Serena's Point of View

I awoke Monday morning to the loud buzzing of my alarm clock telling me its time to get up from my warm, safe haven. Turning my head slightly to the other side of the room, I realized that Raye was still sleeping. Not wanting to risk her biting my head off again, I decided to call her.

"Raye, common, time to get up. Its Monday,"

"ugh…wemmesweep…" she mumbled. I laughed as I got out of bed and went into the washroom.

When I came back out she was still sleeping. I went over to her bed and shook her a little.
"Okay, Raye, get up now, it's 6," I told her. She jumped out of bed and started freaking out.

"SIX? Oh my god, I am going to be so late!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her, but I felt extremely bad. "No, it's only quarter to 5...but I got you up, didn't I?"

She looked at me as if she was going to kill me, and stormed into the bathroom. Within seconds, she opened the door and stuck her head out, "Thanks." I just smiled at her.

As Rachel came out of the bathroom, I was throwing clothes all over the floor from my dresser.

"Problem?" she asked, walking past me and over to her own closet.

"I have nothing to wear!" I complained.

"Nothing to wear?" Raye mocked. "We wear uniforms, how can you have nothing to wear…"
"Yeah, but they're all dirty, and I didn't realize it."

She disappeared into her closet and a few minutes later came back out.

"Here," she said, throwing something at me. I picked it up and looked at it. One of her uniforms.

"This is…short," I said, looking at her.

"That's alright, guys will like it." That's exactly what I didn't want to hear.

I thanked her and quickly got changed.

"Can I do your makeup?" Raye asked.

"Ex…excuse me?" I asked, she had caught me off guard. Had she just asked to do my makeup.

"Your makeup, can I do it?" I guess I had heard right. Was she feeling okay?

"Sure," I told her, sitting down on my bed.

She brought over her makeup bag and sat in front of me. I didn't ask any questions, I just let her do what she was doing.

Finally she was finished, I could breath again, "you look hot!" she said, biggest smile ever across her face.

"I don't think I do hot," I told her.

"No, you do," she informed me. "Go look."

I got up and walked over and into the washroom, slowly I looked into the mirror. Wow, I actually didn't look so bad. I could get used to this.
"See, not so bad, is it?" she asked, coming in behind me.

"I won't lie, I like it," I said.

She then left the washroom to get herself ready for school.

We were on our way out the door when a voice came over the PA

"Attention all students, as you make your way out of your rooms and to class you'll notice there are room numbers taped onto your front door. Both people in the room have been assigned the same number. Everyone is to make their way to that classroom, where you'll be given further instruction. So for today you're to ignore standard school day. Thanks."

Raye and I just looked at one another. I opened our room door, a paper saying 691.

Within five minutes we had left our room and were headed there.

"I wonder what this is all about," I said to Rachel in a wondering tone.

"Me too," she said. "I've been going here for years, and they've never done anything like this before."

The rest of the way there we walked in silence. There wasn't anything to say, just wonder running through everyone's mind.

The bell rang, Raye and I were a little ways away from the room we were suppose to be in, so we ran until we got there.

The room was full, some people were standing because there wasn't enough desks for everyone to sit.

When we walked in, two guys in the far back corner stood.

"You can sit here," one said, the other smiling in agreement.

"Thanks," Raye said. Did guys stand to let Raye sit all the time? because it's never happened to me before.

I looked around the room for any familiar faces. Standing against the wall, behind us but in the other corner of the room was Darien. We hadn't spoken since the day out on the front terrace when we had our little…fight.

He noticed me looking at him, gave me a weird look, and then faced forward.

The classroom was silent while the teacher took attendance. He didn't call out any names, he seemed to know who everyone was, which was weird seeming I had never seen him before, but I guess he knew who I was.

Then he spoke.

"It has become very clear that this school is very divided. Everyone has their own groups, and their own friends; and thats about as far as your little worlds go. It's so sad to think that you young kids don't understand and realize there is so much more out there...so much more to life...so much more to differnt people" he paused. "Just because someone likes differnt music, or wears different clothes; doesn't mean they don't deserve your time."

"We all get along fine," a voice spoke up.

"Wrong," the teacher said. "I, along with many other teachers have seen it first hand. So many students here are so alone, because no one else will give them the time of day. Now maybe they like it that way, maybe some prefer to be alone, but for today; no one is going to be alone...no one"

"What do you mean?" someone else asked.

"One half of the room is going to put their name on a piece of paper, and they're going to put it into this box," he said, holding up a small black box for everyone to see. "Then this side of the room is going to pick a name from here, that'll be your partner."

That meant no chances of Raye and I being together, seeming we were on the same side of the room.

The other side of the classroom quickly wrote down their names and then the box was passed around my side of the room.

Raye picked first and then handed the box to me. I picked a name and passed on the box before I looked at who I had picked.

Nick T …who the hell is Nick?

Just then a piece of paper fell onto my desk from in front of me, I realized Raye had dropped it there.

I looked at it quickly not knowing what it was.

Darien. I smiled at myself. She had picked her brothers name, but was letting me have it.

"Alright, lets hear the partners. We'll start in the back corner with you Miss. Hollis." he knew my name too.

"Darien Carter," I said, looking back at Darien.

"And you Miss. Carter?" he asked Raye.

Shit, Raye had given me her name, and now she had nothing.

"Nick!" I whispered, hoping she could hear me.

"Nick," she said. Thank god.

I looked around the classroom and noticed a boy standing by Darien smile at her. It must have been him.

The students continued to say who they had, and finally it was time to get started.

"So, everyone grab a camera and get to work. You're allowed anywhere as long as it's on campus, but you must stay out of faculty offices, including the deans. See you back here in two hours."

Everyone in the class met with their partners, and together they grabbed a camera, attached to the camera was a que card, with the questions, and then left the room. Darien hadn't said a word to me, which was making this beyond awkward.

We stepped out into the hall way, and Darien just stood there.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I don't care," was all he said.

I sighed as I walked away, hoping he'd just follow.

I slightly looked over my shoulder, there he was, slowly walking behind me. How mature.

I found an empty classroom, and slipped in.

"This should be good," I said, sitting on top of one of the desks.

"Sure," he replied.

"Okay, seriously, what's your problem!"

"What's MY problem?" he asked, in an angry tone. "You're the one who just walked away the other night leaving me in the middle of the terrace alone!"

"What did you expect me to do Darien, you were mad at me for something you weren't giving me a chance to explain, you were making me out to be the bad one when all you had to do was give me 2 minutes of your time, and you would have known the truth."

"And you didn't assume that Lita was something to me?"

"Yes, I'll admit I did assume, but unlike you, I was going to give you the chance to explain!" He didn't say anything. "Whatever, lets just get started, what's the first thing on the paper?"

Darien looked at it, "Share something personal with your partner."

We both just looked at each other. Neither one of us wanting to offer information like that to someone we were fighting with.

"…well…" I said.

"Well? Well what?" he asked.

"What is something personal?" I asked him.

"Excuse me, why can't you go first!"

"Because I don't want to," I told him.

"To bad, ladies first," he said rudely.

"Yeah, well I asked first."

"Again, to bad, I read the damn question!"

"YOU FIRST!" I yelled.

"You want to know something personal…" he said.

"Yeah," I said in a 'duh' tone.

"I know you cheated…"

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"Back in the classroom, you and Raye cheated."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you didn't get my name, Raye did, she gave it to you," he told me. How did he see that!

"That's not cheating," I said, trying to defend myself. "This is an assignment about getting to know people, you're her brother, she already knows you well enough."

"Whatever," he said. "Your turn."

"Are you kidding me, that's nothing personal, big deal."

"It's something I knew and no one else did, personal enough."

"Personal…meaning about you, not something I did."

"Well, I seen it," he said, defending himself.

"Grow up!" I demanded. That was when he walked away. He left the room. What was I suppose to do now.

For a minute I just sat there, there wasn't much I could do. I hated fighting with him, I really did like him, and it was killing me to know he was really mad. That was when I decided to go and find him. I walked down the hall a little, and noticed him in another classroom. I walked in and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry," I admitted bravely.

"It's fine, I'm sorry too."

I took a deep breath, and then said it. "I was raped."

"…what?" he asked, looking at me.

"We're suppose to tell each other something personal, that's about as personal it gets with me."

"I…I'm sorry," he said to me.

"Don't be, it was a long time ago," I told him. "But I have a hard time with it everyday."

"I've been in jail," he said to me.

"You've been in jail?!" I said, a little scared. God don't tell me I'm sitting in a room with another creep.

"Yeah, I was in jail for a year, got out about two months before school started, and that's about as personal as I'm getting."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why is that as personal?" he asked.

"No, why were you in jail?" I was curious.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Darien, I just told you I was raped, something no one other then my family knows, and you can't even tell me why you went to jail? What did you do, kill someone!"

"I just don't want to talk about it. If I tell you why I went to jail, I'd be telling you something beyond personal about someone else, and I just can't do that to them."

I just looked at him, I had respect for that. "Alright," I said, giving him a slight smile. "what's next?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Lighten up. Do an impression of a celebrity or famous character."

"Oh god," I said laughing. I'm no good at this.

"Me either," he said.

"Hub-a-da-hub-a-da," I said, laughing at myself, as I looked at a pretend picture.

"What the fuck!" he said, laughing so hard he always fell off the desk.

"You don't know who that is?!" I asked, shocked. "You deprived child!"

"Who the hell was that?"

"Helloo!! The cat in the hat!"

"Oh my god, you actually expected me to know that!?"

"Yes," I admitted, smiling.

"My turn," he said. "My wife says I don't make the right noise during sex, be careful this may be a little pornographic…GET OFF…I can't see the weather channel…GET THE HELL OFF"

I looked at him…he had to be kidding me! I shook my head at him, informing him I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He kept going.

"The only thing Viagra does for me, is keeps me from rolling off the bed."

I laughed hysterically at him.

"You don't know who I am?" he asked.

"Not a clue," I told him.

"Jeff Dunham."

"Who?"

"You don't know who Jeff Dunham is?"

"Should I?"

"Everyone knows Jeff Dunham…"

"Apparently not."

"And I'M the deprived child?" he asked, laughing. I laughed back at him and gave him a playful hit in the arm.

The following question was that we had to admit to something that worries us, or something that we're afraid of. Amazingly, Darien admitted to me that he was afraid of me never falling for him, like he had fallen for me. At that point, he had my heart. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I wasn't exactly sure where that left us…but where ever it was, I couldn't wait to find out. I had then told him I as worried I would never be good enough. For him, or anyone else.

I cried as we talked, it was a real honest conversation about feelings, and it just got to me. I couldn't have asked for anything better though. Darien was amazing, and I wouldn't have wanted to have this conversation with anyone other then him.

Once I dried the tears, I took the paper from him and read the next question. What do you want to be ten years from now? I looked at him, I could tell he wasn't about to answer the question anytime soon, so I did.

"Happy," I said, simple as that. He looked at me.

"I don't think that's what the teacher means," he told me.

"I know, but that's my answer. I don't know what I want to be in ten years, but I do know I want to be happy."

"Fair enough," he smiled.

"And you?" I asked.

"Ten years…a male prostitute, making lots of money but with no diseases…or maybe a famous, loved porn star"

"I don't know Darien…"
"Why not?!"

"Are you sure you're big enough for that?"

"Oh I'm beyond big enough!" he said, laughing. I couldn't help but laugh back at him.

"You're bad" I joked.

"But seriously…in ten years I'd love to be well to do. To just be working, and to be happy with everything I need, and in ten years it'd be nice to have forgotten about my past."

He went quiet, and I wasn't about to ask any questions.

"Tell your partner a secret," I said, reading the last question.

"Dishing the dirt now, are we?" Darien laughed.

"Apparently," I said. Thinking about the question. My secret was my something personal.

"Who first?" he asked.

"You," I said.

"I'm good at pretending," he told me.

"…so, you make the wrong sounds during sex, and you're good at pretending…is this a warning?" I said, with a slight smile.

"No you dirt bag," he said, laughing. "Seriously though…and it's not so much as pretending, but I'm not such a hard headed tough guy…my friends would never think I could be sweet and honest like I've been with you today, and that's my fault because I act that way…"

"It's alright, everyone acts different with their friends."

"So you do too?"

"Well, no, not exactly."

"See…"

"I don't, because…I don't really have friends."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The only friends I really have are like…you and Raye…and I don't even know if I can call Raye a friend," I told him. "Back home, I have no one."

"I'm sure…" he started, but I cut him off.

"No, Darien, seriously… no one."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. But this leads to my secret…"my voice trailed off. "I so desperately want to be like Josh, I want to have friends, and go out…I just want to fit in, and I don't think that's a lot to ask for. I really don't."

"Serena, you don't need to fit in," he said.

"No, you don't get it. Everyone who fits in always says that 'oh you don't need to fit in for people to like you' well guess what, as someone who doesn't fit in…actually fitting in, is everything."

"I guess you're right," he said.

I then explained to him that without Josh taking me to the party, I would have never met him and Raye, and either way, I'd have come to this school, but I would be just another face in the hallways, a no one…no one would want to get to know me, or ask my name…no one would care.

I was cut off my a noise of something I had never heard before.

"What was that?" I asked, a little scared.

"I don't know," Darien said, standing up and looking out the window in the door.

Just as he looked out the window, we heard it again, this time, we knew what it was. Someone was shooting a gun.

"Oh my god!" I screamed. Darien ran over to me.

"It's going to be alright, just be quiet." he said.

Then everything in the school started making weird noises.

"What's that?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"The school has some system with automatic locks, everything is now bared shut. Windows, doors…everything."

"What if the shooter is locked in a room with other people…"

Darien never answered me, he just stared at the door in silence. He was scared, I knew he was…and I, I was terrified.