A/N: Sorry for the wait. The teachers have been really piling it on, so I
have very little free time. The updates are gonna come really slowly for
the next 2 weeks. I'll try to put out up to chapter 6 this weekend, but no
promises. This chapter's title is from Bone Thugz in Harmony (I love this
song! It's all about getting that paycheck!).
SHOUTOUTS:
Mainia-girl2002: I have a vague idea of how I'm gonna get them back together, but you'll have to keep reading!
Anime_freak_4life: Thanks!
Ruka-Tenou-Girl: We can all tell who your favorite character is (Grin). Double post.
Rainhe: I'm going to try to go back and edit past chapters. Thanks for noticing my weakness. Every essay I get back I lose points for tenses because I have a really hard time fixing them. I'll still probably miss some, but everything is in the present unless otherwise noted. Keep reading!
Soul 141: Darien and Serena ain't getting back together anytime soon. But in later chapters there will be Darien trying to seduce her (not sexually, hentais!). And did you not read the Author's note on last chapter about the relationship? (eye twitch)
Just a teen: I didn't realize it was that short. As I said before, I'm going to revise and add, so everyone might want to reread the chapters. And about 'Children of Dune', trust me, I've seen the 1980's Dune movie, the 2000 Dune movie, and read 'Dune' the book. And I still didn't understand all of what was going on. The end was so incomplete to 'Children'. But that was probably because they tried to combine 2 books into 1 6 hour miniseries. They really shouldn't have done that.
Kamaria: This whole story is dedicated to you, my #1 homegirl. What's up! I knew you'd find my story! But girl, you gotta review more. AND EMAIL ME! I MISS YOU! I'm going to go back and revise a little (my third time saying this) because Serena's character is moving a little faster than I wanted. You can't believe my workload, but since you posted, I'm gonna put up to chapter 6 for sure this weekend! I'm so proud of you, I love you too! (I just realized, people are gonna think we're hella weird if we keep throwing I love you's around. Ah man, fuck 'em, the hentais.). I might need your help with the dialogue; it's not my strong point.
Disclaimer: Damn it, poor, young. If they sue me, all I have is the skin on my back. They'd probably try to take that.
If ifs were fifths, we'd all be drunk.
Coming Into Her Own
Chapter Four- The First of the Month
"Here you go Serena," her mom handed her the monthly allowance that hadn't increased in two years. "So what are you going to spend it on?"
"Some new clothes for the summer," Serena answered. "Hey mom, do you think that we could go to the beach this year?" If she could go to the beach, it would most definitely be a Darien-free zone. It was getting harder and harder not to think of him. At first it wasn't so bad, but she was definitely feeling his absence in her life. Last night she had even had a dream. 'Maybe if I went away for a while, it would stop,' she thought with a wistful sigh.
"I would love to, but it's up to your dad," Irene said, noting the sigh. "Why don't you ask him at dinner?"
"Mom, I don't think I'll be home for dinner tonight," Serena said slowly.
"Well, alright dear," Irene said smiling. "I'll ask Ken; it's been a while since we went to the beach. Where are you going today?"
"To the mall," Serena said. "We'll probably get something to eat for dinner there."
"Well, you and your friends be careful, dear."
"Okay," Serena yelled, going up the stairs and tripping on the third step.
As she crashed into the room, she saw Luna's disapproving face. It really seemed like that particular expression had frozen on her face since Serena's breakup with Darien.
"Serena-"
"I'm going out with the girls," Serena told her shortly, while changing out of her pajamas into a black halter-top sundress and black sandals.
As she was adding some silver jewelry, Luna spoke again.
"Serena, I do believe you need to listen to what Darien has to say," She said indicating the answering machine. It was blinking a red 20 for 20 messages. "All of them are from him," she said. "What are you trying to prove?"
"Bye Luna," Serena said grabbing her purse and leaving the house.
*********************************************************************
This time, only Mina and Lita showed up. Ami had to study and Rei was tied up at the temple.
Mina and Lita helped Serena buy an obscene amount of clothes. There were many happy mall salespeople that day.
"MY FEET!" Serena and Lita screeched.
Mina, bouncing ahead, turned back. "You're tired already? But we have money left with all of the great discounts we found!"
Serena and Lita just glared.
"All right, all right," Mina laughed. "So where are we going to rest?"
They ended up in a small coffeehouse across the street from the mall. Kind of shabby outside, the inside looked like a dream. The walls and chairs were all varying shades of blue. It was quiet and kind of dark, and there weren't many people.
"It's like being in a deep pool of water," Serena said, in awe.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's sit down," Lita grumbled.
Serena ordered café mocha, Lita had green tea, and Mina had hot chocolate (Serena and Lita had forbidden any caffeine).
"Let's come back here," Serena said. "I love how quiet this is, just a sit and think place, Y'know? The arcade is fun, but sometimes you want just peace and quiet."
"Sure, Serena," the other two chorused. They didn't know what to think about her last words.
All three sat, gossiped, and sipped on their drinks, looking like and just being normal teenagers for once.
*********************************************************************
It was starting to become dark outside, and finally Lita spoke up.
"As fun as this has been, I really need to get home and start studying for finals," she said. "They're really gonna kick my ass this year if I don't. It's the last year before high school; none of us need to be playing around. And we have entrance exams too."
"Let's go!" Serena said, pumping her fist in the air. "I've got to get to the candy shop before it closes!"
Lita just hung her head. "That's way off subject on finals, Serena. How did you make that leap?"
Serena just grinned, stood up, and started walking towards the door. At least that was her intention.
Then she had one of her biggest klutz attacks ever.
She tripped and landed on a (unoccupied, thank goodness) table, flipped it onto its side and busted her knee. Mina and Lita rushed over, and stared down at their friend's red face. They could tell she was struggling not to start the infamous wailing.
"Can I get some help up?" she asked her two frozen friends, really, REALLY trying not to wail.
"Are you all right?" a young woman hurrying up to them asked. All three of them bent down and helped Serena up. "I'm really sorry. I'm the owner, Cass."
"Believe me, it's not your fault," Mina said. They all turned to look at the lady. She was young, with long red hair, brown eyes, and a stance that said 'Try me, I'm not afraid to go to jail for busting you in your face.'
(A/N: Anybody you know Kamaria? ^_^ )
"I am so sorry, you guys," she said. "Drinks are on the house."
"Umm. . . we already paid," the girls chorused.
"Well, when you come back they'll be on the house. There's a lot to do here; it's only quiet in the daytime. Why don't you take a look at our bulletin board," she indicated the big board by the door. "We also have 'Open Mike Night' every night, and sometimes people display their art on the walls."
"Really?" Lita asked. "That sounds like fun."
"Oh it is," Cass said. "Sometimes we get some really trifling fools, but other times we have really good people like Michelle," she indicated an aqua poster. "She comes at least once a week and offers music lessons. She's a really good player, she has everyone in tears sometime. She also does artwork to hang."
Serena had stars in her eyes, "Wow, I could sing! And Rei would love to do that! Is there a prize?"
Her friends just looked at her. "I don't think she's trying to lose business Serena," Mina said with a grin.
"Humph!" Serena said, and stalked towards the door.
Mina and Lita said goodbye to Cass and asked her to forgive their friend because she had just gotten out of the mental institution.
Cass waved to the three crazy girls and went back behind her counter shaking her head.
'I don't even want to know,' she thought.
*********************************************************************
SHOUTOUTS:
Mainia-girl2002: I have a vague idea of how I'm gonna get them back together, but you'll have to keep reading!
Anime_freak_4life: Thanks!
Ruka-Tenou-Girl: We can all tell who your favorite character is (Grin). Double post.
Rainhe: I'm going to try to go back and edit past chapters. Thanks for noticing my weakness. Every essay I get back I lose points for tenses because I have a really hard time fixing them. I'll still probably miss some, but everything is in the present unless otherwise noted. Keep reading!
Soul 141: Darien and Serena ain't getting back together anytime soon. But in later chapters there will be Darien trying to seduce her (not sexually, hentais!). And did you not read the Author's note on last chapter about the relationship? (eye twitch)
Just a teen: I didn't realize it was that short. As I said before, I'm going to revise and add, so everyone might want to reread the chapters. And about 'Children of Dune', trust me, I've seen the 1980's Dune movie, the 2000 Dune movie, and read 'Dune' the book. And I still didn't understand all of what was going on. The end was so incomplete to 'Children'. But that was probably because they tried to combine 2 books into 1 6 hour miniseries. They really shouldn't have done that.
Kamaria: This whole story is dedicated to you, my #1 homegirl. What's up! I knew you'd find my story! But girl, you gotta review more. AND EMAIL ME! I MISS YOU! I'm going to go back and revise a little (my third time saying this) because Serena's character is moving a little faster than I wanted. You can't believe my workload, but since you posted, I'm gonna put up to chapter 6 for sure this weekend! I'm so proud of you, I love you too! (I just realized, people are gonna think we're hella weird if we keep throwing I love you's around. Ah man, fuck 'em, the hentais.). I might need your help with the dialogue; it's not my strong point.
Disclaimer: Damn it, poor, young. If they sue me, all I have is the skin on my back. They'd probably try to take that.
If ifs were fifths, we'd all be drunk.
Coming Into Her Own
Chapter Four- The First of the Month
"Here you go Serena," her mom handed her the monthly allowance that hadn't increased in two years. "So what are you going to spend it on?"
"Some new clothes for the summer," Serena answered. "Hey mom, do you think that we could go to the beach this year?" If she could go to the beach, it would most definitely be a Darien-free zone. It was getting harder and harder not to think of him. At first it wasn't so bad, but she was definitely feeling his absence in her life. Last night she had even had a dream. 'Maybe if I went away for a while, it would stop,' she thought with a wistful sigh.
"I would love to, but it's up to your dad," Irene said, noting the sigh. "Why don't you ask him at dinner?"
"Mom, I don't think I'll be home for dinner tonight," Serena said slowly.
"Well, alright dear," Irene said smiling. "I'll ask Ken; it's been a while since we went to the beach. Where are you going today?"
"To the mall," Serena said. "We'll probably get something to eat for dinner there."
"Well, you and your friends be careful, dear."
"Okay," Serena yelled, going up the stairs and tripping on the third step.
As she crashed into the room, she saw Luna's disapproving face. It really seemed like that particular expression had frozen on her face since Serena's breakup with Darien.
"Serena-"
"I'm going out with the girls," Serena told her shortly, while changing out of her pajamas into a black halter-top sundress and black sandals.
As she was adding some silver jewelry, Luna spoke again.
"Serena, I do believe you need to listen to what Darien has to say," She said indicating the answering machine. It was blinking a red 20 for 20 messages. "All of them are from him," she said. "What are you trying to prove?"
"Bye Luna," Serena said grabbing her purse and leaving the house.
*********************************************************************
This time, only Mina and Lita showed up. Ami had to study and Rei was tied up at the temple.
Mina and Lita helped Serena buy an obscene amount of clothes. There were many happy mall salespeople that day.
"MY FEET!" Serena and Lita screeched.
Mina, bouncing ahead, turned back. "You're tired already? But we have money left with all of the great discounts we found!"
Serena and Lita just glared.
"All right, all right," Mina laughed. "So where are we going to rest?"
They ended up in a small coffeehouse across the street from the mall. Kind of shabby outside, the inside looked like a dream. The walls and chairs were all varying shades of blue. It was quiet and kind of dark, and there weren't many people.
"It's like being in a deep pool of water," Serena said, in awe.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's sit down," Lita grumbled.
Serena ordered café mocha, Lita had green tea, and Mina had hot chocolate (Serena and Lita had forbidden any caffeine).
"Let's come back here," Serena said. "I love how quiet this is, just a sit and think place, Y'know? The arcade is fun, but sometimes you want just peace and quiet."
"Sure, Serena," the other two chorused. They didn't know what to think about her last words.
All three sat, gossiped, and sipped on their drinks, looking like and just being normal teenagers for once.
*********************************************************************
It was starting to become dark outside, and finally Lita spoke up.
"As fun as this has been, I really need to get home and start studying for finals," she said. "They're really gonna kick my ass this year if I don't. It's the last year before high school; none of us need to be playing around. And we have entrance exams too."
"Let's go!" Serena said, pumping her fist in the air. "I've got to get to the candy shop before it closes!"
Lita just hung her head. "That's way off subject on finals, Serena. How did you make that leap?"
Serena just grinned, stood up, and started walking towards the door. At least that was her intention.
Then she had one of her biggest klutz attacks ever.
She tripped and landed on a (unoccupied, thank goodness) table, flipped it onto its side and busted her knee. Mina and Lita rushed over, and stared down at their friend's red face. They could tell she was struggling not to start the infamous wailing.
"Can I get some help up?" she asked her two frozen friends, really, REALLY trying not to wail.
"Are you all right?" a young woman hurrying up to them asked. All three of them bent down and helped Serena up. "I'm really sorry. I'm the owner, Cass."
"Believe me, it's not your fault," Mina said. They all turned to look at the lady. She was young, with long red hair, brown eyes, and a stance that said 'Try me, I'm not afraid to go to jail for busting you in your face.'
(A/N: Anybody you know Kamaria? ^_^ )
"I am so sorry, you guys," she said. "Drinks are on the house."
"Umm. . . we already paid," the girls chorused.
"Well, when you come back they'll be on the house. There's a lot to do here; it's only quiet in the daytime. Why don't you take a look at our bulletin board," she indicated the big board by the door. "We also have 'Open Mike Night' every night, and sometimes people display their art on the walls."
"Really?" Lita asked. "That sounds like fun."
"Oh it is," Cass said. "Sometimes we get some really trifling fools, but other times we have really good people like Michelle," she indicated an aqua poster. "She comes at least once a week and offers music lessons. She's a really good player, she has everyone in tears sometime. She also does artwork to hang."
Serena had stars in her eyes, "Wow, I could sing! And Rei would love to do that! Is there a prize?"
Her friends just looked at her. "I don't think she's trying to lose business Serena," Mina said with a grin.
"Humph!" Serena said, and stalked towards the door.
Mina and Lita said goodbye to Cass and asked her to forgive their friend because she had just gotten out of the mental institution.
Cass waved to the three crazy girls and went back behind her counter shaking her head.
'I don't even want to know,' she thought.
*********************************************************************