With the new year comes renewed determination on Serenity's part. The Christmas holiday hadn't gone as she wanted it to. Her mother, Sienna, informed her they were spending Christmas with the parental side of the family, the first one in years since her father, Andy, had passed away. The elderly patriarch of the Black Family had made it clear drama wouldn't be welcome, especially on Christmas day. Of course, Serenity and her mother, Sienna, had ignored it. They'd behaved to begin with, mingling with those there without hassle for a little while. Valentine had helped his parents while Isabelle politely conversed with Sienna, seemingly catching up after so long of being in no contact. Serenity was content to glare at Aleister while questioning why he was even at the family Christmas instead of being with his own family.
There were sparks of drama when the presents were opened, Sienna making her opinions clear. Her princess should have the most presents, despite being the oldest of the grandchildren. As such, she tried to take gifts she saw value in from Oscar, Blaine, and Lewis. Serenity tried to snatch unopened presents beneath the tree, especially those meant for Echo. The matriarch of the family, Alyssa, had ended it quickly, stating presents weren't just from family but friends too.
The second time the drama started was at the dinner table. Sienna had turned to Aleister and said it was family only, to which Valentine had replied that Aleister was as good as his son. Alyssa and the elderly Hayden had agreed, knowing their only remaining son had practically adopted the Dutch teen in all but name. Plus, the teenager had joined them for family events for some time. After that, Serenity threw a tantrum about not sitting at the head of the table as she called dibs on. Instead, Hayden was on one side with his wife, Alyssa the other. Once again, it had been put to an end, with the teenage girl being told to sit down at one of the empty seats or she could enjoy her festive dinner in the kitchen alone.
The new year was a little better, or at least in Serenity's mind, it was. She had reconnected with old friends from her previous school. Speaking to them caused a wave of hope to wash over her and her mean streak to be reignited. In order to get them on her side, she had told them about events to happen over the first half of the year, switching things around so her role as instigator and driving force became her being the victim instead. She made it sound like it was perfect with her storytelling until the few she painted as the evil in her fairytale ruined everything.
Serenity told her friends after the Carrie incident at the Homecoming instead of Maryse being the accidental victim. She was covered in the thick red paint after taking her rightful place as homecoming queen. She'd told them about the many times Roman had ignored Summer and broke her heart, but made out she was the one dating Roman instead of Summer. Made it seem like Summer had stolen Roman away and manipulated him to get what she wanted. Serenity had spoken about the mismatched teens being her friends but turning on her thanks to Summer's antics.
Summer became the bad guy, the wicked witch in Serenity's twisted story. Along the way, she blamed Summer for Becky and Finn's break up and Seth and Echo being in limbo. Serenity had been so good at storytelling that she'd gotten the sympathy she wanted. Each of her old friends agreed to help her, and some even thought of ideas. They would torment the bullies, using the internet to remain anonymous. Of course, Serenity had wasted little time giving the group the list of names of her so-called friends of the mix-and-match group and those part of the popular group. She wasted no time sending a list of names of those branded the villains of her high school story—Summer and the Darklings, as well as Punk and Corey.
On an agreed day, the plan Serenity and her old friends had perfected since getting back in touch was put into motion. Armed with Serenity's creative stories and fake social media accounts, posts were made accusing Summer of being a cruel bully and accusing Roman of abandoning his girlfriend for a freak like Summer and making up accusations about the Darklings, suggesting they were bullying Serenity. Edited photos were posted to suggest Serenity had been attacked by her bullies during the holidays. Fake message conversations were made and posted. Everything they could think of to ruin the reputations of those Serenity had targetted.
So when school returned, Serenity had walked through the school gates with a bright smile painted on her lips and a bounce in her step. She ignored the drivers of cars honking their horns to get her to move from the middle of the road. Some she flipped off. The mousy-haired teen expected there to be chaos; she expected the mix-and-match group to be in shambles and people side-eyeing them with suspicion. So casually, she walked to her group of friends, or at least the people she called friends, inside the school boundaries. The same people she'd destroy without blinking if they got in her way like Brie had.
"What's going on, guys?" asked Serenity, acting as if she was oblivious to all the posts on social media and across the internet, even when she herself had used fake accounts to stir the rumors and create the impending chaos. Her act of innocence seemed to work, as Daniel launched into telling her all about the drama on social media, even stating not a single member of the Mix and Match group had responded, almost as if they weren't even aware of it. Serenity nodded along, curious if her friends had started the direct messages or if it was still random wall posts. "Forget the drama, how was your holidays? And Prom this year, yay," she added excitedly, noticing there hadn't been any sign of the mix-and-match group yet, or at least she hadn't seen them or the cars normally parked in the student lot.
"They're not out here," replied Marie, sweeping her red locks off her shoulder, her voice filled with a bored tone, as if the holiday topic was repeating, just for Serenity's sake. "Today's the second round of the Wrestling tournament, so half of the potluck bunch are away, and Shane collared the other half upon arriving. Baby Dom and JD included," she explained, noting how curious the members of the student body were and how confused the remaining members of the mixed group had been upon Shane retrieving them before school had even begun. Neither of them had been seen since, which only added to the growing questions and curiosity about what was going on.
"Uh, I forgot about that," replied Serenity mindlessly, reaching up to play with her hair again, although a wicked grin appeared across her features as she thought about the members of the enemy group being punished for the online things. Her hazel eyes almost sparkled when she thought about the trouble she was causing them and finally winning her one-sided crusade. She thought about getting what she wanted and everyone bowing to her as the rightful queen of the senior year. As normal, though, she neglected to think about the consequences or what would happen if her plan backfired and the truth came out.
"You lot come with me," spoke Shane upon appearing near the group of Jocks and Cheerleaders. All of them seemed surprised, even shocked, that he'd reappeared to take more senior-year students. Serenity, in particular, looked terrified about what he could possibly want with them, specifically her. Without a word, he walked away, the silent expectation all of them would do as ordered and follow. The deputy's head wasted little time re-entering the school via the main entrance, leading the group of once popular and mean-spirited teenagers up to the first floor. Instead of turning right toward the headmistress's office, he turned left down the math hall. Leading them to the classroom opposite his own small office.
Not a word left his lips as he held the door open for them, flicking the lights on shortly after. The classroom had a view of the quad below. Silently, each took a seat in the room. Charlotte and Andrade sat together, quickly talking about their shared prom campaign. Marie and Mike did the same thing on the opposite side of the room, whereas Bobby sulked to the back to glare out the window. Jinder seemingly followed him. Natalya, Eva, Cameron, Kaitlyn, and Dana all wandered around the room, curiosity flooding their mind as they thought about what Shane wanted with them and why they'd been placed in a rarely used classroom. Serenity, on the other hand, sat in the middle of the room, casually reapplying any smeared makeup and preparing for anything. Daniel, however, found an empty table and rested his head on it as if ready to catch up on lost sleep.
Shane left momentarily before reappearing with a pile of paper folders and pens. At first glance, it was like he was preparing to teach a lesson, but the stoic, almost cold expression on his features suggested this had nothing to do with learning. But something else that each was involved in. Again, he left the room, only to reappear with his laptop, his expression unchanged as he set everything up and connected it to the interactive whiteboard behind the staff desk.
"Sir," called Eva, gaining the confidence to ask what was going on and why they'd all be pulled into a classroom before the school day had truly begun. "Why are we here? What's all of this about?" asked the bottle redhead, trying her best to sound confident, even when she was actually terrified. For once, she wasn't playing dumb or acting innocent. Instead, she generally wanted to know what was happening.
"The first half of the school year was wracked with drama, pointless and hurtful drama. Stephanie has made it clear it will not continue into this half, and it won't affect the upcoming exams. So we're going to get to the bottom of it one way or another and resolve whatever is going on between your lot and the mixed ones." proclaimed Shane, suspecting the next questions would be regarding the mix-and-match group, even more so when only half were present. "The half here are currently with Vicki; she's doing the same as I'm about to with you. Hunter will be dealing with the other half once this round of the tournament is over. Depending on how bad this is depends on the consequences given. Now, all phones in the box, please. They will be returned to you once the issues have been resolved."
Serenity gulped as she put her sparkling phone in the box, suspecting the worst and regretting not deleting incriminating messages or the group chat with her other friends about what was happening at the moment and what was to come. How could she possibly get herself out of that mess while still retaining the innocent victim persona she had planned out?
"I'll be taking you into my office one by one to get your side of things. The rest of you will be catching up on any outstanding school projects, as all of you are behind on something," spoke Shane, his voice stern as he gave hints talks of the Prom Campaigns wouldn't be tolerated; it was either complete the work they were behind on or suffer further consequences.
"What will the others be doing?" asked Kaitlyn, correctly believing they weren't behind on any school projects. Despite having so much going on, they still found time to complete projects, help out younger students, spend time together, and study. They found a balance others struggled with.
"I don't know, but if I had to guess, then odd jobs around the school," replied Shane, recalling it was about the time of year when the welcome packs for potential students were put together, where the old display boards would be prepared for new handcrafted displays. Either that or they'd be sent to help with younger students, acting as assistants for the struggling staff. After answering, Shane left the room again, this time taking the box of phones with him. He didn't say where he was going, but at most ten minutes later, he reappeared. "Nattie," he called before motioning for her to follow; when she did, he led her across the hall to his office. Already, he figured if he was going to get a clear picture of what caused the rivalry between the two friend groups, the gossipy teen was the best chance.
"This creative writing project sucks," commented Serenity, staring blankly at the worksheet she'd pulled from the folder with her name on it. Charlotte had passed the folder to her when she found them. The others around her didn't seem to bother all that much. Instead, they pulled the projects from the paper folder and decided what they wanted to do first. Most only looked up when Tyson, Rusev & Lana, Austin, Elias, and Cena entered the room at different points, likely collared by Brad Maddox upon entering the school.
It was clear they knew why they were there. No doubt everything had been explained to them. The six late entrants huddled together away from the rest, picking up the folders with their names and continuing on with the projects they'd neglected. Choosing to work together instead of struggling alone.
Nattie returned after what felt like forever, long after the bell signaling the beginning of the school day had sounded. Her mood had been dampened slightly, but she didn't say why, instead uttering she'd been instructed not to say anything. After this, she whispered to the person Shane had asked Natalya to send in next. Charlotte.
"I wonder what's going on," voiced Serenity again, once again neglecting her outstanding school projects. When she turned to face those around her, she was instantly offended to see none of them took any notice of her or even appeared to hear her words. The group in the far corner kept to themselves, almost as if the idea of being with everyone else again was foreign to them. After all, they'd all parted ways with the once-popular group at some point or another. Finding their own path together. Some are trying to make up for their wrongdoings, and others are trying to find themselves away from the toxic behaviors of the past. "Hello! I'm talking to all of you," she almost yelled, anger written across her judgmental features; first, those of the mix-and-match group ignored her, and now her own were. Slowly Serenity was beginning to question her reality, was all of this just a bad dream, one she'd surely wake up from soon enough.
"We heard you," called Cameron, gently reapplying her lip gloss near the window. "Hey, the weirdos are in the old History classroom," she commented shortly after upon noticing movement over there. She'd caught a glance of Drew, Punk, and Corey near the window. Even from where she stood, she could still hear Cross's crazy laughter. There was no doubt of a sugar rush despite what was going on.
"Are you deaf or just stupid?" questioned Maria, throwing her question towards Serenity with malice. "Shane told us it was to do with the rivalry we all had going with those across the way from us. Hopefully, he'll realize after Brie left, only you, Daniel, Eva, and Kaitlyn continued it, occasionally Nattie when she was foolish enough to help," she commented, not taking her eyes off the worksheet before her. The same ones Serenity had complained about not long before.
"Yo, you lot had a wake-up call but stayed. Why?" questioned Austin, recalling, believing most of them were in on the constant drama that seemed to follow Serenity. After all, most still followed after her in a similar manner to how they'd once done with Brie.
"Most of us had a wake-up call," called Andrade, seemingly drawing his attention away from the maths work in front of him for a few seconds. "Eva and Kaitlyn are Serenity's sheep just as much as Jinder and Bobby are Daniel's," he added, seeing how the four named threw offended looks in his direction, not that he particularly cared for it. He was smart enough to realize the gravity of the situation and the consequences that awaited if they refused to change or were found to be a part of the bigger problem that was brewing.
"So why stay?" asked Elias, at least showing he hadn't realized several had gone off on their own as well. Nattie, by now, was wiping tears from her stained cheeks, trying not to draw more attention to herself. Quietly, she pulled the outstanding projects from her folder and began to work, all while reflecting on the year and what had gotten her and those in the room with her to the position they all now found themselves in.
"We didn't," replied Nattie, a small hiccup escaping her lips as she turned to face those there. "Charlotte and Andrade spend most of their time in the library now. Marie and Mike walk the halls every lunch and break. Dana and Cameron have been serving out their detention for almost two months. I've just been wondering, most of the time I end up in the computer room near catering. Talking to the sixth-formers there. After Brie left and reunited with her sister, we didn't see the point of staying. We realized the friendship had changed. The love was gone. Like you, we didn't want any part of it anymore," she added with sincerity ringing through her voice. Although Nattie would never admit it, she'd used all that time with the sixth-formers to reflect on who she had become and how she could be the person she wanted. They'd helped her realize a lot and put her on the right path.
So when Shane asked, she told the truth and everything else she knew—informed him who was involved in the war of sorts with the mismatched group and who had long since walked away from the madness and brewing storm.