This chapter title is also from the song "Rue" by Girl in Red.
"Zarina! Get down here now!"
Rina woke up with a start. It was the morning, and she was still in her pajamas with her hair all messed up, but her mother was already calling her. She'd always drilled it into Zarina that she needed to be presentable, at all times, even when around family members.
"Just a moment!" she yelled back after a few seconds. "I need to get ready!"
Zarina expected her mom to argue, to demand that she come this instant, but surprisingly, she stayed quiet as her daughter got ready.
It didn't take long for Zarina to get ready for the day. However, that may also have been in part due to her being rushed. She hurriedly changed into her Foxfire uniform, taking extra time to brush and braid her hair.
After she had gotten completely ready for the day, Zarina rushed down the stairs to meet her mother.
"Yes?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back.
"How was your date yesterday?" Her mother answered her question with another question. As soon as her mom spoke, Rina automatically knew that she'd already figured out what her answer would be.
Still, she replied nonchalantly, "It was fine."
"Anything…else you want to tell me?"
"No, like I said, it was fine."
"Are you sure about that?" Zarina froze, in the middle of turning around to go back to her bedroom and relax before going to school. "No, this conversation is not over. I know what you did yesterday, and we need to have a serious talk about it."
"What is there to talk about? I went on a picnic date with Nylian, and it was fine, and I need some more sleep before I can go to school."
"You mean you went on a date with Nylian, and then broke up with him."
"Well…yes."
"Zarina Kaleigh Wynra! You know much better than this. My instructions were very clear: as long as you have a boyfriend, you will be allowed to stay friends with Lyrei. How many times do I have to tell you that the most important things are social status and academics?"
"Too many to count," Zarina replied bitterly, flinching at the use of her full name. Only her parents knew that her middle name was Kaleigh. She'd like to keep it that way.
"Exactly! You should know perfectly well by now that—"
Taking a risk, Zarina decided to cut her mother off in the middle of a sentence. She didn't care that it was hypocritical; Rina just couldn't stand the sound of her mother's voice.
"Get to the point, Mom."
"What do you mean by this?"
"What I mean is, what are you going to do now? Will you let me stay friends with Lyrei?"