Chapter ten: Phobia

I woke up to find Mom's head on my lap, her body jerking violently with sobs and Mr. Tampon was sitting in a chair that he probably stole from the kitchen with a blank expression until he caught me staring at him.

"You're awake," he announced softly and Mom's head immediately shot up from my lap, and she released a squeal of relief as she pulled me into one of her bear hugs.

"Mom…" I gasped for air, cringing in pain. She was squeezing me too tightly. "That hurts…like a lot."

She instantly let go, but her hands grasped mine tightly and I knew this time she wasn't going to let go. "How do you feel? You've been unconscious for two days. A nice man found you and used your cell phone to call us."

My cell phone…? Wasn't it dead? Gawd damn stupid technology! And how did he know who to call?

Oh... right, the Mom typed in my cell phone would have been a great help. Why, oh why, was I an idiot sometimes?

"I'm okay…sore, but okay," I answered bitterly, annoyed with myself and with my stupid cell phone.

"Do you need anything? Anything at all?"

I shielded my eyes from the sunlight that was pouring in from the window and bouncing off the white walls of my room, reflecting into my eyes. "Yea, can you pull down the shades? The sun is bothering me."

She blinked for a second, a worried expression on her face but she got up and did exactly what I asked. "Anything else?"

"A glass…of water…please…" My throat was itchy and tight, and my voice was practically clawing its way out when I spoke.

She hurriedly went downstairs, climbing down two steps at a time. I blinked in surprise.

"I don't think I've ever seen her move so fast," I chuckled to myself. Mr. Tampon cleared his throat.

"What happened?" He bluntly questioned and I shrugged, wincing as I felt the holes in my neck squish together.

Not my brightest moment.

I didn't dare raise my hand to my neck, where I could tell it was bandaged. "I was obviously attacked."

He scowled darkly at me. "Details, if you will."

I bit my lip thoughtfully, gathering the past images in my head and wondered if it was necessary to tell him what or who attacked me. I didn't quite understand what happened…I mean if I remember correctly, the guy had fangs. What person has fangs?

"I was just jumped by some homeless person," I lied, slowly inventing a cover story in my head. It's not like Mr. Tampon, the oh-so-lovely government analyst, would believe the truth anyway.

"Did you get a good look at him?"

Are you kidding? Who could forget the stubby beard, the hideous reds eyes—or were they hazel? And the fangs?

I shuddered. "No. It was too dark out."

He narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Lie. It's summer. There's still sunlight at nine."

I shrugged, now feeling defensive. "Well, you can try to pester me for details all you want, but I'm telling you I don't know much."

"Ain't that the truth," he grunted.

That earned him a firm whack on the head. Mom had entered the room and upon hearing him, she hit him hard.

"It would behoove you to leave my daughter in peace," she seethed, her nostrils flaring.

Even though she looked like a fire breathing dragon, with her eyes reducing into menacing gray slits and her flaming red hair sticking up in random directions as if she hadn't brushed it for a month, my insides were cheering. After all, she defended me for once.

"But she's lying," he persisted, glaring at her.

"I don't care. Leave my baby alone," she growled and when she turned to me her eyes and face softened. "Here you go."

She handed me the full glass of water—I checked to see if it was poisoned, and smiled timidly when I took it from her. Hey if she's acting bi-polar, then there's something obviously wrong with the water.

"Your friend called. The one from Japan," she said as I gradually sat up in my bed and took sips from the glass, grateful for the coolness of the liquid that was easing the pain in my throat.

"Yea? She okay? My phone died when she called," I frowned at the memory. Stupid phone.

Mom sighed hesitantly before continuing, crossing her legs when she sat down on my bed. "She was wondering if you wanted to…to stay with her at her house…a week before school started. She wanted to help you become adjusted with the time difference."

"I hear a but coming."

Her eyes pleaded me. "I don't want you to go to that school."

"Mom, just because I was jumped here in America doesn't mean I'll be jumped there. In fact, weren't you the one that said Japan was safer than the States?" I stated calmly. "And I like the school…odd enough, I know, stop looking at me like that…and I would like to stay there…to continue my studies that is. Not to live!"

She had given me a frown when I said I wanted to stay there.

"I don't like the idea of you being so far away," she pouted.

I caught Mr. Tampon rolling his eyes and I shot him a glare before turning back to her. "Yea, I know, but it's a good school. We even have a Disciplinary Committee that watches the school twenty-four/seven. So it's safe! Probably one of the safest places…"

"But you just came back," she continued to pout, taking my hand again and dragged me into a hug.

I winced at the movement, thinking that Mom has never been this affectionate with me. What caused her to change? The distance? How ironic that we could become closer now I didn't live with her.

"Sorry, did that hurt?" she asked, questioning my wince.

I gave her a smile, deciding to tell her the truth. "A little."

A little. Just not in a physical sense.

She sulked, giving me more space and sighed. "Well, if you like that school so much…"

"I do."

"Then I'll allow you to go, but you have to promise me that you'll keep safe." She gave me a stern look to which I nodded to.

"Promise."

It took me hours to convince Mom to allow me to visit Erica without Mr. Tampon escorting me but we made a deal.

I would get the stuff Mr. Tampon 'lost' and be grounded for taking them—meaning I'd be cleaning the house for the remaining days that I was home. I also had to quit my job. Mom didn't approve of the idea of me working when I should be spending my time with her. Personally I think it's because she was afraid that I would be attacked again when walking back home. I don't understand why she wouldn't just let me take the car and let me drive.

That's why I have a driver's license! UGH! Parents…

After handing her the stolen objects that I had buried in our backyard—what? It's not like I would have actually done something extremely horrible to his belongings. After all, it does have his credit cards and personal identification. I would have gotten into a whole bigger mess of trouble if I had, say, thrown it away or gave it to someone homeless, which had been my original idea. Damn. I really should have given it to a homeless guy. I would have made his day and I probably would have had better karma, ya know? Maybe karma wouldn't have allowed that man to attack me if I had given it to a homeless guy.

ANYWAY!

The walk to Erica was…an interesting one. I've never been paranoid before, but the previous attack made me more jumpy than usual and there were times when I thought I heard things. I nearly kicked a poor, innocent cat that had jumped from the trashcan to the ground.

I knocked on the forest green wooden door and leaned against it, looking around for any suspicious followers as I waited for Erica to open up. The porch really needed to be redone. Most of the wooden boards were sticking up or out due to the nails falling out or unscrewing themselves, and the color used to be a polished tan. Now it resembled vomit.

"Yo," she greeted me, a bit concerned and grouchy at the same time. "You really shouldn't be walking around by yourself. Not since after that attack, which by the way, why didn't you call me? I could have asked Jade to walk you home."

"Hang on." I held up one finger and dialed Mom's number into my cell. "Mom? Yea. I'm at her house. No I'm not lying…do you want to talk to her? Fine."

I handed Erica the cell phone, disappointed that the woman wouldn't believe me, but then again, I did steal Mr. Tampon's stuff. "Talk to her."

Erica smiled and accepted the phone graciously. "Hey Ms. Fontana, she made it safely to my house and I'll make sure she gets home in one piece. No, no, I won't be roughhousing today. Yup. Talk to you later. Bye."

She gave me the phone and gave me a 'one second' glance, disappearing into her house while I continued to talk to Mom.

"Okay, well, be sure not to leave her house alone. And don't forget to call me when you do leave her house," Mom said, sounding fretful. "And don't get into any fights with her. That's the last thing your body needs."

"Right, I'll be home in a few," I replied curtly.

"I love you," she said quietly.

Erica had opened the door again to allow me in but I had paused, one leg in front of the other.

"I…love you too," I said, gently smiling into the phone. "See you later."

I hung up, entered Erica's abnormally quiet house and breathed in the house's scent. It's funny how while you're living in your house you don't detect any smells, but if you leave for a few months and come back you definitely catch your house's scent. My house, in contrast to Erica's cinnamon-smelling house, smelled of herbal spices.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, immediately feeling strange without their constant loud bickering filling the house.

"Both are at work thankfully, and before you ask, Anthony's at a friend's house," she answered. "So it's just the two of us."

I smirked playfully. "And your dog?"

She scowled. "Backyard. You're not going anywhere near her."

"Protective of her, aren't you?" I chortled, looking out from the window into the backyard. Erica's dog, Sunflower, was a white haired poodle with a mean temper and lived up to the word bitch. Normally it would have been easy to spot a white fluffy blob in the Skylar's backyard, but since the grass was up to my waist--Mr. Skylar probably gave up tending to the yard when his wife quit her job as a housewife--it was nearly impossible to find her.

"Lets see. My parents are annoying and my brother is a big cry baby…I wonder why that dog's my best friend too sometimes," she sneered, shoving all the newly cleaned clothes that came out from the dryer into the laundry basket.

I pouted. "Oh, that hurts. I thought we had something special."

"Punching bags, remember?"

"Right, right." I sighed, no longer feeling like joking. "We need to talk."

I was treated with a suspicious elevated eyebrow and she frowned, "You're not pregnant are you?"

I punched her on the shoulder, regretting it afterwards because the movement put strain on my neck. "No, the guy jumped me-- not raped me, you idiot."

"Well how would I know? The way your mother explained it to me—she made it sound like he actually got you. But anyway! Lets head to my room to 'talk'."

I followed her upstairs, occasionally glancing at the furniture to see if I could find anything new. Mrs. Skylar had a bad temper and she would hurl things at her husband while they were arguing, which caused them to get new furniture just about every day. It's amazing how much damage that woman could make.

However, all I saw were the old furniture. She still had the dark blue lazy boy chairs, the comfy blue couch that sat in between those lazy boy chairs, and the huge flat screen television. Ah, so many memories with that television. In one of our fights, I had nearly knocked it over due to my clumsiness. The kitchen's sink was filled up to the top with dirty dishes. The kitchen's table, as I recalled, had brown burned marks from when Erica and I were playing with fire at the age of ten. We were only trying to burn the napkins but got more than we bargained for.

Yep. Our parents were not happy with us.

Upon entering her room, I noticed that her heavy metal band posters had been taken down and her walls looked too bare. The surfboard patterned bed covers were stripped off to reveal her hello kitty bed sheets and, once again, I could not find the floor.

"Don't you ever clean your room?" I asked teasingly, stepping over the pile of dirty clothes.

"My room, my rules. I get to do whatever I want with my own territory," she retorted as she closed her bedroom door. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Okay," I uttered, finally getting down to business. "You know how you love to read about mythology and all that jazz?"

"Yea. So?" She shrugged casually and leaned against her computer desk, almost knocking over the only framed picture of her whole family. It had been taken before her family started to fall apart, and it was the only picture where they were all together without wearing forced smiles.

"How many mythological creatures bite humans and have fangs?"

"Are you trying to tell me that you were bitten by a mythological creature?" she chuckled. "And to think that you were the practical one. Someone has warped your mind, and I want to meet them."

I scowled, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "No seriously, someone attacked and bit me on the neck. Take a look."

I delicately peeled off the bandage that covered my neck and got closer to her so she could examine the bite marks.

"Those look like…fang marks," she mumbled curiously, eying the bite mark and me. "I say this because I have a dog and I know what fang marks look like."

"You make it seem like a dog bit me."

"It's possible."

"Well it wasn't. It was definitely a man, who was shot and killed by some other man."

Erica's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. "Shot and killed? Well that was nice of you to leave that particular part out. By who? Why haven't you reported this?"

"Uh hello? Fangs, girl. I have fang marks on my neck. Do you honestly believe the police would actually consider my story to be true? And it's not just because he had fangs and was shot and killed and God knows where his body is now, but what also freaked me out was that his eyes glowed red before he was killed. And then they became hazel! WHO IS GOING TO BELIEVE THAT?"

Erica stared at me quietly, scanning my eyes to see if I was lying and I could see that she was trying to come up with a logical explanation. Which, by the way, was normally my job.

"Red eyes?" she questioned skeptically.

I nodded, wishing it wasn't true. "Pure red, freaky eyes."

"You have a habit of lying a lot, Sere, but you've never involved bogus crap like this," she sighed, folding her arms over her chest thoughtfully. "You said he was shot? Did you see who shot him?"

"Yea, a man from Japan who actually came into our store earlier. You can even ask Jade. He's my witness."

I was now thankful that Jade was there to see him or I might have considered myself a lunatic.

Maybe my old classmates were right about that straightjacket.

And then a light bulb went off in my head.

"The shooter said his name was Yagari Touga!" I nearly shouted, snapping my fingers and I stood up. "He told me before I blacked out."

"A man from Japan? How…coincidental…and what idiotic killer would tell you his name? That doesn't make any sense."

"You don't think he followed me to the States, do you?" I questioned, now thinking about it and feeling all the more paranoid.

I have a stalker. Fabulous!

Erica rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Unlikely but…somewhat still possible."

"You should have just lied and told me no," I whined.

"Well, back to the whole mythology thing, I can think of several things that have fangs, but the popular ones are werewolves, vampires and demonic creatures," she said, looking as if she was raking her mind for more data. "Werewolves, however, need a full moon and take on a beastly appearance. I know for a fact that the moon wasn't full on the day you were attacked."

"So…a vampire or a demon? That's just creepy."

"Well it's not like we're talking about fairies and elves here," she rolled her eyes and I let out a gasp.

"Oh my god! What if you were right? What if the students at my school are vampires and that's why they stay up so late? And what if my teachers really are werewolves who eat pixies at night!" I yelled frantically and she broke down with hysterical laughter. "I'M BEING SERIOUS!"

"And that's what makes it so damn funny!" Erica howled with laughter, holding her stomach as if it ached.

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. "Well then what do you suggest?"

"I think you're being overworked and I'm glad your mom made you quit."

I glowered, trying to keep my infamous temper in check. "I meant as in how do you explain my attack."

She shrugged indifferently. "I honestly have no clue, Sere, but just be more alert the next time you're by yourself, okay?"

I sighed, feeling more disturbed and violated than usual, but I nodded in agreement. We didn't bring up the subject anymore. Instead we talked about our families and how much trouble I got into when they discovered that I had, indeed, taken Mr. Tampon's possessions.

As promised, I called Mom before leaving her house around seven P.M., and told Erica to be careful as well. She punched my shoulder, smirked and told me that was for old times' sake.

To which I responded with a harsh smack on her back and took off running before she could kill me.

"You owe me an explanation," I scowled at her when my eyes finally landed on a familiar green-eyed, dark haired beauty and she blushed furiously. "Normal people don't call other people, cry on the phone and then don't explain why. They also pick up phones when others worry about them."

And red-eyed freaks don't bite them either, but who's asking?

"I'll explain when we get home…there's too many people here and we could have an unwanted audience," Kiren answered softly, glancing down at her shoes in embarrassment, and I nodded.

Kiren was the spitting image of her mother and had all of her mannerisms. Her father, a short man with stubby black hair and dim brown eyes, came across as the one in charge. He dictated where my luggage belonged, where I should sit, and throughout the ride to their house he bragged about his job as a fisherman.

He was the one who brought the bacon--I mean tuna-- home.

I had to bite my tongue from mouthing off, and grudgingly, I acted polite for Kiren's sake. Kiren's mother never said a word. She would simply shake or nod her pretty little head to my inquires and offered me docile smiles when her husband wasn't looking. After two hours, the car pulled up to a classical Japanese house with sliding doors and a small, cute garden.

Yes, I said cute.

It had colorful flowers, fruit and vegetable plants and one big tree that was flourishing with cherry blossoms. A multi-colored windmill flower was planted right next to the tree, the petals were spinning as a cool draft passed us. There was a red brick pathway to the door and I couldn't help but smile.

"Props to the gardener."

Mrs. Darako blushed, bowing her head to me in thanks.

"Yes, she's very proud of her garden," Kiren smiled, gently caressing her mother's back with affection and pride. "She's worked hard on it."

"Maybe she could teach me then. I don't have a green thumb. I just kill the plants."

Kiren blinked at me, puzzled. "Green thumb?"

"A figure of speech. Just means I don't know how to take care of plants," I enlightened her.

"Bags. Upstairs. Now," Mr. Darako barked in broken English, tossing my luggage onto the floor and Mrs. Darako jumped at the sudden crashing sound. She was quick to grab my luggage and take it inside before her husband could bark out another order.

I visibly twitched; disapproving the treatment Mrs. Darako was receiving and shot Kiren a glance. She avoided my eyes.

I trailed after Kiren and Mrs. Darako upstairs, taking my luggage from Mrs. Darako's hands once I had the chance and Kiren led me to her room, which was at the end of the hall.

It was a small room with white colored walls, consisting of a twin-sized bed that had lime green bed covers and a ton of fluffy pillows, one window with lime green curtains, and a huge wooden wardrobe that had two body-length mirrors on each of doors.

"Nice room, but are we sharing a bed? That could give your parents a heart attack unless, you know, you swing that way. I don't mind," I playfully winked at her and she turned another shade of red.

"Serena, there's a pull out bed underneath my mattress. You'll be sleeping on that," she informed me, a smile slowly gracing her face. "I almost forgot about your crude sense of humor."

I gave her a mocked frown. "Already? It's only been three weeks and a couple of days since we last saw each other."

"Yes, well, it's not as if you have a common personality," she smirked. "How was your stay at home?"

To tell her or not to tell her. That is the question.

"How about you tell me what's been going on instead of avoiding it," I replied, somewhat aggressively.

She poked her head out to see if anyone was standing next to her bedroom door and then closed it. "It's about Mom."

"What about her?"

She sighed, her shoulders slumping and sat down on the edge of her bed. "A couple of months ago she was diagnosed with cancer…and she started to cough up blood and lose weight over the summer. It didn't affect me when I first learned about it…I suppose I was in denial…but when I saw the blood…I just broke down."

Well that was a lot to swallow.

"How much longer?" I carefully questioned.

She raised her shoulders slowly up and let them slump back down quickly. It was the first time I have ever seen her sulk.

"Why didn't you tell me about it before?" I asked gently. I didn't know where my boundaries were on this topic and I didn't want to further upset her. "Come to think about it. I don't really know much about you, huh Kiren? You don't talk about yourself."

Kiren smiled, tears brimming her eyes. "I guess that's our culture, you know? We keep a lot of things to ourselves, but to tell you the truth, it's a relief you're not like that. I sometimes feel like my chest is going to explode if I don't talk to someone and you're my closet friend so when I broke down…"

I hastily cut off her ramble to reassure her. "That's fine. I don't mind you calling me if you need me, but damn it! Give me a warning! I became paranoid! I thought something bad happened--not that this isn't bad…you know what I mean!"

She chuckled, her hands curling on top of her knees in embarrassment. "Yea, sorry about that. Dad caught me on the phone. He doesn't want people to know about her…condition."

I frowned, taking a seat next to her. "What's his problem? He knows that his wife is dying and he treats her like a…a slave."

"Because that's how it always was," she sighed. She took a pillow from her bed and held it closely. "He's afraid of change. He doesn't want things to change. He doesn't want to accept her illness just as much as I do."

"So he's living in his own state of denial? How rude. She doesn't deserve that crap."

"Serena, I was rude too…and…please don't…interfere. As much as I know she shouldn't be treated like that, it should be me who tells Father to…to be more kind," she whispered.

There were footsteps outside of her door, walking back and forth.

"Then why don't you?" I whispered back, watching the shadows underneath her door and waited for the rude interruption.

Her watery eyes had a feeble quality in them. "Because he is my father—the man of the house. As an offspring, it's almost like a law to not speak out against him."

I snorted, feeling more aggravated with him. "Sorry, it's times like these I'm glad I don't have one."

"But you know what?" She said between her sniffless. "Mother told me that everyone has to be spiritually strong because...the body's strength is useless without a fighting spirit. If a person...can't handle...emotional trauma...then they would allow pain to ruin their souls and...become empty vessels...or just bitter people."

She hiccuped and used her palms to wipe away the falling tears. I sat silently, not quite sure as to how I was supposed to respond to the statement and a part of me felt like her mother had been talking about me. As if I was the bitter person she had been hinting at.

"So... we have to be strong. Both physically and spiritually," I said slowly, pushing strands of her hair behind her ears so I could find her face. "What kind of cancer does she have?"

"Lung cancer," she answered, sniffling again. "Doctors said it was due to smoking and second-hand smoking. She and Dad were both smokers."

"Oh." I scratched my chin thoughtfully. Man, I suck at cheering people up.

"Oh!" she shouted abruptly, her eyes brightening. "I bought you something!"

She scrambled away from her bed and rushed to her wardrobe. At the bottom of it, there was a plastic bag and inside that plastic bag there was a small leather blue box with a red ribbon on top of it.

She handed it to me and I took it questioningly. "I hope you'll like them."

I gulped, feeling guilty that I didn't get her anything. It's not like Erica and I often exchange gifts! I…probably…should have gotten her something. Damn it. I slowly opened the tiny box and found a pair of medium sized silver loop earrings with a small silver chain that cut down the middle of the loops. At the end of the chains were white stars.

There were no words to describe my appreciation.

"I guess you like them judging by your gaping mouth and ogling eyes," she smiled, absolutely proud of herself. "I found them at-"

I didn't give her the chance to finish. Instead I had roughly grabbed her into a bear hug and lifted her off her feet. "THANK YOU SO MUCH! THEY'RE GORGEOUS!"

She giggled like a five year old. "Serena-chan! Put me down!"

A sharp knocking sounded at the door and a gruff male voice spoke. "Everything okay?"

I released Kiren from my grip and responded in Japanese to Mr. Darako. "Yes, we're just…gossiping."

I heard him grunt in disapproval, mumbling about how women shouldn't gossip, but he walked away.

"So did anything exciting happen in America?"

To lie or not to lie.

"Not really. I worked, cleaned, spent some time with Erica, harassed Mom's new boyfriend…"

"Your Mom has a boyfriend?" Kiren questioned, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "What's he like?"

"An ass."

"You have that opinion for all men."

" 'Cause it's true."

"Oh there has to be something about him you like."

"Nope." And I was definitely, absolutely, positively certain about that one.

"Well…who is he?"

"Some government analyst who haves way too much fun with Mom if you ask me and he likes to incite me just as much as I do. So it's even."

She shook her head. "Can I get a name?"

"Mr. Tampon," I answered curtly with a serious note in my voice.

Kiren laughed loudly at my reply. "He can't be seriously named Tampon."

"No, it's just my nickname for him," I grinned as she shook her head again at my absurdity.

"You're cruel sometimes."

"Only to people I hate. I'm discriminating, yes, I know."

"Did Aidou-senpai call?" There was a big grin on her face as she changed the topic, sounding too hopeful.

"Hate to bust your bubble, but no, he didn't," I chuckled as her grin instantly turned upside down.

"Why not?"

I shrugged, "Because he's an ass."

"Serena-chan…"

"It's the truth!" I argued. Actually, I had completely forgotten about him over the break. I was too caught up with my own crap that I didn't have the time to be angry with him for not calling me.

"Who cares really? It's not like I was expecting him to." And I didn't. Honest to God!

She continued to frown at me so I sighed. "Okay, would it help any if I told you I had a weird dream about him over the summer?"

She immediately perked up again. "Really about what? Was it romantic?"

"He was standing over my grave laughing like a maniac," I said bluntly. "Yep, sounds as romantic as it gets, right?"

"Well, I guess it's a start. He could be the man of your dreams. It always starts with something weird though. At least, that's what Mother told me."

"Really? Your mother sounds...disturbing. And to tell you the truth, I feel violated."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Of course you would say that."

"Well it's true. I mean it's bad enough that I have to see him in reality. Now I have to see him in my dreams? I find that irksome. There should be a law that states that no one can enter your dreams without your permission. Hmm…I wonder how he would appear in my insanity..."

"Serena-chan, why is your neck bandaged?" she asked out of the blue, eying my neck and the white old bandage that I should probably change.

My hands impulsively reached for my neck and I massaged the area of where I was bitten. "I…had an accident…with a dog."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh my! What happened?"

"I, well you know me, I provoked it and it got mad at me and it bit me," I answered, feeling my insides squirm as I lied to her. I felt horrible for being dishonest with her, especially since she just told me about her mom. Shouldn't I be returning the gesture?

She frowned at me and poked me with her index finger. "You really ought to not pick on animals…let me see it."

"See what?" I asked stupidly, too busy fighting with the demons in my stomach.

"The bite!"

Oh yea, duh!

"No, I rather keep it covered for now. It still hurts."

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"Yea…Mom took me to one. I needed shots too."

"Oh, well I suppose you're right."

And the web of lies keep weaving…

The next morning, while I was taking a shower I might add, I heard a loud screech inside the house. Startled, I jumped, dropping the soap and slipped on the blasted thing. My hands instantly flew out to grab the edge of the tub and I kept my head from hitting the tub and wall. I snatched the orange fluffy towel, wrapped it around me tightly, and charged through the bathroom door after slamming my shoulder and weight into it because the stupid door wouldn't open.

Note to other people: Never do that. It hurts. A hell of a lot.

I hurried down the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

"Kiren? KIREN! WHERE ARE YOU?" I bellowed, thinking that it was probably not a good idea to face an enemy in the house wearing nothing but a towel. I mean, honestly, what was I gonna say to them? Release Kiren or I'll whip you with my towel?

Yea, that was bright. Why don't I just show off my bare, wet—

"In the kitchen!" I heard her respond and I thankfully didn't have to finish that sentence.

"What's wrong?" I opened the kitchen door to see Kiren standing on the kitchen's chair and the first thing that slipped out of my mouth was, "What the hell?"

"Serena-chan! Thank Kami!" She began talking so fast in Japanese that she made my head spin as I tried to translate all her words.

"Kiren! ENGLISH PLEASE!"

"It's a bug," she wailed childishly, pointing at a brown grasshopper near the table as she clutched tightly to the chair.

"It's just a grasshopper!" I blinked, not seeing the threat.

"IT'S DISGUSTING, THAT'S WHAT IT IS! I MEAN LOOK AT IT—IT'S GOT STRINGY LEGS AND EVERYTHING! OH DEAR GODS IN HEAVEN! IT'S STARING AT ME! IT'S STARING AT ME! WITH THOSE REPULSIVE, GIGANTIC ORANGE EYES! AHHHH! IT MOVED! SERENA! KILL IT! KILL IT!"

If I hadn't been wrapped up in a towel, I would have keeled over and died laughing, but I settled for giggling.

The grasshopper hopped, moving closer to Kiren and she shrieked. She jumped from the chair, her hands waving in the air frantically and she darted behind me. "SERENA! PLEASE, PLEASE KILL IT! MAKE THE HORROR STOP! AHHH IT'S MOVING AGAIN! IT'S COMING AFTER ME! OH KAMI!"

By then I was on the floor, holding my stomach so it wouldn't explode and my face had gone from pink to a dark shade of red due to the lack of oxygen. The bug abruptly turned around as if it knew its life was being threatened and scurried under the oven. Kiren screeched enthusiastically, jumping from one leg to the other, and rushed to the oven and turned it on, laughing insanely.

"AND NOW YOU SHALL DIE INSECT! FOR I SHALL COOK YOU!"

Who knew Kiren-- imperturbable, dutiful and obedient Kiren--had a phobia of grasshoppers?

"How long do you think it'll take before it dies of heat stroke?" she questioned as she pushed her hair back calmly and recomposed herself. She straightened her clothing, acting as if nothing happened.

"Well…to honestly say I…I don't know if it has heat strokes," I stated through my giggles and just as I spoke I watched as the grasshopper, looking quite peeved, jumped high enough for Kiren to notice it and she let out an earsplitting scream.

"YOU DAMNABLE WRETCHED, CURSED THING!"

She snatched the broom from the closet and then faced me to give me malicious glare.

"What?" I asked innocently, wondering what I had done to deserve that look. I thought she was going to chase it off with the broom, but she handed it to me.

"You kill it," she bluntly ordered with a disturbing, cruel tone.

"Why? It's not bothering me."

Her eyes reduced into dangerous, determined slits. "Because I have tried and failed. You shall kill it, or it will populate in my house and spread disease. And I will not permit that to happen!"

"You have got to be kidding. They don't even spread disease!"

She vigorously shook her head, thrusting the broom into my hands and sprinted upstairs to avoid the insect.

I sniggered, watching her leave and shook my head in astonishment. "Wow. I was not expecting that."

I scanned the kitchen for the grasshopper, finding it near the door trying to escape and opened the door for it. Without even using the broom to scoot it out, the grasshopper fled from the house, probably thinking that it should disappear before Evil tried to burn it again. I returned the broom to its rightful place in the closet where all the coats were hung and went back upstairs to finish my shower. I still had shampoo in my hair and it was starting to drip into my eyes, causing my eyes to burn with irritation.

"Is it dead?" Kiren peeked from her room, looking disheveled since her hair was sticking up and I had the sudden urge to jump at her to see if she would shriek and slam her door shut.

"No, but it's not in the house anymore either so you can relax," I grinned, shoving the urge down and she sighed in relief, only to perk up once more.

"What?" I questioned, seeing her curious look.

"I was going to ask what happened to the bathroom door."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

I glanced at the bathroom and discovered it on the floor. I blushed, realizing that in my panic and rush, I had forgotten that the door was a sliding door and I went right through it.

Okay, okay, so I'm still making adjustments from the American culture to the Japanese culture. Every American door has a friggin' doorknob, okay!

I laughed sheepishly. "Yea…about that door…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This was very therapeutic for me. :D

Before anyone goes too far ahead, no, Serena does not know about the Night Class being vampires. She will soon though. Maybe in the next two chapters or so.

-shrug-

As far as the cancer goes...I'm doing my research on it, but please, please correct me when I'm wrong about any information later on. I had an aunt who died from it and I can't exactly ask my relatives for details about it because I know they'll say it's too personal to write about. However, writing is the only way I deal with things so...

Has anyone pulled on a door that said 'push' or vice versa? –raises hand- I'm guilty as charged. And how about actually going through a door?

I, sadly, have to admit to that stupidity.

I'm glad that my OC is…loved? O.o

I put a lot of careful thought into all of my characters because I don't like perfect people. They make me itch uncomfortably. I suppose I have a phobia of Mary-sues? They do seem to be…contagious.

-scrubs hands as if they contaminated with Mary-sues-

As always, cheers to my readers! Thank you for your time and…hold on, does anyone have any criticism? Tell me!

Till next time!