A Normal Teenager

By: Lillian

Chapter Three

It had been a tiring first day for Serena. Her brain was crammed full of scholarly facts, as well as the little bet that had been preoccupying her mind all day. She slammed the door shut to her dorm room and dropped her textbooks and notes onto her twin-sized bed. She looked across the room, seeing the neatly made bed still unoccupied. She had yet to meet her roommate, who she hoped would be a new friend.

Originally, she had planned on having a single bedroom, her own personal haven. After finding out just how hard it was to make new friends, she quickly agreed on being put up in a double. All she knew was a name. Mina Lovegood. Sounded nice enough. Though the bed was neatly made, random articles of clothing and shoes scattered her area of the floor space.

Serena sighed and sat down in front of her desk. She turned on her laptop and scanned through her e-mails, discarding the junk mail and reading what she deemed appropriate. She winced when she read a particular e-mail from Raye. It seemed the black haired beauty noticed one of her comic books was missing. She hastily deleted that message before logging off.

Serena stared up at the clock. It was almost dinnertime. Perhaps she could start some of her homework. She rolled her chair over to her bed and then rolled back to her desk. She cracked the book open and read through the science questions for chapter one. She groaned. There was no way she could survive school if the kind of work they gave were like this. How the hell was she going to play catch up? The class was already on chapter ten and she was at a total loss.

She snagged her purse and searched through it until finally finding her cell phone. She skimmed through the address book and quickly dialed Luna's number. It rang five times.

"Hello?" Luna's voice filled the earphone.

"Luna! You've got to save me! I can't last another day here!" Serena screamed, hoping her voice sounded terrified enough.

"Why? What's wrong, Serenity?" Luna asked, concerned.

"It's Serena by the way," she said absentmindedly, correcting her agent. "But I can't survive in this school, Luna. I don't have the brains to be here. They were talking about food in math class and I was just so confused! It involved fractions I think. Why would they talk about pie and the answer would be fractions?"

"Eh, maybe they were discussing ½ of a pie, or ¾ of a pie," Luna responded, unsure herself.

"But we weren't learning fractions, Luna. I know fractions, and those weren't fractions."

Serena could hear the other woman rummage through papers, probably trying to find her school schedule.

"You're learning calculus, Sere," Luna said dully after a few minutes. "You were talking about pi, not pie. You know, P-I."

Serena pouted. "What happened to the E?"

There was a pause on the other line, then laughter. "Ah Serena, you're good. I know your trick. Yes, what is pi indeed? I'm glad to know your sense of humor is still intact. If that's all Serena, I'll be hanging up now. I have a meeting with the director, Mark Waters. You know, the guy who directed Mean Girls? Well, talk to you later, dear," Luna said quickly as she immediately ended the call.

Serena stared at her phone disbelievingly. The woman hung up on her!

Laughter sounded from the hallway and came closer towards her door. Serena scowled. Didn't they know it was impolite to laugh that loudly in public?

The laughing person seemed to stop right at her door. She heard the scrapping of the key and then a click as the door opened. The girl continued to laugh as she opened the door a crack, facing a friend who was still out in the hall. "I'll see you later at dinner, Molly!" the blonde cried out cheerfully as she entered the dorm room and shut the door. The girl's blue eyes swept across the room until it landed on her.

"Oh, you're new," the girl said, smiling. She extended her arm and shook Serena's hand. "I'm Mina. I'll be your roommate for the rest of the year. If you ever need any help, feel free to ask."

Serena was momentarily surprised. Never before had she met someone so friendly. "I'm Serena," she replied back, a timid smile on her face. Serena nudged her glasses upwards. "You look familiar." She studied the other girl closely.

Mina smiled sheepishly. "I get that a lot. People say I'm a Serenity Blair look-alike." She pointed to her end of the room, showing off a poster she hadn't noticed before. Mina shifted in her spot, as if uncomfortable to discuss the matter further. "I just came by to drop these books off. Will you be going to dinner soon?"

Serena bit her lip, unsure of what to say. The girl did look like her old self. It was like looking into the mirror. There were differences of course. Mina's hair was a shade lighter than her own locks. At that thought, she tugged at one of her braids, the brown hair alien to her. Yet as she continued to look at Mina, she couldn't help but feel a vague recognition. She saw the girl somewhere before, and it wasn't at this school.

Mina waved her hand over Serena's eyes. "Hello, you there?" she said jokingly. Serena snapped out of her thoughts.

"Err, yeah, I'm going to dinner as well."

"Well come on then. We shouldn't be late for dinner."

Serena nodded in agreement and followed her out.

Serena found herself situated between Mina and a guy who went by the name of Melvin. They talked about the upcoming social dance, and then started interrogating her about her past. "There's not much to discuss," she said. "All I ever did was study," she laughed. Mina and the redhead named Molly looked at her dubiously. Melvin, however, agreed whole-heartedly with her good study habits. By the way he dressed she knew he was the type she needed to hang out with.

"Oh, did you hear about Amy Anderson?" Molly asked, her eyes glistening with excitement. The rest of them shook their heads.

"A few of the girls found her crying in the locker rooms. The ice queen finally cracked!"

Mina must have noticed Serena's shock filled expression because she immediately changed the subject. "I hear Darien Shields has his eye on the new girl." She winked at Serena. "Although I'm slightly surprised." Mina looked at her thoughtfully. "You're not exactly his type."

Molly snorted. "Let me guess, you're his type. Am I right?"

Mina sniffed. "I'd say so. He did go out with me once."

Molly rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her Serena," Molly said. "She went out with Darien in the third grade. He dumped her right after play time."

Serena held back her giggles. The two of them were hilarious. Her thoughts flew back to Amy though. "Do you guys by any chance know where I can find Amy? I need to ask her about our math assignment," she fibbed. She nudged her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Sometimes, she forgot she was even wearing them.

Melvin shrugged. "She should be around. Everyone in our year has lunch now."

"You might want to try outside," Molly suggested. "She's usually alone. She likes to isolate herself."

Just as she was about to stand up, an unsettling presence showed up. "Well, if it isn't the three M's. Oh and look!" Darien said, now focusing his attention solely on her. "I'm sorry to say this new girl," he said, a sad look on his face. "But you're at the wrong seat. Your name doesn't start with an M."

Mina and the rest just stared down at their lunches, trying their best to ignore him and his remarks. Serena however would have none of it.

"And just why would that matter if my name doesn't start with an M? You're just making another dumb rule from you equally dumb mind." She jabbed her finger at his firm chest. "Why don't you start making those copies of future math homework, hmm? Once I win, you'll be busy with math, math, and more math!"

Darien moved closer towards her, leaning down on her sitting figure until his lips were mere centimeters from her ear. "I never lose," he whispered huskily. Straightening up, he gave the group a cocky smile. "See you around M's. Prepare to lose, new girl." He did his customary wink, making both Mina and Molly sigh dreamily, and then he promptly left.

Serena crushed her canned drink in her fisted hand. "Ooh! He just makes me so angry!" she hissed, watching as Darien settled in a table deemed 'The Cool Kids' Table'. She watched as a particular red head clamp onto his side. She felt a twinge of jealously as she saw the couple, although she didn't know why. It wasn't

"I would say ignore him, but he seems focused on flirting with you," Melvin said. He turned his attention back on his lunch.

"Flirting? Flirting! Darien Shields was NOT flirting with me!" Serena screeched, gaining the attention of even more classmates.

"Calm down Serena," Molly said, offering a piece of her chocolate bar. Serena snatched it and savored the taste of the sweet substance.

"Thanks Molly," she said once her temper settled down. Molly smiled in response.

Mina had a twinkle of mischief in her blue eyes. "I think Melvin's right. Darien Shields was so flirting with you."

Serena shook her head. "I can't believe you consider that flirting. He was practically taunting me. Besides, he has a girlfriend."

"You mean Beryl?" Mina shrugged. "She's always been pining after him. Darien's very much single. He has been for a few months now. Besides, taunting… flirting… same thing."

Serena grinned. "I can't believe you guys." She began to laugh, causing the rest of the group to laugh as well.

She never did get around in talking to Amy that day. At night, she found herself at a makeshift sleepover party, which included Mina, Molly, and herself.

She had returned from the bathroom, fully ready to go to sleep, when she saw both Mina and Molly waiting patiently for her to return. Junk food was on their laps, as well as a heavy duty makeup set.

"It's slumber party time!" Mina yelled excitedly, bouncing on her spot of the bed. "We gotta celebrate your first day."

Serena immediately covered her eyes. She had removed her colored contact lenses and forgot to put on her glasses, which was stuffed in her bag. "I forgot something in the bathroom. I'll be right back," she said and slammed the door shut.

She ran past the other girls in the hall, making sure to look down so no one could see any differences to her appearance. She doubted they would notice though. After all, it was still the first day of school. The bathroom was thankfully empty when she entered. She locked the door so it would remain that way.

"That was a close one," she mumbled to herself. She walked over to the mirror and stared back at the stranger who had her eyes but not her hair. She was beginning to miss her blue eyes. Luna herself said it was her best feature.

She touched the coolness of the mirror and sighed. It had only been a day and already she missed being Serenity Blaire. She twirled a lock of her brown hair and then released it. The strands fell calmly back in its place, just pass her shoulders.

Yes, she missed her old hair too… and the makeup. Oh, did she miss the makeup! She never did appreciate that much makeup before, but now…. Her face felt so naked without the usual foundation, powder, and blush. The glasses looked horrible on her, and her contacts hid away her pretty blue eyes.

She just had to accept the changes. She was an actress after all. She could do it. "Don't be silly," she said out loud. "You never had to act twenty four hours a day for several months."

Serena snatched her bag that she settled against the counter and searched for her contacts case. "Goodbye blue eyes," she sighed dramatically. She placed each contact on her eyes and blinked a few times. Gray eyes stared back at her. She blinked again, feeling the tears that wanted to break out. "I will not cry, I will not cry," she murmured. She donned the glasses and sighed. Her look was complete. She was Serena Claire once again, and already she hated it. She felt like she was lying to herself as well as lying to everyone else. "This isn't the real me," she said to no one in particular.

She walked back to the room, the other two girls looking at her curiously.

"There you are!" Mina said. "What happened to you? Fell in the sink or something?" Mina joked.

"It's fell in the toilet, Mina," Molly corrected her offhandedly.

Serena just shook her head as she turned around to lock the door. "Are you staying the night, Molly?" she asked.

Molly shook her head. "Nah. I have to sneak back to my room before Professor Lass makes her rounds."

"That woman keeps us grounded here." Mina frowned. "I tried sneaking to a night showing of the Dresden Dolls but that witch of a woman caught me."

"Mina, you were screaming in the hallways. Of course she was bound to catch you," Molly said.

"But I was excited," Mina whined. "What a waste of $40. I really wanted to go too. I dressed up and had the painted white face too. Man, so disappointing. The Dresden Dolls are so cool. Their old cd is better in my opinion. Miss Me and Half Jack are awesome songs." Mina started singing one of the lines to the songs. Serena didn't know which one though. She was more into pop music than anything. Serena settled herself onto her empty bed. Molly tossed a bag of chips in her direction, which she just barely managed to catch.

"So, how do you like school so far? Exciting? Boring? Challenging?" Mina asked, chomping down on her own bag of chips.

"It's different to what I'm used to," she said honestly.

"Yeah, you went to public school, right? I wouldn't be able to survive public schooling. I hear there's gangs and kids bringing knives or guns to school," Molly said naively.

"It's not that bad," Serena said defensively, even though she never stepped foot in a public school herself.

"Sure it isn't," Mina said. She paused for a second. "There's lots of drug problems though, isn't there? That can't be good."

Serena inwardly groaned. They wanted to debate, but she was not qualified to even have an opinion on the subject. She was tutored, not schooled like the average American. "I guess so," she shrugged. "I didn't really pay attention to what my peers did. I was focused on my work."

"Ugh, work. You're just like Melvin." Mina wrinkled her nose.

Molly jumped off the bed. "I better go. It's getting late and Professor Lass is going to do her rounds soon." She rolled her eyes and then grinned. "See you guys tomorrow at lunch."

"Bye Moll!"

"Goodnight Molly."

Just as she was about to leave, a loud, screeching noise met their ears. Serena stared at the two of them in alarm. "What is that?"

"FIRE!" someone screamed from outside the hall, answering her question. Panicked footsteps could be heard as well as others evacuating their rooms towards the nearest exit.

"Someone please lend me shoes," Molly cried out as she snatched Mina's sandals. Serena and Mina put their shoes on as well and quickly joined the crowd of worried girls.

"This is quite a day for you, huh Serena? First day, and already you get to experience a fire drill," Mina joked.

"It's not a fire drill," a calm voice responded. The trio turned around to see the ever-quiet Amy Anderson.

"Amy!" Serena said in surprise. She blushed after noting her outburst. "I was looking for you earlier."

"What do you mean, Amy? Is this a real live fire?" Molly interrupted Serena.

Amy nodded. "Although I didn't notice any smoke, I saw the fire trucks approaching through my window."

A blonde head with a red ribbon through her hair could be seen bolting ahead of her friends, pushing pass the crowd to get to the exit sooner.

"Guess we should follow Mina, huh?" Molly said, quickening her pace. Serena and Amy both nodded and ran the rest of the way outside.

The fire trucks were parked expertly next to the curb, right across from the girls' dorms. From Serena's vantage point, she could see no smoke or fire in sight.

"Do you see anything at all?" Mina asked, already on her tiptoes, peering over everyone's heads. None of the girls reached passed 5'5'', so they couldn't see much.

Serena just shook her head. She looked over at Amy, who was sitting demurely on the grass, a book and flashlight in her hands. "So Amy, what are you reading?"

Amy shrugged. "Just some science journals my mom sent me. You wouldn't be interested." She had that right. Books were boring. Comic books on the other hand… she wondered when the next issue of Nana would come out.

"Look Amy, I just wanted to say that I really am sorry for what happened this morning… I was struggling in that class and when Darien offered a way out, I just had to snag it."

She looked up from her book. "You think you can solve your problem by cheating?" She shook her head. "If you need help, Serena, don't cheat. Just get a tutor or see the teacher for extra help."

"But if I lose, he'll have everyone call me 'new girl'," Serena whined.

Amy looked at her exasperatedly. "Serena, you're new. If you really need help in math, I'll even help you. Just don't gain bad habits because Darien Shield's trying to find a reason to talk to you."

"You will?" Serena asked, surprised. Her surprise then took a turn for the worst. "And what do you mean about that last bit? Darien Shield's is so infuriating!" she fumed.

Mina walked closer to them. "I told you he likes you," she told her. "You agree with me, right Amy?"

Amy blushed. "I honestly do think so."

"You're all against me! I can't believe this," Serena said, shaking her head. Her new friends laughed. After awhile, Serena held out her hand to Amy. "Friends?"

Hesitantly, Amy took it. "Friends," she nodded.

They stood there for what seemed like forever. A group of them huddled close together for warmth. It was a cold night out with no fire in sight. In the beginning, the girls had shrieked when seeing the boys milling about outside. After all, they were only in their sleeping clothes.

Serena had been unfortunate as well. It seemed Darien was placed on this earth to make her life a living hell. He had purposely made his way towards her and remarked on her pajamas. They had pink bunny heads on them. Enough said.

At least her hair was still in their neat braids. A few of the other girls had their hair mussed up from sleep and their faces covered in green goop. It was those beauty conscientious girls that she had pity for. They tried so hard during the day to attract the guys, including putting all that makeup on their faces, only to have to scare the guys with their nightly beauty secrets. Well, maybe not scare exactly. Most of her immature male classmates were laughing and pointing at the poor girls.

Melvin had managed to find them as well and now sat on the grass next to Molly. Amy was back to reading her science journals and Mina continued to babble about everything and nothing to no one in particular. Serena continued to stand, glaring at the 6 foot something male that refused to leave her alone.

"Chilly night, isn't it?" Darien said, after mocking her sleep wear.

"Sure is," she said nastily. She rubbed at her arms for warmth.

"Here," he said and tossed his jacket on top of her head, blocking her vision. She growled as she untangled the cloth from her head. "Put it on," he said simply after seeing her stare at it in her hands.

"But," Serena began to protest, but he quickly interrupted her with a laugh.

"I don't have cooties, I promise," Darien said.

Serena put on the warm green coat reluctantly. "Thanks," she grumbled.

He winked his annoying wink. "You're welcome, love."

She rolled her eyes in response, but her heart began to beat faster. Maybe there was a chance that the handsome Darien Shields would actually like her, the geeky Serena Claire.

"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?" she said dryly. "She might get jealous with all the attention you're giving to me."

He laughed. "What girlfriend?" He gave her his infamous winks and walked away, hands stuffed in his pant pockets.

"The event that has occurred an hour ago is inexcusable. The culprits will be found out and given the appropriate punishment. Whoever has any information on the students who pulled the alarm, please speak with me privately on the matter," said the rumpled looking headmaster.

Serena was amidst the student body called upon the last-minute meeting in the auditorium. Professors and students alike were all half asleep. The excitement of a fire had long since burned away, especially when everyone found out there actually wasn't a fire.

"Expulsion can be expected for those certain troublemakers when they are found. However, if you stand up to your crimes now, you will only face a month's worth of detention," the headmaster droned on.

"Do you think he's almost finished?" Mina whispered to her.

Serena shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I hope so though. I wonder if we'll get a delayed start for classes…. I can't possibly wake up at six in the morning to get ready."

Amy, who was sitting next to Serena, began to speak. "He's going to make us continue with our regular schedule as punishment. He's done it before, he'll do it again."

"Well, that just sucks," Mina grumbled, her eyes drooping at each word.

Serena yawned in response, which led to several others yawning as well. "If only he'll shut up already…."

"I can't take this anymore! I need to sleep," moaned Molly as she got up from her seat and headed out the door. Serena and the rest of the group sprang out of their seats, closely following the red head and ignoring the teachers' warnings. Other students got the same idea and began to leave as well.

"Sleep!" Mina called out as they nearly ran to their dorm rooms.

"Oh, we're so going to get into trouble for this," Amy said worriedly.

"I'm sorry, but at the rate he was going, we would only get an hour's worth of sleep," Molly said.

The girls parted ways and entered their rooms. Mina dropped onto her bed and hugged her pillow. "Ah, I missed you pillow," she said tiredly as she closed her eyes.

Serena laughed as she kicked off her shoes and plopped onto the bed. "Good night Mina," she said. Mina didn't respond; she was already asleep. A few minutes later, Serena met the same fate, only barely acknowledging that she was still wearing Darien's coat that distinctly smelt of roses.

Author's Note: Hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Fixed minor errors and plot holes throughout this one. Despite re-reading again and again, I still find mistakes. If you see any, please let me know. So a social dance is in the works. Wonder who Serena will be going with? -wink- But that won't be till later on in the story. I also mentioned the Dresden Dolls show that Mina was supposed to attend. I honestly don't think that Mina would listen to them. Doesn't fit with her 'personality', but I like them and it's my story so… there! Ha! Well, I think I rambled on long enough. Do leave me a nice, long review. It's deeply appreciated. Thanks for reading!