Sinfully Entangled With My Mentors

Freya

~

The alarm screeched at 5:45 AM, dragging me out of the only peace I'd know… sleep. Same routine… wake up, prepare for school, make breakfast, get bullied, then go to work.

Only one thing made today different; I was eighteen. Not that it changed anything, but I'd been looking forward to this age.

After making breakfast for everyone, I took the earliest bus to school. On the ride, I quickly checked my mailbox on my laptop to see if any college had accepted my application.

Please…any college…just one.

But, it was all blank and empty. I sighed, dropping the laptop back in my bag pack. I've been for five days now, but still nothing. I knew I couldn't give up so easily.

The bus stopped right in front of school. HARTLEY High, a school I only got to attend through a scholarship. The rich kids bullied me every day, but I couldn't revolt against elites. Could I?

Shoulders barged into mine as I walked through the hallway to the classroom. I kept my head down, trying to remain invisible.

***

“It sounds like your life is pretty tough right now.”

That’s what the school counselor said yesterday, as if I didn’t already know.

Ms. Carter, the school counselor, tapped her pen against her chipped mug. “Freya, If you continue like this, you won’t finish senior year. Even if you apply to any college, your slipping results won’t let you in.”

I used to be the brightest student—the one always getting A’s, the one teachers trusted to tutor others. But life happened.

And now, I was almost barely average. I sat across from her, hands folded tightly in my lap, trying not to cry while she offered me lukewarm tea and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“You’ve got a lot on your plate, Freya.”

No kidding, I whispered.

Everyday, my alarm buzzed at 5:45 AM. I prepared breakfast for my foster family, went to school, and work part-time at a coffee shop.

Yes, I have no parents. They died long ago. How? Well, I couldn't really remember. All I remember was that Dad asked me to sleep over at my friend's place, and then the next morning, when he and Mom were supposed to pick me up, they suddenly vanished.

The police said it was a faulty bridge collapse.The car sank and they became fish food, never seen again.

I was taken to an orphanage and later adopted by a loving couple. Well, at least they used to be. Until they gave birth to a daughter, Cherry. Since then, I've been mistreated and treated like a maid.

And at school, I kept my head down. Hoping no one notices my existence. Because, If they did, it never ended well.

Today, I found rotten food in my locker–again. But this time, instead of swallowing my anger, I clenched my fists so hard my nails left crescents in my palms. Something inside me cracked. I couldn’t keep living like