Freshman
Around this time Melina was working and doing pageants as her mother was convinced it was a way for her to earn money for college. Melina really thought her mother would give up on the idea since Melina didn't really win any pageants but for some strange reason always ended up nominated for miss congeniality. Which considering her anti- social tendencies made her wonder what the hell was going on. She kept to herself. She couldn't afford dresses from the pageant shops as her mother drug her inside for a thousand dollar dress that they couldn't afford but would make mental note of the style so they could make the dress out of off brand scrap fabric from the local craft stores. Melina would be forced to do rehearsals and practice her talent as it would have been singing if it wasn't for her siren abilities she would have displayed it. Melina didn't want to be there little less the recognition of her powers. Melina remembered her elementary school years when she would inter in the school talent show and always end up paired with a musical group who sang acapella. Melina sang not loud enough to spell the crowd as she knew her voice was dangerous and she couldn't control it. She sang off key or on a frequency lower than needed to not activate her powers as she knew this would be devastating. When the talent lost they would blame Melina for messing it up. She was okay with this as she knew what she had to do and the blame it would bring. Her embarrassing herself in talent shows was a risk she was willing to take. Melina stood in front of the floor to ceiling mirror on a podium to be easier to measure the length needed for the dress to fit. Her mother always made it sounded like she had all intentions of purchasing the white gown that was specifically was told not to wear pastel colors because it was bias color for the judging panel. But her mother wanted Melina to win no matter if they broke rules. She spent hours prepping her for a dress she would never have and promise to come back to look at it and never return to the store. Knowing damn well she was just getting ideas for her homade dress to compete against other girls that looked nothing like her. Melina hated pageant season as her mother would push her to attend every practice as the girls snickered at her appearance and branch off to their own groups isolating Melina. It was during this time Melina was most alone. Melina didn't like her body as she looked more developed than most girls and when the bathing suit section came into play she managed to secure a boy shorts and tank suit as she wasn't into high thigh one pieces . She had a nice body but was a little insecure about parading her butt cheeks in front of the entire student body. She had convinced her mom to let her sit out seventh grade and eighth grade year but now she was graduating to a full fledge freshman in highschool her mother wasn't going to hear it. Girls spent months preparing for these things and spent thousands on clothes, and makeup and hair. Melina was forced to do her own hair as her mom didn't care what happened to Melina all she helped with was the dress. The rest was up to Melina. Ninth grade year was eventful. Jason had came back where he had somehow talked his way back into the coven as he was dating Ashley now. He pulled the whole I'm a virgin guy line on Ashley and Melina knew he used that line on Kimberly but she didn't want to discourage her friends happiness as she already implicated herself in his and Kimberly's break up and she didn't want anything more to do with his stunts. High school was different. In middle school you had some beef but here it was an entirely different playground. The sandbox was bigger and the people were unforgiving. Ashleigh the hussie from middle school had had her babies and when I mean babies I meant plural as in twins. A boy and girl set. Brittany the cheerleader didn't come back as she was at home in a maternity school for teenage moms herself. The school was so massive that the three gods of middle school was yesterday's thoughts. Melina chose drama and art as an elective .she had a free period called study hall that she had first period as it was a perfect opportunity to finish up homework she didn't have time to do the night before with her working and preparing for the pageant season.,on top of ball park softball. Melina you could say she went through a plastic mean girls phase where on Wednesday instead of wearing pink her group voted for pluade pleated skirts and boots. Looking like sexy misfits once a week. We would all get or borrow skirts and once a week we would be seen . Melina always wore black and green with knee high boots and fishnet stockings with some sort of buns on the side of her head . After a few weeks she got nick named legs as she had really nice legs. Around this time Melina met a senior named matt. Now the back story of Matt was his mother was the schools secretary and his mom and her mom had history. Years prior when mia was allowed to stay home while Melina and Paula was still in the system and Mia's grandparents had custody of her since mia was amasdapated from her mother as a capable parent. Basically in layman's terms mia divorced her biological mother as her legal guardian. Mia was throwing up and wanted to make a call for someone to come and get her and Mrs. Barnes was the secretary who allowed kids to make requests for calls. Mia made herself a reputation for being difficult to the staff and she told mia to throw up on her desk and she will let her make a call because she didn't believe an McNally . Back then they used to have payphones on the school grounds as mia made a collect call to her mother as her grandmother was sick in the house and her grandad couldn't drive to get her. Lara showed up and asked Mrs. Barnes why she didn't let mia call home and Mrs Barnes explained she didn't like the Mcnally's as all they do is skip school and cause problems. Lara McNally proceeded to throw herself over her desk and assult the woman. Every since then Mrs. Barns mother to matt Barnes had a real chip on her shoulder about any McNally . Matt sat in the gymnasium as him and Melina practiced their skit . Melina like him as she was bold as she introduced herself to him. Matt didn't really date as he was focused on football and getting a scholarship but he saw Melina as beautiful and when he realized she was sixteen and he was eightteen he didn't see why he couldn't date the pretty new freshman . This would be the first and last high school guy she dated in this school. Matt took fast to her as they began to officially date after the dramas finals . Where Melina was awarded the role of Marian from raider of the lost arc as he finals. Matt would check her out to go eat lunch off campus with her and he had no idea Melina was the McNally his mother warned him against. This went on for a while as he took her to the movies to watch a James bond die another day as Melina mother made him meet her at the movie theater as she stayed in the parking lot. She was like a helicopter parent as she followed Melina around on dates which made no sense to her since Paula and Mia was allowed to go where they wanted and both moved out at sixteen. Her and Matt went to the movies as Melina always kept a twenty in her purse in case she misunderstood what this date meant . Melina didn't trust a nice guy to not want something in return and what little advice Dana gave her although misguided made her not trust a guys intentions if she wasn't going to put out for him in the end. She had seen how her sisters sold their bodies for luxury and comfort but Melina was not going to do that. She was prepared for the worst. She bought her a prepaid phone the ones that only showed numbers as incoming caller and it was flip phone that had number as text lines . So her first date she had her phone turned off and twenty dollars if she didn't pan out for him. A phone to call home and twenty dollars to pay her way . She had such a older perspective to dating as she didn't like surprises. Her mother sat and watched her daughter as she left with the boy to go get a bite of eat at milo's as she followed them in her car. They arrived to the movie too early and wanted to get food. When the movie was over Melina felt her phone ringing as she answered the phone . " Where did you two go?" Fussed her mother . " We are at the movie theater . We just got out of the movie." Melina replied confused. " I can see the milo's cup in your hand. Don't lie to me . Did I tell you could go anywhere else other than where I left you." Said her mother as Melina scanned the parking lot to see her mother's car. " Come to the car now we are leaving! " Demanded her mother and just like that a normal date was ruined by her mother. Melina apologized to Matt as she knew it looked pathetic that she wasn't allowed to go on dates without her mom . Matt said he would call as she knew this wasn't ever going to get better. Melina knew her mother wasn't ever going to let her date like she did with her sisters . She saw that when she made Paula sit between her and the other boy. She didn't understand why the hell did her mother care at all. She didn't take any interest in what her daughter wanted if it wasn't softball or pageants Melina didn't exist to her. But when she started dating all of a sudden she wasn't allowed to do anything. Melina got in the car as Lara and David sat in the car. " Do that again and you won't see that boy ever again." Demanded her mother. Melina didn't understand why she was so persistent in her life about boys. But sometimes people who lacked control over their own life finds control in another's life because it gave them some sense of power even if it was directed at the wrong direction. Melina shook her head at her mother not letting her do anything. She let Paula and Mia get away with everything. Paula was living with her boyfriend and mia was married and with a baby at seventeen . But Melina at sixteen could go on one date alone. It was unfair and absolutely absurd.