HANNAH

"Hello Hannah. Nice to see you again. And nice to meet you miss..." his voice trails off, letting my mom complete the sentence by saying her name.

"Miranda," she quickly responds, forcing a smile.

"Nice to meet you miss Miranda," he says while extending his hand. My mom does the same and they shake hands.

"I'm Mario Fischer, it's a pleasure to have you both here today. Please take a seat," he says with a smile. He's very nice—nicer than my mom, that's for sure.

"Well, it's not a pleasure for me," I mumble, hoping that they won't hear me.

I really don't know where that came from. I've never been disrespectful, let alone with a professor or... the principal. Maybe my mom's right, I am turning into a rebellious teenager.

"I'm sorry?" he says, looking at me.

"Oh, nothing," I reply, nervously. Uf. That was close.

"Okay, so, Miss Daniela Salvatierra here has told me that she had a conversation with Hannah and that she reacted in an impolite way. She raised her voice to a teacher and left the classroom after slamming the door and causing disturbances in the classroom. She acted imprudently," he slowly says, reading a white paper on his desk, "well, that's what says here, and I'm quoting miss Salvatierra's words,"

My mom, who's sitting next to me, turns her head to me and gazes at me. Her eyes are wide open and I can notice a hint of embarrassment in her face. I can sense the humiliation she's enduring because of me. Yeah, she's ashamed of me. I know she doesn't want a daughter like this. She doesn't want a daughter who has been bullied almost all her life and she doesn't want a daughter who's behaving like this. She doesn't want a daughter like me.

"Hannah?" My mom calls me, "Did you do that?"

I don't look at her. I just stare at Mario Fischer's eyes. They are way more interesting than my bitchy mom's face.

"Look, I'm so sorry, Mister Fischer. She didn't used to be like that. She was a nice, sweet girl. I don't know what's happening to her," my mom says, quietly, as her voice cracks and her eyes fill with tears.

I want to applaud her, really. Her acting is magnificent. The way she now shows her as a vulnerable woman worried about her daughter is an outstanding performance, given that only two minutes ago she was yelling at me and saying hurtful things to me. She deserves an Oscar.

"Hannah, do you have anything to say?" Mister Fischer asks me, not answering to my mom's comment, which makes me happy in a way.

"You know, sir, she's living in a hotel now. She moved out of our house and that... that... broke my heart," my mom remarks. Her full-on crying on display and when I face her and see her watery eyes... I can't fucking believe it. She's a tremendous actress and a horrible human at the same time.

"Hannah, is that true?" asks Mister Fischer. He and Daniela are both stunned by my mom's confession and now I'm the one who is embarrassed. Why did she tell them that? They weren't supposed to know that!

"Yes it is, and that's none of your concern," I crossly say. I'm tired of adults meddling into my life. This is my life and I get to decide what I want to do and they don't have a say in that!

"Hannah, we know you used to have problems in your previous school. Your mom sent us a letter and we know you suffered a lot and we're so—"

"What were you going to say? That you're sorry? I know you're sorry. Everyone that knows my story is sorry and I'm tired of that shit. I don't want anyone to pity me. I'm fine, in fact, I'm perfect, never been better!" I scream the last words, stand up quickly and laugh nervously and I bet I look like a maniac right now but I don't give a fuck. I'm just letting it all out.

"Hannah! Please! You can't yell at Daniela and Mister Fischer, they're the authority here and—" says my mom, nervously smiling at them.

"Oh don't be a kiss-ass mom! Stop it!" I cut her off and she stands on her feet. Her look holds fury and anger. "And you shouldn't have sent the letter to them! I told you I didn't want anyone to know about my past! I want to leave my past where it belongs: in the fucking past! Is that so hard to understand? I want to be at peace and live a trouble-free simple life. But my past haunts me and doesn't leave me alone. I didn't want anyone to know about everything I've been through because I didn't want to be pegged as a kid who suffered bullying and let the bullies take advantage of her kindness. I didn't want people to see me as "the class' fatty girl"... I just wanted a fresh start without my past creeping over me..." I look down. My voice is shaking and tears are gathering in my eyes.

Again. There's the unbearable ache in my chest. There's the pain that Tessa described in After we fell. But this time it's not Casy who's causing it—the shadows of my own past are causing it.

The room falls silent. Mister Fischer is staring at me dazedly, Daniela Salvatierra has a worried look on her face and my mom... my mom is just embarrassed that I confessed such a delicate part of my life.

I left them speechless and astonished. That wasn't really the purpose of revealing how I actually feel, but maybe now that they know this, they would understand me better and get why I feel the way I feel. Or maybe not. Perhaps they're just adults who can't comprehend the way teenagers act in certain situations. Most adults are like that, anyway.

I use the absolute silence hanging in the room to my advantage and walk out of the principal's office. Luckily, nobody follows me, so I head to the classroom where I left my backpack, grab it and leave the damn school. Not knowing what the fuck to do with my life next.