Chapter Text
Pomni sat in her room, staring at the letter in her trembling hands. Deep dents marked the envelope where her fingernails had dug into the paper. She paced back and forth across the room while Gummigoo listened to her restless footsteps through his flip phone. "Pomni, you're going to wear a hole through your floor at this rate," he joked from the other end of the line.
Gummigoo was Pomni's cousin in America. Years ago, her uncle had traveled overseas, met a woman there, and eventually settled down in the United States. While Pomni remained in Russia with her parents, Gummigoo grew up across the ocean. Despite the distance, they had always been close. As far as Pomni was concerned, he was practically a sibling.
The two lived very different lives, yet somehow managed to stay best friends. Since Pomni was homeschooled, she visited America whenever she could. During one of those trips, Gummigoo showed her around his private school.
She had fallen in love with it immediately. The campus was beautiful. The academic programs were incredible. There was even a beach nearby. How was she supposed to overlook any of that?
The moment she saw the school, she dragged Gummigoo straight to the admissions office and asked about entrance exams. After months of testing, paperwork, interviews, and enough stress to make her stomach twist into knots, she was finally holding the answer that could change her life. From the other end of the call, Gummigoo laughed.
"Come on, Pomni. I'm sure you're overreacting. Worst-case scenario, you don't get in, and then you don't have to explain to your parents why you want to move to America." Pomni stopped pacing. She took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling. The room suddenly felt ten times smaller.
"What if I don't get in?" she asked quietly. "What happens then? I want this so bad, Gummi."
"Pomni, you deserve this more than anyone I know. You're one of the smartest people I've ever met. Honestly, you're smarter than half the kids at that school," He paused. "The longer you wait to open it, the crazier you're going to drive yourself."
Pomni walked over to her desk and sat down. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay," she muttered. "I'll open it. But I'm not reading it first."
Gummigoo laughed.
"How about this? You open the letter and start reading. If it sounds bad, I'll stop you."
"That is not reassuring."
"It's the best I've got."
Pomni swallowed hard.
"Alright. I'm doing it."
She ripped open the envelope and unfolded the paper with shaky hands.
Silence.
Gummigoo could hear the crinkling paper through the receiver.
"Well?" he asked.
Pomni squeezed her eyes shut tighter. "You read it."
"Pomni, I am six thousand miles away."
She groaned. "Right."
Taking another breath, she lowered her gaze to the page. Her eyes landed on the first line.
"Pomni Zvezdina, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into C&A Academy..."
She froze. The room went completely silent.
"...Pomni?"
She didn't answer.
"...Pomni?"
A choked sound escaped her throat."Oh my God."
"What?"
"Oh my God, I got in."
The words barely left her mouth before tears flooded her eyes. "I got in."
Gummigoo laughed."I knew it!"
"No you didn't!" “Okay, fair enough."
Pomni pressed the letter against her chest, laughing and crying at the same time.
"I got in," she repeated. The reality of it hadn't quite sunk in yet. She had actually done it.
After all the tests, all the studying, all the stress and sleepless nights, she had actually done it. Then suddenly she shot upright in her chair. "Oh God."
"What?"Gummigoo said, lowering his voice as if he were present in her room at that moment. "My parents.” Pomni breathed.
"What about them?”
"I applied behind their backs!"
The line went silent.
"...Right."
Before Gummigoo could say anything else, Pomni's mother called from downstairs. “Dinner!"
"Иду, мама!" Pomni shouted back.
Gummigoo let out a nervous laugh.
"Well... look on the bright side."
"There is no bright side.”
"You have to tell her eventually."
"Not helping."
"You literally have to tell her right now." Pomni buried her face in one hand.
"You are the worst."
"I try."
She rolled her eyes despite herself.
"Goodbye, Gummi." “Good luck, Pomni."
The call ended.
Pomni stared at the letter for another few seconds before forcing herself to stand. The walk downstairs felt much shorter than usual. She gripped the railing tightly, as though her legs might give out beneath her.
Before reaching the final step, she took a deep breath and put on the calmest expression she could manage. "Ah, there you are, Pomni. Снова разговаривала с Гаммигу?" (You've been talking to Gummigoo again?) Pomni's mother often switched between English and Russian. It was how she had taught Pomni both languages growing up.
Pomni slid into her chair as her mother placed dinner on the table. Her father worked late most evenings, so dinner was usually just the two of them. Feigning a casual tone, Pomni answered, "Yeah. We were talking about life in America."
Her mother raised an eyebrow. Pomni suddenly found the vegetables on her plate fascinating.
The silence stretched. Finally, she sighed.
"You know... Gummigoo's school is really nice." Pomni hummed, tensing as her mother huffed.
"У них много замечательных программ, к тому же это частная школа. Говорят, такие школы считаются очень престижными." (They have a lot of amazing programs, and it's a private school. I hear those schools are very prestigious.) Her mother scoffed.
"And very expensive," She took a sip of water. "Though your aunt has mentioned your recent interest in the school.”
Pomni nearly choked. Her mother already knew.
Wonderful.
"Pomni," her mother said carefully, "о чём это на самом деле?" (What is this really about?) The fork in her mother's hand lowered to the table.
Pomni knew she had been caught.
"Don't be mad," she blurted. "But I might've applied to the school." Silence.
Then, before she could continue—
"When do you leave?"
Pomni blinked.
"What?"
"When do you leave?"
"Uh... orientation is next weekend."
Her mother nodded and returned to eating. More silence. It immediately felt like a rejection to Pomni.
Then her mother spoke again. "Ты остановишься у тёти. Я уже всё устроила, и ты уедешь в эту пятницу." (You'll stay with your aunt. I've already arranged everything, and you'll leave this Friday.)
Pomni's head snapped upward. "What?"
Her mother smiled. A warm, familiar smile, The kind that could make everything feel alright. You really thought your aunt and I didn't know what you were doing?”
Pomni laughed. Then cried. Then laughed again. For the first time all day, everything felt right.