A Normal Teenager
By: Lillian
Chapter Seven
The incessant beeping of an alarm clock numbed the deep recesses of her brain. Serena groaned and turned to her other side, hitching the warm, cotton blanket over her head to block out the noise. The beeping continued and she inwardly groaned. She threw off her sheets and walked across the room towards her still sleeping roommate. "Mina," she said groggily, shaking the blonde girl's shoulder. "Turn off your alarm clock, will ya? I'm trying to get some extra sleep."
The blonde mumbled incoherently, ignoring the ferocious shaking from her roommate. "Mina," she continued to whine, her eyes partially shut due to lack of sleep. Giving up, Serena walked to the other side of Mina's bed and slammed the clock off. She took in the glowing red numbers and cringed. It seemed like it was going to be another morning without breakfast. "Mina, we have exactly thirty minutes to get up and changed. Come on!" She pushed down the sheets of her still sleeping roommate and grabbed the blonde's thin wrist, yanking her off the bed and onto the carpeted floor.
She landed with a bang as her body did a little bounce on the ground. "Oww!" Mina croaked out, sitting up and rubbing her ribbon tied hair. "What was that for? I'm up! I'm up! Sheesh!"
Serena already was by her closet and picking out her uniform and undergarments. "I'll see you at lunch," she said, turning her head slightly towards the mumbling girl still on the floor. She grabbed her shower caddy and with her clothes and towel snuggled in her arms, left the room towards the shared bathrooms.
Raye stood in front of a mirror, applying her makeup, when Serena reached the steaming bathroom.
"You look like a zombie," Raye said, eyeing her from the mirror. She began putting on bright red lipstick, her full concentration on applying it perfectly.
"Good morning to you too," she said, rolling her eyes. She set her things on the wooden bench and turned on the hot water. She absolutely hated public showers, especially when all the stalls were taken. Now though, her problem was the lack of hot water. Her fingers felt the tepid water and frowned. It was her fault for getting up late. At least the temperature was bearable.
"So did you have fun when you ditched us?" Raye called out by the sink areas as Serena got into the shower.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Serena asked, eyes closed as she let the water run down her tired body. Sleep was calling to her. Oh, if only she could go back into those warm sheets and rest her head against her fluffy, down pillow… that would be pure bliss.
"You know," Raye continued, "when you left Amy and me back in the hallway to follow that black haired guy like a puppy dog. A rather cute puppy dog too, if I might add."
Serena snorted. "I did not follow him like a puppy dog. I just had to ask him something." She shampooed and conditioned her layered, brown hair. It was getting late and her class would start soon.
"You better hurry up, Sere," Raye said, her voice echoing against the gray tiled walls. "We've got stat in like ten minutes." The girl started laughing, and then all Serena heard was the door swinging shut.
Luckily for her, she had a minute to spare as she entered her statistics classroom. The professor had yet to arrive, but most of her classmates were already there, gossiping amongst each other. Serena settled herself at the back row, furthest away from the professor. She was doing horribly in this class, and it would take a miracle for her to even manage a C. She piled up her textbook and notebook on her desk and rested her head against it. Closing her eyes, she began to slowly drift off.
A jab of someone's finger against her bare shoulder jolted her awake. The smiling face of a wide awake, coffee-induced Darien greeted her. "Hello there, Sleeping Beauty."
"Don't you mean fair Juliet?" she replied, placing her cheek against her book once again. She planned on never staying up so late again.
"True," he said. "Hey, are you alright? You don't look so well." She felt his warm hand against her shoulder.
"I'm fine, just tired. I stayed up all night finishing up homework." She yawned into her palm. "I don't know how I'm going to survive this class."
He brought his hand by his side. "Why don't you just go back to your room and sleep? I'm sure he'll understand. I could always cover for you." He reached across the aisle and grabbed her notebook off her desk. "Here, I'll even show your homework for you."
She bit her lower lip as her eyes met his. "Sure you don't mind?" She glanced up to the front of the classroom, where the professor was settling himself in front of his desk.
"Of course not," he said. He got up and tugged at her arm to stand up as well. He led her to the front of the classroom towards the professor.
"Serena's not feeling so well, Professor Taylor. I think it's best if she goes back to her room to rest. She's given me her homework, and I'll be sure to inform her of what she needs to do to catch up."
The professor nodded as he nudged his glasses up. "Alright. Feel better Ms. Claire."
Serena nodded her head in thanks. "Thank you for understanding, Professor."
The two of them walked in front of the open door that led to the nearly empty hallways. Their fellow classmates were still loud and talking amongst themselves. Darien stopped her from walking through and gave her a devilishly handsome grin. "Come here," he whispered close to her earlobe.
"Wha—"
His soft lips melted onto her own as he interrupted her. She closed her eyes and leaned against his strong frame, enjoying the sensations as his tongue skillfully glided inside her mouth. Eyes still closed, Serena pulled back and inhaled his unique scent of roses. She smiled despite herself, and loved every minute of Darien's secure arms wrapped around her waist. She felt complete, for the very first time in her life.
The whispers of her classmates brought her back to reality, and she leapt away from Darien's warm embrace hurriedly. Cheeks flushed, she glanced back and forth at her classmates who had their eyes on her. Raye in particular caught her eye and gave her an all knowing smirk. 'Talk later,' she mouthed to her.
She felt his tingling touch at her back as he nudged her out the door. "You better get going, Serena. You need sleep. I'll see you later for our study date. Remember; meet me at three outside by our tree."
He sent the class in a frenzy as soon as he mentioned the word 'date'. He sent her heart doing flip flops with the words 'our tree'. She didn't know if she should laugh or yell at one Darien Shields. He definitely wasn't making life any easier for her, but at least he kept things interesting.
"Alright," she said instead, her voice at the brink of exhaustion. "I'll see you later then."
For the first time in awhile, the professor gained control of the class. "Settle down," he bellowed. "Mr. Shields, please refrain from public affection in my class and get to your seat."
Serena was already out of the room and down the hall, but she could hear her professor's deep voice bouncing through the empty halls. She wouldn't be surprised if the class next door had heard the commotion.
A knock on her door awoke her from her slumber. Out of habit, she bolted out of bed. She unlocked the door, yanking at the handle and peering outside the hall in confusion. Raye stood just a few ways back, grinning impishly at her. In her hands was a brown bag that hopefully indicated to be her lunch. She turned around and glanced at the clock. One p.m. on the dot. "Come in," she said, making way for her friend to enter.
Raye sauntered inside and dropped the brown bag onto her desk, a bottle of Evian rolling slowly out of said bag. Raye plopped herself down on her unmade bed and surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes stopped once she saw across the room and began to laugh.
"She has a poster of you! How precious!" she cooed. She got up and went to Mina's side of the room, glancing up and down of the poster that zoomed in on her smiling and cheerful face.
Serena nodded. "Yeah, I was a bit surprised too when I first walked in. At least she doesn't suspect anything so far, so I'm good." Serena took in her appearance in front of the mirror and winced. Her brown locks were a mess, despite having been braided earlier before. Unraveling each braid, she felt the dampness of her hair from her morning shower. She played with the now curly strands and let out a sigh. Her sparkling blue eyes stared back at her. "Crap! I forgot to put on my contacts!"
She ran to her closet and grabbed her shower tote. Sitting innocently in one of the pockets was her folded glasses. She stilled, her eyes widening. She forgot to wear her glasses this morning, too. "Oh my god, I'm screwed," she said weakly. Her bum met the floor and she stared ahead of her in a daze.
"What are you going on about now?" Raye asked as she walked up to her and peered down at her.
"My cover's blown. I screwed up." Serena continued to stare dazedly at the wall.
"Really now?" Raye raised a delicately arched eyebrow. "I don't hear anyone pounding on your door for answers. I think you're safe, Sere."
"You don't understand! I forgot to wear my contacts AND my glasses. I'm so stupid." She hit her head with the palm of her hand.
"Seriously, Sere, I think you're alright. You're just overacting. I mean, I didn't notice anything out of place, besides the fact you made out with Darien in front of the class." She gave her friend a wink.
"But Darien must have noticed! I mean, he was only a few centimeters away from my face," she continued to ramble.
Raye joined the girl on the floor. "Tell me everything!"
She shook her head. "You were there, Raye. Nothing much else to tell. My cover's screwed so I'll probably have to head back home."
"No, no! Not that! Tell me about the kiss you shared with Darien! When did this relationship develop? I thought you guys were just friends." she nearly squealed.
Serena peered at her friend cautiously. "You're not acting like yourself, Raye. Are you alright?"
Raye waved her hand idly. "It's not everyday that my best friend kisses a real guy. You can't believe how shocked I."
She twirled a strand of brown hair around her forefinger. "I kiss guys all the time in the movies I'm in. I don't see how this is any different." As soon as she said it, she knew she was wrong. It was different. The heat from her cheeks was an immediate sign that she was blushing.
"Those guys are just actors. Those weren't real kisses."
"Whatever you say, Raye."
"So tell me about yesterday, and today! You guys are having a date today, huh?"
In a dismal manner, she picked up her thick framed glasses and put them on. There was no point in wearing her contacts. She would probably be out of here within a day's time. She stood up and walked by her desk, pulling out a sandwich from the brown bag. "Thanks for the food," she said as she made herself comfortable on the plastic chair.
"No problem. Now spill!"
A key scrapping the lock brought the duo to stare at the door. Mina pushed the wooden door open with her hip, her hands full with her books and notebooks. "Hey Serena!" she said brightly. Her smile soon turned into a frown when she saw who else was in a room. "Oh, it's you."
Raye glared at the blonde girl. "Hello to you too," she said, sarcastically.
Mina put on an overly cheerful face. "Hi!" She rolled her eyes at Serena before dumping her books onto her neatly made, orange coverlet and then went over to her own desk. She hummed as she turned on her laptop.
"Enough with the interruptions," Raye said. "Tell me already!"
"Well, as you already know, Darien took me out to a small town for lunch—," she started.
"He took you out to lunch?" Raye asked, surprised.
Serena nodded. "He then took me to the beach and we played around--"
"Played around, huh?" Raye winked at her. "Ooh, what a naughty girl you've been, Sere."
Serena slapped her friend's arm. "Get your mind out of the gutter, sicko!"
Raye laughed. "Alright, but then what happened?"
She paused as she chewed her sandwich. "Well… he took me to the movie theatre. There was a Serenity Blaire marathon going on. We ended up watching Frozen Kiss."
At this point, Raye had tears in her eyes. Mina had turned away from her laptop and was staring at her friend as if she were crazy.
"Oh my god, that's so great! He didn't suspect anything?" Raye asked, wiping a few tears away from her violet eyes.
Serena gave her friend a swift kick and glared, eyeballing towards Mina and shaking her head.
"Right, right," she said, sill laughing. "Oh man, I wish I could have your life. It's always so much fun."
"You live a more fun life than I do."
"So then what?" she asked excitedly.
She shrugged. "He brought me home, gave me a kiss goodbye, and that was it."
"Aw Sere, you just had to make it sound dull. That hottie KISSED you! I mean, usually, that wouldn't seem unusual, but look at yourself…." She winced. "You aren't exactly beauty queen material."
"Raye? Just shut up. Okay? Not all of us can be supermodels like you."
"I don't get it," Mina said from across the room. She stood up and settled herself next to Raye on the floor. Serena tensed for a moment and couldn't help but glare at Raye. Although there was already a chance that her cover was blown, having Raye make so many hints towards who she really was in front of Mina just doomed her fate. "Last night, you were so worried about how Darien was going to treat you this morning. Now, you seem so… jaded by it. Did something happen?"
"I should say so," Raye grinned. "He kissed her, in class, in front of everyone."
Mina's jaw dropped. "No way!"
Raye laughed. "Yes way!" She turned her attention back to Serena. "He really likes you, you know. What are you gonna do when this is all over?"
"When what's all over?" Mina asked.
"She means when the play's over," Serena said quickly. "Darien and I decided we'd practice the kissing scene so it'll appear more natural on stage," she fibbed.
"Oh," Mina said. "Lucky you." She got up from the floor and sauntered back to her desk. "Once you have him, don't let him go," she advised as she winked at her.
Serena let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I won't."
Mina squinted at her, a frown marring her pretty face. "Hey Serena, aren't your eyes usually gray?"
Serena frowned. "Uh yeah… they change colors whenever I'm moody." She began to laugh. "They must be blue now, huh?" She scratched the back of her head nervously.
"They're such a pretty blue. Reminds me of someone else's…," she trailed off. Serena held her breath as she saw Mina glance towards the poster, but then focused back on her computer screen. "Too bad they don't always stay that color. Darien likes girls with blue eyes."
"Guess he likes girls with gray eyes too, huh?" she replied weakly.
Mina chuckled. "Guess so."
Raye got up from the floor with a sigh. "I better get going. I got so much homework to finish."
"Oh Sere," Mina said suddenly. "Just want to remind you that we have play rehearsal later tonight after dinner. Do you have classes later today?"
Serena shook her head. Since her nap, she'd slept through two of them already. "I'm done for the day. What about you?"
"Same. I just gotta catch up on homework," she groaned. "You'd think they'd let up on the work since it's a Friday."
"Wouldn't that give them all the more reason to give us work?" Serena laughed. "But I feel your pain. I don't know how I'm going to maintain my scholarship."
"Seriously, Serena, you should just go to a lower level for some of your classes."
"You don't understand, Mina. I have to stay in those classes."
"What are you trying to prove though? I'd understand if you were trying to maintain a 4.0 like you did in your old school, but you need to understand that this school is a prestigious one and much more competitive than a public school. You're not doing so well in English or your math subjects, Serena. Amy and I are worried that… you might get kicked out with the way you're performing." She whispered the last part.
Serena bit her lower lip. Sure, she knew she wasn't getting the straight A's that Luna expected of her. Being tutored all her life, grades didn't hold much importance. They were just letters that normal teens probably worried over. Her career was already set. As long as she had her face and her acting skills, she'd go far and continue to support herself and her family. Seeing the littering of past tests on her desk, she took in the various marks of C's, D's, and even a few F's. Perhaps it wasn't wise to leave them out in the open like that.
Serena noticed that Mina was biting her lip nervously, the bright red ribbon tied atop her fine, blonde hair slightly askew to the side. She was twirling her long hair around her forefinger, then unraveling it, only to repeat the process again. Her laptop seemed forgotten as she stared back at her. Her blue eyes seemed troubled. It really must have been bothering her that much, and it touched Serena that she had friends that cared.
"Thank you, Mina," Serena said after a long pause in conversation. "You really don't have to worry though. I guess I should tell you already." Serena walked over to Mina and sat on her bed, making sure to push the girl's books further to the side. The bed squeaked at the added weight.
"What are you talking about? Tell me what?"
Serena sighed. "I'm glad you became my friend, Mina. Without you and the friends I've made here, I'd probably given up by now."
Mina had fully turned around so she faced the girl directly. "You're not making sense, Serena."
"I'll be honest with you, Mina. I don't have much time left before I leave Orcyrde Academy for good."
"What?" Mina gasped in surprise. "You're transferring? But why?"
Serena began to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. "Well, I only planned to stay here for the semester. I'm going back home next term."
"So you're an exchange student or something?"
"Nah, nothing like that. I just wanted to get the feel of how a posh school like Orcyrde would be like. I must say, it's been fun so far."
"But your grades," she said weakly. "Aren't they going to affect your supposed perfect score?"
Serena smirked. "I'll let you in on another secret. I was never the top student in my old school. Hell, I never even went to a public school." She could tell by Mina's expression that she was floored.
"Oh my god," Mina said suddenly. She jumped out of her seat and backed away from Serena, her hand touching the wall against her back, feeling for the doorknob. "Are you… a nark?"
Serena frowned as she folded her arms. "Do I look like a cop to you? Puh-lease, Mina. I'm the same age as you."
Mina appeared to ignore her. "I swear, I don't drink, and I definitely don't sell drugs. I don't know any drug dealers, I promise. Although there's this shady guy in my music class who seems like he's always on something, if you know what I mean. But honestly, I don't do any of that shit. I'm just hyper because that's who I am, or maybe because I eat too much sweets and that makes me appear like I'm high or something--," she continued to ramble.
Serena sweat dropped. "Mina," she said. The girl kept on talking, confessing this or that, or talking about this person or that person that might have tried drugs throughout high school. "Mina," she tried again. After taking a few deep breaths, she screamed. "MINA!" That shut the blonde girl up. "Seriously, Mina," Serena said, shaking her head. "I'm not a nark and I'm definitely not a priest. No need to confess to me that you dated Darien over the summer." She felt her vein on her temple throb once she heard that particular confession.
"You must be a snob princess then. Oh god, don't kill me!" The girl's eyes were wide with fear. She kept glancing back at her and the window. They were on the fourth floor. Surely she wouldn't jump… right?
"Snob princess?" Serena wrinkled her nose. "What are you going on about? I'm not a snob, Mina."
"You know," Mina continued, "those big, scary, Italians in business suits who shoot people if the slightest things piss them off. Don't you watch The Sopranos?" she said, aghast.
"A mob princess?" Serena deadpanned. "No and no."
"You're a spy then, come to steal my family secrets! But my family doesn't have any secrets…. Then you must be here to steal the school secrets!" Mina's eyes brightened at her new revelation. "That's why you befriended Darien!"
She was curious now. "Why'd you say that?"
Mina gave her a 'you-must-be-stupid' look. "It's because his mom is the head of the Board of Trustees. The Shields' practically own the school. You must've noticed how Darien gets away with pretty much everything around here."
That explained things. Mina sure had a crazy imagination. "Alright, enough of this. I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell." Why did she have a feeling she'd regret this later?
Mina stopped her attempt of escape and stilled for a moment. "Alright," she said after awhile. "As long as you're not planning to kill me, then I guess I can keep a secret."
"You can't tell anyone, not Molly, not Melvin, nobody. Do you understand?" she said slowly and deliberately, as if she were talking to a three year old.
"Yes," she huffed impatiently. "I promise. Now tell me."
Serena took a deep breath before spilling out her secret. "My name's not really Serena Claire. I'm Serenity Blaire. Nice to meet you," she said with a smile. She held out her hand for a handshake.
Mina stared at her hand, as if she were an alien. Then slowly, she stared up at her face. Her eyes swiveled to something behind her. Serena turned around as well to see what caught her attention. It was the poster that zoomed in on her face, her blue eyes shining for the camera. They were the very same blue eyes that were hidden behind the thick rimmed glasses she now wore. A loud 'thump' made her turn her head to where Mina once stood. There on the floor, a star-struck Mina lay, out cold.
Serena calmly walked over the crumpled form of her roommate and went to her desk. She pulled out her cell phone from her desk drawer and speed dialed a number. After a few rings, the other line picked up. "Hello, Luna?" she said calmly. "We have a problem. My cover's been blown."
Author's Note: Cliffie! Ha! And that, folks is my lame attempt at humor. May you all find it funny and in suspense for the next chapter. Time to crank up the conflict now. After all, a good story needs a few bumps in the road, right? Review to your heart's content. Thanks again for all the reviews! Seven chapters with 127 reviews. Wow. :D You guys are awesome.