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Post by Loogs on Jun 22, 2006 8:56:58 GMT -5
Obviously I'm still not ready to write Chapter 18, but as I build up to that, here are the first 17 chapters..... Enjoy.
CHAPTER 1: The Sun Always Sets Early Inside My Heart
Kelmie Town was greeted warmly by the sun as it rose to bathe the town with its shining, yellow rays. Everyone instantly woke up and walked outside to welcome the sun. Children laughed, their parents smiled, and just about everyone was happy that it was a brand new day.
Everyone except one lone girl.
Seraphina Lindgren was still asleep, long after the sun had risen. Finally losing her patience, Seraphina's strict mother stormed up to her ocean-themed room to wake her up. An egg-covered spatula was in her hand as she violently shook the girl with the other.
"SERAPHINA!!!" she screeched, with her crow-like voice. "WAKE UP, OR YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!!!"
The young, shoulder-length-haired, blue-eyed, tall-for-her-age 12-year old got up reluctantly, then she quickly took a 5-minute shower, and got dressed. She grumbled to herself as she walked down the stairs to the dining room. Her single braid was swaying back and forth in unison with her huffs of breath.
"Stupid, lousy, rotten new day...." she kept muttering as she took her seat to eat her daily breakfast. Seraphina picked up her fork, and with a disgusted, grumpy look still on her face, shoved egg and bacon into her mouth. Her mother gave her a dirty look, but Seraphina did not care.
"Seraphina, I want you to go to school HAPPY, as well as on time," she scorned. Her mother tapped on Seraphina's plate angrily and annoyingly as Seraphina forced the last bite of bacon into her mouth. She downed her chocolate milk in one gulp as she slung her heavy, blue backpack over one of her shoulders. Without even saying goodbye to her mother, she walked out the door, her back hunched over. She knew that this was going to be another worthless, hurtful day.
Halfway down the street, Seraphina came across two very popular girls talking to each other, who just lived to tease and make fun of Seraphina. She turned around to walk to school another way, but the girls had already spotted their target.
"Oh, look, it's the freakazoid!!" the girls taunted, pointing and jeering at her. Seraphina knew that there was no avoiding them now, so she simply turned around again and continued her previous path. However, as soon as she passed the girls without even looking at them, the two fiends pushed her forwards together, causing Seraphina to fall face-first into the sidewalk. The young girl would have broken her nose if she didn't stop her face from smashing into the cement with her hands.
"Later, Strangeafreaka," they both yelled out, throwing a paper wad at her head. Seraphina sighed deeply as she got up; it seemed like she was all alone in the world and nobody understood her. No one understood that she liked to write dark poetry. No one understood that she preferred to stay at home drawing or writing than going to a wild party. No one fully understood Seraphina Lindgren.
When she got to school, she had to bang on the locked doors with her fists before someone opened. "You're late," the janitor said as Seraphina zoomed past him, ignoring his comment. She raced up two flights of stairs, and dashed across a corridor until she opened the door to her 7th grade classroom.
"This is the fifth time you've come late to class this week, Seraphina," her teacher scowled, marking something in her attendance book. Seraphina ignored all the snickers and giggles from her class as she took her seat, awaiting the teacher's instructions.
The day basically passed by painfully slowly, with schoolmates poking fun at Seraphina, and the young girl ignoring them all patiently. She never had the courage to speak up, as she was accustomed to being very shy and quiet. Afraid that the girls would come back for another round, Seraphina took a more abandoned road home, running all the way.
She got home all out of breath, where she was greeted by her mother in a friendlier matter than that morning. "How was school today, Sera?" she asked kindly, as she removed Seraphina's heavy bookbag from her back. Seraphina sniffed the aroma of fresh ramen noodles, waiting for her on the stove, as she suddenly became aware of her mother's question.
"Oh, it was great, Mom," she said thoughtlessy, the only concern in her head at the moment being her lunch. Seraphina hungrily wolfed down her noodles, as her lunch was forcefully taken away from her by one of her thousands of enemies. Her mother had become aware of her daughter coming home every day starving, so she always had a cup of ramen noodles ready for her when she came home.
Seraphina went upstairs to her room and finished her homework fairly quickly, as she was extremely smart and this sort of work never appeared difficult to her. After she finished, Seraphina took out a purple journal from a secret compatment in her dest and grabbed a matching pen. She flipped open the journal and turned to an empty page. The young girl marked down the date, and began to write a poem:
"One day her inner strength shall be recognized Her voice shall be heard over the crowds Her overlooked talent shall be considered And the world will regret Ever putting her down For she has the strength And the power To one day change the world....for the better."
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Post by Loogs on Jan 15, 2007 17:42:22 GMT -5
CHAPTER 2: Kimishiro?Another new day in Kelmie Town. Kids and their parents walk outside to welcome in the rising sun. Animals come out of their homes. It seems like everyone's happy in Kelmie Town. Everyone, except of course, Seraphina, who woke up late again. "SERAPHINA!!!" was the first sound she heard upon waking up. It was her mother again, who was shaking her out of bed like shaking fruit off of trees. "WAKE UP!!!" Seraphina reluctantly got up from her bed, and groggily made her way to breakfast. She didn't even bother to take a bath this time. The girl sat down at her table, where a bowl of soggy cereal was placed in front of her. Her mother was just hanging up from a cell phone call, when she broke some shocking news to Seraphina(which of course, wasn't all that shocking to her). "Seraphina, remember that job I was telling you about?" asked her mother, who didn't turn to face her daughter while speaking, because she was writing something down. "Mmmhm, yeah," Seraphina muttered, through mouthfuls of cereal. "Well, honey, I got it," she continued, still not turning around. Seraphina managed to get out a 'Congratulations' under all that food. Her mother finished jotting down her notes and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "This is a very big job for me, honey, so I can't see you again during the afternoons. I've hired a very nice babysitter for you. A mother recommended me him." Seraphina's mother gave her farewells as she ran out the door, with a suitcase in her hand. Seraphina sighed. The babysitter would probably be another person she had to painfully deal with. She finished her breakfast, and ran all the way to school. Strangely and fortunately, she didn't meet up with the two bullies again, perhaps because she was really late this time. Seraphina had to bang on the door with her sore fists again, and this time, she had to wait a little longer before someone opened the door. She whizzed past the janitor again, and made it all the way back to class, where she was greeted unpleasantly by her teacher. "I'm sorry, Seraphina, you're coming late to class quite frequently. I'm going to have to in-school suspend you for the rest of the day." She pointed to her desk, and instructed her to gather her books. Seraphina unhappily did so, and dragged her feet all the way to the suspension room. The teacher really didn't pay any attention to her, which made it all the better for solemn Seraphina. "Well, at least I'm not being bothered by any ignorant schoolmates," she thought to herself as she started on her math work. ******* Seraphina arrived home about half an hour later than school dismissal. She was expecting to come home all alone, for she had forgotten about the babysitter. Unfortunately for her, she was greeted by a young man with shoulder-length, dark red hair. He had a maroon backpack slung over his left shoulder, and a smile upon his face. "Hi, you must be Seraphina," the young man said, holding out a hand for Seraphina to shake. She didn't shake his hand, but the young man continued anyway. "My name is Kimishiro Itogi, and I'm going to be your new babysitter!!" He looked at Seraphina as if she were a happy little girl; the kind that liked makeup, pink, and dolls. "That sounds fun," said Seraphina sarcastically, as she produced some keys from her pocket, and opened the front door. Seraphina led Kimishiro up to her room, which he assumed was filled with Hello Kitty and other girly stuff. He was sadly mistaken when he took his first step into Seraphina's room. The walls were turquoise, like the southern sea, and the ceiling was the color of cobalt. The floor was a pure indigo, like the depths of the deepest sea. Her shelves and tables were decorated by statuettes of dolphins, dragons, mermaids, and other mystic creatures. One wall had a whole bunch of drawings taped on it, and almost all her room was aquatic-themed. With his jaw dropping, Kimishiro said, "You're obviously not the girly type." Seraphina smiled at her accomplishment, as she showed Kimishiro her whole room. Kimishiro smiled to himself; he could see that this was no ordinary girl. They both sat on her blue bed. "So, what do you like do do, Seraphina?" Kimishiro asked, as he opened his bookbag and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. Seraphina hung her head low as she answered him. "I like to write poetry and draw stuff." "Really? Like what?" "Sad poetry, and depressing drawings." Kimishiro's smile faded. He saw the side of Seraphina that very few people rarely tapped into. The young man pulled out a scarlet velvet journal and a silver pen. He opened it and showed it to Seraphina. "My poems. I write them in my spare time, but I never show anyone. I see that you're mature enough to read them." Seraphina read the various lines and stanzas, and when she was done, she was simply breathless. Swept from her feet, she attempted to speak to Kimi. "They're so...amazing." Seraphina stood up, and walked over to her desk, where she opened a drawer and took out her purple journal. She hugged it close to her chest, and said, "Your poems make mine look like simple free-writes." Kimishiro shook his head, and said that she should have confidence in her work. This started a long, interesting conversation about their histories, their literary works, and their art. For the first time in quite some time, Seraphina laughed--and had a good time. When Seraphina's mother arrived, Seraphina groaned in dismay, and pleaded for Kimi to stay. Her mother laughed, and reminded Seraphina that Kimi was going to come back tomorrow. Seraphina laughed, and waved goodbye to Kimi. She put on her pajamas and got ready to go to bed. As she slept, she smiled to herself. She could tell that her life was about to take a drastic turn. NOTES: In retrospect....Seraphina's very emo.
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Post by Loogs on Jan 15, 2007 17:51:04 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]STATUS OF LOOGS'S CREATIVE MIND, FIC-WISE[/glow]I have decided that I will finish In A Moment. After two years of procrastination, it's never too late to start again eh? After In A Moment, instead of a sequel, there will be something else I'll be working to, similar to IaM. A Child Named Lenore, another sort-of-somewhat-based-on-a-true-story fic. ^^ Seraphina may make one or two cameos in it. In A Moment has two more unfinished chapters, so anticipate it muchly. Until then, enjoy the rehash of the other 17. XD
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 15, 2007 23:20:10 GMT -5
Everyone instantly woke up and walked outside to welcome the sun. Not synchronized, I hope. That'd be a bit Camazotzian. Seraphina Tamarajii ... blue-eyed Care to explain the ethnic origin of that there last name? Sounds awfully Asian for someone with blue eyes. Seraphina sighed deeply as she got up; it seemed like she was all alone in the world and nobody understood her. No one understood that she liked to write dark poetry. No one understood that she preferred to stay at home drawing or writing than going to a wild party. No one fully understood Seraphina Tamarajii. Mary Sue Count 1 She got home all out of breath, where she was greeted by her mother in a friendlier matter than that morning. "How was school today, Sera?" she asked kindly, as she removed Seraphina's heavy bookbag from her back. Thus the nastier side of Mrs. Tamarajii vanishes, never to be seen again. At least, not within my recollection... The events of the morning generally suggest that tensions usually ride high between them; I don't know why she never resumes an antagonistic position. "Oh, it was great, Mom," she said thoughtlessy, the only concern in her head at the moment being her lunch. Seraphina hungrily wolfed down her noodles, as her lunch was forcefully taken away from her by one of her thousands of enemies. I could make a snide comment about how implausible it is that Sera has literally thousands of enemies, but I'd rather make a snide comment about how difficult it is to wolf down your food in a manner that could not be described as "hungrily". Seraphina went upstairs to her room and finished her homework fairly quickly, as she was extremely smart and this sort of work never appeared difficult to her. Mary Sue Count 2. Sera never appears anything but astronomically bored by and dismissive of her classes. Pair that with her perennially angsty attitude and you have a very unlikely candidate for the honor roll. "One day her inner strength shall be recognized Her voice shall be heard over the crowds Her overlooked talent shall be considered And the world will regret Ever putting her down For she has the strength And the power To one day change the world....for the better." Eh. Not poetry. Write me a sonnet and we'll talk. Or a limerick. Something like: A girl of the name Seraphina Had a sullen and spiteful demeanor, But claimed that the earth Would soon learn her worth And regret calling her a hyena.Another new day in Kelmie Town. Kids and their parents walk outside to welcome in the rising sun. Animals come out of their homes. It seems like everyone's happy in Kelmie Town. Check your makeup, dear. Your present tense is showing. The teacher really didn't pay any attention to her, which made it all the better for solemn Seraphina. "Well, at least I'm not being bothered by any ignorant schoolmates," she thought to herself as she started on her math work. Mary Sue Count 3 shoulder-length, dark red hair ... Kimishiro Itogi Tamarajii's syndrome is contagious, I see. One wall had a whole bunch of drawings taped on it, and almost all her room was aquatic-themed. Ohh. Whew. I was wondering what all the shades of blue and the statues of marine creatures were meant to suggest. "Sad poetry, and depressing drawings." Trust me on this one: Replace "sad" with "pessimistic". It tickles me, the possibility that Seraphina has had to explain the nature of her poetry and drawings so often (to stupidly inquisitive teachers and the like) that she has worked out an all-purpose alliterative response. "My poems. I write them in my spare time, but I never show anyone. I see that you're mature enough to read them." Seraphina read the various lines and stanzas, and when she was done, she was simply breathless. Swept from her feet, she attempted to speak to Kimi. So... what? We don't get to read the poetry? I hate to invoke the tired phrase "show, don't tell," but this is a staggering missed opportunity. Why is it that every morning we get a comprehensive update on Sera's breakfast and choice of clothing, but really important moments like this one are blown straight over? Kimishiro shook his head, and said that she should have confidence in her work. This started a long, interesting conversation about their histories, their literary works, and their art. For the first time in quite some time, Seraphina laughed--and had a good time. When Seraphina's mother arrived, Seraphina groaned in dismay, and pleaded for Kimi to stay. So... what? We don't get to hear the conversation? We don't get to hear what witticism made Sera laugh? I hate to invoke the tired phrase "show, don't tell," but this is a staggering... um... I get the feeling I've said this before... I could go on, but I think I've devastated my Lovers enough. My praise of "In a Moment", which has been fully expressed in previous incarnations of this community, still stands, but my increasingly critical eye can't help but point out flaws this time around. By all means write the final two chapters, but then you might consider revamping some of the earlier ones. That's if you can ever forgive me.
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 15, 2007 23:21:00 GMT -5
Which means Out of Moment's gotta start kickin' ass and takin' names!
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Post by bulbaboy on Jan 16, 2007 17:55:25 GMT -5
Wow.. this new Pohatu makes me scared. When the time comes I may not be able to post my story out of fear of what me be said about it... *whimper*
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Post by Loogs on Jan 16, 2007 18:10:12 GMT -5
;.; that hurt. Actually, a remake of In a Moment is on its way, after I write the last two chapters. And she's Seraphina LINDGREN now. Are you happy, you stupid doodyface?
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 16, 2007 20:03:24 GMT -5
I think that Out of Moment unleashed Photu's inner Camel Berserker.
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 16, 2007 20:13:12 GMT -5
Wow.. this new Pohatu makes me scared. When the time comes I may not be able to post my story out of fear of what me be said about it... *whimper* I'm writing a short story just now. You guys may feel free to lynch me when I post it here. ;.; that hurt. Actually, a remake of In a Moment is on its way, after I write the last two chapters. And she's Seraphina LINDGREN now. Are you happy, you stupid doodyface? I know. It was harsh. I apologize, I really do. But would you like me more if I'd simply blindly praised it like I've always done? This is not a rhetorical question. If your answer is yes, I will delete that post. I think that Out of Moment unleashed Photu's inner Camel Berserker. Your four-man critique of the early chapters? No. That was jaw-achingly hilarious, but there is no cause and effect relationship here. Had you never written Out a Moment it would not have inhibited me somehow. Camel Berserker, though... hmm...
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Post by Loogs on Jan 16, 2007 20:16:06 GMT -5
No, no Pohatu, it's fine, but I had already realized all of this a while ago.
That's what's actually keeping me from writing the last two chapters: I have to read back through all my crap... x_o And relearn the story. I am teh pathetic...
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:31:23 GMT -5
CHAPTER 3: New Girl on the Block
For the first time in ages, Seraphina woke up as soon as the sun rose. Her mother wasn't even up yet!!! The young girl cheerfully got ready for school, and when her mother got up, she was standing by the door, ready to go.
"Well, you're unusually peppy today!!" her mother said, smiling at her young daughter. She opened the door, and let Seraphina out. She wasted not a second and zoomed through the doorway, almost knocking down her mother, who laughed at her.
Along the way, she met Kelly and Rachel, the two girls that had teased her two days ago. As Seraphina whizzed past them, they yelled out, "FREAKAZOID!!!", but Seraphina paid no mind. She was much too happy and eager to pay attention.
She arrived at school early, and impatiently waited for it to open its doors. Seraphina luckily arrived before a crowd formed, and was first to get to her classroom. "It's a half-day today, so I'll get to see Kimishiro early today!!" she thought, as she began the work on the chalkboard.
The teacher walked in, followed by a black-haired girl that was about Seraphina's height. She was looking around nervously at the class, wondering if they'd be nice to her. Seraphina smiled comfortingly at the girl, who smiled back.
"Kids, this is Erika McReedy," the teacher announced. "She just moved here and needs some help, so please show her around!" She pointed to a seat next to Seraphina, and told Erika to sit there. They both smiled at each other, and turned to the chalkboard to finish their work.
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School ended early, and Seraphina and Erika went outside to chat with each other.
"So you like Evanescence, too?" Seraphina said in amazement. "Wow, we have so many things in common!!"
"Yeah, that's pretty cool," Erika replied, as she introduced Seraphina to her parents. "Sera, these are my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Seraphina."
"Pleased to meet you, Sera," they both said, shaking the girl's hand. Erika smiled; for she could see that this friendship would go along very smoothly. She tapped her mother lightly on the shoulder.
"Mom, can I go to Seraphina's house today?" she asked politely, hoping that her mom would say yes. Her mom only had to begin to nod, and Seraphina and Erika were off for her house. They finally reached her address, huffing and puffing, when they noticed that Kimishiro was not there yet.
"Where could he be?" they both asked. Suddenly, a blue car pulled up, and from it emerged Kimishiro, carrying his backpack and a gallon of chocolate swirl ice cream. He tried to wave hello to the girls with his free hand, and asked Seraphina to open the door.
Erika got her first glimpse of Seraphina's room, and like Kimi, she was also amazed. "Whoa," was all she could say, her breath taken away. She gaped at all the blue, and marveled at all her decorations. The two friends just stood there, admiring and chatting until Kimishiro called them both down for dinner.
"You haven't been talking to me, Sera," he said while chewing on some steak. "I notice you have a new friend. What's her name?" Kimi swallowed and awaited Seraphina's response.
"Her name is Erika," Seraphina answered, and introduced her to her babysitter. Erika and Kimi shook hands, and continued to eat dinner. When they were done eating, Kimishiro held up the gallon of ice cream and announced dessert.
"I bought this just for us," he said. "Dessert. Ice cream, and your favorite too, Sera." Kimi flipped off the lid and grabbed a scoop and three cones. First, he gave some to Erika, who accepted it with a huge grin and a thank you. Then, he served some to Seraphina, who took it with a simple thanks. Finally, he served some for himself, and closed the lid. He threw the scoop into the sink, and put the ice cream into the freezer.
"So I was hoping to read some of your latest poems, Sera," he said while taking a lick of ice cream. When Erika looked at him in a puzzled manner, he explained that Seraphina and him both wrote poems. She nodded, understanding the two's hobbies. After reading the two's emotional poems, Erika almost cried of laughter, joy, or sadness.
"Wow, you two are really good," Erika finally said as Serpahina closed her journal, finishing her last poem. Seraphina also agreed with Erika; Kimishiro's poems were absolutely beautiful.
The clock struck 10, announcing Seraphina's bedtime and Erika's departure time. Kimishiro left the gallon of ice cream as a gift to Seraphina, and drove Erika home. It had begun to rain outside. Seraphina walked up to her aquatic room, and put on her blue pajamas. She heard echoes of her friends' voices inside her head, and was lulled to sleep by them and the sound of the falling rain pelting against her windowpane.
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:37:36 GMT -5
CHAPTER 4: A Little Voice
Seraphina, glad that she was alive on this brand new day, slid down her stair banister with much charisma, and met up with her mother, who was making pancakes in the kitchen.
"Why, good morning, Seraphina," she laughed, as Seraphina grabbed a plate from the cupboard and waited for her mother to serve a tall stack of pancakes. "How are you today?"
"I'm feeling awesomely terrific," she giggled, as her mother served her daughter pancakes. Seraphina scarfed it down, for she didn't want to be late to school. Then, she took a shower, got dressed, and grabbed her heavy backpack. Kissing her mother goodbye, she left the house and set off for school.
Strangely, on her way to school, Seraphina did not spot Kelly or Rachel. Not that that was a bad thing. In fact, Seraphina smiled to herself, knowing that she was not called a freakazoid or pushed into the ground. She reached school early again, and since it was a cold day, the janitor let Seraphina in.
Whilst walking through the halls, Seraphina spotted her friend Erika, who was reading something pinned to a bulletin board. "Hey, Erika," Seraphina said, putting a hand on Erika's shoulder. "Whatcha reading?"
Erika smiled, and hugged her friend. "Hey, Sera. I'm looking at this flyer for a program. It's for the community chorus. I'm gonna join." Erika extracted a black pen from her pocket and signed her name under the word "Sign Ups". "Are you gonna join?"
Seraphina shook her head and wrinkled her nose at the flyer. "My voice sounds awful, like a dying frog's. I can't sing."
"Come on, Sera. It'll be fun," Erika insisted, playfully tugging at her pal's sleeve. Seraphina finally caved, and took out her special pen. Signing her name neatly, she gave a playfully grimacing look at Erika.
"Don't laugh at my singing, okay?" she said, sticking her tongue out. The bell rang shrilly, and the two friends raced each other to class.
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Class was boring as always, and the two friends jumped for joy when they finally left school.
Erika looked around the block, but could not see her parents anywhere. "Where could they be?" she asked, peering behind cars and buildings. Then, she ran up to a white Sedan which she obviously recognized. "Aunt Tessa!"
Her aunt Tessa smiled and pushed down her car window. "Your parents had a change of schedule. For the next couple of months they can't pick you up. And you can't stay home alone, either." She glanced at Seraphina and concluded, "Your parents have arranged with Kimishiro for you to stay with Seraphina here."
Erika and Seraphina looked at each other. Happiness was building inside of them, and was ready to pop out like a shaken soda bottle. "YES!!!!" So with that, they ran off to Seraphina's house.
By then, Kimishiro was already there, carrying his backpack over his shoulder. "What took you girls so long? I was beginning to think that you two were eaten by a feral dog on the loose," he teased. Seraphina produced some keys, and opened the door, leading Erika and Kimi in.
"So your mom wants me to babysit you now, huh, Erika?" Kimi asked. Erika nodded, and the two plopped themselves onto an overstuffed couch. "So tell me, girls, what's up?"
"The sky," they both giggled, then decided to tell Kimishiro about the chorus program. "Sign-ups for the community chorus are up, and Sera and I just signed up today." Erika smiled at her new babysitter.
Erika noticed that Seraphina sort of cringed when she said that. "Only thing is, Seraphina's not very confident. She doesn't really like her voice."
"Singing? I used to sing. Well, I still do," Kimi said, not realizing that Erika liked to sing. He turned to the withdrawn Seraphina, and asked, "You have a piano in here, right?"
"It's right by the upper right corner of this room," Seraphina quietly answered. Kimi nodded and thanked her, and walked over to the corner. He took the protective, cloth cover off the black piano, and pulled the bench out from underneath.
"I played piano, too," Kimi added. As he played a few notes, he smiled to himself, and then at the girls. "Come sit down," he called to them. Erika instantly darted towards the piano, and sat down. Even though Seraphina was hesitant, she made her way to Kimi, and sat down next to him.
"Okay, here we go," Kimi said, playing a few more notes. The loose notes weaved together into a song, and Kimi opened his mouth. Soft, soothing notes flew out of it, as he calmly put together a story through his music about a lonely boy that everyone ignores. The song touched Erika, but had more of an impact on Seraphina, who almost weeped at the end.
"You liked?" Kimi asked uncertainly. Seraphina nodded, and looked at Kimishiro admiringly.
"Can you teach me how to sing?" she asked him. Kimi nodded, but jumped when he heard the clock chime.
"Well, not today. Maybe tomorrow. Right now you have to get to bed, and I have to go drive Erika home." Kimishiro kissed Seraphina on the forehead, and then kissed Erika, who blushed 16 shades of red. Seraphina raised an eyebrow at her friend, who shrugged and put a finger to her lips. He led her outside, and into his car.
Seraphina waved goodbye to them until they disappeared, and climbed the stairs to her room. Closing her eyes to sleep, Seraphina tried to imagine what awaited her the next day.
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:40:54 GMT -5
CHAPTER 5: Love at First Sight
Seraphina spent all night pondering life's treasures. This morning, she chose to conquer one in particular. Waking up a minute early, she pranced down the stairs, and sat down on a dining chair, ready to receive her daily breakfast.
Her mother made apple oatmeal with a single strawberry upon it today, and Seraphina gobbled it up quickly. Licking her lips and grinning from ear to ear, Seraphina combed her recently-dyed-silver hair and put on the prettiest, coolest clothes she had in her wardrobe: a turquoise spaghetti strap, and black jeans with a chain dangling from the hip. The girl put on blue chandelier earrings, a necklace with a fairy pendant, and her favorite mood ring before waving goodbye to her mother and departing for school.
Truth was, Seraphina had a good feeling about today.
As she skipped by Kelly and Rachel, they raised an eyebrow, and actually smiled. "Looks like you did something right for once, Seraphina," they shouted. Seraphina smiled. She had to dress like this more often. She got to school, and met up with her friend Erika.
"You're looking really beautiful today, Sera," she said, giggling. "Is it a special occasion?" Seraphina shook her head, and explained.
"I have a feeling that today will give me something special," she said. Then, she whispered in Erika's ear, who gasped, and looked at her best friend with wide open eyes.
"Sera! You sure feel pretty courageous and luck-testing these past few days!" she exclaimed, before they walked into class.
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As they all sat down, the teacher immediately came in, followed by a tall boy with long, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, which were forced to peer through glasses. Erika scoffed in a joking matter and said:
"What is it with all these new kids?" She expected a laugh from her friend, but she didn't hear one, not even a chuckle. Erika glanced back to check on her friend, who was frozen in a state of shock. "Sera?"
The teacher put up the date on the blackboard and said, "Settle down, class. We have another new student here. He arrived all the way from England. His name is Elliot Pierce Joy, and I want you all to make him feel welcome here." Now Erika understood why Seraphina was petrified.
"Oooooooh, Sera, you were right," she joked. "This WAS a good day to find your love." Seraphina paid no attention, as she was now staring dreamily at Elliot, who took a seat right in front of her.
Seraphina shook off some of her intimidation, and turned back to her friend. She couldn't open her mouth, so she scribbled down a note on her notebook.
"I can't feel my mouth, Erika."
She smiled reassuringly, and said, "Just pretend he's me, Sera. Talk to him like you talk to me." Seraphina looked at Erika with a pained look in her eyes, and almost dropped dead when Elliot tapped on her shoulder.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to have an extra pencil, would you?" he asked, in his Mancunian accent. Seraphina couldn't reply, but when Erika nudged her and winked at her, she dug into her backpack and produced an unsharpened, #2 pencil.
"Thank you." He took out a small pencil sharpener, inserted the pencil, and twisted it. Seraphina continued to stare at him, even when he turned around to finish his work. Meanwhile, Kelly and Rachel were glaring with half-anger, half-envy at the girl.
"How dare she hit on Elliot," Kelly grumbled, while doodling an anti-Sera drawing. A bloody, decapitated girl next to a laughing, sadistically sinister girl holding a chainsaw wasn't the nicest thing to draw. Rachel nodded, and looked at the moonstruck Seraphina with disgust.
"Ugh. If she thinks she can win over the heart of a guy as cute as that, she's sadly mistaken," she whispered to her partner in crime. They both whispered unintelligably, then nodded to each other.
-------------------------------------------------------------
School was rapidly dismissed, and Seraphina and her friend Erika met up outside the main entrance. They chatted for about five minutes when Elliot passed through the school doors, still holding Seraphina's pencil.
He walked up to her and said, "This is yours." Seraphina turned pink and shook her head, saying that she was giving it to him. He smiled, nodded, and threw his long dirty blonde hair back. Before he could cross the street, Seraphina stopped him, and asked:
"Want to come over to my house?" She smiled sheepishly, hoping he'd say yes. Elliot laughed and said:
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" So the three made their way to Seraphina's house.
---------------------------------------------
When the three friends arrived, Kimishiro's blue car was already parked right in the house's garage. Seraphina bit her tongue. She quickly whipped out her keys from her pocket and opened the door. The friends smelled dinner coming from the kitchen: baked chicken bathed lightly in some gravy, and some rice and steamed vegetables served with it. There stood Kimishiro, with a worried expression on his face.
"Took you really long to get here, Sera. What happened?" His eyes focused on Seraphina, then moved over to Erika, then finally moved over to Elliot, in which he was suddenly alarmed. But then, he understood, and he had a smirk on his face, directed towards Seraphina.
She scowled and mouthed, "Don't even think about it." Kimi chuckled and pointed to the dining table.
"I assume you'll eat at home...." Seraphina leaned over to Kimi and whispered her crush's name. "....Elliot?" Elliot nodded, and looked around the house. He didn't even notice that while she was eating dinner, Seraphina was staring at him incessantly.
"Oy, Sera." Erika tried to direct her best friend's attention away from Elliot. No use. She gave up and directed her gaze towards Kimi, who was eating as well. Erika stared at him the same way Seraphina was staring at Elliot. However, Erika's love was a lot more unrealistic than Seraphina's, for Kimishiro was 17 and she was merely 14.
So when they were all done eating, Seraphina was about to remind Kimi that he was going to give her singing lessons, when she remembered Elliot. Elliot....she couldn't just leave him there. Seraphina was going to do something to ensure that today would be the day that she and Elliot became a couple. So she calls Kimishiro and whispers something in his ear. Kimishiro nodded, and merely smiled.
"Heh. You're going to need some preparation. I don't think you're ready yet." Suddenly, Elliot started to tug at Kimi's sleeve, saying that he had to leave home. Kimishiro led him outside, and drove him home. When he came back, about 15 minutes later, he summoned Seraphina and Erika to the living room.
"Girls, there are a few things I want to tell you," he began, sitting down on a couch. Seraphina sat down on the floor, while Erika sat next to Kimi. They both waited anxiously for Kimi's lecture.
"Sure. What are they?" Kimi then took out his journal and said:
"Love is a tricky thing. When you fall in love, you put your heart at risk." He flipped through the pages of his journal, stopping to glance at a few every now and then. "It's tricky enough to tell your crush that you love them."
He stopped at a page, and stared at a picture he had pasted inside. "Melissa..." he whispered to himself, before continuing.
"Then when you are officially a couple, you have to take care not to do anything destructive. You can't focus more on relationships than an education. That must always come first." He looked up to check if the girls had dozed off. Nope. They were listening attentively.
"And you can't let your lover take advantage of you. That means no premaritial sex, no matter how pressuring your boyfriend or girlfriend is. Premaritial sex can lead to trouble. Take it from me." The two girls stared at him wide-eyed, before Kimi turned slightly red and finished.
"It wasn't me, it was a friend of mine." Seraphina and Erika breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, Sera....I know. Heh, don't deny it. I know you do." Seraphina blushed a bit before attempting to argue.
"Nuh-uh!" She shook her head vigorously before Kimi placed a hand on her head to stop her.
"Yes. I can see it in your eyes." Kimi looked at her as if he were staring right into her soul. "Anyway, I think you should tell Elliot, before it's too late and other girls get to him."
Seraphina reluctantly nodded, and Kimishiro turned to Erika. "Sooooo....you have a love interest or are you single?"
Erika almost had a heart attack. "No....No crush for me....currently." Her face was flushed as she smiled sheepishly at her friend.
Kimishiro looked at her suspiciously. "Riiiiiight. Well, it's about time I leave. Same goes for you, Erika." He gathered his and Erika's things, and walked Seraphina's friend out the door. Seraphina waved goodbye to them as they got into the car and drove away.
Seraphina climbed into bed and thought about Kimi's advice. "Anyway, I think you should tell Elliot, before it's too late and other girls get to him." She decided right then and there that the next day, she'd tell Elliot exactly how she felt. Smiling to herself, Seraphina drifted off to sleep, hardly waiting for tomorrow.
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:42:37 GMT -5
CHAPTER 6: Songs of My Heart
Seraphina woke up a bit later than usual, much to her mother's surprise. "What happened to my early bird?" Truth was, Seraphina had a bad feeling about today. She was scared that Elliot would not like her back. In fact, she was more sluggish today than any other day this week. And today was SATURDAY!!! Seraphina was already worried about what would happen on Monday.
The timid girl took a shower, and got dressed. Her mother was not waiting for her when she came down to the kitchen, but instead was right at the door with her work clothes on. Seraphina quickly gobbled down her breakfast(cereal, for her mother had no time to cook).
"Well, Sera, you know the drill. I have to leave early on weekends, which means Kimishiro comes here early. I've already called him up and he's on his way here." Seraphina silently cheered; she had something to look forward to this weekend.
Her mother left for work, and approximately five minutes later, Seraphina heard a car pull up. Then, she heard someone rapping on the door, then enthusiastically opened it.
Kimishiro was standing right in front of her, accompanied by Erika. "Hello there, Sera. How are you this fine weekend?" Erika giggled, then whispered something into Kimishiro's ear.
"Oh, right. Seraphina, we're gonna start our singing lessons today." Kimishiro unzipped his book bag, and extracted a blue folder stuffed with music sheets.
"The community chorus program starts on Monday," Erika informed her, as Seraphina led the pair to the family piano. Kimishiro laid out a music sheet, and played a few notes. He broke out into song, and as he played through the song smoothly, Kimishiro sang some lyrics. He went through the song once, before handing both Seraphina and Erika some paper with words printed upon them.
"Try to sing along," he instructed them. Erika opened her mouth to sing along, but Seraphina kept hers shut. When Erika let out some noise, it didn't sound too pleasant. But hey, she was a beginner at this. At least she didn't sound like a dying frog. Seraphina didn't make a sound until the end of the song, when Kimishiro asked her a question.
"What happened? You weren't singing." Kimi looked at her with a worried look, then leaned over to whisper something to Erika. "You don't think she's becoming tense again, do you?"
"Probably not. She just needs the right song, methinks. Play this one." Seeing that Kimishiro had the right song written down in musical notes, Erika showed him the pieces of paper. Kimishiro nodded, then placed the music on the piano. He started to play the piece, and Erika gave her friend a nudge.
"You might find this next song familiar. It's one of your faves," she told her. As Kimishiro progressed into the song, Seraphina recognized it, and soon began to sway with the rhythm.
"I'm With You by Avril Lavigne! I know this song!" Seraphina broke into song as soon as the time came to sing the first line, "I'm standing on the bridge, I'm waiting in the dark...."
"I thought that you'd be here by now." Seraphina's notes were clear, on-key, and beautiful, perhaps more beautiful than she had expected. Finishing the song, she turned to her friends, beaming proudly.
"I didn't think I'd sound THAT good!" Kimi and Erika clapped, then Kimi rose to say something to Seraphina.
"The reason you sounded so good was because you sang from the heart. If you always do that, it doesn't matter if you have the most horrible voice in the world." Seraphina smiled, but Erika raised an eyebrow.
"I know it sounded cheesy, but I had to say SOMETHING," Kimi explained to Sera's other friend. They all shared a good laugh, then realized that it was time for lunch.
"I brought us pizza," Kimi announced, as the two girls raced to the dining room. He reached for a paper bag that he had placed on the counter earlier, and extracted three pizza slices. Seraphina and Erika gobbled them up as fast as Kimishiro had given it to them, and threw their crusts away(they hated crusts) before Kimi could finish his.
"You girls sure were hungry," he laughed, as they both wiped their mouths and waited for Kimi on the couches. Kimi finished his pizza 5 minutes later, then met the girls at the couches. He took a seat right next to Seraphina, and put his arm around her.
"See? You don't sing half-bad," he told her. "In fact, you're quite good. Erika, we can work on your voice, and pretty soon, it will be beautiful as well." Erika scowled, but then smiled. It was one of Seraphina's few moments to shine.
"I'm happy for you, Sera," she said, putting her arm around her friend as well. Seraphina smiled timidly, then reminded Kimi that they had to practice some more.
"Oh, right!" Kimi rushed over to the piano and replaced the sheet of music with a new one. They spent the whole afternoon working on Erika's voice, and pretty soon, she became a little better than when she first began. But then, the clock chimed. Time flew by so fast they didn't even realize that night had fallen.
"Well, time to go home," he told Erika. She groaned, but reluctantly packed her things. As they both waved goodbye to Seraphina, Erika said to her friend, "We're guaranteed to get in!" They both laughed, and Seraphina stood outside her door as the two waved goodbye to her.
"Now I have two things to worry about. Chorus and Elliot. What a week this will be," she told herself, changing into her pajamas and climbing into bed to sleep. Only time will tell what will happen to her on Monday.
NOTES:
The sooner I post all of these, the sooner I can finish it and the sooner I can rewrite it...
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:44:02 GMT -5
CHAPTER 7: Hidden Flowers Blossoming
Today was the day. It would either destroy her life or make it ultimately better. Seraphina got up at exactly 6 a.m., took a shower, got dressed in one of her favorite outfits(an old, blue school uniform with a black tie-thing, and leg warmers), and waited anxiously to be served breakfast.
Shortly, her mother walked down the staircase, holding her briefcase and coming up to the kitchen. She proceeded to take out a box of oatmeal, pour it in a bowl, pour milk over the oatmeal, and stick it in a microwave. While she pushed a button that said "1 min" twice, she instructed Seraphina, "I have to leave, so just take out the oatmeal and eat it when it's done." Seraphina's mom left the house, and shortly after, Seraphina heard an obnoxious beeping sound. Taking the bowl of oatmeal out and blowing on it, she took out a spoon and ate it up.
Running down the sidewalk on her way to school, Seraphina spottel Elliot walking down the sidewalk parallel to hers. But before she could cross the street to meet him, she was pushed onto the ground by an unknown force. Seraphina looked up, and saw a most unpleasant sight. It was Kelly and Rachel, laughing and smirking.
"You are SO not gonna get Elliot!" Kelly sneered. Rachel cackled, as the two crossed the street first to meet him. Seraphina looked at the three with worried eyes, then rose to her feet and dusted herself off. Along the way she met Erika, who looked at her with a comforting face.
"It's okay. You can talk to Elliot at lunch or something," her friend said. Seraphina smiled, but inside her heart she felt a twinge of doubt. They reached school, and entered together.
*******
When it was time for lunch, Seraphina and Erika bought their food and sat down on a nearby table. When she saw Elliot come near, Seraphina made a waving motion, beckoning him to her table. But he made a sharp turn to the right, sitting alone on another table. He was followed by Kelly and Rachel, who immediately began to bother him with insignificant chatting and ignorant questions.
"So, Elliot, you in the mood to date two really cute girls?" Rachel asked, leaning on him and grabbing his hand. Elliot shifted his seat away from Rachel, only to meet up with Kelly.
"Sorry, I don't go out with sluts." Elliot got up from his seat, grabbed his lunch, and ignored Seraphina again as he sat down on another empty table.
Seraphina sighed, and continued to eat her lunch, but in a very melancholy way. Erika frowned, and hugged her friend comfortingly. "Don't worry, Sera, ask him after school."
************
This time, Seraphina was determined to ask Elliot out. Right after school, she took everything she needed out of her locker as fast as she could, and burst through the school doors before anyone could leave. Waiting for Elliot, she leaned on a bus stop sign to look for him. A person left the building, followed by two more. Pretty soon, a mob flooded the streets, buzzing with casual chatting and laughing. It became hard for Seraphina to find Elliot. She finally found him, with Kelly and Rachel still bugging him.
Erika, who had found Seraphina and was now standing right next to her, nudged her friend and said, "Go on." They nodded to each other, and with that, Seraphina ran off and chased Elliot. Once she reached him, she grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from the two skanks.
"Sorry, I need to talk to Elliot," she rapidly said to the bullies, as she dragged the English boy as far away from anyone as possible. Then, she stopped to catch her breath, then faced him with pure sincerity and seriousness.
"I've been wanting to tell you something," she told him. Grabbing both his hands with hers, she continued, "Ever since the day I saw you, or even before I met you, I've been feeling quite strange..."
"Weird. I have, too." Elliot seemed to know where Seraphina was heading.
"And, well, when I saw you talking to Kelly and Rachel, I felt kinda bad." She raised one hand to rub her nape before continuing. "Well, what I've been wanting to say is that...."
She took a deep breath and said, "I love you, Elliot."
Elliot's face was expressionless for a moment, but then his lips curled into a smile. "It's okay. I've had a fancy for you as well, Seraphina." They both exchanged glances, and were silent for a few seconds before randomly bursting out in laughter.
"Heh. Well, I've gotta go to my house. Kimi'll kill me if I don't get there on time. See ya!" Seraphina ran off in the direction of her house, but Elliot grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Allow me to walk you there." Elliot's grasp on her arm loosened, as his hand moved down to hers. His fingers interlacing with hers, Elliot and Seraphina walked to her house, chatting and laughing together.
Once Seraphina and Elliot reached her house, she looked sadly at her new boyfriend. "Well, see ya tomorrow."
Elliot looked sad as well. "Bye." Smiling and waving, he walked in the opposite direction, Seraphina waving as well before entering her house.
Kimi greeted her with his biggest frown. "Where were you? Sera, you have to come earlier or at least TELL me if you're gonna stay out for a little while." He was holding a mixing spoon covered in cookie dough. All of a sudden, Erika stuck her head in the doorway to yell out a big "HELLO!!" to her best friend. On her lips was smeared what appeared to be cookie dough.
Seraphina walked in, where she saw the kitchen completely smeared in flour and butter and other pastry ingredients. Apparently, Kimishiro and Erika were making cookies, because she saw a cookie sheet and a stained recipe book. Kimishiro was wearing a denim apron, while Erika wore one adorned with pretty flowers. Seraphina grabbed hers, which was blue and white and swirly to match the reflection of actual water.
"So how did it go?" Kimishiro looked at her with a look of hope in his face.
"What?" Seraphina was confused.
"The asking out. Did he say yes?" Kimishiro kept his eyes on her, while Seraphina directed her gaze towards a giggling Erika.
"He said yes," Seraphina answered, and Kimi and Erika instantly squealed like schoolgirls. Seraphina raised an eyebrow, and they giggled again. Kimi went back to making cookies, and then told Seraphina something.
"We're making cookies to celebrate. If he said yes, we'd make heart-shaped cookies. If he said no, we'd make heart-shaped cookies anyway to cheer you up." Kimi molded the spots of cookie dough into little hearts. Seraphina smiled; it seemed like life was on her side after all.
Then, Kimi stuck some chocolate chips inside them, then popped the cookie sheet in the oven. As the cookies slowly baked, he and the girls decided to talk on the couch.
"So, Sera, have you ever had a boyfriend before?" Kimishiro asked, as he tried his hardest not to strike a hurt heartstring.
"Well, no...." Seraphina said, turning away from them. Tears were gathering in her eyes, but she tried her best to be happy and not cry.
"Aw, Sera...." Kimishiro comforted, putting a firm arm around her. "It's okay. You've got a boyfriend now. See?"
Seraphina cried some more, and then said, "Yeah, but I feel like he won't like me later on..."
"Sera, that's no way to think!" Erika had joined into the Seraphina-comforting game. "Stop thinking so negatively....there's always a positive side, I promise you!"
Seraphina stopped crying for a moment, then curled her lips into a small smile, whispering a small thanks. Suddenly, a timer went off, as Kimishiro ran off, slipping on oven mitts and pulling out the cookie sheet, dotted with perfectly shaped heart cookies. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a tube of frosting, which revealed to be pink as he squeezed some onto the cookies. Erika grabbed a knife and spread the frosting across the cookies. Then, she and Kimi took the cookies to the dining room, and gave Seraphina one.
"Eat up," Kimi said happily, as he too took a cookie and bit off a chunk of it. Erika decided to become a bit greedy and took two cookies, sandwiching them and stuffing them into her mouth. Seraphina took a bite of the cookie, and suddenly, she felt as if she were floating on thin air. She felt like a careless feather drifting through summer winds, or like a baby cradled in its mother's arms.
"Whoa, Kimi.....how do you get your baking to taste this good.....and make you feel so good?" Seraphina curiously asked as she finished her cookie and reached for another one. Kimi finished chewing his cookie; it's impolite to talk with your mouth full, y'know.
"I use the special Itoshigo family recipe, of course," he bragged jokingly. "All my cookies are made with love...yeah, that sounded cheesy, but it's true. That's why they taste so sweet." He licked the frosting off of a cookie, then winked and added, "Of course, that may just be because I used too much frosting."
The two girls laughed as they put the remaining cookies inside Seraphina's fridge. Then, they sat down to chat some more and read their latest poetry(Erika had started to write a few sonnets) until the clock chimed 9. Kimishiro and Erika left the house and drove off, waving goodbye to Seraphina. Seraphina knew, that with such good friends, why wouldn't she have a reason to feel happy?
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:45:56 GMT -5
CHAPTER 8: True Love Does Exist
Seraphina was wearing a wide grin today. Why? There were a few reasons. First off, she was the official girlfriend of He that eats posts Pierce Joy. And second, Kimishiro would take them all to a park with acres and acres of cherry blossom trees. So today she wore one of her favorite outfits: a periwinkle turtleneck with a matching scarf, and lavendar pants. Seraphina skipped down the stairs and sat at the table, where her mother placed a plate of pancakes covered in a thin coat of syrup and sprinkled with raspberries.
"Well, you're really happy. Does this have anything to do with that English lover of yours?" her mother asked. Seraphina simply stared wide-eyed at her mother, not believing that she knew.
"Did Kimi tell you this?" she questioned, thinking that Kimishiro would keep it a secret.
"No, Kimi didn't tell me. You told me." Seraphina was baffled; she didn't believe that the one who had told her mother about He that eats posts was herself.
"Your face, the way you speak. It tells the whole story," she added before grabbing her suitcases and running off to work. Seraphina yawned, and reached for the coffee that sat on the stove. Seraphina liked coffee. It kept her awake during the school day. Besides, it tastes so good when combined with milk.
Finishing her breakfast, Seraphina dashed off, backpack over her shoulders. It was so unfairly heavy, Seraphina felt like she was a slave for school. Seraphina quickly ran past Kelly and Rachel, who didn't have a chance to stick out their feet so she could trip. About a block away from the school, she met up with He that eats posts, who also carried a very heavy backpack.
"Where's Erika?" he asked her.
"And good morning to you too," Seraphina said sarcastically, joking around. She shrugged to the Erika question, then said, "She must be absent or late."
"If she's sick, she'll miss the trip to the park," He that eats posts said sympathetically, the English accent emphasizing the effect. Long eerie silence occured, and He that eats posts found himself leaning closer to Seraphina, who looked to the ground unconcerned. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her tenderly on the cheek.
Seraphina's cheek suddenly lit up, a red glow appearing. She was speechless, so she merely chuckled and played it cool. Then, unexpectedly, she returned the gift with one of her own. Her thin, feminine lips met He that eats posts's rosy cheek in a brief peck on the cheek.
They walked hand in hand all the way to school, and even into the classroom. Kelly and Rachel whispered something to each other, and giggled. Seraphina ignored them as she walked to her desk. She was finally happy. In all these years, she finally found at least an ounce of happiness. Little did she know though, that with one dose of happiness, there came two doses of sorrow.
Erika was indeed absent, as she didn't come to school that day. She had to stay with her grandmother while Kimishiro, Seraphina, and He that eats posts went to the park. When the two left school, Kimi was waiting for them in his blue car. The two climbed in and sat in the back seat.
This time Seraphina was the one making the move. Her hand slowly inched towards He that eats posts's, but he was way ahead of her. He grabbed her delicate hand and interlaced his fingers between hers.
He that eats posts whispered into her ear, "I think you're the most beautiful thing that ever walked this earth." Then, he kissed her on the cheek again.
Seraphina shrugged it off, and turned away, a frown on her face. "I'm not beautiful. You may be handsome, but I'm not beautiful." She had to be her pessimistic self, no matter how happy she was.
"Yes you are. Don't deny it." Suddenly, Kimi pulled up, and the group walked through the tall iron gates, Kimi carrying a picnic bag. The park was more beautiful than expected. Cherry blossom petals frequently fluttered to the ground, making it look like it was raining pink.
Kimi sat down near a tall tree that gave a lot of shade, and spread out the picnic blanket. While he was serving the food, He that eats posts and Seraphina decided to stroll through the path, holding hands.
"Listen to me. You ARE beautiful. I don't care who says otherwise," He that eats posts said, bringing the previous subject back up again. Seraphina shook her head in disagreement, and turned away. She was about to cry, and didn't want He that eats posts to see her.
Then, he spun her around, making her land in his arms. They were leaning against a tree. "Seraphina, you are a beautiful person. Inside and out, you are a beautiful person, and I can't think of anyone else I would love as much as I love you." Advancing closer, his lips mer hers, and they held the kiss for quite some time.
Seraphina mouthed a thanks, then said, "I love you, too." Suddenly, the two heard Kimishiro shouting their names, so they ran back to eat. He had laid out watermelon, sandwiches, and other good eats which the couple gladly munched down. It was a bit chilly, but it was mostly warm, surprising for an autumn day. After that, they decided to either sit down and talk or go play soccer with Kimi. If they did decide to play soccer with Kimishiro, much kicking would occur, but not ball-kicking. Most of the time Seraphina or He that eats posts would end up kicking each other's shins, or Kimishiro's stomach or shins(he was goalie). One time Seraphina ended up giving He that eats posts a good, hard kick in the crotch, which resulted in two minutes of hollering and a lot of horrible pain.
All in all, they had a great time. By the time they had to leave the sun was setting romantically. The couple smiled to themselves as Kimi drove away, and stopped in front of Seraphina's house.'
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Seraphina said sadly. Before she could climb out of the car, He that eats posts kissed her cheek again, and hugged her. Seraphina remembered to kiss him back, and as they all drove away, Seraphina stood waving, until they disappeared.
She walked inside, feeling as if she were the queen of the universe, or the luckiest girl on earth. Little did she know about the difficult ordeal she would have to endure, and that it would hurt herself, and the ones close to her.
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:47:38 GMT -5
Ohhhh f..........uggy nuggets.
I forgot about the filter. -.-
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 18:53:36 GMT -5
CHAPTER 9: The Big Test
Today was the day that Seraphina and Erika would try out for the chorus. The two girls were really excited, none more than Seraphina who literally couldn't sleep. She woke up at 3 am, couldn't fall back asleep, and just looked up at the ceiling until sunrise. So naturally, when she limped down the stairs as usual to get breakfast, she looked like a zombie.
"Sera, what happened? Did you get any sleep?" her mother worriedly asked, staring in horror at Seraphina, the dark circles under her eyes, and the terrifying paleness of her face. Seraphina shrugged as she took a swig of fresh orange juice.
"I didn't, but who cares? I'm gonna land that spot, and I hope Erika does the same," Seraphina cooly responded. Then, she finished her breakfast quickly, put on a sea-green turtleneck with blue jeans, and strided proudly all the way to school, amazingly without any contact with Kelly or Rachel.
She met Erika and Elliot at the main entrance, which wasn't open yet because it was too early for school to start. Erika looked the exact same way as Seraphina did, only not as extreme. She caught more sleep than her best friend did. Seraphina kissed Elliot on the cheek and hugged Erika. "You didn't get any sleep either, did you?"
"Nope. I was too busy worrying about today." The main entrance doors swung ajar, letting all the kids enter in one mass crowd. Elliot, Erika, and Seraphina were almost squashed flat, but were safe once they entered the classroom. Or, at least, they thought they were. It seems like no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't avoid the impending wrath of....the POP QUIZ.
******
Turns out that Erika failed, and so would have Seraphina had it not been for her unusually high IQ and memory. Elliot passed as well. The two exchanged sympathy with Erika. "Erika, I think we should sleep well next time!" Seraphina laughed. The other two joined along, and Elliot left for home once they were dismissed. Erika and Seraphina walked to the auditorium together, hoping desperately that they would be picked.
In front of the stage, there was about a thousand seats, two rows occupied with kids of all ages. Seraphina and Erika sat down next to a black girl with long hair that looked like she got enough sleep. "You're not nervous?" Erika asked. The girl shook her head, then turned around to face the girls.
"You two sure look like you are. What's your names?" she asked in a soft, timid voice.
"I'm Erika, and this is Seraphina," Erika introduced. Seraphina waved and smiled. The girl introduced herself as well.
"I'm Aimee Mercado," she said, in her quiet, hushed voice. A lady, about in her mid-30's and wearing a blue frilly dress, stood up to the podium on stage. She took out a pencil and tapped on the podium with it, settling everyone down. One by one she took attendance, then began with the auditions.
The lady called the first person up, and led him to a room backstage. Everyone heard some faint singing, and 10 minutes later, the boy came out, with a wide grin on his face and a permission slip clutched in his shaky, sweaty hands. The routine continued, having one of two results: smiles and permission slips, or frowns and empty hands. Erika came out with her hands behind her back, and a disappointed look on her tired face, which conerned Seraphina. "What's wrong? You didn't make it in?"
Erika suddenly thrust a piece of paper into Seraphina's face. "What? Did you think that I wouldn't?" Seraphina pushed back the paper and laughed. Aimee was called up, and she waved goodbye to her friends.
"Wish me luck!" she said, her two new friends giving her broad grins and two thumbs up. Aimee climbed onto the stage, walked backstage and into the auditioning room. They didn't hear about her until 5 minutes later, when she walked out with her head high. In her hands was yet another one of those permission slips.
"I made it in!" she exclaimed, Erika and Seraphina embracing her in one big, warm group hug. The two laughed and chatted about life, love, and everything in between until the lady called out Seraphina's name.
Seraphina suddenly got a serious case of the shivers, until Erika and Aimee soothed them with another hug. Seraphina suddenly felt a lot more confident, and felt even better when she remembered how well she sang at her house. So with her strong hopes and her golden throat, Seraphina jumped upon the stage and walked behind the curtains, where the lady awaited her. She opened the door to the auditioning room and let Seraphina in.
Inside the white room, there was just a single long table, with three people sitting behind it. One man was in his early 40's and had an ironic Simon-like appearance. There was a strawberry-blonde-haired young woman with a dark red dress on, and heavily makeupped eyes. The attendance lady was the last person, and pulled out a clipboard. The others followed suit.
"Seraphina, my name is Mrs. Ryder. These two are Mr. Taylor and Ms. Johnson. I will be your chorus instructor, should you make it into the chorus. Mr. Taylor is my supervisor, and Ms. Johnson is my assistant. Now, with that settled, let's see what you've got."
Seraphina's legs turned into gelatin, and her mouth was glued together. She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head.
"Come on, dear, don't be afraid. We don't bite," Mrs. Ryder said, smiling acceptingly. Seraphina felt better again, and her mouth loosened. She opened her mouth and the familiar, soft, sweet notes soared out. The lyrics to I'm With You slowly formed, and the three judges were in awe. Seraphina finished her piece, ready to be evaluated.
"Sera, we have one thing to say to you. Please don't take it so hard." Mr. Taylor looked at Seraphina with mock disappointment on his face. Seraphina almost flipped out, and was about to be hit by an apology and a 'try again next year', when Mr. Taylor suddenly changed his frown to a smile.
"Why didn't we audition you before?! You would have made a great soprano!!!" he exclaimed. Seraphina cheered and danced around, when Ms. Johnson calmed her down and gave her a permission slip.
"Get this signed by your parents, honey. It's to let your parents know that you'll be staying after school on Mondays and Wednesdays." Seraphina thanked them and left the room. Aimee and Erika were playing a clapping game when Seraphina proudly showed them the permission slip.
Aimee and Erika clapped, then realized that they had to leave. Waving goodbye to Aimee, Erika and Seraphina walked over to Kimi's shiny, blue car. Kimi lowered the window to speak to the two girls.
"How did it go?" he asked, anxious for the results.
"Does 'please sign here' answer your question?" Erika responded, Seraphina showing him the permission slips. Kimi laughed and opened the doors to the car, giving the girls a hug once they were inside. He drove them to Seraphina's house, opened the door to the house, and led them in. But before they could set one foot into the house, he covered both of their eyes and said:
"I have a surprise for you. Come on in." He guided them to the living room and onto the couch, where he finally let them see. Laying there were two silver charm bracelets with little charms shaped like musical notes.
"I got these for you. Go on, try them on," he said, but of course, the two were way ahead of him. Seraphina put it over her right wrist, while Erika slipped it onto her left. They kissed and hugged Kimi as a way of showing thanks, then proceeded to eat dinner.
After dinner, Erika grew unusually sleepy, and laid herself over a sofa. "I'll take a little snooze...." She dozed off almost instantaneously. Kimi chuckled, and put an arm around a yawning Seraphina.
"You sleepy too?" he asked.
"No, I'm just yawning." Seraphina put her head on Kimi's lap, as he ran his fingers through her hair affectionately.
"I saw you the other day, Sera."
"You did?" Seraphina was a tad worried, but didn't think that Kimishiro would land her in trouble.
"Yeah. If you ask me, you and Elliot make a really cute couple," he told her. Seraphina smiled faintly, and yawned again. The two were bored, and needed something to pass the time.
"Wanna play video games? I play a mean Super Smash Brothers," Seraphina challenged, getting up from the sofa.
"You're on, Sera! Nothing gets past me and Shiek!" Kimi accepted. They raced up to her room, where they plugged in the Gamecube and everything. They played for a long time, Kimi keeping track of the time. It was finally time to leave, and by then, Erika had woken up and been writing some poems. Kimishiro hugged Seraphina and said goodbye to her. Erika said goodbye to her friend as well, but didn't go outside with Kimi just yet.
"Seraphina, think I'll find someone special?" Erika asked, a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Of course you will. There's someone out there for everyone, and God makes sure they find each other." Seraphina felt a lot more positive ever since she and Elliot were a couple. Erika hugged Seraphina again and left with Kimishiro.
Seraphina's heart suddenly felt all tingly. She hadn't said anything so reassuring to someone in quite some time. So putting away her Gamecube, she put on her pajamas and went to bed, feeling like a whole new girl. She was no longer the grouchy, depressed Seraphina she was before. Seraphina Elin Lindgren was a completely makeovered person now....
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:34:06 GMT -5
CHAPTER 10: Libido
~Now, I'd like to warn people that things get PG-13 rated from this point on, so if you can't handle it, don't read on! Of course, content is not TOO explicit, it's just bad enough to make it PG-13 rated.~
You have been warned. ==========================================================
Blissful weeks past, between Elliot, chorus, and her budding friendship with Aimee, life was paradise for Seraphina. One fateful day, however, would take away some of that happiness....
Seraphina woke up with a feeling that something would happen today that would change her life....but for now, she felt that its effects would be positive. Drinking her morning coffee and getting ready for school, she waved goodbye to her mother, and ate her breakfast. With that, she left the house, her backpack pounding against her back with each stride.
She saw Aimee and Erika up ahead, but when she tried to catch up with them, she suddenly tripped and fell flat on her face. What's worse, she fell hard to the floor. Any harder and the next place she'd be would be in the hospital.
To her right, Kelly and Rachel were howling with laughter, pointing at her face. Her cheeks and nose had little bits of blood on them from minor scrapes. Seraphina got up and dusted herself off, muttering, "Bitches...". She didn't even noticed that her face was covered in tiny specks of blood until she brought a hand to her cheek.
"Aw, crap," she said to herself, trying to wipe off the blood. She caught up to Erika and Aimee, who looked at her in shock.
"What happened?" Aimee innocently asked.
"Kell and Rach decided to play a trick on me," she explained, still trying to remove the blood completely, but her wounds leaked more. Erika helped as well, taking out a hankerchief and rubbing it against Seraphina's nose. They came to school just before the bell rang, earning stares and snickers from the entire classroom. The teacher was horrified.
"Sera, what happ-"
"Don't ask." Seraphina sat down, little streaks of blood still on her face. The teacher gave her a hall pass and permitted Seraphina to go to the nurse. The nurse washed off all the blood, cleaned her wounds, and returned to the classroom, where the teacher was putting up notes. Elliot poked her, signaling for her attention.
"What was with the blood?" he asked.
"Kelly and Rachel made me fall and I scraped my face," she answered. The teacher told them to be quiet, and Seraphina got out her notebook, copying down the notes as quickly as possible.
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School ended, with Erika, Aimee, and Seraphina heading downstairs for chorus rehearsal, only to find out that it had been cancelled thanks to a teacher's meeting. Erika had to stay anyway because she had received detention for talking too much. She had recently been trying to hook up with a guy, so she was chatting about to any cute boy she found.
Obviously Kimishiro didn't know that chorus practice was cancelled, because his car wasn't outside when she left the building. However, Elliot was outside, leaning against the bus stop sign.
"Hey, Sera," he called. Seraphina ran up to him and kissed him. "Kimi's not here. Can I walk you home?"
"Sure," Sera replied, grabbing his hand. Elliot's fingers interlaced with hers, as they strolled to Seraphina's house while chatting. They got there, and Seraphina opened the door. "Can you come in?"
"Yep. I asked mum the other night, and she said yes," Elliot said, walking in with Seraphina. They both went up to her room, where they sat on her bed and began to talk about school and other random things.
Then, Elliot's conversations became a little more intimate. "Seraphina, ever felt like we could be a little closer to each other?" His hands creeped up to her blouse, where he unbuttoned one button. Seraphina immediately swatted his hand away.
"Hell no." Seraphina was outraged. Elliot was taken aback, but soon made another move.
"But Sera, if we do, our love could be so much stronger....what do you say?" Sera had never been in love before, so she didn't want Elliot to leave her. Her mind disposed of Kimi's advice, and she nodded. Elliot smiled sweetly, and proceeded to take off Seraphina's blouse.
By now, Kimi had picked up Erika and was on his way to Seraphina's house. Elliot was in the process of taking off Seraphina's bra when he opened the door. He was so shocked that he almost dropped the grocery bag he was holding. Erika was speechless; her hands were covering her mouth.
Kimishiro's shock quickly boiled into rage. "YOU GET YOUR DIRTY PAWS OFF HER, YOU BASTARD!!!"
Elliot jumped, and let go of her bra. Seraphina's mind suddenly recalled all of Kimi's words, and in a flash, she put her bra back on. Elliot grabbed his stuff quickly and ran down the stairs, Kimi chasing after him. He burst through the door, running off towards his house. Kimi walked back up the stairs, huffing and puffing, and laying down on Seraphina's bed to rest.
When he finally regained his strength, Kimishiro looked at Seraphina with a look that was a mix of sadness and disappointment. "Sera, how could you?"
Seraphina was ashamed of herself as well, slipping her blouse back on. "I'm sorry, Kimi! He got the better of me!"
"Sera, you can't let him do that. You can't let Elliot's libido trick you into having relations with him. We talked about this." Erika still hadn't spoken. She felt like now was not a good time to.
"It's easier said than done, Kimi!" Seraphina protested.
"I know, Sera. That's why we're better safe than sorry. Dump Elliot. You have to." Kimi's face was dead serious now, taking the role of a mom having a heart-to-heart with her daughter.
"Do I have to? Maybe if we just give him a chance..."
Erika finally saw her entrance. "Seraphina, if you don't get rid of Elliot, I'll stop being your best friend."
Seraphina was on the verge of tears, and bit her lip when she heard Erika's threat. "Argh....I don't know...."
"Don't think I'm not serious, Sera!"
Seraphina decided, right then and there, that Erika and Kimi meant a lot more to her than some English blondie pretty-boy ever did. "Alright, I'll dump him tomorrow."
Erika hugged her best friend tightly. "Good choice, Sera." Kimi joined in, and grabbed his grocery bag. He went downstairs to cook dinner, which took almost 3 hours this time. It was because he was trying out a new recipe.
"Girls, dinner's ready!" he called. Seraphina and Erika rushed down; they smelled shrimp, lemon, and rice. "It's ceviche de camaron, a recipe I found in the good ol' Itoshigo family cookbook."
Seraphina loved seafood, and this was no exception. She scooped up some shrimp along with some rice, chopped green peppers and onions, and shoved it in her mouth. Chewing the food, she mumbled, "This stuff tastes great!"
Kimishiro smiled. "Glad you like it, Sera."
After that, they shared the last hour together reading poems and showing off some new art. Before their departure, Kimi decided to bring up the earlier topic.
"Promise me you'll never do that again, Sera. Promise me you'll never let a man take advantage of your heart to satisfy his own sexual needs."
"I promise, Kimi," she said, hugging him again. Kimi smiled again, knowing that Seraphina would indeed keep that promise. Erika smiled too; today she learned that Seraphina was a true friend, one who would never sacrifice their friendship for anything. So when they finally left, Seraphina didn't feel so ashamed anymore.
Tomorrow she would dump Elliot. However, the thought did put a knife through her heart. Elliot was her first love, and she didn't want to get rid of him so fast. But then she remembered her promise to Erika, and knew that friendship came first. Besides, a man like him wasn't worth keeping. He was too dangerous.
Seraphina's prediction was right, but not completely. The change was pretty negative, but later she would find that it was a positive change after all.....
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:36:30 GMT -5
CHAPTER 11: Betrayal
After dumping Elliot, Seraphina felt a lot better. She woke up really early and popped a Hot Pocket into the microwave. By the time it was ready, Seraphina's mom had woken up and started to make breakfast. Seraphina chewed on her bacon-and-egg flavored Hot Pocket while her mother set a bowl of oatmeal on the table. Seraphina ate that too, and ran out of the house to meet Erika before she could meet Kelly and Rachel.
Luckily, she did, but unfortunately she saw something that really dampened her spirit. Erika was laughing and skipping to school, arm in arm with Elliot, who would plant a kiss on her cheek every five seconds. Seraphina was devastated. Why would Erika do this to her? She decided to get to the bottom of this.
Tapping Erika on the soulder, she asked, "What's the meaning of this?"
"Well, after you dumped Elliot, he came up to me and told me that he was taking therapy to control his libido, and then....well...he kissed me and told me I was the most beautiful thing on the planet...." Erika trailed off after Elliot gave her another kiss, this time on her forehead.
"Sera....if it's okay....can we still be friends?" the couple simultaneously asked. Sera was about to shout at them, unleashing her unforgiving fury, but instead, tears pooled in her eyes, so she had to run to school to hide it from them. Ignoring any snide comments once she was inside, she wiped the tears from her eyes before entering her classroom.
"I can't believe she'd do this to me.....after all I've gone through....and even after everything Elliot's done...." These thoughts kept spinning in her head, and it was so distracting that it interfered with her intelligence and attentiveness, and caused her to fail her history test.
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Seraphina sat at least 6 tables away from Erika and Elliot, who sat together at a table that was right next to the window. Aimee joined Seraphina, a sandwich grasped tightly in her hand. "What's wrong, Sera?"
Seraphina didn't reply, but instead pointed to Erika and Elliot's table. Aimee looked at them with shock, then looked at Seraphina with a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I think Erika's being a slut."
Seraphina DID feel a little better, and had a little smile on to prove it. Of course, that smile turned into a scowl when Rachel 'accidentally' spilled some milk over her shirt. "Oops. Clumsy me." She had a faux-apologetic expression on her face as Seraphina tried to clean off the milk.
To add salt to her wound, Kelly came up behind her and said, "So, I hear that friend of yours is with Elliot. How do ya feel?" Seraphina, in anger, took the empty milk carton Rachel dropped and threw it at her. The little milk left in there splattered all over Kelly's face, and the carton itself left a small bruise on her forehead. Kelly growled, but lined up to leave the cafeteria as soon as the bell rang. Seraphina lined up as well, and went to the bathroom to finish cleaning off the milk.
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Once Seraphina was safely inside math class, there was an announcement on the P.A. "May I have your attention please?" Everyone sat down, and listened to the intercom. "Next Friday will be the annual prom. Make sure to buy that perfect outfit, and get that perfect date in time! That is all." Instant murmuring among the students took place, and the teacher took a good three minutes trying to quiet them. Elliot winked in Erika's direction, and she smiled and blushed. Seraphina sighed heavily and sank her head under her crossed arms.
"Stupid prom," Seraphina kept muttering to herself as she walked home by herself. "I hate proms." Normally, if she were still with Elliot, she would have enjoyed the prom, mainly because she'd have someone to go with, but not this time. She walked a lot slower than usual; the less she saw Erika, the better. Seraphina knocked on the door, and Kimishiro rushed to it. When he opened the door, he was extremely worried.
"Sera! I was afraid Elliot had done something to you!" Kimi let her into the house. Seraphina shot a dirty look towards Erika, who was taken aback first but then scowled back. Kimishiro apparently didn't notice, because he sat down next to Seraphina and said, "I heard about the prom. I called your mothers, and we're gonna help pick out your dresses. Anyway, let's eat!"
The two girls walked to the table, taking different paths. On the table were three plates of pasta. Seraphina sat at one end, while Erika sat at the opposite end. "You girls are dead." Kimishiro sat down last and enthusiastically ate his pasta. "So you got dates yet?"
"Nope," was their unanimous answer, and they continued to eat their pasta. Kimi got up to use the bathroom after he finished eating, and once he closed the door, Seraphina had a go at Erika.
"You idiotic *****. You fall that easily for that bastard?" Seraphina insulted through a mouthful of pasta. The tablecloth was sprayed with sauce and pieces of chewed-up ziti.
"Everyone deserves a second chance, Sera," Erika calmly said, trying her best not to lose her cool. "You know that as well as anyone." She finished her pasta and placed the plate in the sink.
Seraphina finished hers, and threw the plate there as well, just in time for Kimi's return. "So who's up for a few rounds of Super Smashing?" The girls put on fake smiles as they followed Kimi upstairs. While Kimi's backs were turned, they exchanged mouthed insults and more dirty looks. While playing Super Smash Bros. Melee, they beat the harajuku out of each other, and poor Kimi was practically slaughtered in between their brawls.
"Wow, you girls sure felt pretty aggressive today. I haven't had my *** kicked that bad in a long time." It was time to go. Kimi turned off the Gamecube and the TV, and gathered his things. Erika grabbed hers. Kimishiro kissed Seraphina goodbye; Seraphina hugged him back. But she didn't say goodbye to Erika. The two left, finally leaving Seraphina alone and in peace. She walked back to her room, and just lay on her bed, all sprawled out.
Then, she started to cry. She cried and cried. She cried while she put on her cozy pajamas. She cried while she covered her body with her covers. She cried with her face crammed into her pillow. Seraphina cried herself to sleep.
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:37:42 GMT -5
CHAPTER 12: Flying Solo
The days passed by quicker than anyone could realize it. Still, Seraphina couldn't find a date in time. Everyone she asked either wasn't interested or had someone already. Erika and Elliot were giving her the silent treatment, so all Seraphina had at the moment was Aimee and Kimi.
Although she didn't get a date, Seraphina probably had the most beautiful dress out of the group. It was made of soft, smooth silk, and was the color of the deepest, clearest ocean. The sleeveless gown was almost mermaidlike, and the hem was decorated with many sparkling jewels. Matching jewelry was also obtained, with shimmering aquamarines, shiny sapphires, and twinkling turquoises. This was probably the only thing Seraphina liked about the prom.
Erika's, however, looked more Cinderella-esque, or even royal-looking. It was made of purple velvet, and had silver trimming. The accompaning jewelry was made of gold, amethysts, and other crystals. She, like Seraphina, was proud to wear her dress. --------------------------------------------------------------------
The school day, unlike all the other days, trudged by unbearably slowly. The students were itching to get down to the auditorium in their outfits and meet their dates. Seraphina didn't care; in fact, she wanted the school day to last forever. Unfortunately for her and fortunately for the other students, the final bell of the day rang, causing the students to swarm through classroom doors automatically. Erika met Elliot by the door, and they kissed each other and talked for a few minutes before saying goodbye. Seraphina took a different road home this time, a longer road, but it was worth the extra walking. At least she didn't have to see Erika.
When she finally came home, Erika was inside, trying on her gown. Kimishiro was helping her with the jewelry or anything she couldn't reach. "It's perfect!" Erika exclaimed as she gazed into the mirror admiringly. Kimishiro smiled, then noticed that Seraphina came home.
"There you are, Sera. You came home a little earlier than usual, but you're still late. Come on, we'll try on your gown next." Kimi went upstairs, and came back a minute later with Seraphina's marvelous gown. Seraphina beamed at it, and couldn't wait to try it on. Kimi turned away as Seraphina undressed and put on the dress. Then, Kimi turned around and helped her zip up the back. Seraphina put on the final touches, the jewelry, and went to look in the mirror.
"It's so beautiful!" Seraphina beamed, twirling around and examining every inch of the dress. She went to sit down on a couch adjacent to Erika, because the two were still at war. Kimi summoned them to Seraphina's room, where he had the Gamecube set up with Super Smash Bros. Melee inside. The girls picked up controllers and slaughtered Kimi worse than last time.
"Ouch." After 2 hours or so, it was time to go to the prom. They helped Kimi put away the Gamecube, and put on their high heels: Seraphina's only went up about an inch, because she despised high heels, and Erika's went up two inches or so. Someone was at the door; they heard the doorbell ring three times. Kimi opened the door to the chauffeur of the limo he had hired to take the girls, and Erika squealed. Seraphina squealed, too, but it was a fake squeal. Inside, she was groaning because she really didn't want to go to the prom.
The girls entered the limo and said goodbye to Kimi. "Remember girls, have fun and don't let Elliot get his hands on you! I'll come pick you up at around a quarter to 11." Erika stopped him before he left.
"I'm riding home with my date," she told him. Seraphina was a tad suspicious now.
"Alright, Erika," Kimi said, kissing them both goodbye and closing the limo door. The limo set off to its destination. There was no interaction during the ride, although Erika was tempted to say something mean to Seraphina. They got out of the limo through different doors, tipped the chauffeur, and entered the school. Over the front door was a huge banner, with the color scheme of the school colors. It said 'KELMIE TOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL JUNIOR PROM' in big, bold, golden letters. Erika walked inside first, where she was greeted by Elliot. Seraphina went inside and gasped in horror.
EVERYONE had a date. Kelly and Rachel somehow ended up with guys; really ugly guys, but still guys. Even Aimee came to the prom, all spruced up, with Damien Phillips, one of the cutest guys in school. Seraphina continued to walk in, very somberly, and went straight to the punch bowl to avoid human contact. Of course, she couldn't avoid it, and pretty soon Rachel got thirsty and walked up to the punch bowl where Seraphina was.
"Normally I'd say something mean right now, but I feel way too sorry for you to say anything nasty." Seraphina was about to believe that before Aimee stopped dancing with Damien to defend her.
"Is this your idea of a joke? I KNOW you're not gonna be nice to Sera," she said protectively. Seraphina pushed her aside and talked to Rachel by herself.
"Since when are you being nice to me?" she asked, but a lot nicer than Aimee.
"Well, Kel's been acting kinda bitchy lately, and that's when I noticed how bad you've been suffering all this time."
Seraphina gritted her teeth. "About time, too."
"So if you can find some apology in your heart for me, I'd appreciate it." Seraphina looked at Rachel's face. She looked genuinely sincere, and Seraphina remembered one of her rules of thumb: Give people a second chance if you feel that they truly deserve it. Rachel extended her hand and awaited a reply.
"Alright, but one nasty move and you can forget about being friends," Seraphina said, shaking Rachel's outstretched hand. For now, Seraphina went into the courtyard, where a fountain was recently installed. It was a statue of a mermaid sitting on a clamshell, and two dolphins at her side. The dolphins each spat out a jet of water. Seraphina sat at the fountain's edge, when siddenly she caught a glimpse of a purple blue. It was Erika, who was running around the courtyard with Elliot, who wore a midnight blue tux.
"Well, Erika, whaddya say we make out?" Elliot asked, grasping Erika's hand. She turned away shyly and shook her head.
"No, but we can kiss." Elliot pinned her up against a nearby oak tree, like how he did with Seraphina several weeks ago in the cherry blossom park. Then, the two kissed each other, which brought tears to Seraphina's eyes.
"It's not fair. Why do I always have to end up like this?" she whispered to herself. Seraphina knelt down and rested her head on the wet, hard, cold marble. She cried some more, and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful ebony color, and thousands of stars glimmered like diamonds. The night was breathtaking, Seraphina had to admit. She also enjoyed staring at the fountain. She ran her hands through the pool of fountain water and thought to herself, "It's not THAT bad. Remember my own words of wisdom: there's someone out there for everyone, and God makes sure that they find each other."
"Besides, it's a lot better being an independent woman, I'll admit." Seraphina wiped away her tears and smiled. She walked back inside, just before the current song ended. Just as she sat down on a chair, the lights were dimmed to set the mood for the next song. It was one she knew. Although she didn't tell anyone, Seraphina's nationality was Swedish/Finnish/Spanish-American. On one of her trips to Finland with her dad, Seraphina listened to Nightwish. She rushed to get all of their CDs, and one of them was Once. Once had a song that was one of her favorites: Kuolema Tekke Taitelijan. And that was the song they were playing, which astounded Seraphina. Nightwish wasn't very popular in the US, much less in Kelmie Town where it was unknown to anyone except her.
Seraphina closed her eyes and envisioned a pure white castle. It was practically deserted except for two people. One of them was Seraphina herself, dressed in her beautiful gown. The other was a boy, with long black hair, crystal blue eyes that looked like clear ice, and wearing a silver tuxedo with a matching cape. The two slow-danced the night away to the music, until Seraphina's watch interrupted the fantasy with its monotonous beep. It was 10:45, and Seraphina left the building. Outside was Kimi, just as he promised, in his blue car. He opened the door for her and she climbed in. Before Kimi drove off, Seraphina caught a glimpse of Elliot and Erika leaving together.
Something was up, but Seraphina doubted it. "So did you have fun?" Kimi asked.
"Yeah, of course," Seraphina answered positively. She fiddled with a ring on her finger that Kimi had given to her. It was 14-karat gold and had a big sapphire on it, with three smaller diamonds each next to both sides of it. It was really very magnificent to look at. Kimi pulled up at her house, and dropped her off.
"G'night, Sera, and sweet dreams!" Kimi called, and drove away after waving goodbye. Seraphina entered her house and took off her gown. She put it away and put on her comfy blue pajamas.
"In a way, flying solo is fun. And even so, I've got Aimee and now Rachel to lift me up if I start to fall." Seraphina brushed her teeth and climbed into bed, feeling a lot better than she had felt when the day began. Nothing could bring her down now. Well, at least for tonight.
NOTES:
By the way guys....inform me of any typos I may have made ^.^
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:43:03 GMT -5
CHAPTER 13: Elliot Strikes Again
Seraphina was still thinking about Erika, even at breakfast. It seemed as if she wanted to be friends again. She was scared that Elliot might have done something to her. When Erika left with Elliot last night, Seraphina was very suspicious. Why didn't Erika let Kimi ride her home? Would have saved her energy.
So when Seraphina finished eating, and said goodbye to her mother, she walked really quickly to find Erika, and to apologize, and to ask what had happened. Instead, she ran into Rachel, whom greeted her with a hug and some kind consolement.
"Hope you didn't feel TOO bad about last night," she said. "Anyway, we have to properly introduce ourselves." Rachel extended a hand. "Hi, my name's Rachel Drake.And you are.....?"
"Seraphina Tamarajii. Pleased to meet you," Seraphina answered. She walked to school with Rachel, chatting about music and schoolwork and other things girls usually talk about. Kelly walked by, shooting a dirty look at Rachel, who shot a countering dirty look and flipped the bird in her direction. They continued walking and talking, until they arrived at school early.
The halls were still a mess from last night, and the janitors were still cleaning up. Seraphina and Rachel walked into their classroom together, and talked and laughed together until everyone else came in. Seraphina watched Erika walk in, with a somber face. Elliot walked in looking the exact opposite: with his head high and looking mighty proud. On her way to her desk, Erika tapped Seraphina's shoulder and whispered into her ear. "Meet me after school. There's something I have to tell you."
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The last bell of the day rang, and the students all swarmed out of the classrooms. The halls were always a mosh pit in the morning, before and after lunch, and after school. Seraphina put away her things in her locker and ran outside to meet Erika.
After most of the crowd cleared, she found Erika leaning on the lone oak tree that stands on the corner. She was slouched over and looked as if she was crying. Erika spotted Seraphina and beckoned her near. "What's wrong?" Seraphina asked, feeling a lot more sympathetic.
Erika burst into more tears and threw her arms around Seraphina. "I'm so sorry, Sera! I've been a total idiot and a ***** to you! I know you wouldn't do the same!" Seraphina accepted the hug and gave her several pats on the back.
Erika's sobs were muffled as she buried her face into Seraphina's shoulder area. "I made the most horrible mistake in the world in leaving with Elliot!" Seraphina let out a small gasp. She had a feeling this was what happened last night.
"Sera, I slept with Elliot!" Erika admitted, now wailing with guilt and sadness. Seraphina gasped again. She was right.
"Did you at least use protection?" Seraphina asked with a very worried look on her face.
"I didn't! Now I'm afraid I'm pregnant or have some sort of STD!" Now Seraphina had joined in with the crying. Then, she decided to take action.
"I have some money on me right now. We'll rush into the pharmacy and buy a pregnancy test." Seraphina pulled out a 10-dollar bill from her pocket. Erika pulled out her money and stopped crying. She hugged Seraphina again.
"Thanks, Sera. You're the best friend in the world. I'm sorry. I'll help pay." Erika and Seraphina ran all the way to the pharmacy shop around the block, and walked in. They grabbed a pregnancy tester from the shelf and paid for it. The storeclerk gave them a raised eyebrow as she handed them their change and their receipt, but the two didn't care right now.
Erika hid the pregnancy tester in her backpack, and the two girls ran as fast as their long legs could carry them all the way to Kimi's house. They knocked on the door, only to be greeted by a very disappointed Kimi. "Where in the world WERE you girls?" he asked, hugging both of them. The two made up some random excuse, before they rushed into Seraphina's room.
"What if I test positive?" Erika panicked. Seraphina took out the pregnancy tester and gave her friend a pat on the back to reassure her. Erika started to cry again, but she walked into the bathroom with the most optimism as she could muster. A few minutes later, Erika walked out with a teensy smile on her face. She held up the tester and said, "Negative!"
"Really? Well, at least we know you're not pregnant. It's not 100% sure, but I'll settle for 99%." Seraphina hugged her friend, who now wore the biggest grin on her face. Seraphina truly was a best friend, and ordeal #2 proved that yet again. "Do you know how lucky you are?"
"I know. I can't thank you enough, Sera." They stopped hugging, in order to talk some more.
"Promise me something, Erika. Dump Elliot. We know he's WAY too dangerous for both of us. That therapy excuse was a load of bull****."
Erika nodded. "I will. From now on, I'll never let ANYTHING stand in the way of our friendship, or our futures."
"Promise me something else. Until you get married, or can support yourself, DO NOT let a guy stick his penis in your vagina. EVER."
Erika held up her hand and nodded again, and they finished their promises just in time for dinner. ---------------------------
With all amends made, the two girls slept with a lighter heart. Seraphina felt a lot better, as did Erika. They knew that they couldn't stick with Elliot any longer, for fear of wrecking their promising future. But only heaven knows what REALLY lies ahead for the girls....
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:44:45 GMT -5
CHAPTER 14: Sold Out Concert
~ANOTHER IFFY CHAPTER. WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOMEWHAT-YEAH-REALLY EXPLICIT MATERIAL. READ AT THY OWN RISK![/b]~
Days turned into weeks, and pretty soon, Jack Frost arrived in Kelmie Town, and covered it with a nice, fresh coat of soft, powdery snow. Christmas was right around the corner. Holiday spirit seemed to be at its strongest. Even Seraphina felt a little bit happier. She was really getting into the spirit.
"Walking this Christmas, down Santa Claus Lane...." she sang merrily as she draped tinsel around the giant Christmas tree her dad had gotten for them. Seraphina also hoped that he would come over for Christmas. Her dad was always her favorite member of the family, since he always knew exactly how to make Seraphina's day. In fact, he was the only male besides Kimishiro whom Seraphina liked.
"No need to wonder, no need to worry..." she kept singing, even though she hated Hilary Duff and all her songs. Santa Claus Lane was one of the songs she was performing, and what made it even more nerve-wracking was the fact that she was singing it solo. Kimi and Erika helped with the tree, too, but they weren't too good at making the Christmas tree look good. No wonder, because they each brought their own set of decorations. Apparently Erika liked things a little more colorful than Kimi, who preferred classic, traditional Christmas colors, and Seraphina, who loved crystal.
It didn't matter. The Christmas tree looked great anyway. Kimishiro carried in the ladder to add the finishing touch. Seraphina had the honor of placing the star on top of the tree. She carefully climbed up the ladder, and gently placed said star on top, then climbed down. Kimi turned off all the lights and plugged in an electrical cord. Suddenly, the shining star on top of the tree turned on, spreading its brilliant white light across the room. It was accompanied by smaller, more colorful lights.
"It's beautiful," Erika marveled, gazing dreamily at the tree. She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of pine. They left the tree lights on for a few seconds before Kimi flipped the light switch on and unplugged the tree lights. He walked over to the kitchen, where he pulled out a box of hot chocolate from the cupboard. Kimi took out three packages, grabbed three mugs and a kettle, ripped the packages open, and poured the chocolate mix inside the mugs.
"I think we earned ourselves a nice mug of hot chocolate," Kimi said to the girls, who watched eagerly as Kimi poured milk into the kettle and put it on top of the stove. They passed the time by talking about stuff. Pretty soon, the kettle started to whistle. Kimi and the girls came back to the kitchen, to have their hot chocolate.
They carried it over to the living room, blowing on it to cool it down a little bit. Kimi took a sip and said, "You girls are singing this Friday, aren't you?"
"Yeah, and I'm singing solo," Seraphina answered. She gulped down some chocolate, and wiped off some of it with her sleeve.
"I'd do a solo, but I'm too nervous to sing alone," Erika laughed. "So instead, I'm singing with Aimee." She tried to drink some hot chocolate, but she burned her tongue and spilled some. They all laughed together while Kimi grabbed a tablecloth to clean it up.
Five days later....
Today was the day. 6:30 P.M., the girls would sing an assortment of Christmas songs for whomever paid $2 for tickets. It turns out the show was very popular. Almost the while school bought tickets, and there wasn't going to be enough seats for everyone to sit inSo they had to sit on the floor or bring chairs.
Seraphina sat with all her friends at lunch, discussing the show. "Aimee, you're singing a duet with Erika, right?" she asked through a mouthful of pizza. Aimee nodded in agreement, after washing down her bite of pizza with some milk.
"Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas'. At least we're not singing solo. It must be frightening." Aimee looked at her silver-haired friend, smiling to comfort her. Seraphina smiled back. "What song you singing, anyway?"
"'Santa Claus Lane' by Hilary Duff. Bleargh, and I don't even like Hilary! The holiday spirit's getting to me!" Seraphina laughed. The other girls joined in with her laughter, until Elliot walked past, wearing a smug grin and holding a girl's arm.
"Oh, it's Elliot and his new ho," Erika said aloud. The girl turned out to be bad-girl Kelly, who pushed Erika's head forward.
"You got a problem with my new man?" she haughtily asked. Kelly French-kissed Elliot in front of the four girls, which caused Rachel to lose her temper. Seraphina, however, politely got up to use the bathroom, not wanting to see what would happen next.
"No, but I got a problem with you Frenching him in front of us!" Rachel snarled. "Go take your very *friendly* persontiness somewhere else!" She flashed the middle finger in front of their faces.
"Hrmph. I will." Elliot and Kelly stormed off in a huff, but still holding hands. Rachel and the others just ate their lunch as if nothing had happened. Kelly led Elliot into the girls' bathroom, where Seraphina sat inside one of the stalls quietly. Once she heard the door creak open and saw two different pairs of feet, she stood even more still and quiet.
"Don't listen to them, babe," she heard Elliot say quietly. Seraphina heard another door creak, this one to one of the bathroom stalls. From under her bathroom stall wall, she saw four feet walk in. Seraphina pressed her head against the back wall and looked through the small crack between the steel right wall and the tiled back wall. She could see Elliot and Kelly tongue-kissing, and soon she heard moaning and groaning. Seraphina kept watching the action, although it was awful to watch. Elliot began to take off Kelly's shirt, then Kelly's bra, and then Kelly's tight jeans. Kelly pulled down the zipper on Elliot's jeans, and from there they unclothed each other.
Seraphina only got to see a fraction of the two naked before she turned away. It was too much. But she couldn't leave. If she left, Kelly would know she was watching and she would beat Seraphina to a pulp. She covered her ears to avoid hearing the erotic moans, but she could hear them anyway. Finally, after a good 15-minute session, they stopped and put on their clothes again, and left. Seraphina breathed a sigh of relief once she heard the door slam shut. She walked out of the bathroom, knowing how much of a man-whore Elliot really was, and regretting ever falling in love with him.
But all this wouldn't be forgotten, even after the concert.....
*********
Seraphina got ready for the big night by fixing herself up with the makeup she bought. In just 30 minutes she'd go out on stage to perform. She, along with Aimee, Erika, and a group of other boys and girls, stood in front of a huge mirror that was in the costume room, putting on their makeup and accessories. Seraphina was in a beautiful, forest green dress that had little red, glowing beads circling the hem. She fixed up and straightened her layered, almost spikey hair and tied a matching bow around it.
"You look great, Seraphina," Ms. Ryder said as she walked into the costume room. The chorus instructor complemented a few more kids, before clapping her hands and announcing, "Okay, chorus? Are you ready to shine?"
The answer was a deafening, resounding, "YES!!!"
"Then let's get out there and knock everyone dead!" The whole chorus clapped and cheered, before walking onto the stage. Hundreds of people were yelling and screaming wildly until Ms. Ryder settled them down.
"Okay, okay. I know you're all excited. There's a good reason for that too. This chorus has worked hard to put together an exciting Christmas show for all of you. And here they are now!!" Ms. Ryder walked off stage, leaving the audience to cheer as the curtains went up. Seraphina grinned nervously, and looked at Aimee and Erika. The two girls gave her a reassuring look, calming Seraphina down.
The entire chorus belted out classics such "Jingle Bell Rock", "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", remixing some of them to give them a new sound. Then, it came time for Aimee and Erika's duet, "All I Want For Christmas"(which wasn't really a duet, but Erika doesn't like to sing alone). The two friends walked up to the mic, and began to sing the lyrics together beautifully. Seraphina beamed at her wonderful pals throughout their performance, and was cheering the loudest when they were done.
Then came Seraphina's turn. She nervously walked up to the microphone and waited for her cue. The piano began to play a few soft notes(they couldn't get an instrumental); Seraphina tapped her toes to the beat. When it came time, all of Seraphina's shyness melted away, the way her icy heart was thawed out by Kimi, Aimee, and Erika and at one point, Elliot. "I remember last Christmas Eve, something happened that I couldn't believe..." The crowd went wild, and that's because Seraphina's notes came out beautiful and on-key. She continued to work the stage, both the chorus and the crowd cheering for her. "Walking this Christmas, down Santa Claus lane, no need to wonder, no need to worry....."
"Just have some faith in what you see, you're right here where you wanna be, walking this Christmas, down Santa Claus Lane....." Seraphina repeated the last line a few times before the song ended. Ear-splitting applause and cheering followed, as Seraphina stepped back and bowed with her chorus.
"Great job, Sera!" Erika exclaimed, walking off the stage with her friend and throwing her arms around her. Aimee did the same, and the three girls walked over to the snack table to grab a cookie before they left.
"Hey, you weren't shabby yourself either, you two," Seraphina casually stated, returning the hug and retrieving the cookies, as well as a few cups of fruit punch. The three pals giggled all the way home, but the loudest giggles and the widest smile belonged to Seraphina.
For once, Seraphina felt proud of herself.
Others were proud of her, too.
Seraphina didn't care about Elliot that night. All she knew was that she made herself, as well as a whole crowd of people happy. Knowing this, Seraphina slept easy. And if all of her accomplishments wasn't enough, tomorrow was winter break!!
NOTES:
Santa Claus Lane lyrics aren't mine, they're whoever wrote the song... I'm gonna edit them later though, to something not mainstream and Duffish. x.x
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:52:21 GMT -5
CHAPTER 15: A Single Minute Is All It Takes
Winter took its toll on Kelmie Town, which was hit by a heavy snowstorm the day after the concert. The power went out last night, preventing Seraphina from playing her Gamecube. Instead, she took out a small reading lamp and read her favorite book until it was time to go to bed.
Even if it wasn't winter break, school would be closed anyway. A four-and-a-half inch thick layer of snow coated the streets, with shovelers out in the sidewalks clearing up the mess. Seraphina looked outside and grinned. Snow days meant sledding down Kelmie Hill at break-neck speed, something she had enjoyed doing with her dad when she was young. So after sipping her hot cocoa and eating her oatmeal, she picked up the phone and dialed Erika's house.
The phone rang three times before someone picked up. "Hello?"
"Erika? That you?" Seraphina said.
"Yes, it's me," Erika replied. "What's up? Did you see how much snow fell last night?"
"Yeah, it's unbelievable. Hey, listen, I called you to ask you if you wanted to go sledding down Kelmie Hill today," Seraphina proposed, twirling the telephone line around her finger anxiously.
"Sure. Why not? I have a sled. I'll call Aimee and see if she wants to go, and we'll meet you at your house." Erika told Seraphina the time that they were going to meet, and once they hung up, Seraphina quickly took a shower and brushed her hair. She threw on some warm clothes and pulled out her old cedarwood sled from underneath a pile of clothes in her closet. Leaving her coat and her sled by the door, she played Gamecube until the bell rang.
It wouldn't stop ringing until Seraphina threw on her coat and opened the door. There stood Erika and Aimee, as well as Kimi. "Hey, he wanted to come along too," Erika laughed, rubbing her neck. Kimi waved and laughed sheepishly, carrying a toboggan in his arms. Seraphina grabbed her sled and walked out the door with her pals.
"So guys, how's your winter break going?" Seraphina asked as she climbed into Kimi's car. Aimee and Erika entered afterwards, and each responded with positive answers. Kimi started the car and drove through the shoveled streets of Kelmie Town. The girls all giggled and chatted and played car games, with Kimi's occasional questions and answers thrown in. Once they reached their destination, everybody climbed out of the car and into the snowy wonderland that was Kelmie Park.
All nearby pine trees were sprinkled with snowflakes, the ground shimmered with a coat of frost and snow, and kids of all ages were racing down Kelmie Hill at full speed. Seraphina smiled. It was just like before. She immediately ran up the hill, without another word from her friends. "Hey, wait for us!" Erika shouted, running after Seraphina. Aimee ran after Erika, and Kimi ran after all three girls. Seraphina reached the top of the white hill, and sat on her sled.
"Here goes nothing, guys!" With a little push, Seraphina was speeding downward towards the ground, her sled blazing through the snow. "WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" She reached the bottom quite quickly, and had to get out of the way to avoid a nasty collision with Erika's sled.
"Here I go!!!" Aimee yelled out, sitting on her toboggan and sledding down the hill after her friends. She zigzagged down the hill and evaded Erika by turning in the other direction at the last minute. Then, Kimi took a running start, threw himself onto his toboggan, and tore through the snow at a tremendously high speed.
The girls shrieked and ran out of Kimi's way. Kimi kept going, even after reaching the bottom, finally stopping after his toboggan hit a rock. He was sent flying through the air, and hit the snow face-first. The girls, worried, trudged through the snow towards him. "Kim? Are you ok?"
Kimi held up his hand and made a thumbs-up sign. He let his hand drop and couldn't get up for a few seconds. Seraphina, Aimee, and Erika laughed, and helped Kimi onto his feet.
The process continued, until it was sunset, and the four friends decided to call it a day. The girls went into the back seat shivering with excitement and cold. Kimi climbed into his car and turned it on. He drove the girls through the same streets he drove to get back, until he unexpectedly parked somewhere and took the girls outside.
"What do you say we grab ourselves some pizza?" Kimi asked the girls. They all squealed and nodded, and accompanied Kimi across the streets to the local pizzeria. Kimi asked for the girls' favorite pizza toppings, getting green peppers and olives from Erika, pepperoni from Aimee, and mushrooms from Seraphina. He asked for a pizza with one-fourth of the pizza each dedicated to that certain topping, and the remaining fourth for anchovies, Kimi's favorite, as well as four sodas.
"Uhhh....you like anchovies?" Aimee asked, disgusted when she took a glimpse at the salty fish. Kimi shrugged and took one slice from his portion of the pizza. The girls took their portions and their sodas, taking off their scarves to be able to eat and drink. Seraphina gobbled up hers and ate her second just as quickly. The slowest to eat was Erika, who was too busy talking with her friends to eat fast.
"Okay, everybody done?" Kimi asked when he saw that the plates were clean. The girls nodded, and threw away their paper plates. Together, they walked out of the pizzeria, into Kimi's car. He drove for a few minutes, until Seraphina suddenly yelled out, "Drive back!!!"
Kimi made the fastest U-turn he could pull off without causing an accident, and drove back to the pizzeria. "I forgot my scarf." Seraphina laughed nervously and got out of the car to retrieve it. She walked onto the street, not noticing that it was a green light, and was just about to finish crossing before she yeard Kimi's screaming.
"SERAPHINA, RUN BACK!!!" he screamed. It was too late for him and Seraphina. The driver saw her a second too late and slammed on the brakes, making a sickening screeching sound. However, that effort was futile because the minivan he was driving slipped on the icy street. Before any one of them knew it, Seraphina was being driven to the hospital ASAP via an ambulance.
She had lost a lot of blood and broke quite a few bones in her legs and arms, so it was a surprise that she survived the accident. After many hours of treatment, she woke up in the hospital room with a cast covering her entire legs and the lower part of her arms, including her hands. A stiff brace supported her legs as well. Seraphina looked to her left, and then to her right, and couldn't believe who was in the bed next to her.
It was Elliot, looking weaker and paler than when Seraphina saw him a few days ago. He must have noticed her, too, because he woke up from his slumber and stared at her. "Hey, Sera," he softly said.
"Hi," Seraphina responded, with a weak, whispery voice. Elliot smiled, and she smiled too, despite the fact that a few days prior to her accident he was nothing but a lowlife scum. "Why are you here?"
"Mrah, remember all that unprotected sex I was having with those girls?" he explained. "Turns out karma got me in the end. I contracted a real bad STD--I can't remember which one right now--and that's surprisingly NOT why I'm here. Minorish car accident fractured my leg a little bit after I got out of the hospital." Elliot smiled nervously at Seraphina again, and concluded. "You're here because of a car accident too, right?"
"Yeah. The doctors said that it was a miracle I survived." Seraphina smiled, too. She looked at the ceiling for a few minutes before talking to Elliot again. "So....did you turn out okay? From the STD, I mean."
"Well, the doctors said I was on the brink of sterility, but I managed out okay in the end. But Mum was FURIOUS when she found out I was having sex behind her back!!" Elliot bit his lip while Seraphina laughed harder. "It's not funny! She won't let me do anything for two whole months, AND she's putting me into real therapy!! But meh, the therapy won't do as much as this has done for me. STD's are incredibly painful. I don't think I'll experiment with sex ever again, at least until I'm an adult." The young English boy looked around before facing Seraphina with sorrowful eyes. "Sorry I acted like such a jerk to you. Think we can become friends again?"
"First of all, I'm glad you've learned your lesson. And sure, we can be friends. But that's just it--FRIENDS." Seraphina looked at Elliot sternly before continuing. "And if we're going to be friends, you have to agree to keep your hands off of Aimee, Erika, and me." Elliot nodded in agreement.
"AND you have to keep your wiener in your pants at ALL TIMES, unless you're gonna use the toilet." Elliot laughed a bit at this part, but nodded in agreement anyway. Seraphina grinned. "Okay, with that out of the way, I guess we can be friends again!"
The two laughed, and talked for a little bit before it was time to turn out the lights and sleep.
"Well, good night," Seraphina said.
"Sweet dreams, Sera," Elliot responded, and they both closed their eyes and went to sleep once the lights were turned off. Each friend slept with a lighter heart that night. Much guilt was taken off their chests. Elliot finally gained Seraphina's trust once more, and Seraphina slept easy with the fact that Elliot finally got what he deserved!!
NOTES:
Yeah, this one was edited slightly...
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 19:57:48 GMT -5
CHAPTER 16: A Friend In Need
The next day, when Seraphina woke up, she found she had visitors. "Kimi! Erika! Aimee!" She struggled to hug them, but found that she couldn't because both her lower arms were in casts. Seraphina growled a little, and pouted softly.
Kimi and Erika giggled again. They were in their warm winter clothes, like on that fateful day that almost took Seraphina's life. "Relax, Sera. You need your rest." All three friends hugged the girl, knowing that Seraphina would have hugged them back if only she could move. Kimi kissed her cheek and said, "You all right?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty much okay. Other than not being able to move and the occasional sting in the legs, I'm ok." Seraphina stared miserably at her fractured feet. It seemed like an eternity until she would be able to walk without a wheelchair again--two whole months. The heater was warming up the air around her the best it could, but even so she still felt so cold inside.
A few weeks later... -----------------------------------
Still staring at her feet, she automatically jerked her head upwards to see who had opened the door.
Rachel Drake walked in, dragging a big, brightly-wrapped package behind her. "Sera? That you?" she called out. Seraphina nodded feebly. "Oh dear..." she began. "I wanted to come earlier, honest! But then I wouldn't have had time to prepare your gift..."
She unwrapped the package she brought with her, unveiling a big, stuffed, sky blue teddy bear. It wore a black, rhinestone-studded denim jacket with white signatures all over it. "This is to remind you of your friends. All of them signed the jacket, and I even got a few more people to sign it." Rachel pointed to a particular one on the sleeve. "With my family working in several music industries, they got a few celebrities to sign it. This one here is Avril Lavigne's, there's Evanescence's signatures somewhere around there, and we got The Bravery's signature there, too--"
"Oh my god, then you met Sam Endicott!!" Seraphina exclaimed. "I'm a huge fan of The Bravery, and it's been my lifelong dream to meet them! And you met them all!!"
"Trust me. This is nothing compared to the birthday present I have planned for you." Rachel winked. Seraphina squealed in anticipation. "Best part is, the jacket should be able to fit you as well." A female voice screamed for Rachel. "Well, gotta go. Hope you liked my present. Get well soon!" Rachel ran out the door, but not before giving Seraphina one last hug. Seraphina smiled and snuggled up to her new teddy. She DID notice a lot of celebrities' signatures on the jacket: Avril, Evanescence, Gwen Stefani, Green Day, along with her friends' endorsements. The rhinestones twinkled like stars in the artificial light.
Seraphina jumped a little when Elliot spoke to her after a long abrupt silence. "Nice bear." Seraphina laughed sheepishly, thanking him for the compliment. "You're lucky people have visited you. Mum's still too mad to visit me, and I lost all of my friends..."
"It's ok. I'm here to give you company." Seraphina grinned at her friend in need. Elliot smiled back, and said thanks in return. "That's awful. I wish someone would visit you....."
"I'm okay without visits anyway. So you like Green Day and Avril too?"
"Yeah, they're awesome." Seraphina sung a line from Green Day's Holiday, with Elliot joining in with her. "Their songs rock. I have their CDs as well as Avril's, but The Bravery's my current obsession. Ever heard of them?"
"Nah." Elliot shook his head.
"Well, when I get out of these casts, I'll let you listen to them." Seraphina then looked at the casts on her arms. Those would heal quicker, in about 2 or 3 weeks. Until then, it was going to be a long, boring wait. "My god, I hate these things. When do you get out of here?"
"I get out next week or so. But I'll come back to keep you company because I know you'll get lonely here." Elliot straightened his glasses, then said to Seraphina: "Wanna play a game?"
"Sure. Got nothing else to do."
"Okay. It's called Word Tennis. I say a word and then you say a word having something to do with it. Then I say a word having something to do with your word and so on. Got it?" Seraphina nodded. Elliot began. "Guitar."
"Rock." Seraphina didn't think this was too fun now, but later she would spend hours on end playing this game.
"Stone." Elliot continued. And on they played, until it was night and the lights were shut off. "You're good." Elliot closed his eyes and went to sleep. "G'night."
"Good night, Elliot." Seraphina leaned against her fluffy bear and drifted off into a quiet, peaceful slumber. One day down, just a few weeks more until they could get out of the hospital. Having friends over makes that time seem much shorter.
NOTES:
This one will become longer in the remastering so that it doesn't seem like just filler. >.o
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Post by Loogs on Jan 22, 2007 20:03:16 GMT -5
CHAPTER 17: A Birthday To RememberElliot left the hospital after a while, but he continued to make trips to see Seraphina. Kimi did too, sometimes with the girls, sometimes alone. Elliot walked into the room holding a bouquet of flowers so colorful and lively it looked as if he were holding an actual rainbow in his hands. The lovely smell of the flowers caught Seraphina's attention. "Flowers?" She looked up to find the answer. "Figured. Hey, Elliot." "Hey, Seraphina. You get out of here next week, don't you?" Elliot took out a blue transparent vase from the bag he also had with him, went to the bathroom and filled it up with water, and placed the flowers inside. He gently set the vase down on the nightstand next to Seraphina. "Yeah, but then I have to get around in a wheelchair. And after that, it's therapy time." Seraphina groaned, and Elliot realized that flowers alone weren't going to cheer Seraphina up. He looked at the room and yawned. Not a very cheery environment. "I can tell why you're so bored here." Elliot sat down on the bit of bed Seraphina was not occupying, when the sudden opening of the door made him jump. Kimishiro walked in, and was midway into his hello when he saw Elliot sitting down. Instinctively, he swatted his hand at him, but Elliot blocked all of his shots until Seraphina finally yelled, "That's enough! Both of you!" Kimi stopped smacking Elliot and turned to argue with Seraphina. "But Sera, are you forgetting what he did to you?" "I haven't. But people forgive. Elliot is forgiven, and now we are friends." Seraphina stared Kimi straight in the eye so sternly that Kimi had to give in. "Fine, fine. Elliot, you heard her. FRIENDS. I don't want to see any groping, any making out, anything that shows me you want to rape her or something. Okay?" "You have my word, Mr. Itoshigo." The boy saluted Kimishiro mockingly, then stood on his feet and waved goodbye to Seraphina. "Bye, Sera. See ya tomorrow." ****************** The day finally came when Seraphina would leave the hospital. That day, all of her friends and family were there. Kimi and Rachel helped her onto her wheelchair, even if Seraphina's hands had healed. The best thing that happened that day awaited Seraphina outside of the hospital. "Seraphina, honey, there's someone who wants to see you," her mother said. Seraphina wondered exactly who it could be: all of her friends were there, who else could have to see her? When Seraphina checked out of the hospital and was wheeled through the sliding door entrance, she couldn't believe who was standing in front of the family car. "Omigod, Dad?!" Seraphina exclaimed as loudly as possible. Her father, who was Swedish, tall, and blonde just like Seraphina, smiled cheerily and waved at his daughter. "I can't believe it! I thought you were in Norway!" She seized control of her wheelchair and wheeled over as fast as her recovering arms would let her. "I was in Norway. I originally planned to come back on your birthday, but your accident forced me to fly over here earlier. I really missed you, Seraphina." Her dad swept away the silver strands of hair covering Seraphina's face and kissed her forehead. "You've grown so much since I last saw you. And that means your blonde roots are showing." "Really?!" Seraphina struggled to see the top of her head, even though she knew she couldn't. Her father laughed and ruffled her hair. "Aw, dad." Seraphina let her father and Kimi help her into the car. She opened the window with the touch of a button; she waved goodbye to all of her friends from the moving car. ********************* Two weeks later..."My birthday!!" was the first thing Seraphina said when she woke up on Valentine's Day morning. Yes, her birthday was on Valentine's Day. She hated Valentine's Day for obvious reasons, but the fact that she was born on that day softened the blow a little. She carefully got onto her wheelchair and wheeled over to her pretty silver phone, calling up all of her friends to remind them about the party that day. (This year, her birthday just so happened to fall on a weekend.) Seraphina couldn't do much other than stay indoors and play video games, so she felt vaguely useless when her mother and father hung up the decorations without her. When all of the guests arrived for the party, however, Seraphina was very cheery and optimistic. Kimi and Erika were the first to show up. They rang the doorbell a couple of times before Seraphina's dad opened the door to let them in. Each of them carried a box with them, varying in size and wrapping. Kimi's present had a powder blue envelope neatly taped to the top of his box that said, "To Seraphina With Love." Seraphina wheeled herself over to her best friends and received their gifts, placed them on the glass-top table in the living room, and brought her friends over to the dining table where enough junk food and candy to rot teeth in minutes was set out on decorated plastic trays. "Mmmmmmm. This is good," Erika complimented, through mouthfuls of sugary goodies and swigs of fruit punch. Some of the food escaped her mouth and fell on Seraphina's clothes, but Seraphina didn't mind and just brushed off the wet morsels of masticated food. Erika swallowed the food in her mouth and sampled one of the delectable, star-shaped cookies lined with sweet blue frosting. "Your mother makes awesome cookies." "Actually, the cookies were her father's doing," Seraphina's mother said, after catching that last bit of conversation. She was about to try a cookie for herself when the doorbell rung three times. "Be right back." She went to go greet the guest, who was a Miss Rachel Drake clad in a denim jacket, purple sequined shirt, and flares covered with bleach-pen doodles. She carried a large silver gift bag with her which was stapled shut to conceal its contents. "Hello, Mrs. Lindgren," Rachel said, with a wide smile on her face. Seraphina's mother said hello back to her, completely ignoring the fact that she wasn't Mrs. Lindgren anymore. Rachel and Seraphina's mother walked past her and entered the kitchen. Seraphina, Kimi, and Erika stopped feasting on chips and pretzels to greet the new guest. "'Sup," Kimi mumbled. Kimi took a drink of soda, wiped his mouth, and swallowed the food in his mouth. Rachel giggled, then reached over to the half-empty tray of cookies. She grabbed two and stuffed them into her mouth. "Yum. Who made these?" Rachel inquired. All three friends pointed at Seraphina's dad, who just walked into the kitchen to retrieve a snack. "What?" he innocently asked. Seraphina and her friends laughed, and unanimously shook their heads. "Nothing, dad," Seraphina laughed, careful not to spit out food. Her friends stopped munching on junk food for a while when Seraphina decided she wanted to play video games. Kimishiro and company helped Seraphina up the stairs to her room, arriving just as the bell rang one last time. This time it was Aimee, looking her prettiest in a cute sweater and beige jeans, at the door with another similar-looking young woman, both of them holding wrapped boxes. "Hello, Seraphina's dad," Aimee energetically chirped. "I'm Aimee, and this is my sister Stella." She jerked her thumb in her waving sister's direction. Seraphina's dad let the two in, and was about to close the door if it weren't for a boy's voice yelling for him not to. "Hey, wait for me!!" the boy yelled. He was running frantically down the street, and it wasn't until he approached the house and entered it that they identified him as Elliot. Elliot, along with Aimee and Stella, placed his present next to the pile of gifts on the table in the living room. Then he and Aimee ran upstairs to join Seraphina and her other friends in a round of virtually beating each other up, Soul Calibur II style. Around 8 'o clock, Seraphina's mother hollered from downstairs. "Kids! Time to blow out the candles and eat cake!" Seraphina and Erika, the two who were currently playing a round, wrapped up their match. Everyone ran downstairs, careful not to trip on their way, Kimi and Elliot helping Seraphina down the stairs. The gentlemen wheeled Seraphina over to the middle of the table, in front of the big, blue-frosted cake decorated with little gray, caramel dolphins and fish of various colors. Seraphina's mother just finished sticking the thirteenth candle into the cake; her father searched inside his pocket for his lighter. Seraphina's father wasn't a heavy smoker, but he did smoke once in a while when he had nothing better to do. With one click of the little ridged wheel, the lighter produced a small flame which Seraphina's father brought around to light the thirteen candles on the cake. Seraphina's mother flipped the light switch to make the candles burn even brighter. Kimi turned to Erika, Aimee, and Stella. "You girls ready? On three. 1...2......3." He sang, with a clear, on-key voice that sounded like a chorus of angels, the first words to that traditonal song everyone knows the words to, with the trio of girls following soon afterwards, like a lovely echo effect. "Happy birthday to you....happy birthday to you...." Seraphina wore a sweet little smile on her blushing face as they continued to sing the song in harmonious, beautiful a cappella. Even before they finished singing, Seraphina took a deep breath and blew out all the candles with one long blow. She plucked the partially melted candles from the mouth-watering cake one by one, then wheeled herself out of her plastic knife-wielding mother's way. She divided the cake into equal servings, placed them on a paper plate, and passed them out to the eager party guests. Everyone took their slices of cake and sat down on couches or chairs in the living room, where Seraphina had her presents piled up. Seraphina slowly wheeled herself into the living room and in front of her mountain of gifts with her cake on her lap. She took a single bite from the cake before placing it aside on a polished coffee table next to her. "Time to open my presents," she announced to everyone. She picked up the two shiny presents on top of the pile, which were from Aimee and Stella. Seraphina ripped off the wrapping that covered the boxes, and opened them to pull out two shirts. One was black and had The Bravery's logo on it, the other one was another black shirt depicting Rurouni Kenshin. Someone obviously knew about Seraphina's closet interest. "Oh, thanks, Aimee!" She hugged her best friend, who smiled and said that it was nothing. Seraphina folded the shirts and placed them neatly inside their box, in order to open the second one. The other box had a pair of neatly folded up black jeans, with detachable chains hanging from the hip. "This is awesome. I have to thank you both." She put away those two boxes and picked up the big silver bag from Rachel. Seraphina pulled it apart, peered inside, and gasped. A neat stack of CDs and DVDs were inside....several from her favorite bands, some of bands she'd never even heard of before. Each one was autographed, and as Seraphina continued to dig through the pile, she found a single wrapped up box. She reached for the box, and immediately tore at its wrapping the same way a wolf would tear a steak apart. She flung the wrapping aside and beamed at the box. "OMIGODANIPOD!!!!" Seraphina screamed. She opened the small box and beamed at the new iPod. "I can't thank you enough for all of this. You're so sweet, Rachie!!" She wheeled herself over to Rachel and wrapped her arms around Rachel in a big warm hug before she opened the next present. She read the purple, doily-like tag, which said, "To Seraphina, From Your Best Friend Erika", and ripped off the paper that covered the fairly small box. Inside the plain white cardboard box were two new Gamecube games: Tales of Symphonia and Baten Kaitos. "Wow! How did you know that these two games were the ones I wanted?" "Wasn't too hard. You kept drooling over screenshots of the games. Figured they were the ones you wanted most. Either way, enjoy them!" Seraphina and Erika shared a hug for a few seconds. Seraphina picked up the present that was below Erika's, which was Elliot's, and unwrapped that one. Underneath the shiny wrapping paper was a black velvet box, which Seraphina lifted open. "Oh my god....it's beautiful, Elliot. It's just...so sparkly and amazing...." Seraphina stared in awe at the small jeweled ring inside. It was a ring with a butterfly on it, its wings were encrusted with tiny sapphires, turquoise stones, and diamonds. She slipped her finger into it and showed it off to everyone. "I'll wear it always. Thank you so much." This time Elliot was the one to hug Seraphina, and even gave her a light peck on the cheek. Now there were two presents left. Seraphina decided to open the one from her parents first, and leave Kimi's for last. The box that held her parents' present was smaller than a lot of the other boxes, and weighed a little less. Seraphina tore at the paper a little, saw a little bit of what was inside, and cleanly ripped the paper off of the box and hugged the box. "I can't believe it! A Nintendo DS! A BLUE Nintendo DS! It rocks so much. Thanks, Mom. Dad." Seraphina smiled in her parents' direction. "Did you import this, Dad? Because as of now there are no blue DSes in America..." "Imported? I bought that sweet little piece of technology straight from the streets of Shibuya!" "You mean--" "Yep, I spent two weeks in Tokyo. I actually got you more things, but as luck would have it I left them in my plane. Once I'm done with my last business trip before the summer I'll bring them to you." Seraphina's father paused a moment to let a very awestruck Seraphina breathe properly. "Or better yet, I could mail them to you. Either way, I know you're gonna be real happy with what I got you." Seraphina smiled a little, then moved on to the very last present. It sat there motionless like an obedient dog, until Seraphina picked it up and clawed at its wrapping. She untaped the envelope attached, to save it for later. Underneath the colorful paper was a cardboard box, which Seraphina calmly opened. Inside were several objects: a brand-new digital camera, a straw hat and a pair of flip-flops, a small basket containing tanning lotion and sunscreen, among other things, and a cute turquoise, white hibiscus-print bikini. "Wow...this is all so nice, Kimi, but....why? Why did you get me all this summer stuff in February?" Seraphina asked Kimi with her head slightly tilted to the side. Kimi, who never did something without a purpose, answered, "Look inside the envelope." Seraphina picked up said envelope, and slowly cut a slit at the top. She pryed the envelope open and took a peek inside. Inside was a set of papers that qualified as the most awesome gift Seraphina had ever received. "Oh...my...is this what I think it is?!" Seraphina gasped. She looked over the papers just to make sure. They were indeed what she thought they were: a round-trip ticket to Hawaii, a brochure for a luxurious spa resort, and $500 in cash. "Kimi...this is amazing...oh, come here!" Kimi rushed over to Seraphina with arms wide open, and gave her the biggest and longest-lasting hug he ever gave. "You set off during spring break. You're gonna love it there. I really hope it can relieve all of that stress that's built up inside of you. One whole week of nothing but relaxation and fun in the sun....I knew you would love it." Kimi pushed a lock of moppy brown hair out of his eyes and added, "I didn't do it alone though. Your friends lent a hand in this, too." "Really? Thanks....all of you. This has been the best birthday I've ever had. You guys all rock and I can't thank you enough." Seraphina took a minute to catch her breath, then played around with the braid in her silver hair, and finally looked at all her guests with a broad smile. There was a mischievous little twinkle in her blue eye. "Now guys, let's get back to partying!!!" Seraphina wheeled away from the table, grabbed one of the CDs that Rachel gave her, and inserted it into the living room stereo. She pressed play, cranked up the volume, and to put it simply, went crazy. The rest of the night was spent dancing(except for Seraphina, who was bound to a wheelchair), snacking, and playing Gamecube until thumbs were too sore to move. By the time the guests had to leave, the whole party had fizzled down to dying embers, as everyone was sprawled all over the sofas, full and tired and very content. Seraphina and her family thanked everyone for coming and waved goodbye to them when they left. Seraphina put away every gift she received, got ready for bed, and instead of going right to sleep, she decided to gaze out of her window for a bit. Tonight, she couldn't see the stars, but the moon was still a nice sight to stare at. She couldn't wait for spring to arrive, and yet, she would come to dread it afterwards.... Everything was about to take another dramatic turn in two months' time. ---- Okay, NOW I can write Chapters 18-20.
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