Chapter Text
Saoirse had felt a wave and mixture of both relief and sadness all in one as soon as her hands had reached that Blackwell letter, The crisp paper and the wax right in the middle, sealing a letter just for her.
Usually, the letters would consist of taxes and rent, her family would barely call except her mother who insists on phone calls daily, both noon and night. She had few friends mostly because of her English blood and they unfortunately don't do well over there, especially where she is. Saoirse is surrounded by idiots, farmers, and alcoholics just for extra pay, and who wouldn't? Because of this, her colleagues often insulted and threatened her; there was an occurrence where she was even followed home but was lucky; her neighbor loved Republicans. That man had all sorts of guns locked inside his home and as soon as she walked into the lobby entrance that man pulled a pistol from nowhere and shouted at the weirdo. In her eyes, they're both crazy but she thanked the man and ran to the elevator quicker than the hooded man had left the building.
Saoirse was so excited to walk out of this shit-hole, a full-ride scholarship back to America! Her mother had screamed even louder than her once the opened letter fell into her freshly manicured hands, the envelope getting stained with bright red and salty tears as the two embraced, shouting incoherently at each other. Soon, she quit her dumb job and left as soon as she could, which was the best thing that could happen to her. Her mother had forced her to take all these unnecessary classes for "her life" but it was just a pain in the ass; Blackwell was prestigious, and just for the arts! Saoirse wouldn't have to take online classes until dawn and work her ass clean off til' dusk, There were dorms and even pay for the people who take shifts within the school campus. It seemed way easier than her life right now and she had everything in her left hand, the anxious slick clinging onto the back of her neck and her mother's sweaty palm squeezing her wrist. She tugs her daughter toward the station that would lead into British lands and onto a plane out of this hell-hole. "Mamaidh.." she pleaded, pulling back from her mother's grip only for her to receive a sharp glare, her mother's red eyes prove that she didn't want this either. "Go." She leans forward, giving her daughter a wet kiss on her cheek, not bothering to wipe the stain her red lips left. Saoirse used the back of her hand to wipe the tears that ran down her face which didn't do much except make her shirt wet and her mother's quick readjustments to her clothing made it easier for her to leave, her touch was comforting, like a soothing melody if the harmony was replaced with the beeping from the intercom, almost rushing her to go. Which it was.
in a scurry Meabh quickly fixed her daughter's collar and wrinkled shirt before making her way to the front of the second station, Saoirse felt a rush of sadness as she watched the train ride through the station before blowing the loud whistle which called the passengers to enter. Rain began to drip onto her clothes as the train screeched, the doors miraculously stopping right in front of her. Meabh yanked her daughter from the crowd that pushed against her before giving her another kiss on the other cheek, ignoring the tears that fell onto her nose which ruined the contour. "Be good, A Ghra. Call me once you leave the train and study well," She strokes Saoirse's cheek, gently scratching her daughter's face with her long nails, "..don't come back to me pregnant." Saoirse giggles behind her sadness, sniffling before giving her mother a tight hug, squeezing the air out of her own body just enough for a sob to escape her lips. Meabh digs her nails into her back with a similar choked noise until the final whistle blew then was forced to push away and let the crowd whisk her daughter onto the train. Saoirse quickly ran up the train steps and into one of the four seats near the window with the best view of her mother, her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders alongside a maroon dress and black stilettos. Saoirse always made fun of her clothing but now it might be what she'll miss most, besides her cooking. She watched her mother sob into a black silk scarf which was originally around her neck, it was stained with a mixture of foundation, blush, and lipstick; her face looked worse. After of few moments, the train's wheels began working and Saoirse watched her mother go farther and farther until the station view became the scenery of the isles, she could even see the factory she worked at, watching the steam exiting from a large pipe that stuck out of the building. She wiped tears from her face, sniffling snot back up her nose, and went to grab her headphones from the small side pocket of her bag. Untangling them always managed to piss her off but this time she didn't have the capacity in her brain to get angry and pressed the button on her phone, humming along to the chorus of the song that blasted into her ears. The droplets of rain crashing down onto the window made her woozy and soon after a while, she felt her weight lean onto the icy window. Saoirse drifted to sleep as the melody continued in her ears.
-~{+}~-
Saoirse stared at the large building overhead, standing right in front of a bronze statue that seemed older than her and rusted by the bright sun that burned the back of her head. She did not know how something could be so small yet so exclusive when only 5 people get admitted into Blackwell yearly, it was her and a group of people. two girls and two boys who she did not bother talking to and was forced to sit with a boy who kept rambling about how excited he was about chemistry with someone named Grant, who she had too. Even her music wasn't much to block out his words that were still directed toward her even when it was obvious about her disinterest, Saoirse was forced to listen, unfortunately.
She had no idea where to go or who to talk to and the lady who seemed to direct them didn't do much to help her, that woman just told her to walk straight and then take a right when she reached the statue. But after a few moments of wandering about the campus with a bag almost the size of her and a suitcase that went to her hips, she finally noticed the same boy who sat next to her, also carrying a similar bag. Saoirse decided to follow him until he stood in front of the male dorms which was also surrounded by... you guessed it! men. Saoirse groaned in annoyance and anger at how large the campus actually was to the point where she couldn't even find where she was meant to be, she also had classes in the afternoon which didn't help her current mental state. (fucked over, by the way.) The group of boys chuckled when they saw her, and Saoirse would admit, she didn't look her best but almost three days of travel would do that to a person. Her head thumped from the headache that formed and she wanted to take a shower immediately; the change of climate shocked both her and her body, Oregon was totally different from the highlands that were usually surrounded by cattle and factories that would taint the flora. She was born somewhere modern though, with cities and everything. Saoirse spent some of the year before working and doing online classes with the little time that remained. As she looked around at the quaint area in front of the dormitories, two played football whilst a girl read what seemed to be a bible in the little nook near the tall totem that ominously stared at her.
"..What the hell..." Saoirse felt a wave of discomfort as the face of the totem stared back at her which seemed rather stupid, but there wasn't anything like that near her childhood schools. She jumped from fear when a hand patted her shoulder, "Hey, you from the bus?" incited the brunette as he noticed why she was so uncomfortable, "That's called a Tobunga, apparently... I, uh, read it in the pamphlets that came with the acceptance letter." Saoirse nodded at him, looking back at the statue. "...It's native from a tribe that was here over a hundred years ago," The boy let the bag fall to his hips before rummaging into the mess within it, pulling a pamphlet similar to his description. "Here."
Saoirse stared at it with a frown, why didn't she get a pamphlet? She didn't want to seem rude, she took the paper from his hands with a forced smile she barely had the energy for. "Thanks.." Saoirse mumbled as she scanned through the paper she was given. "No probz.. Hey, you can keep that, by the way." With a slight laugh, the boy readjusted his bag over his back before craning his neck, probably from the weight. "Im Warren, y'know.. from the bus?" Fuck sake, is he serious? Saoirse gave a heavy sigh as she shoved the pamphlet into her side pocket of the luggage, "Yeah, I know. Do you like dystopian stuff?" Warren led an audible 'oh' as she said that, patting his jeans. "I'm ALWAYS up for dystopian shit, making an entire flash drive is my specialty!" Saoirse stared at him with a raised brow, "No really, I am! ton of cool stuff like Lord of the Rings, twi-zone," She chuckles softly, twilight zone? geez hadn't heard that in a while... "You should put those cheesy vamps movies from Blockbuster, fucking loved those things as a kid.." Warren gives her a wide grin, rubbing his palms together, "Damn! hadn't heard that in a while, I got so pissed when they got bankrupt. Remember making my dad's wallet empty from those ape DVDs, who wouldn't?" She hummed, the pleasant memories of cocoa and old Christmas movies because they were so broke they couldn't afford the real deal but they actually seemed better when Saoirse had her own money to get the real ones. The pamphlet said the dorms housed both male and female guests, luckily. She barely had the energy to walk the steps, but she did. "Uh, here.." he then grabs her black suitcase, carrying it up the stairs. Warren opens the door that led inside the dorms like he's inviting her inside his damn home, even when he acted like an idiot, the gesture was nice. Much nicer than the re-American experience she had a few hours ago on the planes. Saoirse smiled at him as she took the invite, walking into the dorms and being immediately wafted with the stench of old carpet and toilet water from the door that led to the men's side.
She hopes her days at Blackwell get better because Saoirse isn't in the mood to nap with the smell of toilet water in her room nor is she willing to share dorms with a rando she doesn't know anything about.