Introduction: One

Serena

"Yes Peter, I'm taking Serena to school right now," Gemma was speaking with my father who was living 2782 miles from where we were.

The neighborhood was lovely or it looked lovely. The wind was gushing through the half opened window of the car. The wind tasted salt; Saint Florida beach was nearby.

Whatever, I'm going to be the new girl at school today. We arrived yesterday from California and our place of stay was a house with three rooms. Gemma liked the place but I didn't like it. It was way smaller to my previous house. But Gemma insisted that we should work upon this.

"Yeah I'm going to meet the Principal today. I heard that he's such a nice gentleman," Gemma was saying.

"Don't tell me what to do," She laughed. "How's Vanessa? Is she home?"

Vanessa was my father's fiancée. He and Gemma broke up an year ago. And Gemma was my mother.

"Serena, your father wants to talk to you," Gemma handed me her phone.

"Hello...," my voice croaked out.

"Hey koala, are you ready to go to school?" Peter spoke out and a shiver went down my spine.

I'm not ready, I wanted to say.

"I'm not a child dad. I'll be a legal adult in an year," I exclaimed and I heard Peter laugh.

"That's exactly why you should stay safe. Remember last time..."

"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me. Goodbye. Say hi to Vanessa."

I hung up.

After that night, mom and dad were having constant fights. My father blamed my mother for not keeping me safe. My mother complained that it was my father's fault. I had no family.

However, everything was on me.

***

"Serena darling, we're here."

I did not like schooling. When I stepped out of the car, I wanted to run back to California. Girls and boys were everywhere; doing nothing. I covered my face with the hood in my long sleeved t-shirt.

Gemma and I climbed the long staircases. I had my lensed eyes down to the ground. My blonde wig was falling to my face. I didn't want to lock eyes with people here. I did not want them to know me. I did not want them to notice me at all.

The principal, Mr. Pattinson, was a fine looking man. He welcomed me and Gemma and offered us seats before the discussion.

"So why did you leave California High and come here? I've heard that it's a better school than here. And all the rich kids go there..." Pattinson began his ideal speech.

"Mr. Pattinson, I was transferred from my job from California to Florida. I couldn't leave my daughter there. So I had to find her a new school..."

"Where exactly do you work?" Pattinson eyed suspiciously.

"At Reinforce limited. I'm the executive manager there," she said with confidence.

Actually, my mother did work for Reinforce but she was not transferred from the headquarters. She, in fact, transferred herself to Florida.

"Nice to meet you Serena Waltz, welcome to your new school," Pattinson shook hands with me and handed me a file.

"Give this to Mr. Barnes, he's the teacher in charge of your classroom. Your classroom is 11A which is the first class you see when you turned left from the corridor over there."

"Thank you, Mr. Pattinson." I said.

When we went out of the office, I was not sure if I would be able to walk to the classroom. My legs felt numb.

"Do I need to walk you to the classroom?" Gemma asked me.

I shook my head. I didn't want to show Gemma that I was weak after all that happened.

"I'm okay. Pick me up after school." I told Gemma.

I shuffled away from her.

Unknown faces were passing me and I knew that they were looking at me. I had my blonde wig covering half of my face. My disguise was enough but I was praying god that I was not going to be recognized by somebody.

Suddenly, I bumped into something. I didn't see a wall. Or it was an invisible wall.

However, my file had fallen off from my hands and the sheets were flying around. I tried to grab them.

"Use your eyes when you walk," a beautiful voice complained as I gathered the sheets into my file, still looking on the floor.

"Do you hear me? Don't bump into some other moron again..." the voice rang music in my ears.

"I'm sorry... I didn't see you coming..." I said as I stood up to leave.

But just at the moment I did, my eyes locked with his eyes.

They were blue, lighter than the sky but darker than the color of water. There were hues, shades in them that I had never seen before. They were green at the edges, too bright for a lawn but too dark for a leaf.

And all the fires inside me vanished for a split second with the water in his eyes.

Keep reading... there's still to come.

-Golden Calypso