ThE SChoOL

ThePast

"I don't know if I should continue my schooling in the middle of nowhere; I mean, who even chooses to let their daughter stay at that place?" Mia's bothered voice made the other people in the restaurant gaze at her table.

"Lower your voice, it's not like we are sending you away to some kind of jail," Mia's mother replied.

"It seems like it," Mia said.

"We are doing what's best for you," Mia's father said.

"Again, it doesn't look like that", Mia snapped, slamming the school brochure onto the table.

"Well, you should have seen it coming, after what happened", Mia's mother pointed out.

Mia looked down at her soup. "Actions have consequences," Mia's father added while swallowing his soup.

Mia frowned at him and pushed the bowl away from her, She sighed and looked away, crossing her hands "it's not fair", she said

"what's not fair?", her mother asked.

"That you guys are not defending me and accusing me always", she replied

"we can't defend you being violent Mia" , her father said.

"I was helping a friend", Mia said, raising her voice.

"That's it, don't yell, we are not accusing you, we are doing what's best for you, this is not a bad school , it has reputation, you will like it there . now finish your soup", her mother said.

Mia sighed, There is no point in arguing. She took the brochure and looked at it again. The printed booklet looked a bit bizarre; she has never seen anything like that before, There were no other pictures apart from the big picture of the school covering the front panel of the brochure, it's like looking at the front cover of a creepy novel because of the dark theme, The picture made Mia uneasy. Since not going is no longer an option, she started to go through the details, On the back panel, it has the school address and contact details.

She looked at the inside of the trifold brochure, the school timings made her stun. The class starts early in the day at 7:00 am having 2 hours for each class, with only a 5 minute break in between four class that is after 2 class each and the school ends at 6:00 in the evening.

"Hey mom, the class timings don't make any sense—2 hours for a class?!" Mia asked

"Well, isn't it great, It helps to get your interest more into studies", Mia's mother replied.

"It's tiring ", Mia claimed.

"Stop complaining, that's why schools are there to get your head straight", Mia's father chipped in.

"And a five-minute break after four hours, What about that?", Mia asked.

"You don't want break?", her mother asked.

"For what to breath?", she asked

"What are you implying?"

"Mom, five minutes are not enough!", Mia stated.

"Come on Mia, it's not like that they are making you do hard labor. The classes will be fun and chill; I am sure you will feel comfortable and no longer need a break and the 5 minute will be a bonus" , her mother explained.

"Are you serious?", Mia asked, surprised.

"Well, you had a school giving you 15 to 30 minutes break, too much fun, no study and look where that got you! a change of phase might be what you need for your character", her dad stated.

"The character is me, dad and let's not bring up what happened before into every conversation we have, we are now talking about this ridiculous schedule." She spoke.

"The schedule is not that bad."

"The schedule is suffocating, early morning to late evening, what should a person possibly be doing at that school for 12 hours! what are they teaching this much?", Mia asked hastily.

"To be a better person, Mia ", her dad replied. "To be calm and disciplined and to not hurt others".

Mia gulped, she didn't know what to say, Her parents seemed to be so determined, that whatever she displayed meant some kind of protest to them. Instead, she continued to look through the brochure, On the left side of the card had the school calendar, which is unusual; the calendar didn't mark any holidays or week offs, but there is a red circle marked on every month marked as 'EVENT'.

12 hours a day with no week offs and only one event marked every month—who knows what that is. She blinked and stared at it, at this point, she was not surprised but felt disappointed and trapped.

"What are you staring at?", her mother asked

"The calendar", Mia replied.

"Oh, let me see."

"Sure, go ahead, it's not like there is much to look at "

"Why, what's wrong now?"

"12/7 with no week offs, that's what's wrong."

"Come on, this might not be the actual one, they sure give off; it's just to... you know, to give a tip-of motivation, to work hard," her mother told.

"Whatever," Mia replied.

"Honey, you are going to love this place. Your father and I worked so hard to get you into that school and after what you did, we still love you and want the best. For you, this might be the beginning of a beautiful chapter in your life."

Mia watched her parents smile and assured that everything was going to be fine. She tried to force a smile back.

'The beginning of a beautiful chapter of her life', the words echoed in her head. It is just the beginning, but is it going to be beautiful?

Less did she know something very opposite of beautiful was waiting for her at that school.