Free At College

Megan peeked through the blinds of her window again, keeping an eye on the battered SUV her parents had dropped her off in. She could see them standing outside it, talking - probably arguing - about whether or not they should check on their little girl one last time before leaving. She had already put up with three such returns; after the second, she had started watching the window.

Miraculously, she watched as her father and mother got into the SUV. She watched further as, after a couple minutes of them sitting in front of her new dorm... they started to drive away. She was finally on her own. After eighteen years of nine o'clock curfews, of only being allowed to take "academically appropriate" extracurriculars, of what few dates she had been allowed to go on being interrupted by the mandatory checkups every hour on the hour... they had finally let her go. She was her own person, and could make her own decisions.

Sending a quiet prayer to whomever had managed to get her a full ride to State and getting her out of the distinct possibility of having to commute to college from home for the next four years, she slid off her bed and thought about what to do next.

...then checked the window one last time to make sure they hadn't looped back.

They hadn't.

Megan practically leapt to the mirror, eager to see how much she had changed in the two minutes since she had been on her own; she was disappointed to find that she looked much the same as always. Her dark hair was still tied back in the ponytail her mom made her wear, the same clothes her parents had made her wear since what felt like the far end of forever still covered what few curves her thin body had, and her skin was free of the "devilish" makeup she had never been allowed to wear.

The only thing that looked different was that, for the first time, Megan noticed a twinkle in her brown eyes that had never been there before: an excitement, a sort of wonder at being out on her own.