Work Text:
”University of Georgia? No way April Stevens is going to slum it at UGA.”
April stopped reading on her phone and shot up from the bench she was sitting at. She whirled around to face the mocking brunette who had been peeking over her shoulder.
“What I read about is none of your business, Blair. How dare you snoop around like some… thief in the night.” Some part of April could feel that her voice was getting too loud, but for the moment it was beyond her to stop it. “I suppose it’s no surprise from a Wesley.”
Blair took a step back, seemingly surprised by the ferocity of the answer. For a moment her expression was one of surprise, but it was quickly replaced by a knowing smirk.
“A criminal? That’s pretty rich coming from you, Stevens. What happened? Not feeling confident about midterms? Locking in your gay self and running after all the eligible boys in school distracting you from school work?” Blair said while taking a step closer once again.
April looked around quickly. No one was close enough to overhear unless they started yelling. And they were not at that point. Yet.
“I do not care what anyone has told you about me, Blair. You know nothing about me, and I now realize that if there is one good thing with everything that happened in the past couple of months is that I will never have to pretend to care for someone as mean and petty as you!” Okay, so some people probably noticed the end of that tirade. She really needed to get out of there.
Blair, unfortunately, seemed to be in her element. “Oh, I’m mean and petty? From the fucking queen of Willingham, who steals condom wrappers, who hijacks someone’s memorial, who’s such a hypocrite that one moment you’re running around trying to turn this place into The Handmaid’s Tale and the next breaking my sister’s…”
“SHUT UP!” April’s breath came fast and short, and in a detached way she noticed that she was starting to get tunnel vision focusing on the hateful figure of Blair Wesley. “Yes, mean and petty,” at least with her teeth clenched she wasn’t yelling anymore, “because you seem to enjoy this, when you have no idea about anything. You go back to your perfect little family and indulge your little fucking hobby of pretending that you’re so very different and special as if you know anything about having real problems.” Suddenly Hannah B. replaced Blair in her field of vision.
“April!” she said in a high, slightly out of breath voice, having apparently ran to interpose herself between April and Blair. “We really need to start preparing for the next class! Ezequiel is coming too. Do you… do you want to go?” Hannah B. sounded extremely nervous, and behind her April could dimly see that very familiar blonde had appeared out of nowhere to gather up Blair.
April swallowed and refocused on Hannah B. “Of course, Hannah B. I don’t want to waste my time with… with this trash anymore. Let’s go.” She turned around and started walking back towards the main building, Hannah B. quickly catching up and linking their arms together.
“Are you alright, April? You were, um, pretty loud, and I heard you say the f-word.” Hannah B. said, the last part in an intense whisper.
April felt her vision starting to clear up and the brightness of the day coming back. And she noticed a lot of students looking her way. She focused on breathing for a few more seconds.
“Ugh, I guess everyone will have some gossip to brighten their sad little lives with,” April said, her voice tight. “I cannot believe I let Blair Wesley of all people get to me. It was just her usual needling, nothing to worry about. Let’s go find Ezequiel.” They walked in silence for a few beats. “Thank you, Hannah B.” April didn’t extricate her arm from Hannah B.’s, even though it felt odd.
When April gott back home after school, and had gotten a text from her mother confirming that she and John would be home late, she opened an Excel file on her computer. She filled in UGA on the worksheet, the in-state tuition, and readily available financial aid. Even in-state tuition was a lot, even if it was a lot lower than her preferred schools. And every financial aid program, and a lot of student loans, had the same hurdle. She opened an incognito browser window and finally googled “how to get student aid if estranged by parents”. April looked at the screen for a couple of seconds and then added the word “queer”.