- Messages
- 2,363
- OOC First Name
- Ana
- Blood Status
- Half Blood
- Relationship Status
- Single
- Wand
- Curly 11.5'' Sturdy Elm Wand with Meteorite Dust Core
- Age
- 19
Happiness. Most days, it was a foreign concept to Celia, an emotion fundamentally incompatible with her current life. She occasionally saw glimpses of it — in a duel won, a spell mastered, a solo flight — but it had been a very, very long time since she'd experienced true happiness.
This summer, though, she'd come close. For seven glorious weeks, Celia had traipsed around New York City for a pre-college summer program, taking classes in stately buildings by day and dancing down city streets with friends by night. She'd picnicked in parks, roamed impressive museums, and browsed trendy boutiques. She'd played both tourist and local, carving out pieces of the city for herself as she explored its outer reaches. The whole experience had been a peek into her future, when she would finally get to leave Hogwarts behind for freedom.
Celia's good mood had continued even after she'd gone back to Hanoi. It had certainly helped that the day after she returned, an owl had arrived with a prefect's badge. For three and a half years, Celia had worked tirelessly to prove that she was more than her past mistakes and that she deserved the position. Now that the badge was safely within her grasp, she felt like she could finally breathe.
Her mom had hinted at a celebration of sorts, so when Celia heard a knock on her bedroom door, she straightened. It was a testament to her good mood that she didn't feel the usual stab of annoyance when the door swung open almost immediately. "Celia? Do you have a minute?" She nodded, giving her mom a curious look as she entered the room. Her mom glanced around almost nervously before tentatively taking a seat on Celia's bed. Even though her mom was smiling, there was a tension in her expression that made Celia set her phone down.
"Do you still want to go to Ilvermorny?"
At least, that's what Celia thought her mom had said. "What?"
"I've been in touch with the admissions office. They're still accepting transfer applications for the new school year. You could finish out high school there."
"What?" Individually, Celia could understand every word her mom had said. But she couldn't piece them together in any way that made sense. She felt like she was in a dream, staring at the open pages of a book, trying over and over to read the words even as they slid from her gaze. Her mind raced, and it took her a second to pick out a coherent thought. "But we live here." That had always been the problem. They lived in Hanoi, which meant the closest English-speaking magical school was Hogwarts, not Ilvermorny.
Her mom hesitated. "We do. But I'll be spending some more time in Boston this year. I was thinking of asking to be transferred to an American office."
The air disappeared from the room. Was moving back to the U.S. really as simple as her mom asking her firm to transfer her to a different office? How long had that been an option? After they'd moved here, her mom had insisted that they had to stay because of her job. But clearly that had been a lie. Celia stiffened. "Why now?"
It took Celia a moment to recognize the look on her mom's face. It was the same one that always came right before her world shattered. Her mom had worn the look when she had broken the news about the divorce and when she had revealed that they would be leaving everything behind for a strange city halfway across the world. The last time Celia had seen this expression had been in D.C., right after her dad had refused to take her in.
It was a look of pity.
"I don't want you to grow up so far away from your dad." The sentence came out haltingly, and Celia could tell her mom was choosing her words carefully. "In fact, I was thinking it might be a good idea if you visited him this summer. There are still a few weeks left in the break, and we could—"
But Celia had heard enough. "You don't want me to be so far away from Dad?" she repeated in disbelief. "You're the one who took me away from him in the first place. You moved us here." She'd spent the last four years of her life 8,000 miles away from her dad simply because her mom was a selfish coward. "Does he know about this? Does he even want me to visit?"
"He doesn't know yet, but—"
"Then no. I don't want to see him" Her dad had made it abundantly clear that he didn't want her in his life. So Celia didn't want him in hers.
Her mom opened her mouth and then closed it, as if she'd meant to say something but then thought better of it. "What about Ilvermorny? I know you wanted—"
Celia shot her another look of disbelief. "How could you ask me that?" She sprang up and stalked over to her desk, where her prefect's badge was resting. Celia snatched up the shiny piece of metal and all but threw it onto her bedspread, next to the spot where her mom was sitting. "You know I can't transfer out now. Not without destroying my chances at getting into college."
Celia had spent years trying to perfect her reputation and lay the foundation for a competitive college application. She'd aced her classes, learned a new sport, and joined all the important extracurriculars. She'd gotten her own column in the school paper, established a new club, and built relationships that would hopefully lead to future leadership positions and glowing letters of recommendation. And just when she was starting to see the fruits of her efforts, just when she had received a prefect's badge — that's when her mom decided to ask if she wanted to transfer schools? It had taken her years to accomplish everything she had at Hogwarts. There was no way she could start over at Ilvermorny and achieve the same level of success, not when college applications were just two years away.
Normally, this was when her mom scolded her for her tone and attitude. But she just looked stricken. "Celia, that's not true—"
"Except it is. You're the one who's always talking about how I have to work ten times as hard as everyone else to get the same things." That was the way the world worked. If she wanted to go to an elite university, she couldn't just be good. She had to be the best. That was doubly true when she attended a school as sh!tty as Hogwarts. "I hate Hogwarts and I hate New Zealand. But you always said we couldn't leave, so I tried to make the best of it even though I've been completely miserable. I did all the right things." Her voice was rising, and she knew she was growing hysterical but she didn't care. "Now, things are finally going my way, and I'm just supposed to throw all that away?"
Her mom was silent, and it was then that Celia understood that this had been the plan all along. Her blood ran cold. "You're only asking if I want to transfer to make yourself feel better, so you can act like you gave me a choice."
"Celia, no." The conviction in her mom's voice made Celia pause, and perhaps sensing this, her mom reached out to take her hands, "You really do have a choice. And even if you don't want to transfer, at least think about the trip to see your dad. Please. We don't have to go this summer. We could go over the winter break."
Celia wrenched herself free. The mention of her dad didn't quite fit into the neat narrative she'd constructed about her mom's motives, but she was too angry to give it much thought. "No. I'm not visiting him." She took a few steps back, unable to hide her disgust. "You're just as bad as he is." Then she shook her head. "No, you're worse. At least he doesn't try to pretend he's a good father."
Her mom looked as if she'd been slapped. But Celia couldn't even enjoy this twisted victory. She had to get out before she ran out of air and the tears spilled. The world grew blurry as she bolted from the room, out the building, and down to the street. It was only once she'd made it to the little park outside their apartment complex that she allowed herself to come undone.
Hours later, when Celia finally returned to their apartment, she discovered that it was empty. She made her way to her room and picked up her phone, where she found an unread text from her mom saying that there was food in the fridge and that she would be home later that night so that they could talk. Well, Celia didn't want to talk. That meant she had to eat now before her mom got home.
To her surprise, the fridge was full. That was strange because her mom had given the housekeeper the week off, and they usually got takeout whenever she wasn't around to cook for them. Celia started to sift through the various containers. Shrimp-stuffed crêpes, mango salad, steamed rice dumplings — it was all of her favorite dishes, and they all looked like they'd been made recently.
Her hand brushed against stiff paper, and Celia shifted some containers around to uncover a cardboard box from her favorite pâtisserie. Her heartbeat slowed as she pulled the box out and opened the top. Inside was a beautiful strawberry tart. A shard of chocolate was wedged among the berries, and she turned the box so that she could read the words stamped across it: Congratulations Celia.
This summer, though, she'd come close. For seven glorious weeks, Celia had traipsed around New York City for a pre-college summer program, taking classes in stately buildings by day and dancing down city streets with friends by night. She'd picnicked in parks, roamed impressive museums, and browsed trendy boutiques. She'd played both tourist and local, carving out pieces of the city for herself as she explored its outer reaches. The whole experience had been a peek into her future, when she would finally get to leave Hogwarts behind for freedom.
Celia's good mood had continued even after she'd gone back to Hanoi. It had certainly helped that the day after she returned, an owl had arrived with a prefect's badge. For three and a half years, Celia had worked tirelessly to prove that she was more than her past mistakes and that she deserved the position. Now that the badge was safely within her grasp, she felt like she could finally breathe.
Her mom had hinted at a celebration of sorts, so when Celia heard a knock on her bedroom door, she straightened. It was a testament to her good mood that she didn't feel the usual stab of annoyance when the door swung open almost immediately. "Celia? Do you have a minute?" She nodded, giving her mom a curious look as she entered the room. Her mom glanced around almost nervously before tentatively taking a seat on Celia's bed. Even though her mom was smiling, there was a tension in her expression that made Celia set her phone down.
"Do you still want to go to Ilvermorny?"
At least, that's what Celia thought her mom had said. "What?"
"I've been in touch with the admissions office. They're still accepting transfer applications for the new school year. You could finish out high school there."
"What?" Individually, Celia could understand every word her mom had said. But she couldn't piece them together in any way that made sense. She felt like she was in a dream, staring at the open pages of a book, trying over and over to read the words even as they slid from her gaze. Her mind raced, and it took her a second to pick out a coherent thought. "But we live here." That had always been the problem. They lived in Hanoi, which meant the closest English-speaking magical school was Hogwarts, not Ilvermorny.
Her mom hesitated. "We do. But I'll be spending some more time in Boston this year. I was thinking of asking to be transferred to an American office."
The air disappeared from the room. Was moving back to the U.S. really as simple as her mom asking her firm to transfer her to a different office? How long had that been an option? After they'd moved here, her mom had insisted that they had to stay because of her job. But clearly that had been a lie. Celia stiffened. "Why now?"
It took Celia a moment to recognize the look on her mom's face. It was the same one that always came right before her world shattered. Her mom had worn the look when she had broken the news about the divorce and when she had revealed that they would be leaving everything behind for a strange city halfway across the world. The last time Celia had seen this expression had been in D.C., right after her dad had refused to take her in.
It was a look of pity.
"I don't want you to grow up so far away from your dad." The sentence came out haltingly, and Celia could tell her mom was choosing her words carefully. "In fact, I was thinking it might be a good idea if you visited him this summer. There are still a few weeks left in the break, and we could—"
But Celia had heard enough. "You don't want me to be so far away from Dad?" she repeated in disbelief. "You're the one who took me away from him in the first place. You moved us here." She'd spent the last four years of her life 8,000 miles away from her dad simply because her mom was a selfish coward. "Does he know about this? Does he even want me to visit?"
"He doesn't know yet, but—"
"Then no. I don't want to see him" Her dad had made it abundantly clear that he didn't want her in his life. So Celia didn't want him in hers.
Her mom opened her mouth and then closed it, as if she'd meant to say something but then thought better of it. "What about Ilvermorny? I know you wanted—"
Celia shot her another look of disbelief. "How could you ask me that?" She sprang up and stalked over to her desk, where her prefect's badge was resting. Celia snatched up the shiny piece of metal and all but threw it onto her bedspread, next to the spot where her mom was sitting. "You know I can't transfer out now. Not without destroying my chances at getting into college."
Celia had spent years trying to perfect her reputation and lay the foundation for a competitive college application. She'd aced her classes, learned a new sport, and joined all the important extracurriculars. She'd gotten her own column in the school paper, established a new club, and built relationships that would hopefully lead to future leadership positions and glowing letters of recommendation. And just when she was starting to see the fruits of her efforts, just when she had received a prefect's badge — that's when her mom decided to ask if she wanted to transfer schools? It had taken her years to accomplish everything she had at Hogwarts. There was no way she could start over at Ilvermorny and achieve the same level of success, not when college applications were just two years away.
Normally, this was when her mom scolded her for her tone and attitude. But she just looked stricken. "Celia, that's not true—"
"Except it is. You're the one who's always talking about how I have to work ten times as hard as everyone else to get the same things." That was the way the world worked. If she wanted to go to an elite university, she couldn't just be good. She had to be the best. That was doubly true when she attended a school as sh!tty as Hogwarts. "I hate Hogwarts and I hate New Zealand. But you always said we couldn't leave, so I tried to make the best of it even though I've been completely miserable. I did all the right things." Her voice was rising, and she knew she was growing hysterical but she didn't care. "Now, things are finally going my way, and I'm just supposed to throw all that away?"
Her mom was silent, and it was then that Celia understood that this had been the plan all along. Her blood ran cold. "You're only asking if I want to transfer to make yourself feel better, so you can act like you gave me a choice."
"Celia, no." The conviction in her mom's voice made Celia pause, and perhaps sensing this, her mom reached out to take her hands, "You really do have a choice. And even if you don't want to transfer, at least think about the trip to see your dad. Please. We don't have to go this summer. We could go over the winter break."
Celia wrenched herself free. The mention of her dad didn't quite fit into the neat narrative she'd constructed about her mom's motives, but she was too angry to give it much thought. "No. I'm not visiting him." She took a few steps back, unable to hide her disgust. "You're just as bad as he is." Then she shook her head. "No, you're worse. At least he doesn't try to pretend he's a good father."
Her mom looked as if she'd been slapped. But Celia couldn't even enjoy this twisted victory. She had to get out before she ran out of air and the tears spilled. The world grew blurry as she bolted from the room, out the building, and down to the street. It was only once she'd made it to the little park outside their apartment complex that she allowed herself to come undone.
***
Hours later, when Celia finally returned to their apartment, she discovered that it was empty. She made her way to her room and picked up her phone, where she found an unread text from her mom saying that there was food in the fridge and that she would be home later that night so that they could talk. Well, Celia didn't want to talk. That meant she had to eat now before her mom got home.
To her surprise, the fridge was full. That was strange because her mom had given the housekeeper the week off, and they usually got takeout whenever she wasn't around to cook for them. Celia started to sift through the various containers. Shrimp-stuffed crêpes, mango salad, steamed rice dumplings — it was all of her favorite dishes, and they all looked like they'd been made recently.
Her hand brushed against stiff paper, and Celia shifted some containers around to uncover a cardboard box from her favorite pâtisserie. Her heartbeat slowed as she pulled the box out and opened the top. Inside was a beautiful strawberry tart. A shard of chocolate was wedged among the berries, and she turned the box so that she could read the words stamped across it: Congratulations Celia.