s wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing."
"Hey question, have you ever heard of the floating lights?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"The band?"
He shook his head, "what kind of music do they play?"
"In short, hippy music."
He frowned, "yeah no I'm more into rock, death metal, and everything in between...why?"
Rapunzel rolled her eyes, something she didn't do very often, "there's this concert, and I've never gone to one before, I've heard they release a bunch of lanterns at the end of every show and its on my birthday so...I really want to go, but I cant."
"Why not?"
"My mother wont let me, she thinks its dangerous."
"She thinks a hippy concert is dangerous?"
She shrugged, "drugs? I don't know shes very...strict."
"You're an adult, you don't have to follow her rules anymore."
"Well technically I'm not yet, I'm still 17."
"You're not 18 and you're already a year into college?" He sounded bewildered, like he'd never heard of it before.
"Uh yeah, I finished homeschooling early, but I've only got a few days left!"
"Ah so you're a home schooled nerd, that explains a lot."
Rapunzel gently shoved Flynn with a grin on her face, "you're one to speak. But no actually I'm pretty smart. Not to toot my own horn or anything but I've got a pretty nice house and I've always had every educational tool I could want at my disposal, look." She pulled up an app on her phone and showed him the real estate page for her house. It was a house that resembled a small castle, fit with stone walls, a large garden, and even a little tower. Rapunzel pointed to the tower, "this is where I spend most of my time, I have a telescope up here and I spend all night tracking the stars and painting what I see."
"That's...really nice," he stuttered.
"Whats' wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing, I just never had any of that growing up."
"What was your childhood like?"
"Uh...I grew up in the system."
"The system?"
"You know, orphanage, foster care, that sort of thing, got into some trouble in high school, been on probation ever since."
"I'm sorry to hear that...well Flynn, you've got a friend in me, don't worry!"
He squinted, "don't you kind of have to say that? Since you're my 'mentor?'"
"I'm everyone's friend!"
He laughed, "I can tell."
"Well looks like time is up, I'll see you on Thursday?"
"I guess I kinda have to huh?"
She nodded and stood up, reaching her hand out to Flynn.
"Then Thursday it is, Blondie."
"The name's Rapunzel."
"Gesundheit."
She shook her head and headed towards the bus stop. She didn't look back, but she could feel eyes boring into her back, and she wondered just what he was staring at.
When she arrived home, her mother scolded her, "Rapunzel, you're late."
"Sorry, Mom, I was helping my new student."
"Alright...well I have a surprise for you."
"Oh really? What's that?" She clasped her hands together in anticipation.
"I felt bad about you not being able to go to that concert so I made your favorite dinner, hazelnut soup!"
"Wow thanks mom!"
They ate their dinner in relative silence but afterward Gothel asked Rapunzel if she would sing to her, something they did nightly ever since Rapunzel could remember. She would get all cozy in bed, and Gothel would brush her hair while she sang. It was a small thing, but it was Rapunzel's favorite thing about their relationship, something that she cherished over all other memories of childhood.
Most nights it would lull her into a deep sleep, but that night she lie awake with her window open, staring up at the stars. She couldn't stop thinking about how badly she wanted to get out and explore the world, to go to festivals and travel and meet new people, but she felt so stuck inside the bubble her mother created, she feared no matter what age, she would always be a prisoner inside her own home.