I hiked my backpack high up on my shoulder and headed inside the kitchen. As expected, Maia, our cook and housekeeper, was making breakfast for my mom and I.

My mom looked up from her iPad when she heard me coming in. I plopped down on a chair and gave her a small smile. "Good morning, mom."

"Morning, Ser." Her voice was on edge but she was better at masking it. My mom was a high paid, top model but she retired a few years ago, after that scarring incident. She realized that she needs to be there for me, leading us to always make time for each other. However, she hasn't fully been off the hook because she still manages to attend the big fashion week events every month.

My dad, on the other hand, is a celebrity travel blogger and he hardly gets time to breathe for himself, let alone his family. He was on his way to quit his career as well for me but it took so much convincing from our side to not do so. I was glad to know that they still carried on with their passion instead of entirely giving up on it. The reason he wasn't present here and was instead filming his vlog in Brazil.

"Ms. Jacobson called me," she said, her lips forming into a thin line and I knew what was coming.

"Oh?" I asked, unbothered. Maia took that exact moment to serve us both our breakfast. Without any preamble, I began devouring the scrambled eggs. "Thanks, Maia! Delicious as always." I grinned widely and she bowed her head slightly at my earnest compliment towards her impeccable cooking.

"Yes," my mom continued, used to my lack of interest. "She said that you've cancelled all the sessions from hereon."

I nodded my head. "I did. And I know that you won't understand this but really, it's been three years. Three years and I'm still the same. Still at square one." I gestured towards my body with a wry smile.

My mom sighed before taking a sip of her dark coffee. "Ser… I know this is hard but you could've just waited," she tried reasoning with me.

Clenching my jaw, I stared at her incredulously. "Wait for what? For something to finally fall into place? That someday I might wake up with a new outlook towards everything. Well, voila. It's life. And I am fed up with everyone telling me to move on. Because news flash, I won't until I find that bastard. So please stop telling me that spurting out the same thing again and again as well as hearing the same sweet nothings will help me out." I was breathing hard by the end of my rant.

My mom flinched at my brash tone. It was quiet for some time and I saw her blinking back tears. "I respect your decision. I also know that you're capable of taking care of yourself. But… I can't help myself, I'm always worried." She forced a smile, finally looking at me.

I exhaled a deep breath and rubbed my face wearily. "I'm sorry, mom. It's just… it's that…" I trailed off, sucking my lip.

"It's okay, I get it. I hope that you feel better now," she whispered, patting my head from across the table.

I chuckled and winked at her. "You don't have to say. I mean I already do."

My mom sputtered out a soft laughter and we continued eating our breakfast in silence. Once we were done, Maia cleaned the table. I swear she's the type of person who'd be present in the room yet no one would be aware of it.

As I got up to leave for school, I looked at my mom who seemed like she wanted to ask something. "Yeah? What's it?"

"Any updates on the investigation?" She inquired, concerned. I knew that she was anxious with the way she was incessantly tapping her chin.

"Dead end so far." I shrugged but I could feel my blood boiling in rage. Quickly kissing her cheeks and hugging her, I passed her a goofy grin. "See you later. Bye, mom!"

"Slow down, Ser!" She shouted but I just smirked and sprinted off but not before hearing her annoyed voice muttering, "That girl."

The distance between my house and school is a few minutes walk so I usually decide to go on foot. It helps me to clear my mind.

Crossing my arms across my chest loosely, I looked ahead with a stoic face. Like usual, there was a nagging feeling in my heart. A feeling that always screams about how much I might be a bother to the people I love. They want to care for me but I tend to push them away.

A shuddering breath escaped my lips as my phone started pinging with messages. I removed it from my pocket before opening Distap and began reading the messages on the Coachella group.

Destiny:
I know that this group is reserved for the Coachella plans and stuff but I needed a place to whine about not attending school today uhuhuhuhuhu :(

I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless at her dramatics.

Ashton:
Like I always suggest, we can skip school, babe ;)

Destiny:
I am almost tempted to take you up on that offer but if my mom gets the whiff of it, she'll not ground me but bury me ten feet under the ground :(

I chuckled when I saw his message because I had saved his name as '2 Brain Cells'.

2 Brain Cells:
I am sure it'll be even better 'cause Ash wouldn't mind you joining there as well. At least then you could spend your time together.

'My God, this guy,' I thought, intrigued. He has a different level of sarcasm and I found myself liking it each passing second.

Destiny:
Who are you again?

Ashton:
Well, look, the Lord has joined the chat!

Destiny:
For the millionth time, who's he, Ash??????

Ashton:
I don't know!!!! Bye!!

Since I didn't recognize the others because of their weird usernames, I had to give them some random names to go by but even then it wasn't much help.

Don't Know:
If we are skipping school, count me in!

Don't Care:
Yeah, only you would want to be a third wheel, Derek. And imagine me rolling my eyes while typing this.

Who Dis:
It wouldn't be third wheeling if you join as well bahahahahaha.

Who Dat:
I hope you guys know that the ones suggesting to skip school have abandoned us -_-

Destiny:
I haven't abandoned anybody, Blake. And stop GHOST READING, SER!

Yours Truly:
I am not skipping school if that's what you wanna hear.

Destiny:
WHY?????? :(

Yours Truly:
Cause I'm already inside the school :)

I pocketed my phone after that one last message. And yes, I've saved my name as 'Yours Truly' but it was solely out of boredom in one of my therapy sessions.

I made my way inside the school gates and towards my locker. I just leaned against it, waiting for my best friend, Destiny who also happens to be my cousin. Our moms are sisters and had put each other into a petty dare before pregnancy to name us as Serenity and Destiny. So, here we are carrying on the legendary dare.

I would say that I love my name because it's beautiful but I am not that person anymore. There's no peace in my body so the whole school knows better than to call me that. I had to basically threaten everyone to call me Calamity. To accompany me, Destiny tagged herself as 'Tsunami' because I remember her telling me once that she'd always be a part of me. She's a rare gem.

"Ser!" Destiny's voice reached my ears and I looked up to see her running in my direction with Ashton trailing behind her.

"Hey, Destiny!" I hugged her and pulled away just when I distinctly heard a commotion from our right. "Yo, Ash!" I waved at him hastily and with determined steps moved towards the voices.

A crowd was starting to form around and I pushed them all away to see Cassidy and her girl gang of Holly, Brielle and Talia having fun with freshmen girls. Nobody noticed me as Cassidy started speaking, "I'm sorry, honey but you look even more beautiful."

Looking closely, I saw the girls' faces covered in paint and my fists clenched. "Scurry off!" I ordered angrily at the top of my lungs and the whole crowd dispersed before I could even blink. Turning to my prey, I tried to keep it a notch down. "Well, hi, Cass." I passed her a dark smile.

All the four girls went completely rigid and looked at me with an obvious fear. My eyes followed the freshmen girls as they ran off in the other direction. "Ca-Calamity." She chuckled nervously.

"That's right. Just one piece of advice here, sweetheart. I know that you love bullying kids but if you don't know then I'd like to fill you in. The colleges or universities don't actually have a major for "bullying". How about you try gettin' some new hobby, hmm?" I told her in a sickly sweet voice.

She began nodding her head vigorously and gulped when she saw me glaring at her and her friends.

"Tak, tsk, tsk. How many times do I have to tell you that though? I hate it when people don't listen the first time and I've given you so many warnings before, haven't I?" I asked her, trying to keep my calm but in actuality, I really wanted to knock some sense into her.

I took slow steps toward her and her eyes widened. "Yes-yes, y-you have!"

"Correct. So, next time if ever I see you again, bullying innocents, remember that I'll punch your crooked nose to make it look proper. Can't help my OCD issues." I laughed and her expression fell drastically. "Leave."

They didn't have to be told twice because they sprinted towards their respective classes. "Wait until I give them all hell during the practice," Destiny uttered from behind me.

I didn't know that she was here the whole time. I turned around to face her with a smirk. "You do that, captain." I gave her a two finger salute. Unlike me, Destiny is the cheer captain and takes her job quite seriously.

"That was pretty awesome, Ser!" Ashton exclaimed. 

I rolled my eyes at him and patted his shoulder lightly. Sighing, I walked a few steps away from Destiny and Ashton to give them their space. They look really good together because of their synchronised personalities. Their flawless looks were just cherry on top. Destiny with her platinum blonde and moss green eyes while Ashton with his dark blonde hair and baby blue eyes are one of the most attractive couples ever.

"Who the hell is this guy in our group? You gotta tell me, Ash!" Destiny whinged, stomping her feet. It was funny to see her not knowing someone because she knows almost everyone in the school, especially Ashton's friends.

"I can't. It's our bro code. I can't give out his identity," Ashton replied nervously.

"Bro code," she mimicked angrily and I snorted at their banter.

I looked down at my phone to see a personal message from 2 Brain Cells.

2 Brain Cells:
Never seen a bully scared before.

My breath hitched and I looked around me. 'How does he know that it's me?!'

Yours Truly:
How'd you know?

2 Brain Cells:
The whole school knows. Was watching from afar.
Duh. I think you're the one with two brain cells.

Again I found myself smiling involuntarily at his stupid reply.

~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~

Word count: 1955
Total count: 2632