Under Pressure

"To travel, mom. I thought it best to wear comfortable clothes." - Mandy's mother's annoyed expression turned to sadness, with the memory of her daughter's departure. - "What's it?"

"My little girl is growing up," the mother said, pulling the girl into her arms.

The two were embraced for a moment and, when they separated, prepared breakfast together. As she took the last bite of the toast, Mandy looked at the watch again, looking concerned.

"May must already be arriving to take the road to Providence."

Ms. Summers nodded and took the last sip of coffee. A few moments later, they heard the horn sound outside and got up to leave the house. While picking up the bags, the mother asked a series of questions, making sure that the daughter had not forgotten anything.

"Be sure to call me when they arrive."

"Okay, for sure," Mandy replied, opening the front door.

As they left the house together, mother and daughter looked at each other and, for the first time, Mandy saw her mother, who have always been a very strong woman despite everything that happened, looking fragile, with tears in her eyes.

"Ah, my daughter..." - she murmured, pulling the girl in a tight hug. - "Take care of yourself. And don't forget to always call home. I will deeply miss you."

"Me too, Mom." - The two hugged each other even tighter. Despite the differences, they loved each other very much and Mandy's departure would be difficult for both of them. When they left, they had tears in their eyes and the girl thought she would never imagine that her heart would feel so tight because she was leaving home.

Picking up their bags, the two went to May's car, which opened the trunk already full of luggage.

"Watch out on the road, girls" - mrs. Summers said when she saw the two getting in the car to leave. Leaning over the passenger side window, she pulled the two girls in for another hug.

"For sure," they replied in unison, making the older woman smile and rub her daughter's face.

Suddenly, her expression changed and she became very serious.

"Amanda, promise that if you have any problems over there, you will call me? No matter what, I want you to know that I will be here to support you."

"I promise, Mom," Mandy replied with a smile and the woman nodded.

With goodbye shrieks, May started the car and Mrs. Summers finally pulled away, allowing them to leave. Looking in the rearview mirror, Mandy saw her mother nod and responded, excitedly.

"What's up, friend? Ready for the adventure?" - May asked as she left the garage at Mandy's house, smiling broadly.

"For sure!"

"Oh, my friend, I'm so excited. I'm sure it will be an unforgettable phase of our lives" - May said and Mandy smiled, turning on the loud sound as her friend went down the way to get on the road.

"I have a feeling that this trip will completely change our lives" - Mandy said to May smiling and then they started singing, following the pop ballad of the Australian band 4you2, which sounded from the speakers.

Mandy was right. That trip would be truly unforgettable. She just didn't realize how true that would be.

For good and for bad.

Chapter Two

A few weeks later...

It was half past six in the morning when Mandy's watch woke up, warning her that her big day had finally arrived. She and May were sharing an apartment they were lucky enough to rent. The place had two bedrooms, living room and kitchen, in addition to the bathroom. Obviously, they would have a higher cost with rent, instead of staying in a student residence , but the two girls' parents chose to offer them a little more comfort, as they knew that sharing the space would not be easy. At first, they thought this was an exaggeration, after all they were friends for life, almost like sisters. But after a few days, Mandy had to give in: they were right. The girls were friends, but completely different people, with tastes and customs, in many circumstances, opposites. If she needed to be locked in a room and smell the incense sticks that May loved so much, Mandy would surely go crazy.

They took advantage of the period before classes started to adapt to the new reality. After all, they were girls from a small town and had never left Gloucester before, so dealing with the grandeur of the campus, all those people who came from the most diverse cities in the country, required an effort to adapt. May had an easier time. She was a friendly and outgoing girl, who made friends easily and talked to everyone. But Mandy, in addition to shyness, still had to overcome the overprotection with which she had been raised. Since the divorce, her life was quite controlled by her mother, who tried to make up for her father's departure at any cost. The girl was not used to going to parties, dating or having many friends. In addition, dance demanded that she lead a ruled life and all that university activity was a little too much for her.

Still sleepy, she got up slowly and headed for the bathroom. She took a hot shower and washed her hair, being careful not to delay, so that May also had a chance to get ready for her classes calmly. As she left the bathroom wrapped in a towel, the girl went into the bedroom, hearing the door slam behind her, followed by a grunt. Her friend hated to wake up early.

As she opened the bedroom closet and pulled on a dark jeans, she thought of the words she was sure her mother would say if she were there.

"Jeans on the first day of school, Amanda?"

Laughing, she shook her head, wondering how they could be so different from one another and looked for a T-shirt in the wardrobe. Ballet was the only thing in common with the mother. Like her, mrs. Summers was passionate about ballet, and enrolled her daughter in classical ballet classes as soon as the girl was five years old. Ever since she saw a ballerina make the first plié when she was still very young, Mandy promised herself that she would give everything she could to be a real ballerina, even if she was not the complete stereotype of a professional ballerina. By normal standards, the girl was short for her recently turned 18 years old, but not for a ballerina, whose body needed to be much more tender than her curvaceous - albeit very thin. Furthermore, she lacked the classic beauty of most successful ballerinas. Even though her long dark brown hair with smooth, thick strands stood out in the classes she attended, alongside her colleagues who were blond like angels, she was considered more exotic than beautiful, with very dark green eyes, almost gray and her mouth - than in her opinion was too great for anyone to say she was beautiful.

And to complete the imperfect set, she was extremely slouchy and clumsy. It was beyond her comprehension to know how she managed to dance and do all those jumps and pirouettes, when she could barely take two steps without stumbling or knocking something on the floor. What made her really good at ballet was her impeccable technique, which overcame any other unfavorable characteristics she might have.

Mandy had already been too much embarrassed for being clumsy. At school, she had taken many memorable falls during the break. And that was why her favorite place at school had always been the library. Among the shelves full of books, the girl spent most of her free time lost in her imagination. The pages of the books were her favorite retreat, especially Jane Austen's period novels. Obviously, it would be no different - she already had even discovered where exactly her new literary refuge was located.

A knock sounded on the door. It could only be May to say she was ready.

"Come in," she shouted, as she pulled on the Pearl Jam's gray T-shirt. The piece was old, but it was her lucky shirt.

"Yikes! Are you going with that rag?" - May asked as she entered, making a face. She looked beautiful in a green dress and the auburn hair in a loose ponytail.

"It's not a rag! It's my Pearl Jam shirt!" - Mandy protested, but her friend stuck her nose in disgust.

"Which deserves to become a floor cloth. Seriously, Mandy, how are you going to get a boyfriend dressed as a nerd?" - She asked, but her friend laughed, ignoring her absurd argument and continued to put on her blue Converse.

"And who said I want to get a boyfriend, you crazy?" - She replied, but she couldn't get away in time for May to grab her shoulders and push her in the chair.

"You will go out in this strange outfit, but the hair and makeup are on me."

Knowing that there was no point in protesting, the girl allowed her friend to blow-dry her hair and do a light makeup. When finished, May turned her around to face the mirror with a satisfied smile and a winning expression. Looking at herself closely, Mandy couldn't help but agree that it looked much better. Her long hair was loose, like a chocolate-colored curtain falling down her back. The bangs, which gained volume with the aid of the dryer, came almost at the level of the eyebrows, making her look even younger. Mandy didn't know what kind of magic May had done, but her eyes were high, looking like two big marbles.

“Finally! You went from being a clumsy nerd to being a sexy geek!" - May said laughing, while Mandy looked again at her reflection in the mirror, obviously not believing that story that she was sexy, but having to agree that she was much better than before: her face didn't look so dull anymore and her hair was shiny. Her gaze drifted to the body and she noticed the t-shirt fitted to her breasts, making them stand out in a way she didn't used to do until last year.

To celebrate the start of classes, they decided to have breakfast on campus and headed out to the parking lot. The corridors of the student's residence were still empty, since they were leaving much earlier than normal school hours.

Entering May's old Subaru 2009, which had been purchased with the help of her parents and many hours of work as a babysitter to save money, Mandy turned on the stereo.

"What's up, friend? Are you ready? I'm so looking forward to meeting everyone again..."

Despite being away from home, several of their countrymen had also been admitted to Brown, among them, two of their best friends: Yoshi, a Japanese by birth, but who had lived in Gloucester since he was one year old and Sean, a very smart guy, but very quiet. The four were raised together, in the same neighborhood. Mandy couldn't remember a time when they weren't together. And at the university, it would be no different. The four applied for the same institutions, so they wouldn't have to split up. Brown ended up being the option of friends, since everyone had been admitted and was closer to home.

Yoshi and Sean arrived in Providence shortly after the girls and settled in a student's residence near their apartment. In the days leading up to the start of classes, Mandy and May took it upon themselves to take them to see the surroundings.

Ready for the first, the girls decided to go to the cafeteria that was next to the building where they would attend the day's classes. They waited in the small queue, and when their turn came, May ordered two macchiatos toffees, which were then delivered, and went to a table in the corner of the room. While listening to her friend talk about a colleague she didn't remember, but who had been admitted to Harvard, Mandy took out her bullet journal to check the schedule for the day. That hardcover notebook, with a ballerina illustration on tiptoe, followed her everywhere. There, she wrote down her appointments, made her schedules, ballet lesson plans and lists. Many lists.

After drinking coffee and chatting, May took out her cell phone to check her e-mails and Mandy got up to throw the disposable cups in the trash when a move caught her eye. She looked in the direction of the door and saw a group of girls entering the cafeteria, drawing not only her attention, but everyone's in the establishment. Eight very beautiful blondes, who wore a tight white jacket on the body, with a K and an embroidered triangle at the height of the chest, came in laughing and talking loudly. The girls stopped at a table next to the cafeteria counter, where three basketball players were. As Mandy returned to her seat, she heard voices and laughter from there.

As she sat down, she asked: