"Be gone!"
"Good riddance!"
"Thank you for your service, but it's time for you to go."
In quick succession, and accompanied by Miyana's narration, the navy, white, and khaki-colored clothing items joined the large pile of others just outside the closet door.
The teen was happily getting rid of her and her sister's school uniforms—the uniforms they had worn, in some variation, since Kindergarten. Eighth grade had ended the week prior, and though she was enjoying her summer break, Mia was eager to clear their closet to make room for the new clothes their grandmother had promised.
For high school.
High school, where they could finally, finally, express their true selves and begin to form their fashion personalities. High school, where they could wear whatever they wanted!
Sure, some of the uniforms would be handed down to their twin cousins who still needed them, and the rest were going back to the school to give to kids in need, but they would be out of their closet.
And Miyana Castle could not be happier.
[][]
Rick Castle looked at his phone, then his wife, and then back to his phone.
He couldn't believe the e-mail he'd just been sent from the kids' new high school. It had to have been faked.
"I can't believe it," he voices, shaking his head.
"I know. It sucks," Kate agrees. She'd seen the e-mail and was in just as much disbelief. "So. Who's going to tell her?"
Rick quickly looks at her, eyes wide. Oh. He hadn't thought of that.
"Oh, I'm tapping out of that one. Good luck, Beckett," he holds up his hands. He chose life.
"Gee, thanks, babe," Kate spits back, shoving his arm. "Hey, Mia! Mimi, come here!"
The fourteen-year-old climbs out of the pool where she'd been playing with her siblings and cousins and pads over to them; her wet footprints leading a path to where Rick and Kate sat under the shade of an umbrella.
"What's up?"
"Hey, look at this e-mail Dad just got from your school," Kate says, taking her husband's phone and handing it to their daughter after she'd dried her hands with a towel.
She waits, watching as Mia reads the professional message. Sees the exact second it clicks in her mind.
"No."
Kate winces, knowing her daughter was crushed.
"No. If you guys are joking with me, it's not funny."
"It's not a joke, baby. It's real." Kate confirms as she takes the phone back.
"No. It's not fair!" Mia whines stomping her foot. "It's not fair."
It wasn't fair, but it was very real.
The high school had just instituted a uniform policy for the upcoming school year.
A/N: I always wanted to wear a school uniform. As a kid, I thought they were the coolest thing. Maybe that says something about me? I don't know. Also? The back-to-school stuff is out at Target; my favorite time of year! The smell of fresh notebooks and crayons is so good.
Hope you guys enjoyed!