Skating on Lies

ACCEPTED

~~TIANA~~

TWO MONTHS LATER

A loud bang against my bedroom door nearly made me jump out of my skin.

"Tiana!"

The door swung open before I could answer. Hazel burst into the room, breathless and her phone clutched in one hand.. Her hair was half-fallen out of whatever bun she'd started the day with, and she looked like she'd run the whole way here.

"Tiana, it's out!"

My hands suddenly felt cold. I set down the book I wasn't really reading. "What?"

"The acceptance results! They're out!" Her eyes were practically glowing with excitement as she bounced on her toes. "Check yours!"

I pressed my lips together. The pure joy on her face only made the panic inside me worse. "What if I didn't get in?"

"You got in." She said it like there was no other possibility.

"You don't know that."

"I do." She crossed her arms.

"You literally don't."

Hazel ignored me completely and dropped into my desk chair, already pulling my laptop toward her with eager hands. "Password."

I gave it to her without thinking, my hands refusing to stay still while the login page loaded.

Hazel grinned over her shoulder at me. "Ready?"

"No."

"Tough."

She hovered the cursor over the results page, her finger tapping a rhythm on the desk. "Three..."

"No."

"Two..."

"Hazel, stop." I took a step forward.

"One..."

"I can't do this." My hand shot out and slammed the laptop shut with a smack.

"Tiana,” she said, eyes wide.

"I can't." I backed up until my knees hit the bed and sat down hard.

"You survived the party night and an illegal haircut." She pointed at me, trying to keep her tone light. "You can survive opening an email."

I shook my head, staring at a fixed point on the carpet. "Nope. Absolutely not happening."

She rolled her eyes, letting out an exaggerated sigh as she swiveled the chair to face me fully. "Fine then, close your eyes."

"What?"

"I'll check for you."

I squeezed my eyes shut immediately, fists clenched against my thighs. The sound of the laptop opening again broke the silence. The chair creaked as she leaned forward. Then... heavy silence.

"Oh no."

My eyes flew open. "What?"

Hazel was staring at the screen, lips slightly parted.

"I didn't get in?"

No answer.

"Hazel."

Then she looked up slowly. "Tiana."

"What?"

A slow grin formed on her face, breaking through the act like she physically couldn't hold it anymore. "You idiot."

My brain stopped working.

"You got in."

"...What?"

"You got in!"

"What?!"

I jumped to my feet and rushed over to her, nearly tripping over myself in the process. Hazel turned the screen toward me with a triumphant laugh. There it was. Accepted.

"Oh my God." My hands pressed over my lips as I stared at the acceptance letter.

"I told you!"

"Oh my God!" My voice cracked completely.

We were both screaming now, the sound echoing through the room. Jumping. Laughing through the tears I didn't even realize were falling. Somehow both of us ended up hopping around my room like we'd completely lost our minds, arms wrapped around each other which nearly knocked the desk lamp over.

The door swung open again.

"Girls? What happened?"

Mom stood in the doorway looking alarmed, one hand still on the door handle, eyes darting between us.

Hazel pointed wildly at the laptop, still laughing. "She got in!"

Mom's face lit up, she crossed the room in a few steps and pulled me into a hug. "Tiana! I knew you would."

For a second, I let myself forget before reality came rushing back.

The smile faded from my face. My arms dropped from around her, suddenly needing something to do with my hands.

Hazel noticed immediately. Her eyes met mine over Mom's shoulder — and just like that, the grin was gone.

“Don't tell me.”

Her eyes widened. She pressed her lips together like she was physically holding something back. "You still haven't told her?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly unable to meet either of their eyes. My gaze landed on the floor. "It's only been two months."

"ONLY?"

Mom frowned, her hand still warm on my arm, confusion replacing her joy. "Told me what?”

"Mom..."

"Yeah?"

The room seemed to shrink as Hazel looked at me and I looked back at her.

"Sweetheart?" Mom's smile faltered.

My eyes dropped to the floor. "I applied to the boys' school."

Silence. The ticking of the wall clock suddenly sounded unbearably loud.

"What?"

"The boys' school."

Mom blinked. Her head tilted slightly, like she'd misheard and was waiting for the correction. Then she laughed once. "Tiana, seriously."

"I'm serious." I finally looked up.

The laugh died on her face.

"Tiana..." She sat down slowly on the bed beside me, the mattress dipping under her weight. "You can't pretend to be someone else for two years."

"But I can try—”

"Why would you even want to?" She cut in.

The question hurt more than it should have, because she knew. Because she shouldn't have had to ask. "You know why."

Her hand moved like she wanted to reach for me, then stopped. "Oh, sweetheart… you won't be alone at Harwick.”

"I wasn't alone at Ridgewood either."

I knew I'd gone too far when her shoulders sank and her eyes dropped to the floor for just a moment before she forced them back up. Mom reached for my hand and her fingers closed around mine. This time, I didn't pull away.

"I don't think this is a good idea," she said quietly. "But I think telling you no would only teach you that I wasn't listening."

I looked up.

"If we're doing this, we're doing it properly." Her grip tightened on my arms once. "No reckless decisions. No disappearing on me. And the second this becomes too much, we stop."

Mom searched my face for a long moment, then asked, “How… how would you even get in? They don’t just let girls attend the boys’ school.”

“Under a male alias, Tian Hale. I already submitted everything under that name.”

I stared at our joined hands and felt a small spark of hope through all the fear.