I feel like a kid that misbehaved during class and for punishment is now restricted from next week’s field trip. Maybe the only similarities are the cause and effect—misbehavior and restriction. If it were as simple as a student being barred from the MET, I’d simply throw a tantrum and have my mother call to reverse the sentence. But that’s not the case. Instead, my whole world is once again upside down and I’m left kicking for the chair just inches below my feet as I dangle from the rope tied to the ceiling beam. What a waste of time and energy this has been. That’s where I am at today, anyway. Yesterday was better—I was more understanding and less dramatic, but today I can’t help myself. I’m in world behind my eyeballs and I can’t force bubbly caitlin out. I now have less than a month to figure out my next chapter and as of yesterday it does not resemble anything I had previously conjured. [CHAPTER 3—Luca returns to the US with her tail between her legs. She is homeless, carless, and jobless.] Who knows, maybe if I’m a good girl I’ll be allowed to continue on to AUS.

…But for now: slap on the wrist, “Bad Luca, no Australia for you”.