Trapped in the same routine, Miranda floated through the sea of people to the entrance, hoping to eventually escape the current. Hiding in her oversized forest-green hoodie, Miranda shoved her way into her prison, a place she would be spending the next seven-and-a-half hours of her life. Hurriedly, she made it to her first cell without incident. One relief, and probably the only one of the day, was those few minutes of peace.

“Hey there, pretty lady.”

Her reservoir broke as she jumped in her chair. “Leon!”

“Hi,” he uttered as he sat on her desk.

“What is wrong with you?” she asked as she backhanded his shoulder.

“Nothing,” he said. “But it seems like something’s wrong with you. Did those jock-idiots say anything to you this morning? ‘Cuz you know I’ll beat them if they did.”

The bell signaled the start of the day. Miranda gazed sheepishly up at him. “I know,” she whispered as he backed out of the room. She sighed watching him go. She tried to focus on the lecture, but she had more pressing issues to figure out, like how she was getting her sister home from school or how she was going to feed the both of them. Miranda paid enough attention to receive her homework, but blocked out the rest of the day trying to figure out how to provide for her sister yet again. I’m seventeen providing for my little sister, and it doesn’t help that the check is always gone the next day when it’s supposed to be used to feed and clothe us. For once, I wish I could get to it first so Jackie and I had something better than canned soup once a day to eat. Damn you, Dad.

The final bell rang interrupting her internal rant. Miranda packed up and flew to the door where Leon was waiting for her, much to her surprise.

“No practice,” she shrugged. “Ride?”

“And getting Jackie?”

“Of course,” he responded. After a slight pause he asked, “How was your day?”

“Same. Boring, easy classes,” she said. She added, after a funny look from Leon, “Look, I’m here for basically nothing, but the classes that are supposedly so difficult they are called AP College courses are actually like taking remedial English and math. Can’t wait to get out of here, but it’s not like I can afford college.”

He grimaced. “Well, you’ll probably get a scholarship,” he said, hopefully.

“Yeah, right,” she laughed as she opened the truck door. “Let’s go get Jackie.”

Leon dropped both girls off in front of the housing apartment building. As both girls walked up the cracked sidewalk, Miranda grabbed Jackie’s hand. The sisters heard the glass crashing from the front porch. Miranda edged into the front of her sister. “Get upstairs and into my room as fast as you can. Lock the door. Understand?”

Fearfully Jackie nodded, and they entered the house. The smell of fresh booze and cigarette smoke soaked the stale smell of dried alcohol on the walls. The source of the stench leaned against the table. “Dad,” Miranda challenged, nodding for Jackie to hide upstairs, “Where’s the money?”

“Where you think?” he slurred, raising his half-empty beer bottle.

Trying to control her anger, “The money is supposed to be for food, not your selfish problem.”

Her father chucked the bottle, narrowly missing Miranda’s head, shattering against the already stained wall.

“You bastard,” she stated just above a whisper. Backing out of the room, she asked, “Why did we get stuck with a dead beat like you?”

“Guess the man upstairs was feeling generous,” he cackled.

Miranda shook her head, disgusted, and she took the stairs two at a time to get to her sister. She knocked on the bedroom door rapidly three times, then slowly twice, and repeated. The door opened to a teary-eyed Jackie. Miranda dropped her things on the floor and gathered Jackie in her arms, stroking her hair. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. You need some rest.”

Miranda tucked in Jackie and sat down at her laptop. Plugging in her headphones, Miranda blasted the music and typed the rest of her midterm paper.

A loud, droning beep jilted her awake. Miranda lifted her head off the desk. Crap, she thought. There is no way we’ll get to school on time. Shedding her days-old clothes, Miranda put on a slightly cleaner pair of jeans and threw an old pair of shorts at her groggy sister. “Hurry up. Let’s go!”

They rushed down the stairs to find empty beer cans and bottles everywhere and their dad passed out on the couch. Seriously, we need a better role model. “C’mon, Jackie.”

Miranda managed to get Jackie to the grade school on time, but ended up a few minutes late herself. She walked into the office to get a pass to first hour, but the principal stopped her. “Miranda, could you please come into my office?”

After both were seated, the principal began. “I received an email late last night from your English teacher. He said the assignment was to write a personal essay. I have read the paper, the writing fantastic, the subject matter a different story.” She paused for a moment. “Miranda, why didn’t you tell anyone about your father? He shouldn’t be able to control you and your sister like that.”

“I tried once, when we were little and I got the brunt of the pain. I covered up the bruises, and I never told anyone again because I didn’t want him to start hurting my sister like he did me when I was really little. I was trying to protect my sister, spare her the pain I felt when she was just baby. This was the only way for me to try to get some help. I needed help. I can’t raise her on hardly anything to eat and old, torn clothes. She means everything to me,” her voice cracked and the tears started to come. “That’s why I didn’t apply to any colleges. I can’t leave her alone with him. I just can’t.”

“Miranda. You don’t need to worry anymore. I called Child Services this morning, and your father is being taken in for child neglect and child endangerment. You and Jackie will be taken care off. Well, Jackie, you just until graduation.”

“What do you mean?” Miranda asked through a tear stained face with a smile.

“I personally applied you to the top five medical schools in the nation and all of them have offered you a full-ride scholarship. You have the choice to attend any of them.” Miranda sat back in her chair, stunned. “When I realized you didn’t apply, I knew that you had to go to college no matter what, and when I found out why you didn’t apply I knew I had to tell you today that I sent in the applications. You’re going to college, honey. And both you and your sister will be taken good care of.”

“He can’t hurt us anymore?” Miranda asked in disbelief.

“No he can’t.”

The door creaked open and in walked Jackie, tears and a smile on her face. “Did you hear that, Miranda? We’re going to be alright.”

Miranda wrapped her arms around her sister stroking her hair. “Yes, we are.”