With one last push, an ear-piercing scream shook the hospital building. Nobody spoke as they stared at this baby as it continued to scream its lungs out.

"Zeus!" The woman hissed, although she shouldn't have been able to have the energy to even speak, much less sound aggressive.

Nobody answered the woman, which made her rage with anger. Looking down at the baby in her hands, she glared at it.

She was about to toss it out when the baby opened her eyes.

They were brown, just like her mother's.

xxx

"Dad, do I really have to do this? Can't I just stay at home?" Begged 12-year-old Adriana Francis as she poked her meatballs.

Her father looked up from his paper, pushed his glasses, and said shortly, "Yes to the first question and no to the request."

Adriana scowled as she turned hopefully to her mother with her puppy eyes, "Mom?"

Her mom looked at her with concern and the slightest bit of empathy, "Ana dear...we've discussed about this before..."

"What use is there getting me into a new school if I'll eventually get kicked out!" She cried, furiously waving her arms that were sprawled out in the air. "I'm obviously just dumb."

Her dad sighed as he put his paper down.

"Ana, I know this is hard, but...just try your best okay? And don't you ever say that, promise me."

She grumbled indignantly, "I do try very hard every year alright, but the thing is, trouble always finds me, and not the other way around."

Her mom stretched out her arm to put her hand on Adriana's, "Ana, we know, but sometimes, life is just unfair, and the only thing we can do is face them bravely."

Adriana scowled and didn't look impressed, "That's what you two always say, nothing ever changes."

"Just, keep your head up, and as always, try your best okay? We love you," Her mother said finally as she went to grab her car keys. Adriana groaned again and buried her face in her arms.

Her mom and dad have always emphasized how much they loved her, and Adriana could honestly can feel that it was true, but sometimes, she just wished she was more 'perfect'. She hated how she had ADHD and constantly moved in her seat and would always get called out for doing so, or how sometimes letters would float around in her brain, causing her huge headaches.

But most of all, and weirdest of all, was that whenever she was in a fit or felt anxious or mad, a tingly sensation would stir at the tips of her fingers. The tingly feeling felt exactly like the times in Autumn when one can feel static electricity when touching literally anything.

Her mum had told her not to worry about it, and her dad told her it was part of her ADHD.

Adriana didn't believe a word of that.

She wasn't stupid and most certainly knew how to use the internet. And none of the previous cases of ADHD contained an "itchy electric feeling."

But she had learned not to overthink. It was not like she was going to get any answers.

"I'm sick of getting kicked out every half a year," she huffed as her mother gently took her hand and led her out of the house.

"Ana," her mom chided, "stop complaining please."

She shot her mom a glare when her mom turned her back to her. Reluctantly, she climbed into the car.

"See ya after school Ana," her dad called while waving his hand at her.

Oh if only she knew what happened to her next, she would have been much more appreciative of her parents' concerns.

"Stupid school and donkey teachers," she cursed silently in Greek, a language her parents had taught her ever since she could fluently speak English.

She never understood why her parents insisted on her learning Greek despite Greek being oddly easy for her. They always brushed the question off and Adriana had learned not to question them about this.

But still, it wasn't like she was going to study in Greece or something.

The car halted by the road where a large and dully painted building stood. It looked like a military training place rather than a school where they should teach you how to calculate the time it would take for a ball to free fall with gravity affecting it and "ignoring air resistance".

At the front gates of the school, a girl with blonde hair and pretty eyes was smiling and holding up this huge banner that had the name of the school printed on it.

"Go on," her mother said, nudging her slightly. With one last sigh, Adriana got out of the car and headed to the school gates.

"Have fun!" Her mother called after her, but Adriana decided to ignore her mother's over-enthusiastic comment.

"Hey!" The girl at the front gates suddenly called at her as she passed by.

Was it her imagination or did the form of the girl slightly shimmer?

Adriana blinked and then saw nothing irregular about her.

"Oh hi," she said a bit awkwardly, forcing a smile on her face as her dad had taught her.

"I see you're new to LIJ?" The girl asked with a smile much more sincere than hers.

"Er, yeah..." Adriana answered tightly.

The girl's eyes sparkled. Like they literally sparked. Adriana could swear she saw them shimmer.

"Great!" The girl exclaimed, "I'm Joanne, and I know we're gonna be great friends!"

Adriana's eyes darted to the left and saw her mother hadn't left yet and was giving her an encouraging grin.

"Ah yeah, that would be cool, and nice to meet you, I'm Adriana" she muttered, eyeing her mother who was practically jumping up and down.

"Oh, so what did you do?" Joanne asked. "To you know, get you in this school since..." her voice trailed off.

Adriana supposed Joanna was nice enough to not mention the fact that they all were here because they were considered troubled kids who constantly caused grown-ups headaches.

Then again, it wasn't like she wanted any of that.

Adriana scowled, people think that she had indirectly caused the death of her teacher, Mr. C, but the truth was, Mr. C was trying to kill her (or tried to use her head as his baseball, same thing) and the next thing she knew, the perfectly clear sky instantly turned dark, and a bolt of lightning zapped through the roof and not killed but vaporized Mr. C. But heck, who would believe her.

"I stole a car," she lied straight through her teeth.

Joanne didn't look convinced, so she pressed on, "Oh, so your family's poor then?"

Adriana pursed her lips. You can't just ask someone that, plus she wasn't exactly sharing kind.

"None of your business," she answered with a shrug, "I just found doing so entertaining."

Joanne smiled again, showing off her unbelievably white teeth.

"Alright."

Then there was silence.

Adriana coughed, "yeah, well I'll see you around then, Joanne," she said.

As soon as she saw Joanna nod, she sprinted away from her, bolted into the school's doors, and ran to the front desk.

The school wasn't much. A few club leaders were campaigning and trying to have newcomers join their community. Other people were chatting around and talking with old friends, whereas kids like her who didn't know anybody were wandering around, staring at posters and words carved into the walls of the main hall of the school.

Adriana spotted another girl in the corners staring at a painting of some Greek goddess. Curiosity took over her as she joined the girl.

"It's Hera," Adriana said to no one in particular.

She was taught Greek Mythology by her parents.

The girl turned around.

She had black-brown eyes and fairly brown skin. Her hair reached her shoulders and she had two strands of bangs that quite perfectly outlined her jawline.

"The goddess of marriage and family," the girl added.

Adriana arched an eyebrow, "and childbirth and other stuff."

The girl waved her hand dismissively, "Yes, but marriage and family are the main two."

Adriana shrugged, "Yeah okay."

The girl paused a bit and then started studying Adriana. Her dark eyes unnerved Adriana a lot.

Just as Adriana was about to back away, the girl smiled.

"Name's Indie. I'm sure I'm just as messed up as you are, if not more."

Adriana nodded, "I'm Adriana."

Indie grinned even more, "your name is as cute as you."

Startled by her bluntness, Adriana felt heat rush to her cheeks and a warm feeling started to expand in her chest.

She had never been complimented by anyone but her parents. Fingers of accusation had always been pointed at her, and even when she did something good, other people always took credit for it.

"Let's go," Indie said, walking towards the teaching blocks, "we don't want to be late for our first class right?"

Indie was a good friend and Adriana's first friend. Or at least, Adriana considered Indie a friend, she was not sure if it was true for the other girl.

Neither of them asked each other about their past and Adriana was glad she didn't. She didn't want to lie to her new friend, but at the same time, if she told her the truth she might think she was psychopathic and ditch her.

Mom would be proud, she thought as Indie talked to her about the time she set her school on fire.

All was fine until Joanne decided to purposely step on her foot.

It was the last period of school (and Adriana hadn't blown anything up yet which was good) and their English teacher thought it would be a good idea for them to play a game, so they could introduce themselves.

While Indie was happily standing at the front and answering the teacher's stupid questions, Adriana leaned against the wall at the back and started humming the melody to Teardrops on my Guitar.

"...have always dreamed of being a mechanical engineer..." Indie continued enthusiastically. Despite feeling slightly guilty, Adriana zoned out to her friend's speech, her eyes darting back and forth between the tickling clock and window curtains.

That was when she felt a sharp object pierce her foot.

Naturally, Adriana hissed and jerked her head up. It was Joanna.

She had no idea why a 12-year-old was wearing heels. For Adriana personally, wearing heels was painful. Plus, Joanna was still shorter than her despite wearing those shoes.

"Oh, my gods! Why did you scream like that!" Joanna exclaimed, and Adriana gave her a puzzled look, wondering where the friendly girl who had waved at her this morning went.

"I did not scream plus, you stepped on me," Adriana stated blankly, not wanting to cause much trouble despite the rising anger in her chest.

Joanna scowled as if dissatisfied with her answer, and pushed her.

Adriana stumbled back and bumped over someone's water bottle.

The Stanley cup toppled over and began to leak water all over the floor

"Ah! My shoes!" Joanne screamed, her eyes fixed on Adriana.

That was when Adriana couldn't hold it anymore. Her face twisted into a sneer as she took a step toward Joanne, "so innocent are we?" She seethed.

Control your temper

The voice of her parents echoed in her head, but Adriana didn't care anymore, so she pushed aside the voices in her head and took another step forward.

Just as she was going to cause a scene, she felt a warm hand clasp around hers.

"Adriana," Indie muttered, "don't."

"You don't know me enough to tell me what to do," she hissed back.

The bell rang, and people began hurrying out of the classroom doors, but not before casting the three of them a look.

Adriana and Joanne kept glaring at each other, even after the guard and teachers of the school pushed them out of the doors.

author's note: 

i tried, 😭 anyways, if you see any mistakes don't be afraid to point them out. i would love to hear your thoughts and feelings about this chapter <33 

next chapter will be published on 06/04 12:00 pm, GMT+8

qotc (question of the chapter): what is your favorite snack? tell me in the comments 

sending lots of love, 
christina