𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 - 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞

fourty-seven

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𝙎𝙀𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙎𝙊𝙊𝙉?

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𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆, the summer days seemed to fly by for Mollie Wilson. Her days were mostly spent with Riz or her brothers, her nights spent nestled on the sofa atop of the skip with Missy, Nas and a two litre bottle of cheap cider. Honestly, it felt like life couldn't really get much better for the girl and she only wished that summer would last forever.

Alas, as the weeks passed on, the return of school edged ever closer but there was just one important day that stood in the way. Results Day.

An important day for students across the country, somewhat of a rite of passage. Some feared it and felt a pit of dread as the day loomed over them, while others anticipated it with a secret hope in their hearts. Regardless of how they felt, there was no escaping it.

Mollie did not dread the day for her own sake, as her A Level exams didn't take place until Year 13. Instead, she couldn't help but naturally feel nervous for two of the most important people in her life and, in her opinion, two of the most deserving.

The first was Jordan who had experienced one hell of a year, and came so close to giving up with school countless times. School wasn't necessarily Jordan's strongest suit and she could tell that he was expecting the worst after how his exams had gone. That filled her with worry, because she knew more than anyone that Jordan was a bright lad, and he had so much potential if only he had the right outlet for it.

Missy, on the other hand, was another person whose outcome Mollie was deeply invested in. Like Jordan, the oldest Booth sister had also had a rollercoaster of a year, and at times it felt like there was nothing left that could be thrown at her. But amongst all of that chaos, she somehow remained so positive and determined to progress into sixth form, and Mollie only hoped that all of the girl's hard work was enough to get her there.

"You didn't have to come, you know?" Jordan mumbled lowly as they walked into the canteen, where the results were being given out. He sounded nervous.

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to, Jord." Mollie replied with a shrug.

He didn't say anything in return, and instead made a beeline for the last alphabetically ordered table of envelopes.

"Wilson. Uh, Jordan Wilson." He spoke nervously as he shuffled from side to side on his feet, but from the way Lorraine had already started to sift through the pile of envelopes, it was clear he needed no introduction.

After an agonising few seconds, she pulled out an envelope and handed it over to Jordan with a tight-lipped smile. "Good luck, son."

He gave her a light nod before walking towards an empty space in the canteen, with Mollie following behind tentatively. She bit down on her lip as he opened the seal on the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper, which in that moment felt like the most important piece of paper in the world.

As he unfolded it, Mollie flickered her gaze between Jordan's face and the paper in his hands. Back to his face, and back to the paper again, desperate for any kind of indication as to how he'd fared.