Odessa felt a sense of relief when she realized she was finally done with school at the Academy. She was glad to finally graduate, but it was bittersweet at the same time. She had made lots of friends and people she knew she'd miss, but it was the thought of being on her own that hurt the most. She wished more than anything that her mother could be here to see her graduate, to see her becoming an adult. She stared at a picture of her, smiling softly. "This is for you, Mom."
Next would come the hardest part, telling her aunt that she wasn't going to Asterion to become a Psychologist. It was something the two of them had constantly fought over, and she knew that her aunt wasn't going to be happy with her decision. It was fine, however. Even though her aunt and cousins were the last of her blood-related family that she knew, it wasn't like they ever really acted like it. Odessa was more or less the child that her aunt had never wanted, and she had a feeling that her aunt blamed her for her mother's death, not that there was anything that a child could have done to save her.
She knew that meant that holidays would be spent alone, but she didn't have any doubt that her aunt would disown her. That meant things would be hard from here on out. She'd have to get a job to pay for school, she'd have to work her a** off to prove that she made the right decision. But she knew her mother would be proud of her, she had always told her to go to school for what she wanted to do, not what other people told her to do. So as much as she'd piss her aunt, and the only family she had left, off, she had to do this no matter what, if nothing else than to honor the memory of her mother.
Honestly, the more she thought about it, she wouldn't actually be totally alone. She had Kara and she had Lazarus, and she was even sure that Lazarus' bandmates would be there for them too. They had made their own sorted family, a family that would stick together no matter what. They'd spend their own holidays together, they'd make life bright on their own, with or without their guardians' help. She would make sure life was good, and the first step to that was going to school for what she always dreamed of going to school for, Writing.
She slowly began to pack up her things, drawing in a long breath as she looked around, knowing how much she was truly going to miss the place. She took one long last look at the picture of her mother, gave a smile and carefully placed it on the top of the box. She knew she was going to make it and that her mother was watching from above with a smile on her face.
