Secret Wings

03||Late Arrival

"No! No. Absolutely not!" Mike proclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. 

"Mike-" His wife tried calming him. Her eyes looked frantically at her husband's distressed state.

"Bloom, you cannot just spring this on us at the last minute. You should have discussed this with us. How much does it even cost? Can we afford it?" Her "father" asked, exasperated by his daughter's actions. 

"I'm sorry Dad, I thought I didn't have a chance of getting in so I didn't mention it. As for money, I'm on a scholarship basis so you don't have to pay. Please, can I go?" Artemis begged, she didn't want to stay stuck in Gardenia with strangers. She felt awkward enough just being there for five minutes.

She was trying to be nice to this girl's parents by asking for permission and not disappearing off the face of the Earth. 

"Honey, it's a great opportunity for her. It would be wrong of us to take that away from her." His wife, Vanessa, convinced her husband.  Her calloused hands gently rubbed his shoulders as a way to console him.

She smiled at her daughter, pride showing through her eyes. 

"Okay. All right. But, call us once a week to update us. When do you leave?" Mike asked as he kept preparing dinner. His hands trembled slightly as he kept chopping the vegetables to put into the stew.

"Today..." She said, wincing at her confession. 

Both of her "parents" stared at her with wide eyes. The room grew deathly silent. The ticking of the grandfather clock sitting in the corner could be heard clearly.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

"Oh.." Vanessa teared up, her eyes cast downwards. Her heart clenched at the thought of her daughter leaving their home so soon. She had previously thought she had more time with her precious daughter before she sent her off to college.

"Bloom, how could you leave all of a sudden without telling us?" Her "father" accused, his eyes full of disappointment and sadness, he didn't want his daughter to leave. 

"I just found out today and I thought I wasn't going to get in so I didn't want to get your hopes up." Artemis lied, her heart panged with guilt. She could see how much her rash, impulsive decision was affecting this girl's parents.

She wished these people would be like her aunt and uncle, they didn't care what she did as long as she came home in 48 hours. 

"Honey..You should have told us. We would have supported you no matter what." Her "mom" said, rubbing her shoulders affectionately. 

Artemis fought the urge to flinch under her touch. 

"I'm sorry. I'll be honest with you guys. Thank you for allowing me to go. The bus is here to take me. I promise I'll call." She said hastily, trying to leave the house.

 She couldn't stand to see their faces full of hurt. Sure she didn't grow up in the most affectionate household, but that doesn't mean she didn't understand. This Bloom girl was one lucky kid who got to grow up with these kind people. 

With a backpack on her shoulders and a wave goodbye she headed towards the "bus". 

By "bus", she meant Stella.

-.-.-.-

A deep breath was released when she gazed at the colossal building, her new home for the next five years. It felt like she was moving into her college dorm all over again. 

A heavy feeling set in her chest, was she doing the right thing? 

She knew she couldn't stay in Gardenia after discovering she had powers. Her powers were dangerous and needed to be controlled. She also needed to figure out what in the world happened to her. Part of her still felt that everything was one big joke.