As the phone deafeningly vibrated from inside her small, black leather purse, she silently begged for her mom not to be on the other end of the line. Nataliah had often disobeyed her mom, but never like this. She had snuck out to go to the Arlington Skating Rink with some friends from track after dinner. She completely undermined the strict rules her mom had set up to compensate for her failing grades. Nataliah was no longer allowed to meet with her friends for the rest of September. 

She tremulously reached over to grab her purse from the counter of the food court. As she unclipped the bag’s gold lock, she flipped over her purple silicone phone case to display the name “Sarah”, on the glass screen. She let out a sigh of relief, as she pressed the glowing green button on the screen without hesitation.

Sarah had just started her second year at FSU, her dream college. Nataliah and her sister were close, not 10 pm on a Friday night close. Maybe she was just checking in? 

“Hello?” Sarah impatiently blurted out from inside the phone. 

“Hey Sarah, what is it?” 

“Life360 shows your location is at Arlington skating rink,” irritation baked into her voice, “Mom can see that.” 

Nataliah thought she was going to have to hold her chest down to prevent her heart from beating out of her chest. If her mom was still awake, she would have definitely seen a notification from the app. The only thing she could do was sneak back home and hope her mom didn’t see it. “Oh shoot. I completely forgot about that. If I get home and mom isn’t in bed I’m gonna be in huge trouble.” 

“Yeah, that’s why I thought I should let you know, anyways I gotta go. Talk to you later, Nat.” Her sister said, unbothered.

Nataliah knew Sarah felt lucky for not having to worry about disappointing mom anymore. She was entirely independent now. That was a feeling Nataliah longed for, independence. 

She was pacing through the dark streets alone, with tinted yellow street lamps flickering and cool winds rushing through the towering maple trees. Her converse shoes rubbed against the concrete, slighting tearing the soles with each step. She was in a mix of speed-walking and running, almost causing her to trip in the gaps of the sidewalk. As Nataliah was nearing home, a small beige house with a bright red door came into view. She dragged her feet up the pavement, her heart racing. Nataliah had only ever snuck into the house once, with the help of Sarah. She snapped open the metal locks on her bedroom window, trying not to step on her mom’s plants. She slid the window up as slowly as possible, trying not to make a sound. Nataliah had managed to get one leg in. Her blue, baggy jeans and black converse stuck into her bedroom. She pulled the window over her head, placing both feet on her carpet floor. Nataliah had managed to successfully sneak back in. 

The next morning, the sound of her blaring alarm and her cat, Leo, scratching at the door forced her out of bed. She twisted her long, brown hair into a bun, and tied it with her black ponytail. As she stumbled through the hallway and into the kitchen, her long pajama pants dragged under her feet. Nataliah’s mom was making breakfast in their kitchen, she inched closer to her mom, seeing if she would address Nataliah’s location yesterday. 

“Hey Nat, how’d you sleep?” Her mom used the green, rubber spatula to flip over the half-burnt bacon, flinching away to avoid any burning oil. 

“Oh, I slept fine. I think I’m gonna get ready for school earlier this morning. I’ll eat breakfast in the car.” Nataliah was underwhelmed at her mom’s question. She was sure her mom would have been on her phone last night, it would have been nearly impossible for her to not see her location. 

Nataliah’s mom gave a look of approval and nodded. As she got ready, she thought about last night a lot. While each bristle of her small brush pushed their way through her hair, Nataliah speculated her mom had left her off the hook this time, and told herself it wasn’t worth the hassle. That was unlike her mom, though. Nataliah was used to her mom’s strict rules, she knew her mom was just trying to look out for her. Sometimes, she wished her mom was more like her friend’s parents. They get to go out, have fun, and not worry so much about school, so why not her? That was a question Nataliah asked herself often. Her mom wanted her to be a nurse more than anything, since it didn’t work out for her. Nataliah knew her mom just wanted her to be successful, she just wanted to make it her own path. 

Nataliah threw her backpack over her shoulder, and followed her mom out the door. She let the sun’s ultraviolet swallow her, as the heat beamed against her face. The black car handle burned her hand as she struggled to open the door. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The car ride to school was quiet, but that’s how it normally was. Her mom listened to the radio, blasting oldie’s music and coffee pod commercials. Her mom pulled into the school, and Nataliah stepped out of the car. As she looked back, her mom gave her an air kiss and thumbs up. 

After 2nd period, Nataliah found one of her friends, Berkley. She was taking notes for her art class, which started in a few minutes.

“Oh hey Nat, I have to finish these stupid notes for art. If I can’t finish them before the bell, my teacher’s definitely going to give me a zero.” 

“Why do you do art if you think it’s stupid?” Nataliah was always curious about all her friend’s passions. She never had to think about pursuing them on her own, her mom always figured everything out for her. Nataliah was grateful for her mom’s pushiness in that sense. 

“I never said art was stupid, I just think these notes are. Seriously, you never thought ur homework was dumb in your Anatomy class?” 

In all honesty, Nataliah thought the entire class was “dumb”. Her mom had signed her up before she even had a chance to think about it. If it was up to her, she would have taken Art with Berkley. It wasn’t something Nataliah loved, not like Berkley did, but she thought it seemed fun. 

“Are you going to the Club Fair after school?” Berkley asked, looking up from her notes to lock eyes with Nataliah.

“Yeah, I think so. Are you?” Berkley gave her an accepting nod, as she placed her thick, spiral notebook in her bag. 

As the school day concluded, Nataliah made her way over to the gym. She shoved through the large metal doors, and each colorful stand popped out at her, leading Nataliah in every direction. She walked through the different clubs, scanning each one. She stopped at a board that displayed “Student Nurses Association”. That was the name her mom gave her the night before. Nataliah didn’t even know what the club was about, but that didn’t matter to her mom, all that was important was being a successful nurse. She stared at the blue board, with a cardboard cutout of a bright red cross plastered on the front. Nataliah knew it wasn’t something she wanted to be a part of. This club wouldn’t do anything for her. She decided to do something selfless for a change, not focusing on anyone else. Nataliah walked past the club, pushing through the crowd. She found herself stopping again at a club titled “Music for Beginners”. She had never really thought about doing music, art, or really anything besides attending medical school. This was her chance to do something for herself, and she knew she had to take it. As she took a step forward, the white, wrinkled paper taped to the side of the board was filled with the names of different students. Nataliah picked up the expo marker, and used the tip to write her name in big, bold letters. She didn’t know what her mom would think, and she didn’t care. This was something Nataliah wanted to do, not for anyone else, but for herself.