"Who can tell me what they believe Theseus and the Minotaur is about?" Mr. Lewis said to the class. He was looking at the class in his typical excited way.

Kiara had her textbook out on her desk but propped up so that it could hide her cell phone. She had been texting her best friend throughout the class about the reality TV show that they both enjoyed watching. The previous night's episode about Roberto and Nancy's ongoing rocky romance had left her eager to talk to Sandra about it.

"Anyone?" Mr. Lewis asked the class. There was silence with many students looking down at the textbook in front of them as if the book was rocket science. Some were pretending to read the text to appear as if they were truly looking for the answer. Sandra who was sitting in the back of the class was squinting so hard at the textbook in front of her while her fingers raced across her cell phone under her desk as she texted Kiara.

Kiara knew the answer but did not want to answer. She hated her Greek Mythology class and was still upset that she had to take it. Kiara did not like reading or hearing about things that had to deal with fantastical things or what she believed was ludicrous magical stuff. She believed in science and what she could see. No magic stuff was real.

She knew that the myths that they were reading in class had an underlying meaning to them but she hated how Mr. Lewis talked as if the myths were real. He would go on and on about these gods and goddesses and the fantastical creatures that seemed to always be commonplace in these stories. He would talk in such an excited voice and speak as if all of those stories were real.

Was a mintour real? How about a centaur? If they were real, are unicorns, fairies, and other magical creatures also real? Kiara wanted to ask Mr. Lewis. But, she didn't want to cause any disruptions in the class. All she wanted to do was pass it and get the grade she needed to get one step closer to leaving this town.

The bell suddenly rang and everyone grabbed their things and started to race out of the class. It was the end of the day and everyone was excited to go home except for Kiara. She took her time putting her books away.

"Make sure to read the next chapter!" Mr. Lewis shouted. There was a disappointed look on his face as he had been hoping to have a lively discussion in class.

Sandra came up to Kiara with her one strap of her bookbag on her shoulder. Her long curly brown hair bounced as she walked. "I still can't believe that Nancy is taking Roberto back! He is such a jerk!"

Kiara shook her head as they both walked out of the class. There was so much noise in the hallway as everyone was heading to the main doors to leave the school. "She just never learns! He has shown that he is untrustworthy and only cares about himself so many times!"

"Yeah, I hate that too! But he is so cute though!" Sandra laughed. "Those light brown eyes and that gorgeous smile of his!"

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Come on, Sandra! He is terrible! No matter how cute he is, he is still a jerk!"

"You're right! You're right!" Sandra said with a laugh. "But, he is a cute jerk!"

Kiara laughed and shook her head. They walked out of the doors and into the cold. It was a rainy winter day with about two inches of snow on the ground. A lot of the snow was turning to slush or to ice. The sky was a murky gray color and cast a gloom over the city that made Kiara start to feel anxious.

"Are you coming over to my place tonight?" Sandra asked her in a worried place. "My mom said that you can spend the night if you want."

Kiara gave her best friend what she hoped was a thankful smile. She was finding it so much harder to smile nowadays and even laugh. The only times that she laughed now was with Sandra. "Thank you, but I can't. My mom wants me home. She was so mad yesterday when I slept over at your house and did not tell her. She threatened to ground me."

"Maybe you can sneak out a little later?" Sandra asked Kiara. "I can borrow my mom's car and come pick you up. You can spend the night and then I can drop you off at home in the early morning before your mom even gets up."

Kiara tried to smile again but failed. Her anxiety was growing but also there was a wave of resignation that was overtaking it. "Thanks, Sandra. I really appreciate that but I can't. I will text you tonight when Star-Crossed Lovers starts. We can see if Roberto messes up again."

"Oh, he will!" Sandra laughed.

"Yeah."

A worried expression came to Sandra's face. She put her hand on Kiara's arm and gave it a slight squeeze. "Are you sure that you are going to be okay?"

Kiara quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Maybe they won't be yelling at each other again."

"Call me if you need anything." Sandra gave Kiara's arm another squeeze.

"Okay. thank you."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Later."

Sandra walked down the steps and headed toward the parking lot. Her boyfriend was waiting for her next to his car. Jeffrey gave Kiara a short wave and she waved back at him. Sandra and Jeffrey had been dating for about a year and were in love. Kiara liked Jeffrey because he was kind and treated Sandra well. She knew that they were going to the movies to watch an action movie that Jeffrey wanted to check out. Sandra had invited Kiara along but she declined. She did not want to feel like a third wheel as she knew that the both of them were going to be making out a lot during the movie.

Kiara watched them both get into Jeffrey's car until it pulled out of the parking lot. She then slowly made her way to the bus stop. There were a few other kids waiting there for the bus. The anxiety started to grow inside Kiara as she waited. The bus came and everyone boarded. Kiara sat near the front and put her head against the bus window. Her mind once again went to her dream of leaving this town and getting far away from her parents. She knew that Sandra did not want to leave Willow Springs as she wanted to stay and help her parents.

Kiara thought about all of the places that she would go. She was excited about this year of school because she was going to be able to apply for colleges. All of the ones that she had her heart set on were very far away from Willow Springs. Her parents had no idea that she wanted to leave as they expected her to stay.

The bus moved along through the slush in the streets with people getting on and getting off. When the bus got to Kiara's stop, she was the last one on the bus. She got off and walked home. Her neighborhood was a sorry sight with dilapidated homes and empty lots. It was quiet and just started to drizzle. Kiara pulled her hood over her head and walked slowly.

Please, don't both be home. She thought this over and over as she walked to her house. When she got to her block, she looked at her house and saw that the lights were on in the kitchen. The house was in terrible shape with faded gray paint, a crooked porch, and a screen door that always banged against the other door. She saw her father's rusty car parked in the driveway. Her anxiety grew more as she walked to the house.

When she walked up the stairs, she heard loud voices as well as loud music blaring from behind the door. She let out a sigh as her hope for both of her parents not being home came crashing down. She took her keys out of her pocket and opened the door.

"You are a lazy bastard!" Kiara heard her mother shout as soon as she stepped inside. "All you do is sit around all day! You need to get a job!"

Kiara heard her father laugh. It was a dismissive laugh that she had heard many times. "Oh yeah? What about you? When are you going to get a job?"

"My mom told me never to marry you! That you were nothing but a loser! I am sorry that I did not listen to her!" Kiara's mother shouted. Kiara had heard her mother say this many times during the years. Both of her parents were in the living room and loud music was blaring from the speakers but her parents' voices were louder than the music.

Kiara walked by the kitchen and saw several empty bottles of beer on the counter. She sighed as she knew that they were both drunk again. She hurried up the stairs and walked toward her room.

"Kiara is that you?!" Her mother shouted as soon as Kiara got to her room.

"Yeah!" Kiara shouted back and then closed her door. Her parents returned back to their shouting at one another. She grabbed her headphones and put them in her ear and began to listen to music that helped to calm her anxious mind. She set her book bag down and then walked to her bed. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to her.

Her parents were unhappily married and had been so as long as Kiara could remember. They always fought and there was never a kind word uttered to one another. They had been unemployed for several months now after their jobs at the factory had let them and many of the town's residents go. They were living off of unemployment which they used to buy alcohol. The bitterness and unhappiness that her parents felt toward one another had intensified over the past few months and it had been unbearable for Kiara. What was worse was that there were times when her parents would get Kiara to pick a side during their fights which she hated and would do everything possible to avoid.

There was a loud angry yell from her mother and it made Kiara sigh with sadness. She closed her eyes as tears came to them. She cried softly into the pillow from unhappiness before she eventually fell asleep with the loud angry voices of her parents turning into white noise.