Bonded To Thee Night

Cerina Ceril found herself in a ditch, blindfolded and tugged in a corner, she screams out for help but seems no one can hear her. Just then, the blindfolds come off, but everywhere around her remains dark, as she can barely see anything. Just then, she heard a voice calling out to her, a familiar voice her soul has long been yearning for. She turns around quickly and sees her father standing right in front of her. With arms wide open, he is calling out to her for an embrace.

"Cerina, daddy is here, don't be scared anymore", he calls out to her softly.

Cerina looks up to her dad, He is wearing his favorite gold rimmed glasses that makes him look like a modern professor, his lips wearing the sweetest smile.

"Dad!?", Cerina calls out as she takes a step forward to meet her dad.

"Cece!", he calls out softly again, still wearing his playful smile on his seemingly pale face. The fondness in his eyes, laced with his gentle expression, he seems really happy to see her, a beautiful smile appears on her face as she walks into his embrace.

But just then, two men emerge from the dark, and begin pulling him into the darkness with them. Cerina's steps come to a halt as she watches them pull him farther away from her, the look on her dad showing helplessness but he is unable to resist, just silently being pulled into the darkness as it engulfs them.

Cerina feels as though her feet has been stuck to one place, she only stretches her hand trying to reach out to her dad, uncontrollable tears streaming down her cheeks, as she watches her dad vanishing into the dark fog. Finally struggling to find her voice, she lets out a scream, "Dad!!"

And just then, Cece wakes up screaming, "Dad!", with her hands stretched out like she's grabbing something in the thin air. She sits still for a few seconds realizing it's just a nightmare, the same nightmare she's been experiencing for the past six months.

Slowly, she turns on the lamp by her bedside and reaches for a cup of water, she takes a glance at the wall clock sitting pretty on the wall, and it's just 4am in the morning. Feeling suffocated, she walks and sits by the window, peering into the darkness. The same darkness that was threatening to soak her whole being. Her mind dancing around, refusing to remain focused, she picks up a little frame of her dad and runs her finger on the smooth frame, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Dad! I miss you!", she said softly and brought the frame close to her heart. With this she drifted to sleep..

A gentle knock on the door woke Cerina up from her sleep, it was her mother Andrea Ceril, " Cece dear! Are you awake now?", her mother spoke softly from the other side of the door. " Cece dear! Get ready and come downstairs for breakfast. It's your first day in a new school, you don't want to arrive late on your first day."

Cece rolled her eyes and thought to herself " Who cares? I've been repeating this process consistently in the past few months "

"Cece! Are you awake?!", her mother called out

" Yes, I'm awake " Cerina finally replied her mother.

"Alright cupcake, I'll be waiting for you at the dining table. Hurry up!", she said before finally leaving.

Cece sitting up, took a glance at the neatly folded school uniform lying in her wardrobe. She now had different uniforms dumped in a corner of her room, soon it'll join them, she thought mockingly, her thoughts drifting further to the discussion she had with her mother the previous night...

"Cerina! Why have you chosen to stress your mother this way? Don't you want to graduate high school like your mates? I wonder what made you change so much?", her mother had scolded her. She only rolled her eyes, not giving her mother any response. "Cerina, please understand that I'm doing my best for you, I may not be as excellent as your dad but I really am doing my best Cece, what else do you want me to do?", her mother asked her with eyes full of concern.

Cerina's eyes teared up with the bare mention of her father, he was her weak spot. Her dad was the closest to her, despite all of his usual work and meetings, he would always still make out time for her, he was always there for her, emotionally, physically, financially and morally, as long as Cece needed him, he would be there. She was his only child after all, but her mum was always busy, work, work, work, and now her dad was no more, it only got worse, Cece let out a sigh.

" Cece!", her mother continued. " Do you think your father will be proud of you where he is? You used to be the topper of the class and even the whole school. But now, you've changed drastically, not only are your grades as bad as, you've been expelled from over eight schools in the past six months for misconduct, your father will be so disappointed in you"

Cece bowed her head in resignation, she really had changed, bad performance in school and worse more, expulsions were now part of her, she was continuously a nuisance. She recalled the previous last expulsion incident

" She leaned against the locker bank, picking at the scab on her knuckles. The fight had been worth it-some jerk from the wrestling team thought her lunch money was *donation money*. Now the guy was suspended, and the scab was her trophy.

*"Ceril."*

She turned.

The principal loomed like a storm cloud in a cheap suit. *"My office. Now!."*

He slapped a folder on his desk.

"Fight #3 this week!"

*"Expulsion's on the table."*

Cerina shrugged. *"He started it."*

*"You broke his nose."*

*"He *tripped*,"* She smirked. *"Into my fist. *Twice*."*

One time, she had cut off her classmate's long hair, because she had made mockery of her late dad's beard in a picture. Her dad doesn't keep much beards because the fewer it was, the younger he looked but that girl Mila had decided to be rude, Cece couldn't take it, her parents were influential and of course that led to her expulsion, other times, she had caused a fire in the school lab, ruining school equipments, removed a classmate's tooth cos he laughed at her, the more she got expelled, the more ruthless she became, and more nonchalant she was to studying,she had once gotten a teacher hospitalized because he used her as example of a bad student in front of the class, Cece definitely had quite a temper for tolerating insults. The more she got expelled, the more many schools were unwilling to keep her, Cece couldn't blame this recent behavior as influence of bad peers, Cece never kept friends, she was always ever alone, just her, she was lonely, extremely lonely! And maybe that was it. She felt empty, there was an empty vacuum in her soul, that one presence that was meant to bring life to her had long left her and was resting in the bossom of his Maker.

As Cece thought about it, tears flowed silently down her cheeks, dad used to be very proud of her academic success, she was the brightest in class and among the top students but now she had simply neglected her studies. Dad must be really disappointed.

She promised that from then on she would make a change, at least for the sake of her dad. She'd do all in her power to put her life back on track

Cerina quickly took her shower and dressed up for school. She was gonna be a new student yet again in a new school. She picked up her new uniform neatly folded. A sparkling white shirt, blue stripped pleated skirt that sat well above her knee and a matching tie. She tied her long hair into a messy bun, and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. It was more of a motivational smile. She had promised her mum, herself as well as her late dad that this time, it was gonna be different. She would try her best not to mess this one up, and she'd be the good student like always.

She just had to make it up to her dad.

With this she grabbed her bag,and made her way downstairs to have breakfast. She slowly descended the stairs, taking her time, but had to stop abruptly in her tracks, because she seemed to be hearing voices. It was coming from the dining room, undoubtedly her mothers' and another, a male voice. They seemed to be having a discussion with Cece being the center of the discussion. Her gaze darkened upon the sight and she exuded a chilling aura. That voice was oddly familiar and all her senses were wary of it. She went into the dining room to find her mother and the guest having breakfast already. Cece could only frown as she looked at them. The guest having noticed her presence smiled warmly at her, which only irritated her the more. He was Mr. Francis, her late dad's bossom friend, but Cece had never liked him from the onset. He had this negative aura surrounding him it seemed only Cece could feel, she just never liked him. Mr. Francis had reduced his frequent visits and barely ever showed up when her dad was alive because he knew she wasn't comfortable with his presence, although they still remained friends. But since the death of her father, he had been showing up like this was his house, which has been annoying Cece.

"Mum? What is he doing here? And what are you both discussing about me?" Cece asked still wearing a frown on her face without bothering to greet.

"Oh! Cece, you're here already! Come join us for breakfast! "Her mother said ignoring her question "Cece you look really good in that uniform, I hope this one lasts with you", she added knowingly.

Cece let out a heavy sigh and chose not to say anything further and instead took her seat to take her breakfast. "Yeah, I really hope this lasts. I really had to pull some strings before the school considered granting you admission to study there. I really hope you stay out of trouble while in school, I heard the principal is a very strict disciplinarian, having retired from the Army just few years ago."Mr. Francis said.

Cece squinted her eyes hearing what he said but chose to remain silent, as she ate. The rest of their breakfast ended in silence, Cece barely ate, having lost her appetite for some unknown reason. She wiped her mouth and went to get her luggage. The school was far from her residence, and her mum had preinformed her that she would be staying in the boarding house. Cece initially had objected to it because one thing she hated was compromising her privacy, but her mother made it clear that she would be staying in a private cabin,she only had to get used to staying without her mother. That didn't seem to bother Cece though because even while at home, her mother barely made time for them and maybe it would help her get used to her father's absence.

After grabbing her luggage, she came to the living room to inform her mother that she was ready.

"Alright, go put your luggage in the car, Mr. Francis will drive us to the school" her mother informed.

Cece's face turned sour immediately after hearing that, "Why does he have to drive me to school?" Cece asked with a frown.

"He is more familiar with the principal, and I need his help with your admission requirements", her mother tried to explain

"I'm not going to school in the same car with him", Cece said almost at the top of her voice

"Cece, don't be stubborn", her mother tried to persuade her

"Mom!?" Cece shouted. " I said, I won't be going to school in the same car as him", Cece exclaimed angrily, and left the room immediately.

Mr. Francis had been standing there, as Cece's mum threw a pitiful glance at him. She didn't understand why Cece had a strong aversion towards him when he only held her best interest at heart.

"Don't be too harsh on her, she's just a child" Francis spoke gently. "I'll drive in my car and you both can use your car", he said and walked out. Andrea could see that he was hurt but he tried not to show it.

About an hour later, a black Toyota and a red Corolla arrived at the gate of Blackthorn High. Cece and her mother in her Corolla and Mr. Francis in his black vehicle. After parking, they headed to the administrative block and after concluding her admission processes, she was assigned to a class immediately because classes had long resumed and was given her cabin. It was the final session of Senior class Two, just before her final year.

Cece stood before the class, and the English language teacher Miss.Ruby asked her to introduce herself to the class.

"Hi everyone, I'm Cerina Ceril, hope I'm welcome ", Cerina said rather boldly, and walked to the seat allocated to her. Just as she was settling down, her supposed seatmate stretched out her hand for a handshake, " Hi Cerina, I'm Helena Perkins, she said, a bright gentle smile shone on her lips.

"You can call me Cece for short ", Cece replied accepting the handshake

"In that case, I'll call you Cece", she said still smiling

The English class went on rather well, and Cece enjoyed the class, next was Biology and she participated actively, she loved the teaching.

Soon, it was time for lunch break, and Cece stepped out to get lunch at the cafeteria. She came across Helena on her way there, who was also with a friend from the next class.

"Cece, this is Patricia ", from Art Class. " Patricia, this is Cece, a new student in our class ", Helena said with a wide grin, she seemed to be a very jovial type

"Hi Patricia", Cece said with an acknowledging smile.

"You can call me Patty", she replied with a smile

"Seems you're heading to the cafe, we were on our way there, let's head together" Helena cut in, and the three girls chatted away.

Meanwhile in the shadows;

"She's the one, right?"

"Yes! Make sure you do what you have to do. Do not fail me!"

"Hehe, no worries, I just need the perfect moment to strike", he said with a malicious smirk

In the cafeteria, there was an annoyingly long queue. Cece couldn't help but ask;" What's going on?", she was surprised because she had never experienced such queue in a school cafe. "Well, it's usually this way, there's only two chef in the school, you know this school is not as advanced as other schools but the population here is surprisingly much, hence, the long queue. The earlier you get here, the lesser you have to wait in line" Helena explained

Cerina had no other choice but to wait in line, she only ate little in the morning and now her stomach was grumbling. She waited patiently as the line moved as slowly as ever.

Minutes later that seemed like forever, it was her turn to be served. Cece heaved a long sigh as she patted her grumbling stomach, but just then, a male student walked right in front of her, overtaking her, Cece was dumbfounded.

She tapped him lightly, and he turned to look at her. Suppressing all the anger that had risen in her, she tried to be gentle as possible and said," Hey! You don't just walk to the front of a queue and overtake everyone. Go wait for your turn!!", Cece said, her anger threatening to explode. He just looked at her, not saying a word, he scoffed and turned to place his order. Cece's anger rose to the top of her nerves as she pushed him away and screamed," Move to the back of the line!!"

The entire hall went silent as they watched the scene unfold, gasps and whispers that dared not to be too loud echoing amongst the students. Helena tugged Cece's sleeve,her expression confused, scared and at the verge of breaking down. "Cece, let it be! He's Senior Dylan!", Helena cried out.

" I don't care who the fxck he is!", Cece exclaimed angrily, her irritation clearly printed on her face.

Helena didn't wait for her to respond as she dragged her away from there, and motioned for Patty to get their food.

Meanwhile, Dylan's expression had turned cold, his gaze burning with fury and somewhat possessing a menacing aura," Who was this girl that dared to oppose him?"

Helena dragged the girl away but he couldn't take his eyes off her back view, glaring at her. She had dared to oppose him, his lips formed into a mocking smile laced with anger.

"Helena dragged Cece out, she looked like she was about to cry. " What's wrong with y'all? Why afraid of him? Because he's a senior? What gives a so-called senior the right to intimidate others that way?", Cece asked practically fuming with rage.

"He's not just any senior, he's Senior Dylan!", Helena cried out. "He'll forever haunt you for challenging him"

"Haunt me?? I dare him!!" Cece scoffed

"You don't understand. Senior Dylan is ruthless, once you cross his path and get him angry, he does really bad things. Even the principal respects him", Helena explained and then said in a whisper," He is nicknamed Demon rod, because he strikes without mercy ", Helena emphasized, fear and respect evident in her tone

"Pfft.." Cece burst out in mocking laughter. "Demon rod?!, what lame character name is that?", Cece laughed.

"It sounds funny but it's true. Cece, please avoid him", Helena pleaded

"Alright, alright, I'll do as you say", Celena said in resignation. She had promised just yesterday that she'd avoid all forms of trouble.

Speaking of ruthless, Cece couldn't help but smirk, she usually held a similar title but nobody ever dared to give her such ridiculous nickname. Or maybe they did, just not to her hearing.

A teacher whom Helena introduced as their Moral studies teacher called the attention of the two girls. When they arrived, " I heard you caused some drama at the cafeteria", he said staring at Cece. The man was Mr. Ben, he was rather slim, like someone who was underfeeding, with overly grown beards, although looking well maintained, didn't seem to fit his slim oval face. " I didn't intend to cause any drama. I just couldn't tolerate it when he came to overtake, I mean he won't d!e if he waits in line just like others!!", Cece complained.

"You're a new student, aren't you?", he asked scanning Cece from head to toe.

"Yes I am"

"You don't know about unspoken rules, huh?" Turning to Helena, he scolded "Why didn't you warn her before hand?"

"It... it just.. happened all of a sudden ", Helena stammered

"I just hope her foolishness doesn't cause problems for you", he told her and turned back to Cece

"I heard you're much of a troublemaker, that's why you got expelled, you better behave yourself in this school or else you'd regret it. Here we won't expel you, we'll only punish you, until you're tamed", he said annoyed.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm not a troublemaker, why scolding me when it's him who's at fault? I only retaliate when mistreated"

"I see you've got some nerves"he exclaimed angrily

"As much as I don't like trouble, I'll always give in full, if them ask for", Cece replied with incredible boldness

"We'll see how it goes then", he replied and walked away trying not to get angry.

"Why does everyone seem to be wary of this Dylan?" asked Cece anxiously

"I'd advise you to just not cross paths with him, let's leave details for later", Helena said and the two girls walked away changing the topic of discussion.

They both headed back to the cafeteria and got their lunch, Cece was surprised at the amount of the food apportioned to them. It was soo small, she only had to manage it as she had provisions in her cabin. She'd probably have that later. She looked around but there was no sign of Senior Dylan anywhere. Noticing her action, Patty told her that Dylan left as soon as Helena took her out, he seemed really upset with you. Cece rolled her eyes. "That doesn't bother her", she thought

After having their lunch, Cece headed back to class alone. Although break wasn't over yet,she didn't want to be loitering around. Cece brought out exercises and began solving them as lessons had not yet begun. She was the only one in the class but she didn't mind.

Few minutes later,the bell rang indicating end of break and students began trooping in masses into their various classes. Not long later, the maths teacher Master Chris entered the class and lesson began. They were treating "Laws of indices" and Cece paid attention to the class. Mathematics was one of her favorite subjects. Just as she was enjoying the class, a junior student, with the permission of the teacher asked for Cerina Ceril.

She looked up, and acknowledged her name and the student said that the principal was seeking her attention immediately at his office. Cece didn't think much about it, as well as her fellow classmates, thinking it was because she's a new student. Who could have guessed that trouble had come knocking on Cece's door?

The student directed Cece to the office, and Cece knocked on the door,"Come in", a sharp voice rang from inside. She opened the door and peeked inside and her eyes met a rather chubby man with bald head and a pair of medicated glasses sitting comfortably on this nose. He looked rather mean as he spoke sharply again, "What are you doing standing by the door? Come in here now". Principal Vance ordered.

Cece came in and that's when she noticed another presence in the room also, she recognized him as Mr. Ben, the one who had confronted her earlier, but he was looking so dishevelled, not like his usual cool self Cece had met earlier.

Cece was yet to process what was happening when he shouted at her, "You!.." he seemed really angry

Cece looked around in confusion, from the teacher to the principal, not quite understanding what was going on. "What have I done?", she asked innocently.

She felt it was about her confrontation with the senior Dylan at the cafe..she remembered the nickname Helena said he had and couldn't help but scoff, it sounded so lousy.

"What are you feeling so smug about? You had the guts to harass me and now you're feeling proud, right?", Mr. Ben ranted almost exploding with anger.

"Wait! What?..", Cece asked in utter confusion. "Why are they suddenly talking about harassment?", Cece thought loudly.

"Sir! Something must be done to this unruly child. While taking an inspection today, I heard she had confronted Dylan, and I tried to talk gently to her, to warn her not to cause any troubles,. You needed to see how rudely she spoke to me, so sharp tongued, I left her in anger and went to continue my inspection, only for me to get to my office and found everything in disarray. Important notes and documents littered around the room and worse, there was water everywhere up to my knee length. I was dumbfounded because few minutes before I left, everything was in order. I rushed to the bathroom to switch off the water and that's when I noticed an unscrewed socket that left a naked wire hanging in mid air, any little mistake, and that wire dropped into the water, I would have been roasted alive!!", he cried out in fright.

Cece was still lost in thought thinking how all this was related to her, when he continued. "I ran for my dear life, out of the office, and that's when I saw the writing at the back window "DON'T MESS WITH CECE!". I am still in shock as we speak ", Mr. Ben lamented bitterly. "How can this girl be so ruthless? Do you have any idea that your expensive prank could have cost me my life?", he shouted at her with blood shot eyes.

Cece was totally lost and confused, what the hell was even going on right now, she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out of it.

The principal's expression was more complicated,he spoke sternly as he turned to Cece," How do you explain this level of absurdity? You almost cost me a teacher's life. Do you even know the implications of what you've done?!", he spoke raising his voice as his hand slammed on the wooden table

"I didn't do any such thing, I am being wrongly accused", Cece spoke up.

"Then what explains the messed room, the unscrewed socket, the handwriting on the window?", Cerina Ceril, you're in big trouble this time.