too sure with that one, but seeing as though you’re new, I’d assume she just wants to touch base and know what your next steps are.”
“Next steps?”
“Don’t ask. It’s her motto. Everything is about the ‘next step.’”
My face scrunches in distaste. I don't know whether I’d prefer to suffer through this English class or get stuck with someone wanting to poke their nose into my business, but unlucky for me, I don’t exactly have a choice. “Where am I supposed to go?”
“Third door on the right after you pass the student office. You can’t miss it. Her name is Miss Davies, it’s on the door.”
I give Jess a small smile and as I go to leave, she pulls me back. “Hey, Ocean,” she whisper-yells. I look back at her, waiting to hear whatever other useful advice she’s got for me to help me through this little meeting. “While you’re gone, could you check in with Milo? I haven’t heard from him since the party.”
Hmm, apparently Jess is all out of useful advice.
“I, uh …”
“Oceania,” Mrs. Matthews snaps. “Miss Davies has been very patiently waiting for you. You’re wasting her time and now mine. Get a move on.”
I give Jess a tight smile and scram. The last thing I need is to be the one to have to break it to her that Milo was just using her for a little fun. That’s assuming he decides that he wants to go back to eating cocks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I mean, I’m all down for that, but it’s not an issue if he wanted to have a little coochie for an afternoon snack.
I get my ass down to the student office and start looking for Miss Davies’ office and just as Jess had said, I find her name scrawled across the third door on the right. I give a small knock, cringing with the thought of what I’m about to find.
“Come in,” a timid voice says from inside the office.
I twist the handle and push the door open to find a young woman staring back at me through thick rimmed glasses. Her hair is down, and without the expensive skirt suit she wears she’d look like a younger, more chilled out version of my mom. “Hey, umm … sorry. I didn’t know I had an appointment that I was supposed to attend.”
“That’s perfectly fine, Oceania,” she says, waving me through. “Please, take a seat. We have a lot to cover.”
“A lot to cover?” I question, somehow managing to hide my groan. “Like what?”
“Like your future.”
“Future?” I say with a sharp, barking laugh. “What future?”
Miss Davies has the nerve to look offended and honestly, I don't think she has the right. She mustn’t know who she’s dealing with if she thinks a girl like me is about to have some big respectable future.
Her eyes narrow on me and it’s as though she’s trying to work me out. I wait a moment, suffering through her silence before she sits back in her chair, apparently having exactly what she needs. Though if she knows something I don't, it’d be great if she could share it around.
“Tell me, Oceania. Why does the idea of a future scare you?”
My brows instantly pinch together. Scare me? What the hell is she talking about? I was expecting a lot of things to come flying out of her mouth but that certainly wasn't one of them. “It’s just Ocean,” I clarify.
Her lips pull into a small smile. “Ocean,” she repeats, leaning forward and adjusting my name in her schedule. “I like it. It’s very original. Now let's get back to the question, shall we?”
I shake my head. “You’ve got me all wrong. I’m not scared of my future.”
“No?”
“No. You can’t be scared of something that you’re never going to have.” Her brow shoots up and as she silently leans back in her chair, I feel her waiting for an explanation. Realizing that I’m not going to get out of here until we’re through, I give her my hard truth, knowing damn well that hiding it has never gotten me anywhere before.
“Did you look me up?” I question, watching as she gives me a small nod. “Then you know that I’m from Breakers Flats, and the kids there … they’re not exactly taught to dream big. The majority of my class won’t graduate and will be either killed by the time they’re thirty or jumped into a gang, and those of us who do graduate might get a job