A Perfect Day

 It had been a month since Tara had arrived at Hyzen already.

The weather was dropping a little bit more and everyone was starting to prep for midterms.

 At first, she'd been pretty overwhelmed with the schedules – not quite grasping all of the artsy stuff.

 For some reason, she started thinking more and more about the real Tara. Was she permanently in this body or would the real Tara come back for it one day?

 If so, was she ruining it for her?

 The pressure was starting to build.

 She even finally adjusted to Tara's mother's frequent phone calls.

 She would call frequently at various times in the day, always causing Tara to jump at the sound of her ringtone.

 No one ever bothered to call Maisie, and thinking back she wondered how many people ever actually kept her phone number.

 Her phone never went off anyways.

 Speaking of the devil, as Tara looked in the mirror, her phone went off.

 "MOTHER CALLING"

 Tara quickly answered and held her phone to her ear as she fidgeted with her hair in the mirror.

 "Hi mom~" She cooed. It was nice to have a mother that actually cared and wanted to be involved in her life. Such a stark contrast to her own mother.

 "Hi honey. How are you doing this morning? Did you have breakfast yet? Did you sleep well?"

 "Mom, mom, slow down! I slept fine. I'm not feeling hungry this morning so I think I'm going to skip breakfast."

 Her mother gasped, "Tsk! You should eat breakfast! You have a lot of work coming up! It's important to nurture your body and your mind!"

 Tara nodded and let out a few "Uh-huhs" and "Mhmms" here and there as her mother went on a long rant about the importance of a balanced diet.

 "Mom, I know. I'll get something on the way to class. Happy?"

 'Mom' – it was a word she couldn't stop saying.

 "Good! Oh, honey, I'm so glad. You sound like you're doing so much better. I can hear it in your voice."

 Her mom had mentioned it a few times – something about her 'doing better'. Had Tara been sick or something?

 "Mhm. I'm a little stressed but, I'm happy. I'm making friends and there's a guy I like too."

 She could practically hear her mother jumping up with surprise and excitement.

 "A guy?! Tara! You've never spoken to me about guys before!"

 There was a high-pitched squeal in her voice, one that Tara might've mistaken for a little girl getting excited over ice cream or a cute puppy.

 "Well, that's because…" she had to think fast, "…there's never been a guy before."

 She closed one eye and tensed, hoping that Tara never had an obvious boyfriend that she just didn't talk about.

 How could Tara be so beautiful, so talented, and loved so much by her mother, to never have had a boyfriend…EVER?

 "I want to hear all about him! Tell me everything and don't leave out any details! I want to know who this boy is, his name, how you met, everything!"

 Tara smiled, it suddenly felt like she was in a movie, gossiping with a girlfriend.

 She thought this is how it would be with Ellie. That they'd sit in their dorm room all night and chit chat about boys and relationships and have pillow fights.

 Or they'd stuff their faces with a variety of snacks while they watched movies and prank called businesses, go to wild parties.

 Unfortunately, Ellie was always busy studying, staying up all night with her face glued to the books with her dim desk light illuminating her academic lifelines.

 'BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!'

 Tara pulled the phone away from her ear, realizing that her mother was still going on and on, begging for details or any sort of tidbit of information.

 She saw on her screen that there was a text from Nate.

 "Sorry mom, I got to go! I'll call you later!"

 Without giving her mother the chance to react, she hung up the call and looked at the text.

 "Do you want to grab lunch today in the town? I know a good place. Meet me in the Quad."

 A huge grin spread over her face as she held her phone to her chest.

 "Meet you there! 😊"

 Tara placed her phone down and looked in the mirror. Today was technically her first date now so she had to make sure she looked extra good.

 She stared into the mirror once more and checked her appearance.

 "What would look good on me? I don't have experience with this…" She said aloud.

 She brushed her hair and put it into a clip, turning her head from side to side to check it out.

 "No that looks stupid." She took the clip out and tossed it on the counter.

 After rebrushing, she put it into a high ponytail, again turning her head side to side.

 It was fun to feel her hair whip back and forth but it just wasn't right, not for today.

 "Too casual."

 She then put it into two pigtails.

 "Well, now I just look like a baby."

 Then she got an idea!

 She gasped and pulled the rubber bands out, rebrushing and replacing them in her hair.

 After a few minutes, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She'd placed two small buns at the base of her head, hanging down.

 "That's so cute! I look cute!"

 She grabbed her purse and headed out. She wasn't sure how she'd focus on her classes with her heart practically beating out of her chest.

 Today was going to be a great day, she could feel it.

 As she walked to class with a huge smile on her face, she saw a girl waving to her, with a similar looking smile.

 "Tara! Tara!" She yelled.

 'Huh….did I meet her? I don't remember her?'

 Not wanting to be rude, Tara raised her hand and waved, "Hi!"

 Just then, another girl ran up to the girl before her and hugged her tight.

 "Farrah where were you yesterday?!"

 Tara felt a huge blush come over her face, her body feeling hot.

 She heard snickering coming from her left and she turned her head to see a guy messy sandy brown hair and eyes darker than the night, staring at her and snickering.

 She pouted and turned on her heel, marching off the class.

 'I guess it's not going to be a good day after all…..'