Chapter Text
The first thing Adora does when her alarm goes off is immediately roll over, grab her phone, and rather aggressively refresh her email inbox.
She doesn’t even bother to turn off her alarm. The unicorn clock she’s had since she was a kid keeps up with its incessant beeping, but Adora tunes it out as she stares at the little loading icon, waiting, waiting, until…
Her email refreshes. No new mail. Adora huffs and puts her phone down again, smacking the button on her alarm clock irritably. Usually, she has a message from Cyra to help her start her day in the best mood. But apparently, she isn’t awake yet.
But Adora is. She pushes her sheets aside and clambers out of bed, still irritable, but hopeful that she’ll come back to a new email after her shower. Because they’re kind of becoming the best part of her day.
The emails, not her morning shower.
She traipses to her bathroom and starts the shower up, stifling a yawn. Monday morning, always the worst. Mondays in general are the worst, especially this year. It’s like her teachers devised a plan to give her the absolute worst Monday class schedule in the history of schedules. Seriously. Two hours of calculus first thing, and she doesn’t even get to go home straight after school. Mondays and Fridays are the only days she doesn’t have soccer practice, but she does have a session with her tutor. It wouldn’t be so bad, if her tutor wasn’t the most condescending jerk on the planet.
She pushes the thought of the horrific day ahead out of her mind as she gets in the shower. As she washes her hair, her thoughts drift to Cyra. Though, that’s nothing new. Lately, her thoughts are always drifting to Cyra. She doesn’t entirely know how, because it’s not like she has a face to picture, but Adora is pretty sure she maybe, possibly, definitely has a tiny little crush on her.
Glimmer would have a field day if she knew. Adora can almost hear the inevitable teasing of wow, Adora, you have a crush on someone and you don’t even know them.
She ignores inner-Glimmer for once. No, she doesn’t know Cyra’s real name, and Cyra doesn’t know Adora’s. All Adora knows for sure about her real identity is that she’s also a senior at Etheria High.
But Adora knows her. She knows her heart, knows her soul, and that’s what matters.
When she gets out of the shower and checks her phone again, she’s not disappointed. Cyra has finally replied to the email she sent last night.
-
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: THE SUPERIOR SNACK
Sept 28, 7:03AM
she-ra
i actually can’t express with words exactly how wrong you are right now.
like i think i would need to take a picture of the dead look in my eyes for you to fully understand. but i can’t do that because it defeats the purpose of anonymity, so i guess you’re going to have to take my word for it.
anyway you’re completely wrong, reese’s are disgusting, and you obviously have terrible taste in snacks.
oreos for the fucking win.
love, cyra
-
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: No, you’re wrong
Sept 28, 7:10AM
Cyra,
Read the subject line. Reese’s are chocolatey, salty goodness all packed in a little cup. How could you think that’s disgusting? Aren’t you supposed to be smart?
I’ll give you the Oreo thing, though. Oreos are *chefs kiss* delicious. Not even Gordon Ramsay could hate on Oreos.
By all means, send a picture so I can tell you how pretty you are. Because I’m going to need a picture of a pretty girl to keep me going today. Mondays, am I right? I hope your Monday schedule is better than mine, at least. Or maybe we have all the same classes and we just don’t know it.
I doubt it. I feel like I would know if I talked to you. Like my soul would know yours even though I don’t know what you look like.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m an idiot.
Love, She-Ra
-
Adora presses send on the email before she can overthink it and delete that last part. She likes Cyra, and she thinks… she thinks maybe Cyra likes her back. Cyra was the first one to sign her email off with love. That has to mean something, right?
Or maybe Cyra is just comfortable enough talking to She-Ra that it's in a friendly way. Like, the way you write ‘love’ on a present tag or Christmas card. That was their whole thing, how comfortable they were with one another. Adora knows it’s the anonymity, because she can tell Cyra anything without fear of judgement, but it’s also just Cyra.
It’s like she’s the only one who really gets her.
Adora reads what she sent again and starts to feel a little panicked. Like my soul would know yours. Why did she say that? That definitely comes off as romantic, right? God, she’s such an idiot. She blames the lack of sleep she got. She hadn’t realised that Cyra had fallen asleep and stayed up an extra hour just in case she emailed back, and now she might have gone ahead and ruined the whole thing.
She refreshes her inbox obsessively and doesn’t hesitate to press on the next email when it comes in, her heart pounding against her rib cage.
-
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: No, you’re wrong
Sept 28, 7:13AM
she-ra
i am smart and that’s exactly why i think reese’s are disgusting. it’s not my fault your tastebuds are too tasteless to know good food. but they win some points for the oreo thing.
mondays are definitely the suckiest of all days, but i think the entire human race agrees with you on that sentiment. i don’t know, maybe we do share some classes. i’m not going to ask what you take, though. just in case.
i like to think i’d realise it was you too, she-ra. i feel like you give off a certain vibe. i might be making it up, but i don’t know. i just feel like you’d talk the way you write, you know?
and you’re definitely an idiot. but it’s cute, so… you’re good.
love, cyra.
-
Adora flushes red with embarrassment at the stupid, girly squeak she lets out upon reading Cyra’s email. You’re definitely an idiot, but it’s cute. Does that mean… does Cyra feel the same way?
Adora types her response with a foolishly happy smile on her face. She isn’t brave enough to straight up admit that hey, I know I don’t know what you look like or what your real name is but I think I’m maybe falling for you, so she babbles on about Oreos and how much she hates Mondays for a few paragraphs before sending. She’s practically skipping as she makes her way to the kitchen for breakfast, and it’s so noticeable that even Razz questions her.
“Did you win something, Adora, dearie?” Razz asks as she places a plate of pancakes in front of Adora. “You look like you just won the lottery.”
“Definitely not,” Adora says as she pours a generous amount of syrup on her pancakes. “But in a way, I feel like I did.”
Adora met Cyra on Tumblr, of all places.
Two months ago, when Adora started getting serious about narrowing down her college choices, she decided to find some other people online who were looking at the same schools she was. Talking it out with someone in the same situation would help, and she could make a few new friends before college starts next year.
She’d found Cyra’s post completely accidentally. She somehow clicked on the wrong tag, one for Yale – Adora would never get in there in a million years – and she was just about to exit out when she saw the post at the top of the tag.
cyraofdriluth
ugh ignore this it’s just a rant i’m going to delete but i’m so fucking sick of being in this stupid school in the same shitty town. i can’t wait until i get accepted into yale or columbia or literally anywhere far enough away from this goddamn place so i can leave and finally be me.
the hilarious thing is that this entire crisis mood i’m in right now was set off by my friend joking about me getting a boyfriend. like i’m not the gayest fucking person on this whole planet. maybe i’m dying in this closet idk but im still not ready to come out of it. i’m the one causing myself all of this stress, but when i try to solve my own problem the words catch in my throat and i choke on them. it’s like they’re slowly strangling me to death.
Adora read the post and she just had to know her.
Mostly because she was in awe that there was someone out there who felt the same way she did.
She’d created a new Tumblr account and messaged her. It took ten minutes for them to realise they were from the same place and went to the same school, and then Cyra had given her an email address to message her on, just because she was worried her Tumblr account might have mentioned her friends’ real names or something else that made her identifiable. Cyra wasn’t ready for anyone in her real life to know yet, and Adora understood that. She wasn’t, either.
So, they’d created the Gmail accounts and their aliases, and for the last two months, they’ve been each other’s rock. Adora hadn’t known how much she’d needed someone to talk to so openly, without fear of blurting something out that could out her. Even just talking about gay stuff or mentioning a hot actress or musician that she thought was cute, it had helped her so much.
Actually, Cyra has helped her so much that Adora is starting to feel ready to come out.
It would be amazing if they could come out together. Maybe Cyra would want that.
Adora thinks about her all through Monday morning hell (aka Calculus). Bow, who sits next to her, looks like he wants to ask her about the stupid dreamy smile on her face. If Glimmer were here, she definitely would ask. While Bow has a sense of boundaries, Glimmer doesn’t.
Maybe that’s why they’re dating. Opposites attract and all that.
She’s thought about telling her friends before. Even if they’d judge her for crushing on someone when she doesn’t know what they look like. Or their name. That would be the big thing. But she doesn’t want to tell them. It’s sort of like she and Cyra have their own little world, one that exists for just the two of them.
Plus, telling them about Cyra would mean telling them she likes girls.
“Hey,” Bow finally nudges her once they’ve both finished their work. Adora is pretty sure most of her answers are wrong, because she sucks at math, but she doesn’t care. All she can think about is Cyra. “Are you sure you don’t want to help out with the play? Last chance to sign up today.”
“Really sure,” Adora says. Bow and Glimmer are both involved with the theatre department. They play the leads in this year’s play. Adora doesn’t know what it is. Maybe something Shakespeare? That’s usually how it is. “The rehearsals clash with soccer practice, anyway.”
“Oh,” Bow says, “never mind, then. Just thought I’d ask because we need people to help paint sets.”
It might make her a little bit obsessed, but Adora wonders if Cyra does any extracurriculars. They don’t ever talk about school related stuff, except vague things. And that’s usually Adora complaining. Maybe she should ask.
“Why don’t you paint the sets?” Adora asks. “Are you actors too good for it?”
“No, there’s just so much that needs painting,” Bow says, “even with the art club helping out. I’ll be surprised if we manage to get it all done by opening night.”
“Don’t forget to save me some tickets,” Adora says, because she always went to see the plays. She was a supportive best friend. “Three, in case Razz wants to come. She complained last year when you only gave us two and she had to stay home.”
“I’ll see if I can pull some strings,” Bow winks jokingly, and Adora already knows he’ll be able to get them. “How are Razz and your mom, anyway? We haven’t had a proper Best Friend Squad hangout at your place for a while, so I feel like I haven’t seen them in forever.”
“They’re good,” Adora says, which was true. Mara is really tired, but she works a lot, so Adora doesn’t blame her. “We should do something this weekend, though. I feel bad that I’ve been so busy.”
Busy meant curling up in her bed and emailing Cyra all night, but whatever.
“Are we not all going to the homecoming game on Friday?” Bow asks, “You love sports. I thought it was pretty much set in stone that we’d be going.”
“Oh, yeah,” Adora realises. She’s been so caught up in everything with Cyra that she’d forgotten. “I forgot that was this Friday.”
“Damn, you really have been busy,” Bow laughs good-naturedly, patting her on the back, “you’re lucky you have such a good friend to help you out.”
Adora smiles. “What would I do without you?”
The bell rings before Bow can say anything, and Adora immediately pulls her phone from her pocket. Even though she’s still in the classroom, it’s not technically class time anymore, which means she’s allowed to check her phone.
She checks her email, and she’s glad that Cyra has already responded to her last one. She’s never double emailed before, but she would’ve, if only to rant about her horrible Monday. Adora makes sure to be subtle as she reads what Cyra has written, even though she knows Bow wouldn’t sneak a peek at her phone. She at least wants to get an email sent back before she and Bow meet up with Glimmer.
-
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: already dying of boredom
Sept 28, 10:29AM
she-ra
is it just me, or is school getting easier?
i got all my class work done in ten minutes last period and spent the rest of the time basically doing my friend’s work for her. i think that’s another reason why i can’t wait to get to college. i’d actually appreciate a challenge one of these days.
anyway, i hope your day is going okay, i know monday is always a killer for you from the way you talk about it.
my day can be summed up so far with ‘bleh’. boring work and trying not to be annoyed by our devolved classmates. honestly i feel like you’re the only person in this school who doesn’t drive me absolutely fucking nuts and i don’t even know who you are
love, cyra
-
Okay, well.
Adora definitely isn’t telling her that she has an obnoxious tutor that she has to meet with on Mondays and Fridays.
She’s always known that Cyra is smart – in that first Tumblr post, she said she was looking at Yale and Columbia. It’s kind of intimidating, and Adora doesn’t want to come off like some dumb jock who isn’t good at the academic side of things. She knows she can’t exactly help finding subjects like literature and history difficult because of the amount of reading, but the only people that know she’s dyslexic are her mother and Razz. And Adora’s not even entirely sure Razz knows.
It doesn’t help that she sucks at math, too. School in general was apparently never destined to be Adora’s strong suit, apparently.
She lets out a few absent ‘uh-huh’ noises as Bow talks to her about… something, and doesn’t tear her gaze away from her phone as she types a response.
-
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: already dying of boredom
Sept 28, 10:45AM
Cyra,
It’s definitely just you.
And to answer your question, my day is as sucky as I predicted it would be. So that’s great. Not.
I appreciate being the only person who doesn’t drive you crazy, but just wait until you meet me in person. You’ll definitely retract that statement when I blast cheesy pop music and make you dance to it with me.
Because I do. Want to meet you in person. I know you’re not ready for people in real life to know you’re gay, and I’m not asking you to meet me right now. I’m just putting it out there. Letting you know. No pressure. :)
Love, She-Ra.
-
She bumps into someone right after sending the email. When she realises who it is, her heart sort of stutters in her chest for a moment. “Oh, sorry.”
Huntara shrugs easily. “No big deal.”
Huntara steps to the side and past Adora without another word. Slowly, Adora tucks her phone into her pocket and stares after Huntara as she makes her way down the hallway.
So, she doesn’t want to get her hopes up, but she’s pretty certain that Huntara is Cyra.
And no, she’s not just saying that because she maybe likes Huntara.
It’s little things that Cyra has said in her emails. She’s always so careful about what she says, but there are a few things she’s let slip. For one, her obvious intelligence. Adora knows that Huntara is smart; one time, a teacher had put Huntara’s history paper on Adora’s desk by mistake, and she’d scored a 93. Plus, she’s a senior, like Adora.
And maybe it’s wrong to say it, but Adora gets a vibe from her. Like she could be gay.
She’s quiet, too. Maybe not fly under the radar quiet, because she’s so tall and muscular she’d be hard not to notice, but still quiet. Adora thinks she’s seen her at a party once in the last four years, and Cyra has mentioned that she’s not interested in partying.
So, yeah, Adora is pretty sure that Huntara is Cyra. Which would work out perfectly, because Adora was attracted to Huntara before Cyra was in the picture. She doesn’t try to, but when she pictures Cyra’s face, Huntara just sort of… comes to mind.
It just fits. That’s all.
She doesn’t hope that it’s Huntara she’s been talking to. She probably wouldn’t be disappointed if Cyra wasn’t Huntara after all.
But she’s pretty certain she is.
It’s just a gut feeling, and if Adora knows anything, it’s that her gut feeling is always right.
She’s still reeling from her earlier encounter with Huntara as she follows Bow and Glimmer down the hallway. The school day is almost over, and all Adora wants to do is go home, collapse into bed, and email Cyra until she falls asleep.
But she can’t. The worst part of her day – even worse than two hours of Calculus – is upon her.
“Okay, if you’re not waiting by the auditorium doors at four-thirty, we’ll leave without you,” Glimmer says with a grin as they pause at the top of a hallway. She and Bow are going straight on to rehearsals, and Adora has to leave A block to go to B block for her tutoring session.
Adora knows she’s just joking – Bow and Glimmer always wait for her to give her a ride home, since Adora hasn’t passed her test yet – but she rolls her eyes and shoves her lightly. “Asshole.”
“You’ll be rethinking that after your tutoring session,” Glimmer says teasingly, “after being stuck in a room with Catra for an hour, you’ll think I’m the nicest person on the planet.”
Adora sighs. Even the mention of her condescending, asshole tutor’s name is enough to make her mood sour. “God, don’t remind me. I’ll see you guys at four-thirty. If I survive.”
Bow smiles that reassuring smile of his. “You two are always so negative. You’ll be fine.”
Glimmer snorts. “Yeah, if she gets a new tutor.”
“Glimmer!” Bow scolds her, and Adora laughs at the affronted look on Glimmer’s face. That’s one way to cheer her up, at least. “We’re supposed to be giving our best friend a pep talk, here.”
“And we’re late to rehearsal,” Glimmer points out, and Bow checks his watch. His eyes widen, and he cringes.
“Go,” Adora says, because she knows he won’t leave until he’s sure she’s properly cheered up. But she has another way to do that. “I’m sure I can fight her off if she decides today’s the day she wants to kill me.”
It’s only half a joke. Catra isn’t known for being the nicest, but she really seems to hate Adora. She’s always calling her stupid, making fun of her for not understanding things, and Adora finds it so hard to ignore it when that’s always been a sensitive subject.
“Okay,” Bow nods, patting her on the shoulder before Glimmer tugs him down the hallway. He calls back a cheerful, “See you at four-thirty!” and Adora watches after her two best friends until they turn a corner and disappear from view.
If they’re late to rehearsal, Adora is definitely late for her tutoring session. But Catra is going to be a bitch either way, so she’s slow on the walk to B block and the empty old music classroom that is her regular source of hell. She uses the time to check her email, to see if Cyra has responded to the one from morning break. She hadn’t replied during lunch break, but she doesn’t normally email during school hours. The morning break email had been a pleasant surprise.
Almost like Cyra knew Adora had the worst part of her day yet to come, there’s an email sitting in her inbox when she refreshes.
-
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: live laugh love
Sept 28, 3:31PM
she-ra
sending virtual hugs!!!
and… i just cringed at myself. i sounded like one of those live laugh love bitches. disgusting.
in all seriousness though, it sucks that your day… well, sucks. but hey, at least the day’s over. you can go home and do whatever your heart desires, unless you have any extracurriculars.
i am definitely against cheesy pop music. but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with you. :)
i know you probably won’t believe me, but i do want to meet you too. i guess i’m just not ready for that right now? it’s not even the gay thing – or, well it kind of is – but i just have a bad feeling about it. like maybe you have these expectations of me in your head. i don’t want to disappoint you. but one day, when we’re both comfortable… i’d like that.
i want to call you an idiot to your face ;)
love, cyra
-
Adora knows she isn’t ready. She’d known it when she was writing her email earlier, and she never wants to pressure Cyra. Even though Adora loves the anonymity, and the safe space they’d made, a part of her wants to know what it would be like to have a person. Because sometimes, Cyra doesn’t feel real.
She is real, and Adora knows she’s real. She could’ve walked past her in the hallway at any point today. But in a way, it’s kind of like she’s a super smart AI that lives in Adora’s Gmail inbox. Meeting her, having at least one person who knows her completely… something about that makes Adora’s stomach go crazy with butterflies.
Maybe because in her mind, it’s like a rom-com. They organise a place to meet, like the soccer pitch, and Adora will run over and see her and Huntara will pull her into her arms and kiss her like she’s never been kissed before.
Or, you know. Whoever she is.
The butterflies fluttering in her stomach die a sudden death when she rounds the corner and sees an irritated Catra stood in front of the classroom door. Her arms are folded across her chest, and she’s scowling at Adora like she wants to throttle her.
Adora quickly pockets her phone and meets Catra’s gaze. As horrible as she is, Adora can’t deny she’s attractive. Golden brown skin that never ever seems to break out, because of course the powers that be would give that blessing to such a bitch. Her hair is pretty too – it’s chestnut brown and has a sort of unruly quality to it, messy but by intention. It’s always pulled back in an untidy ponytail, the kind that would make Adora look like a lunchlady, but of course it makes Catra look like a runway model. These cute little freckles are dotted across Catra’s cheeks and across the bridge of probably the most perfect nose ever, and her eyes are especially stunning. One blue like the ocean waves, and the other a deep amber that looked like a pool of honey.
But then Catra opens her mouth, and any positive thought flies out of the window. “Don’t you have any consideration for anyone other than yourself? You’re late, idiot.”
She twists the handle on the classroom door and stomps inside. Adora follows reluctantly and isn’t surprised when Catra doesn’t bother to hold the door open for her. Talk about consideration for anyone other than herself.
“Sorry for not learning how to teleport,” Adora mutters bitterly, “I have to walk here all the way from the math block.”
“Surprised you even know where the math block is, considering how much you suck at it,” Catra retorts, flipping open her textbook like it had done something to personally offend her. “Hurry up and get your shit out. I don’t have all day here.”
If you don’t have all day, then why do you bother tutoring in the first place? That’s what Adora wants to ask. Honestly, she’s ninety percent sure it’s just because Catra loves lording her ‘superior intelligence’ over everyone else. Either that or the verbal beatdowns she gives Adora every session.
If Adora had her shit together, Catra wouldn’t even be her tutor right now. It was a random assignment at the beginning of the school year. Even though Adora isn’t the most academic, she wanted to get her grades up to look more appealing to college recruiters and soccer scouts, so she’d signed up to get one of the school’s tutors. Catra ended up being said tutor, and Adora hadn’t realised she could request a switch until two days after the deadline.
So now, Adora’s only choices are to endure Catra for the rest of senior year or stop getting tutored.
She chose the former, because despite how awful Catra is, she’s actually a good teacher. At least, Adora thinks so, once she stops insulting her and starts explaining.
“Wow, you bombed this test,” Catra laughs mockingly as she looks at Adora’s grade on the pop quiz they’d been given in physics last week. “A 67? My cat could get a better score.”
“It was a surprise test and I hadn’t studied because I had soccer practice the night before.” Adora mutters in reply, snatching the paper back. She hadn’t meant for Catra to see that – it had fallen out along with her math work. “And it’s none of your business.”
“Yeah, because mindlessly kicking a ball around a field is more important than your grades,” Catra says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I bother. You dumb jock types are all the same. What’s it like, peaking in high school?”
Adora can say with confidence that she doesn’t hate anybody. That’s not the kind of person she is. But god, Catra pushes her.
She grits her teeth. Catra’s just trying to provoke her and Adora knows it. “Can you just do what you’re here for and actually teach me something, instead of insulting me?”
Catra pouts mockingly. “Aw, did I hurt your feelings? Cry me a river and then open your physics textbook to the chapter on waves and optics.”
Adora spares her a scowl before flipping to the correct page. “I have read this before, you know.”
“Wouldn’t have guessed, from the travesty you made of that test,” Catra retorts. There’s this glint in her eye, and Adora knows she’s enjoying this. It makes her want to strangle her just that little bit more. “I’ll talk you through it. By four-thirty, I’m sure even a bozo like you can get the hang of it.”
And even though Catra uses literally every single opportunity she has to insult Adora, by the end of their session, Adora actually understands the material. So, yeah, enduring Catra’s company for an hour a day, two days a week, is maybe worth it.
Adora’s still relieved when Bow and Glimmer drop her off at home though. They invite her out for ice cream, but she’s too tired, because dealing with Catra for an hour is exhausting. Worth it, but exhausting. When she gets home, she makes the immediate decision to get into her pyjamas, and she’s just about to curl up in bed and email Cyra back when the front door opens.
Adora smiles and comes out of her bedroom to say hi to her mother. She knows that Mara had a long shift at the hospital today. “Hi. Good day?”
“Oh, just the best,” Mara says, but Adora can hear the tired sarcasm. Mara holds up a paper bag with a smile. “But I got takeout, so now it’s marginally better.”
“Ooh,” Adora swipes the bag from Mara’s hand and takes it into the lounge. She opens it up and grins. Burgers. Just what she needs after a long, extremely sucky day. “Mine’s the double cheeseburger, right?”
Mara laughs. “Yes, because you eat your body weight for every meal.”
“I’m an athlete,” Adora shrugs, “I’m allowed to.”
Razz turns her nose up as they take the food into the lounge to watch TV while they eat. “I won’t be eating any of that garbage. I made perfectly good spaghetti.”
“I’ll have her burger,” Adora volunteers, and she’s planning on enjoying some leftover spaghetti later too. Again, she’s going to use the athlete excuse. “No sense in wasting it.”
Adora expects the rest of the day to be mundane, just casual television watching with her mom until bedtime.
But nothing is ever that easy for her.
“So, I was talking to my friend at work today, and her son is around your age.”
Adora pauses with a handful of fries halfway to her mouth. She almost drops them, but she moves fast and catches them before they can fall on the couch. “Oh. Okay.”
“I was thinking, maybe we could set you two up,” Mara says like she’s doing Adora this huge favour, “he’s a really nice boy, I’ve met him myself.”
There it is. That right there, Adora thinks, is the reason for her mental block. The reason the words I’m gay stay trapped in her throat. She loves her mother, and they have an amazing relationship, but that doesn’t mean Mara is without fault. And her fault seems to be already planning Adora’s life out for her, at least in the relationship aspect.
She’s always making comments about what she’s going to do when Adora brings home her first boyfriend or pointing out ‘hot’ male celebrities on TV shows and joking that Adora loves them. And Adora never has the heart to say anything to stop her.
Mara had given up a lot for her. She was just starting medical school when she found out she was pregnant, and had to drop out to have Adora, especially when the douchebag that was Adora’s faceless father had left her alone with the responsibility. Mara was going to be a doctor, and she’d given that up for Adora. She still hasn’t gone back to school to earn her medical license and is currently working shitty hours at the local hospital as a severely underpaid nurse.
So, if it makes her mother happy to joke about Zac Efron being Adora’s long lost love, Adora isn’t going to break her heart.
“What do you say?” Mara asks with that excited, hopeful smile on her face. “Should I tell Sandra to set something up?”
“I have a lot going on right now,” Adora says, and she tries to ignore the disappointment on her mom’s face. She especially tries to ignore that taunting thought at the back of her mind of just how disappointed Mara is going to be when she finds out Adora likes girls. “Senior year and all that. I don’t have time.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Mara smiles, but Adora knows she doesn’t mean it. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”
I won’t. “Sure, mom.”
“So, what do you want to watch?” Mara passes the remote over to her but makes suggestions anyway. “Buffy? There’s plenty of eye candy now we’re on season four with the army guys.”
Actually, there’s been plenty of eye candy the entire time, because Sarah Michelle Gellar is right there. But Adora finds that she doesn’t have the stomach for her mom’s teasing tonight. Maybe it’s the aftermath of her study session with Catra – she’s too tired to deal with both today.
“I’ve actually got a lot of homework to do,” Adora says, pushing the remote back over to her mom and abandoning the rest of her fries. “I’ll probably be in my room all night. See you in the morning. Love you.”
Adora ignores any questioning as she takes her leftovers to the kitchen and quickly makes her escape upstairs. She flops down onto her bed with a sigh, and grabs her laptop, loading up her Gmail account. It’s times like these when she’s so grateful for Cyra; it’s so freeing, having someone to vent to about this stuff.
Adora wants to meet her so badly. Even if it’s just to thank her for everything she’s done to help her.
She lets out a long, much needed sigh, and starts composing her next email.