Scars & Shadows

It was going to be the birthday that would never come.

Daddy had meticulously arranged our trip to Disneyland, telling Mommy that her pretending to be sad would never happen because his little princess would only turn 10 once.

He sneered at her, sticking out his tongue at her for being unable to accompany us on our fantastic journey because she had to work. I put my arms around Daddy and started laughing uncontrollably, all the while my parents were deep in their never-ending argumentation, which was always entertaining to see.

I didn't even get a wink of sleep that night. Excitedly, I lay awake and stared at my customized Disney princess calendar, getting ready to mark the most important day on it: my birthday.

When I got up at five in the morning, my dad and I immediately had a plate full of pancakes, followed by my all-time favorite hot chocolate. When I was ready, Mommy and I waited in the hallway for Daddy to carry our suitcase downstairs. I opened the front door and let the light flow into the hallway, pale and peach, then shaded my eyes from the rising sun.

"Hurry up Daddy! I want to meet Mickey and Mini Mouse and Cinderella!"

As Daddy threw our bag down the corridor, Mommy gave him a sharp yell when it came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, causing a loud rumbling laughter to fill the space. To the sound of his car keys rustling, he sloped down the stairs.

He brushed my chestnut curls and slid passed me onto the porch, saying, "Easy there, baby!"

I smiled at Mommy's bewildered look as her gaze followed Daddy to his car. The last time I ever saw Mom smile the same unfettered grin she always let slip around Daddy, she grinned at him with the all too familiar caring, loving, and thankful smile they shared. He was the only one who could make her smile like that.

In an attempt to catch her attention, I pulled at the hem of her nightgown.

"Yes, honey?" she asked, grudgingly tearing her husband's bright, pale blue eyes away to look down at me.

I kissed her cheek as she knelt and let her arms wrap around me like a bear embrace.

"Enjoy your weekend and look after your daddy. Sometimes he forgets that he's a grown man."

"I heard that! Seraphina-baby tell your Mommy to stop being a meanie!"

I glanced at the tall man's approaching face and laughed quietly when he gave Mommy a sarcastic scowl. Daddy's chestnut curls shifted upon his forehead and his shirt rippled in a breeze gentler than a feather's kiss. He had the sun directly behind him, illuminating every lock with a glaring brightness that caused me to shade my eyes.

"We're not kids anymore Thomas."

That made Mommy smile with malicious intent.

She let out a little cry, "No, no, Thomas stay away from me!" as Daddy buried his face in her pale blonde hair and sank his fingers into her side, his chest rumbling with a loud laugh.

As he tormented Mommy, his amber eyes gleamed from the tangle of her fair hair, and winked at me.

"Your turn Seraphina-baby!"

Warm hands brushed my sides and neck, and I screamed.

Still a victim of Daddy's gigantic fingers, I cried frantically as I was lifted off the ground and onto his shoulder. "Stop tickling me!"

My frantic squeals were interrupted by a second voice, "Thomas, give her a break!"

I sent Mommy a beseeching glance while crying and gasping for air, and then I closed my eyes and laughed uncontrollably.

"That's enough," Mommy said, shoving Daddy away and giving him a cruel look.

Mommy's pale blue eyes melted as she clasped her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing at the constipated appearance and crossed golden eyes; nonetheless, I couldn't help but giggle when Daddy looked at her with a sheepish smile from behind his heavy lashes.

"Awwn lighten up Lucy. It's Seraphina's birthday!"

Then Mommy was pulled into a bone-crushing embrace, and her determination wavered.

Daddy whispered in her hair, "You expect us to act like old people, even though we're not even thirty."

Withdrawing, he embraced her cheeks and bent slightly till he was facing her at eye level. A somber expression took the place of any hint of humor.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?"

Mommy nodded, tearing her attention from his and meeting me with a smile.

She gave him a gentle glance. "Don't worry about me. Just enjoy yourselves."

I would have braced myself if I had anticipated it, but I screamed as soon as his lips touched hers. They grinned shyly as they jerked back, startled.

I covered my eyes, and the image burned into my consciousness, "That's gross, Daddy!"

"Oh don't be silly Sera! You'll have to put up with Tyrone's kisses. I mean, the kid adores you and you like him back and-"

My cheeks heated and Mommy muted Daddy's remarks. My cheeks flushed at the mention of my best friend's identical brother. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for even bringing out the Valentine's card my dad sent me seven months ago, since now he would never stop making fun of me when Kelvin and Tyrone Davis came over to play.

Reluctantly, he untangled his arms from Mommy's waist and clapped his hands together. "Okay, let's hit the road, kiddo."

Grasping my hand in his, he guided me to the car while whispering. Daddy bent over and inclined his head to the left, staring lovingly at me just before he opened the passenger door for me.

"Wanna know a secret about being in love kiddo?"

I looked at the green moss ring around his eye, pulled into those pools of molten gold lava, and then shook my head angrily in disgust.

"Love is for losers!"

He put a hand on my shoulder and grinned, saying, "There's still much for you to learn," before getting to his full height. "There's never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment..."

I pretended to gag when he trailed off and looked at Mommy, who was wiping tears from her eyes. He had a silly, melancholy smile on his lips. I tried repeating what he had said in my head, but I was at a loss for words.

Blinking once, then again, I stared at him, bewildered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, Sera," he said, allowing me to get into the passenger seat and put on my seat belt.

As I wound down the window, I let the early sun warm my cheeks while I peered up at the flimsy peach clouds speckled with purple. It hit me again, this time with a frightening yet exuberant sense of expectation and excitement that made me gasp for air.

I had a Disneyland trip planned! We were finally able to finance the trip of my dreams after all these years!

Mommy padded towards the car and leaned through my window just as the engine started, making sure my seat belt was securely fastened before giving me one last kiss on my cheek. She darted over to Daddy's window and fussed a lot, asking all sorts of things. She let out a sigh of relief as she pulled on his seat belt.

"Seraphina, make sure your father keeps his seat belt on and his eyes on the road. We both know how he tends to start daydreaming at any given moment."

Upon meeting those melting eyes, I chuckled heartily as they crossed.

Daddy griped, "Lucy, stop worrying we'll be perfectly fine. It's only a six-hour drive," while Mommy fussed over his hair through the windshield of his automobile.

She stopped and stroked the furrow between her brows until it vanished. "Only? How can I not worry when you have the mental capabilities of a teenager? You're reckless Tom," she said. "Just remember to stay safe and make sure that Seraphina eats everything in her packed lunch. Call me when you guys check into the hotel. Okay?"

Daddy mimicked her nervous tone, "Okay Mom," as she planted one more, lingering kiss on him.

"I love you, Thomas."

I looked aside as Daddy ran his palm over her cheek and said, "Gross!"

"I love you too Lucy."

I was getting annoyed with them again because they were doing that cutesy "staring at each other in silence" thing.

Pale blue eyes met my golden ones as she backed away. I gave my mother's messy hair one more look and memorized it as she brushed her fingers through it, sweeping it past her shoulders just the way Daddy liked.

"Look after yourself and your father. I love you, Seraphina."

"I love you too Mom."

She called after the car as Daddy pulled out of the driveway, giving her a wink.

"Drive safely Thomas! Seraphina, make sure you eat all the fruits in your packed lunch!"

As we rounded the bend and laughed at her vanishing reflection in the rearview mirror, we could still hear her yelling in the background. I opened my hair and let the wind tousle my curls while I fumbled with the radio, trying to remember which Radio Disney channel to pick.

We stopped at the nearest gas station when I whined that I needed to use the restroom after spending hours singing along to the radio at the top of my lungs. While I vanished into the cramped bathroom, Daddy remained in the store. I was relieved to see a pair of glassy brown eyes observing me when I came back out. I walked up to the toy aisle and stuck out my arm to grasp the teddy bear that was staring right at me.

The snow-white fur slid between my fingertips and I thought, wow. I traced the tips of its pink ears and the outline of its carefree smile, which immediately put me at ease. I gasped as I turned the price tag over. Even with a bear so great, Daddy could not have afforded to spend fifty bucks on a toy. I'd overheard Mom gripe about how much Disneyland was costing us.

I knew full well that our situation paled in comparison to that of my closest buddy, Kelvin Davis. The Daviss were extremely wealthy and lived in a castle in contrast to our small two-bedroom home because her parents were lawyers who worked with the Supreme Court.

Daddy asked from behind, "You want that teddy, kiddo?"

I shook my head and hastily set the teddy down, reluctantly removing my eyes from its velvety fur after hearing his voice. As we made our way back to the car, he raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. I took a deep breath as I opened the passenger door and looked at the fluffy white bear that was occupying my seat.

"Daddy? What?" I gasped, my eyes wide with shock. "But how? How'd you know?"

I picked up the very same teddy bear I had seen in the store, and my mouth fell open. I took a seat and hugged my new animal buddy.

He winked and said, "Happy birthday, princess. Your daddy knows you a lot better than you think," while tying my seat belt.

I let out a big breath in amazement as he leaped into his seat, buckled up, and we drove away once more, singing our favorite songs along the way.

"Daddy, I love you," I said with a smile.

With a wink, his bright eyes met mine as he tousled my hair.

"I love you more Seraphina-baby."

I gave my new companion the name Woolie and gave it a reassuring stroke of white fur. I relaxed back in my chair and started to hum along with the radio, feeling at ease. Daddy spared me a glance, but his eyes shone with their customary brilliance, and I couldn't help but smile at the warm smile that swept across his lips. I was going to whisper my gratitude to him, but my hair was flapping against my cheeks. Despite this, I maintained eye contact.

Only a booming horn drowned it out, so I never got the chance. My lips continued to move, silently working, but all I could hear was my name and the repetitive sound of the horn.

I followed my eyes to Daddy's mouth as I watched his eyes pop out of their sockets. I was curious about what he was saying when I saw his face contort in pain as his voice eventually reached my ears over the loud horn.

"SERAPHINA!"

No time for us to respond. Not enough time to reflect. The warning trumpet was an unplanned, unexpected event that came too late.

I didn't start screaming until the car started to flip upside down, letting go of Woolie and showering us in glass. We tumbled like laundry in a washing machine, twisting and spinning in the air, and my cries were silenced by the seat belt digging into my chest. The bell kept blaring, sounding almost as loud as my heart pounding. My head suffered many cuts from the jagged glass as my body abruptly surged forward, sending my skull crashing through the windscreen. I then jerked back into the passenger seat. The honking horn went on for a few more seconds and then stopped.

After that, silence fell.

My breathing became difficult as panic took hold of my throat and darkness encroached on my vision. I let out a sigh of relief only after realizing that my eyelids were closed. Suddenly, they opened on their initiative and looked about the damage, only to realize we had landed facedown.

I could see an orange hue flickering through everything in my field of vision.

I glanced to my left as my mind battled through the haze, suddenly adjusting to what had just happened. A sharp cry from my throat, releasing itself as though it had been shackled to it for a thousand years.

I cried out, fumbling with my seat belt and forgetting that we were upside down. "DAAAADDDDDDYYYYYYY!"

After overcoming tremendous resistance, it finally clicked open, and I fell toward gravity, hitting my head on the roof in agonizing pain. My eyesight went black, then came back to normal; everything was hazy.

"DADDY, WAKE UP!"

Scrambling towards his lifeless body, I took a quick breath and inhaled the entire crushed left side of his body. His contorted limbs within the car door made me sick to my stomach since I could not tell where the flesh ended and the metal began. A merging nightmare of black, and dark red was what it was.

I raced towards my dad, squirming from the rising tickling of heat. By now the whole car was bathed in an odd orange glow that made it look like we were driving through a volcano.

I whirled around, letting out another high-pitched cry. To reach us, flames were licking the car's backseats and creeping down the windows. As they battled their way toward us, their vicious claws devoured the leather seats and destroyed everything in their path.

"DADDY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

I started to scream again, but as I opened my mouth, thick black smoke clung to my lungs, choking me. Severe tears poured down my cheeks, and I angrily brushed them away before bending to remove Daddy's seat belt.

This was not good.

I threw my head back, spat again, and sobbed as his whole left side-including the seat belt-was crushed so deeply into the automobile.

How was I going to free him?

I heard someone say, "SOMEBODY CALL 911!" from outside the vehicle.

The roar of the engine startled me into action, even above the far-off screaming from outside. With a trail of red left behind, I scampered out of the passenger window, cringing as the broken glass embedded itself in my skin. I hardly had time to register the shock of the throng of people observing me, including the inebriated lorry driver whose tummy was bulging out of his beer-stained waistcoat. I was looking around for something sharp. His eyes, which had been widened in terror but were now sober, bulged at the sight of his car with a big dent where it had struck our car.

"Oh my god, she's alive!" exclaimed a woman.

I climbed back into the car, blinded by the clouds of black smoke, and picked up a big shard of broken glass. I was blinded and my eyes were watering scarlet tears as I looked around for Daddy's seat belt and kept jabbing at it with the glass.

Another voice called out from outside, "SHE'S GONE BACK IN! SOMEBODY GET HER OUT!"

Even though the seat belt was still stuck, I made every effort to unfasten it so that I could liberate Daddy. They started to lick his arms, and the heat from the flames made me want to back away from the burning car, but I gripped the glass harder and worked more quickly. As blood poured down my hands, all I could manage to say was a frustrated yell as I attempted to hack through the last few fibers holding the seat belt in place.

I whined again, "Come on, come on, come on," and then I screamed in agony as the flames sprang onto my bare arms and began to dance up and down like a quick waltz.

I sprung, let go of the glass shard in my hand, and moved backward, watching in terror as the flames consumed Daddy, licking every inch of him.

"DADDY! DADDY! NO! PLEASE NO!"

Snowy watched as I slumped into a heap at the foot of the passenger seat, shoving her out of my way. I watched helplessly as my dear father vanished beneath bursts of orange, red, and yellow. I ignored the approaching sirens that screeched to a halt a few feet away while I listened to the crackling flames and shivered whenever the engine groaned explosively.

I kept saying, "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy," as I tried to reach into the smoldering fire to hold his hand.

I wanted to take care of him, grasp his hand. Even though I knew it wouldn't be okay, I tried to reassure him that everything would be fine.

I lied to myself, thinking he would hear me one last time, and murmured, "Daddy, we're going to Disneyland remember? Please...Please come out!"

By now the flames were creeping out of the windows and along the outside of the car, turning it into a furnace throughout. I flinched from the intense heat, yet I was frozen-locked in time, frozen in a nightmare, frozen in position.

I was being pulled away from the car, the flames, and my father when all of a sudden a hand wrapped around my ankle.

I screamed, "Let me go!" and swung my legs at the firefighter, causing him to tenderly transfer me to a paramedic.

She reassured me, "Shh, don't worry little girl," as her gentle brown eyes came into my view.

"You have to save my Daddy! You have to!"

Racing me to her squad, she started the agonizing trek to the ambulance.

I let out one more agonizing cry, "DADDYYY!" before giving in and allowing them to carry me away from him.

A voice broke through my thoughts as they were lowering me into the ambulance's rear, dispelling the haze that was taking over my thoughts. As she kept repeating herself, I closed my eyes and tried to contain my convulsive tears.

Whispering the same words over and over again, pale blue eyes darted across my consciousness.

"Look after your daddy."

The sirens were blaring overhead as I saw the doors shut in on me, hanging my head in shame. The paramedic held my hand while her colleagues jabbed and prodded at me, causing severe pain that made me cry even harder. I glanced up at her compassionate brown eyes. I let out a heartbreaking cry as I gripped my blood-soaked curls and heard the sirens' unceasing blare overhead.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

As the sirens continued to blare, her brown eyes enlarged slightly and burned with profound pity.

I whined in a weak voice, "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop."

The sirens continued to sound nonstop.

"Please, make it stop."

Some years later

"Happy Birthday Seraphina!"

I sighed and heaved the duvet over my eyes, desperately hanging onto the final pieces of my swiftly passing nightmare. Molten gold eyes exploded behind my lids, forming a river of crushed crimson metal and twisted flesh. I tried to pull air into my lungs by putting my palm to my throat, but thick, black smoke danced down my airways, causing me to cough and splutter.

"Darling, you don't wanna be late for your last first day back, do you?"

It seemed like my head was underwater when the speaker was so far away. The sirens were too loud for me to reach out and touch it.

They persisted in blaring.

I choked in a weak voice, "Make it stop, please!" as curling smoke put a hand around my throat and squeezed until I started to wheeze.

"Seraphina?"

The voice was much softer, with a lilting accent that matched mine, not at all like the deep voice that tormented my dreams. A gasp for air ripped through my chest, making me scramble to my feet and look around my bedroom wildly. My body was covered in a layer of chilly sweat that gleamed in the early morning light, akin to slippery oil.

"Daddy?" I whimpered in helplessness, blinking twice as I tried to locate the source of the quiet voice that was addressing me.

"Seraphina?"

The new voice was thick with fear and powerlessness, laced with care. I took a mouthful of smokeless air and exhaled deeply in relief as my eyes acclimatized to my dark lilac chamber. I saw two pale blue eyes that were warily observing me.

I stammered, trying to breathe too quickly, and managed to say, "Mom?" in a trembling voice.

Disregarding me, she walked confidently into my room, her eyes never wavering. Upon arriving at the foot of my bed, she displayed a nervous expression on her lips.

"Was it the same nightmare?"

I gently nodded, averting my eyes from my bloodied nails because there was no use in arguing the obvious. The nail was a narrow strip encircled by tearing skin after they were bitten to a stub. I chewed on my pinky in the hopes that Mom wouldn't question me anymore, but I also made a mental point to stop my anxious behavior.

"Maybe you should book an appointment with Dr. Emily? You haven't been to therapy since last year and she did tell you to come back if the dreams returned. Should I call her for you?"

I shook my head angrily at Mom and saw myself sitting in a boxy room with an excessive number of flower pots, being coaxed to recall my recurrent nightmares. Thick curls slapped my cheek, brushing across my skin before collecting like brown paint about my waist.

Please understand that while Dr. Emily Moore was genuine, kind, and an exceptionally wonderful listener, her over-specialization in her field was unsettling. She was way too perceptive for my comfort and knew just what questions would make me lose it. Her warm brown eyes could see right through the stiff walls I had built around my memories, and I didn't like that.

She was by far the best therapist I'd seen in the last eight years, and she was able to temporarily calm my dreams. However, as my guilt grew, so did the nightmares, and I was unable to bring myself to accept her assistance any longer.

I desired to forget my dreams, not to discuss them.

I blurted, "No! Don't call her!" before donning an expressionless mask and dismissively waving a hand. "I mean, don't waste her time. This dream was a one-off; you know that I haven't had one in almost a month."

Mom's concern softened as my lie lingered in the atmosphere, weighing down and covering her like a thick blanket of honey.

"Really? You look like you haven't slept in days dear."

I forced a weary smile and lifted my eyebrows.

"Are you calling me ugly Mom?"

She made the bed dip and sat down next to me, chuckling softly. Her eyes were filled with a depressing despair that was not hidden by her dazzling smile. It was a very depressing day.

"No sweetheart, of course not but you should take it easy today."

I looked up at her, putting my ninth birthday behind me and straightening my back.

"I'm taking it easy," I muttered, pulling myself out of my cozy bed while straightening my tangled pajamas.

Mom was staring at my back the entire while I was moving about my room and frantically seeking for my wayfarer brown-rimmed spectacles. Even though it was my birthday, I didn't think it was worth the trouble to put on my contacts or get dressed up for the occasion.

"If you don't want to go to school I'm going to visit your father after breakfast, would you like to come?"

I wiped the sleep from my eyes, looked at the pool of sunlight that filled the carpet, and put on my glasses. "I'll pass Mom. You know, with it being the first day of my senior year and all that stuff," I said. "I visited him yesterday so I'm not in a rush to see him. I can wait until after school."

Her flawless blond eyebrows vanished under her tousled bangs, curved upward to correspond with her tense lips.

"I already emailed your form tutor and Principal Jenkins. He permitted you to miss your first period. And you already have your timetable printed out so you won't be missing out on much if that's stopping you dear."

It was not that I didn't want to go with her; I just wanted some alone time on this particular day, of all days. Mom looked at my sad face for a moment, then she nodded sympathetically and walked up to give me a soft kiss on the temple.

"I know that today, like every birthday, is going to be hard. Hopefully, school will be the perfect distraction then."

I nodded and slowly let go of the knot in my chest before briskly walking by her to use the restroom. Birthdays were meant to be joyous occasions, but mine was marred by an unending pit of sorrow, sometimes referred to as grief.

We had breakfast in silence, neither Mom nor I wanting to talk because the anniversary of my father's passing was hanging over us like a wave.

After shoving my packed lunch into my bag and getting my bike out of the garage, I quickly said goodbye to Mom and prayed that she would remain composed for the day. Although I didn't want her to open a bottle the way she did each year, I suppose we all handled loss in different ways.

They turned me into a neurotic wreck, so I didn't mind being the only senior at Hillcrest High without a car. I learned to take rides from friends, so at least I was past my fear of being inside one, but I would never, ever get behind the wheel and drive.

I picked up my pace and made it to school in time to see that homeroom was about to end as the bell rang. Since I already had my schedule, I chose to forego my. With the extra time, I grabbed a quick coffee at the Starbucks nearby-anything to keep me awake after a string of terrifying nights.

Before I knew it, the throng of individuals heading to their first periods was carrying me toward my locker as students dispersed from classes like ants in a colony. Before I could pry open my locker, it took me a few seconds to remember the combination. I winced as a wave of melancholy surged up into my chest as I rummaged through the old notebooks I had left before the summer break. My eyes lingered over the scrawl of images that adorned the inside of my locker door.

Oh, Taylor, a yearning voice murmured in my head.

I kept blinking and grinned at the blonde beauty who had her arm around the bashful girl with golden eyes and was grinning at the camera. They were displaying their enormous sand fort as the brilliant blue sky behind them mirrored the sky's splendor. I smiled at the two flags that protruded from the sand formations before my gaze refocused on Taylor's stunning sea-green ones.

Even though she has been gone for more than a year and a half, I still consider her to be my finest, greatest, and most amazing friend. She was always the livelier and more gregarious half of our friendship. I was ready to go farther into my closest friend's recollection when I was startled backward by a loud bell. I looked at the hurrying students, who were chatting nonstop about their summer vacation and groaned. It was then that I noticed the tall, slender person leaning next to my locker, grinning smugly as she watched me.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Seraphina, happy birthday to you!"

I rolled my eyes and felt my good buddy Mark give me a bear embrace that was too tight.

"Hip hip!"

I jokingly exclaimed, "Hooray," as I struggled to breathe against his extremely firm chest.

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray."

"Hip hip!"

I groaned and twisted in an ineffective attempt to get free from Mark's grip. "Okay, that's enough, let go of me now!"

He pressed his face into my hair, making me feel even more irritated.

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p' while putting his arms around me and looking into my eyes. "Man, you look like hell. Did you have a rough night or what?"

I winced at his provocative smirk. I sighed deeply and took a brand-new notebook out of my locker before closing it behind me because we both knew that I didn't date guys, much less hook up with them for a one-night stand.

"That good?" he asked me in a whisper.

I suddenly leaped out of our close quarters and punched him in the arm, not that the soccer player was hurt by it.

I growled, "Mark!" as he pointed deliberately behind me and lifted his hands in defense.

I whirled around, wincing at the hurtling redhead as I followed the direction of his bulging, light-green eyes.

"SERAPHINA!"

As my other buddy Aria tackled me, her arms and legs encircling me like octopus tentacles, I cried out, "No, no, no, no-"

We both crashed into my locker, and I felt a searing ache in my back.

I jerked away as I ripped her arms off my neck as she yelled, "Happy birthday!" into my ear.

This outgoing girl-what was wrong with her? Her whispers were very loud even.

I rubbed my back and whimpered, "Aria! That freaking hurt!" as she padded back to stand next to Mark.

"Sorry, Sera," she said with the least amount of regret in her voice, then gave me a menacing smile.

Realizing that my pals were significantly taller than I was, a cunning idea occurred to me. Before my gaze finally returned to Aria, it wavered from Mark to Aria and back to Mark. I gazed into her warm brown eyes and a lazy sneer formed on my lips.

"Mark?" I asked, maintaining eye contact with her.

She squinted at my unexpected improvement in mood.

"Hmm?"

"Is it me or did Aria reduce during her vacation to Peru? I remember her being five foot tall but now I'm pretty sure I have pencils that can stand taller than her."

Playing along, Mark readily nodded, which caused the agitated redhead to shove him.

He cried out, "Aria!" after being shoved by the spirited girl and falling into the lockers.

It's funny how, despite being a head shorter than me, she possessed the strength to cause Mark's face to writhe in agony. He scowled, shoving his dark hair aside to keep it out of his eyes, but it fell back into his forehead a few seconds later. Her threatening stare settled on me, so I refrained from barking in laughter.

I smiled smugly and raised my hands, saying, "You can't touch me." "I'm the birthday girl, remember?"

Mark and I nodded seriously, purposefully avoiding eye contact until we ended up bursting into giggles. "Fine! But the next joke about my height and you're both gonna lose a ballsack! Got it?" "Now show me your timetable guys, I'm gonna cry if we don't have Food & Nutrition, English Literature, Calculus, Languages, and Chemistry together."

I laughed, realizing that we wouldn't have that many classes together. "Like I even do Chemistry. You expect too much missus," I said.

As they dug out freshly printed schedules, I took out the wrinkled one that I had hurriedly printed out the previous evening. I sighed with relief as I did a three-way exchange and glanced at Aria's schedule. We studied AP English Lit and Food & Nutrition and Calculus collectively, which brought comfort. Without Aria, I don't know what I would have done for English Literature. She was a walking, talking, extremely diminutive Shakespeare clone.

Mark gave me a back pat and gave a loud hoot that attracted the attention of several lost freshmen females.

"We have AP Physics, Calculus, and Food & Nut.. together Sera!"

At the mention of Physics, Aria's delicate nose furrowed, and then she smiled at Mark. She squealed high and forced her jagged bangs out of her eyes before throwing herself into his arms. Startled, he staggered backward, his cheeks reddening from the effort of maintaining their straight posture. The girl certainly struggled to control her excitement.

"That means we all have Food & Nut. and Calculus together!"

"Fortunately, we selected Food & Nut as an elective," I grumbled as I looked over my schedule once more.

They both nodded in agreement; the simplicity of that subject was well-known. The teacher gave every student in his class, including the ones who never bothered to show up, an A+ last year. The last we heard, he was going to be fired for "not meeting teaching standards." I was pocketing my schedule, lost in contemplation, noticing the groups of quarreling juniors that rushed past us, when I noticed my pals exchange a quick look.

I cautiously inquired, "What are you staring at?" as Mark and Aria turned to smile at me as though I had grown a second head.

With a huge smile on her face, Aria put her arm around mine and pulled me from my locker. "Oh, nothing!"

I grumbled, "You guys are up to something, and I know it," as Mark slouched over me and led the way to our first class together- Food & Nut.

About three minutes remained before first period's second bell, so I broke away from my friends to quickly use the restroom. They didn't even notice my abrupt exit because they were too preoccupied with speaking in low tones. I started running to make it to class in time when the bell rang right after I got out of the restroom. With a heavy breath, I forced my curls out of my eyes and unwillingly opened the door, only to have my cheeks burn from the sight of about two dozen sets of eyes.

I muttered, "Sorry I'm late," and moved to the farthest vacant workstation at the far end of the space, away from the kitchen, which occupied roughly two-thirds of the space.

"Excuse me madam, but would you care to enlighten the class as to why you are five minutes late?"

I stopped short and spun around at the new teacher's agitated tone of voice. A short, fat woman tapped her foot impatiently and gestured for me to come back to the front of the classroom. I acknowledged her. Being the biggest liar ever, I shook my head looking about for a plausible explanation as I scanned the room and saw Aria mouthing two words at me: "broke" and "car."

I yanked my terrified eyes away from Aria's and opened my mouth, licking my lips anxiously.

"I don't have a valid reason, Miss."

As the new instructor continued to scowl at me, Aria's complaint filled the classroom.

"No reason?" she yelled, fury heating her puffed cheeks. "Well then, you can join me here after school for no reason then!"

I moaned quietly to myself while discreetly nodding in response to Victoria Norman, the promiscuous queen bee of Hillcrest High, snickering. I rolled my eyes at Victoria's snide glare and then glanced back at the desk in the far corner. Not only was the desk in front empty, but our new teacher bit her tongue in frustration before I could ask any more questions.

"Good morning class and welcome to Food & Nutrition. My name is Ms. Wilson and I will be taking over this department for the foreseeable future. This semester we'll be focusing solely on your cooking skills; in particular cake baking."

As a little cheer spread around the class, I dozed off. Her voice was monotonous and boring, and I found it difficult to focus on it as it begged me to close my eyes. I rested my head on my hand and gazed at the lustrous, graphite-colored kitchen countertops across the space. My eyelids started to drop gradually, and my arms couldn't support the weight of my head. However, the classroom door opened just in time for me to collapse onto my desk. It made one hard hit into the wall.

The tardy one came into the classroom, his sluggish stroll coming to an end as his eyes scrutinized the space with efficacy. The loud argumentative nature of the class abruptly stopped, enabling a spooky quiet to permeate the air. Ms. Wilson's eyebrows darted back down after snapping up to meet her graying hairline.

The guy moved to the lone empty desk in the classroom, which was directly in front of me, and ignored the students who were staring at him.

As he collapsed into his seat, Ms. Wilson's voice cut through the dense silence, "And you are?"

I was happy to only be able to see the back of his blonde head; I had no idea how she had stayed whole beneath his piercing look. A muscle in his powerful jaw gave a start.

"Me?"

"Yes you, young man."

"Tyrone Davis," the teacher said, his shoulders stiffening and hardening with his presence and powerful, menacing voice.

"Tardiness seems like quite a trend at this school. Arrogant students such as yourself may be used to taking advantage of your previous teachers but if any of you attempt to break my rules again, I'll just put your grade down or fail you, regardless of your hard work." Ms. Wilson raised her voice.

Her gaze shifted from Tyrone's and pierced my heart. His head dipped slightly, allowing me to see his taut lip line and powerful, ticking jaw in profile.

"I assure you, I'm not taking advantage." He spoke in an emotionless tone to which everyone had been accustomed throughout the previous nine months.

"I should think not," Ms. Wilson shot back, going back to her never-ending sermon about what she expected of us the next year.

I drew in my notebook for the remainder of the hour, eagerly awaiting her announcement of this semester's project. Since this was an easy A that only needed effort and the skill to cook, which I had no trouble with, I knew that I couldn't afford to slack off in this session. I would periodically steal looks at the unkempt blond hair in front of me. A portion of Tyrone's hair was illuminated by the blazing sunlight that peaked through the closed blinds, illuminating it in striking tones of gold, straw, and platinum. Tyrone's head rested still on the table, a flawless statue that moved only the slightest rise and fall of his chest, even though his hair could have caught fire at any minute due to the intense sunlight's scorching heat. I will always be baffled as to how he fell asleep so quickly.

My eyelids finally felt heavy once more, and I leaned my head against my desk, my arms protecting me from the harsh wooden surface. In a matter of moments, I found myself fading in and out of consciousness while hazily recalling Ms. Wilson's account of how teachers were valued "back in the day."

I'm not sure how long I slept, but as my tired stupor deepened, the sound of clicking heels approaching my table could be heard more clearly. It took a violent jolt for me to snap out of it and open my eyes, but before I knew it, I was bolt upright. I was startled back into consciousness when I saw Ms. Wilson's palm resting on my desk. I pressed my palms to my face, trying to hide my blushing cheeks, but snickers sprung out from every angle. As she handed me numerous worksheets, Ms. Wilson gave me a stiff glare in return.

"I've just spent thirty minutes explaining the importance of respect towards your teachers. Do you want to return at lunch to hear it again?"

The wild hair from my high ponytail slapped my face as I gave a forceful shake of my head.

"I assumed so," Ms. Wilson boastfully remarked. "You're already coming back for an after-school detention along with Tyrone Davis so please try to stay awake young lady!"

I took a short breath when he said, his powerful voice silencing her, "Yeah, that won't be possible." I assumed he was sound asleep.

"Excuse me?" Ms. Wilson asked, looking up sharply at him in disbelief.

With a look that said he was wasting his breath talking to people like her, Tyrone lifted his head from his desk.

"I said I won't be able to make it to your detention. What are you? Deaf?"

She narrowed her steel-grey eyes at him and folded her arms over her chest, asking, "And why is that?"

"I'm visiting my sister."

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment for Ms. Wilson, and the entire class averted their gaze in shame. She must have been informed of the unwritten code by the other professors, right? Tyrone's teachers at this school have never given him homework to do or had him go to detention. They just plain failed him in every subject while secretly grinning pitifully at him.

"I'm pretty sure your sister can wait, she has all the time in the world to see you after your detention young man."

I let out a loud moan, wanting so much to jam a dirty sock down this nasty woman's throat as she encouraged Tyrone with her deadly statements. He clenched his hands tightly, his calloused knuckles a pale white, and he scowled deeply at Ms. Wilson.

"Is that so? My sister has all the time in the world?"

"Yes now hold that rude tongue from running and be quiet!"

Tyrone suddenly burst into furious laughter, the dense tension in the room bouncing off his deep voice. It made us all uncomfortable instead of relieving the anxiety in our eyes; Victoria chewed her lower lip nervously.

"You're funny! Very funny!"

After throwing on his backpack, he got up, hitting his chair hard when he tucked it into the table, scraping the back of it.

"W-What are you doing? The bell hasn't gone young man!"

Tyrone, his sea-green eyes sparkling dangerously, chuckled haughtily under his breath as he marched out towards the door.

"Me?" he asked, gesturing to his own body while chuckling.

The gleaming golden hair hid the thundering flash in his eyes.

"I'm going to leave this classroom before one of us makes a big mistake."

Then, as everyone in the classroom stared at Ms. Wilson in utter dread, he violently slammed the door behind him, causing the posters to tremble.