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It's the next day, and…
I'm now taking a jog at the park. I told you I jog every now and then.
But Vance and Cherry had a little argument as soon as she got out of the room this morning. Let's say things got intense...
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — FLASHBACK — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
*45 minutes ago*
"IT'S BEEN WEEKS AND YOU'RE STILL UPSET! WHEN WILL YOU GET A MOVE ON, CHERRY!" Vance dropped the foot, stomping the floor and aggressively pointed at Cherry, complaining at how often she stays in her room.
"... When they break up..." And now Cherry was just standing here, holding my hand. I'm just here, confused at what the hell is even going on. I just woke up.
"I just want to go for a jog..." There's no classes today due to a work holiday that was moved to today. National Workers' Day was moved to today, May 4, 2023. I was happy to see that in the media last night.
"Cherry, let go of him right now. Please. I don't want to get even more upset at you than I already am. Respect your brother just as much as he respected you!" Vance reprimanded her, continuing to be aggressive on his current behavior towards her. Cherry was having none of it, clinging to my arm.
"Make me by making this guy single again." Cherry frowned at him and let her tongue out in a mean fashion. Vance snapped as he went closer to her.
"If you're going to be like that... THEN YOU NEED A TIME OUT, YOUNG LADY!" He grabbed Cherry and pulled her away from me while crying and screaming.
"RENN!! HELP MEE!!!"
"DON'T LISTEN TO HER, RENN! SHE NEEDS SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT HER CURRENT STATE!"
I was just there, slightly terrified seeing Vance snap for the first time like this. He dragged her to the living room.
"RENN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STANDING AROUND! GET OUT FOR A WHILE!" I snap myself back into my senses and went out for a morning jog.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — PRESENT TIME — — — — — — — — — — — — —
And now, I'm wondering about the both of them. Hopefully, Vance doesn't go too hard on her.
After jogging, I sat down and took a rest on the bench. I was panting for air. Damn that was tiring to jog from home to park, not to mention I also jogged all around the park. I can feel my legs slight feel fatigued. I think I jogged way too much.
"What are you... Some sort of dog?"
I quickly reacted and turned to Serra Myers , standing a few meters to the left of me.
"Hah... Sorry... I jogged... Way too much." I leaned my back on the bench while keeping my head down, trying to relax and rest, while also not getting dizzy.
"Tch. What a dumbass... You overdid it. Can't you take it slow?" She sat on the bench, feeling annoyed.
"I know I overdid it... Do you jog?" I asked her, finally relaxing my breathing slightly.
"Every early morning in my neighborhood while my family is asleep." She answered bluntly.
"I assume they must be asleep now... I'm curious about what your family is like." I continued.
"No. They're gone." I quickly turned to her with slight shock about her straight answer.
"Wdym gone?" I asked for further context.
"Gone without me." She answered vaguely. I began thinking about it for a few moments.
"Went somewhere?" I asked, because that's the only explanation I think of. And I don't want to say anything that will increase this book's age rating.
"Nothing to do... Boring..." She didn't even answer the question... I was slightly confused on why, but I decided to not pursue her with any more questions.
"Do you... Want to visit my home?" I asked her. She glanced at my direction for a bit then looked back forward observing the people passing by.
"What makes you think I am okay with being in someone else's home?" She wanted to know why.
"Well, for starters... It would be nice to have some company around right? You did say they're "gone" after all..." I stood up and turned to her.
But she went silent. Not saying a word at all. I sighed and started walking back home. I don't want to continue with her since she's not going to be okay staying at anyone's home. I can't blame her, it's probably a family issue I don't know yet. But I do know that some things are happening behind the scenes and I can't just let them be.
I made it back home safely. As I entered, it was empty. Vance's car is there, but the step-siblings aren't anywhere to be seen. I'm alone for a long while, it seems.
"(I sure hope things are going to be alright between those two.)" I groaned, disappointingly turning around and about to close the door, but then I was shocked. It was unexpected to see...
Serra Myers followed me?!
"Uhm... So you made up your mind? Come in..." I hesitantly welcomed her. She looked around the interior of the home.
"Very plain. Needs more décor." She let herself in.
"Well, I wasn't the one who picked this house..." I commented as I closed the door. She sat down on the living room and pulled out her phone to play a game of hers. I went to watch.
It's a shooting game where you have to complete missions against the enemy players, or kill the enemy players to gain more points to win.
"Play it." She wasn't looking at me, but is aware that I'm watching. I was slightly surprised that she knew, so I opened my phone. I was about to ask another question but...
"FPS Military Squadron." She said the title of the game before I even asked. I was just speechless as I downloaded the game.
"Do you want any-"
"Juice."
She kept answering me straight, interrupting me whenever I wanted to ask. I felt slightly weirded out. I was going to ask if she wanted something to drink. I grabbed a juice box out of the fridge and gave it to her.
After she won, she then began drinking her juice box. She then kept the box beside her.
"I told you to play it." I then opened my phone and checked. It was fully downloaded.
"Alright." I then opened it and began playing it. It's just a game... How bad can it get?
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*30 minutes later...*
"HOW ARE YOU THAT GOOD…" I am just sitting on the floor, literally flabbergasted by her skills... I'm only a beginner...
"Been playing for months. You're useless." So she's been playing for a while...
"How big are you as a gamer…" I looked down, devastated.
"Yes." That's all she said. That could mean she's THAT big of a gamer.
But enough games for now, I have more questions to ask now that she is here.
"I'm wondering…" I looked at her. She was fully concentrated on her game and was just poker-faced.
"Has your family been rough on you?"
I asked her the question.
"... Does it matter?" She bluntly asked, lowering her phone.
"If knowing what's making you feel this way, then yes." And I gave her a straight answer as I stood up.
"... Tell me then. What future is there for me?" She glanced at me upon asking.
"Future? A lot... We don't know the future, something has to be destined for you." I walked to her.
"We don't know if there will be something destined for me. The future can be anything. So why are you persisting that? I thought you're the person who'll be making a change, but you keep saying stuff I heard before." She stood up, facing away from me.
Hearing that from her... I sighed, disappointed as I went to the kitchen and started cooking rice and fried chicken. I literally was upset that I'm not getting through...
I served myself some chicken and rice after they were done. It's always going back to "What can I do..."
"But I'll tell you one thing... You haven't forced me to do anything." I was surprised hearing that from her as she walked here and served herself a plate of rice and chicken.
"Of course not... Why would I do that? I didn't want you to do anything you wouldn't want. That'd be stupid." I began eating.
"What I... wouldn't want..." She began eating slowly.
"Well... What do you want?" I asked her. And things were silent for a while as we ate.
"I'm only asking because there could be something you're really interested in..." I broke the silence. I then looked at her. My eyes widened to see her face just change from being dead inside to slightly furious.
"... It can never be achieved." She gave me a blunt answer.
"Even if things are going down, I know that you can achieve something." I stood up and took our plates to wash them.
"No... It can never be achieved..." I can hear her getting even more agitated.
"Why? Is it because of your family? Your classmates?" I kept going while washing the plates.
"... I hate them. I hate them all. They can rot in hell for all I care!" As I finished, I turned to see her throw her phone to the floor. I was surprised that she did just that.
I can now see why she is acting like this.
"They just can't seem to stop seeing me as the tool... I'm always the tool. In their eyes, all I do is just either wrong or just used for selfish gain..." She was gripping on the chair hard. Oh no... I was getting scared.. Not the chair...
"THEY CAN JUST DIE!!!" She lifted the chair up but before she could whack it down, I quickly grabbed it and held her back. She tried her might to pull the chair away from me, feeling very agitated.
"SERRA! CALM DOWN! THEY'RE NOT HERE!" She was looking at me with angry eyes, but I kept holding on to the chair.
"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BEING FORCED TO DO THE THINGS YOU DON'T WANT AND BEING PUSHED DOWN TO THE GRAVE!" She's really lost her temper as she kept pulling the chair away from me. I almost lost my grip on it, but I quickly held on to it.
"I MAY NOT HAVE THE EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE, BUT I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT BEING PUSHED DOWN LIKE THAT FOR SELFISH GAIN MAKES THEM COMPLETE JERKS! THEY'RE ONLY BRINGING YOU DOWN BECAUSE YOU KNOW DEEP DOWN HOW USELESS THEY ACTUALLY ARE!" Serra then stopped. She was willing to listen. I took some time to catch my breath and calm down as well.
"And I know by heart that pushing people to do things that they don't want will never bring them to a better light... If you're going to push other people, consider their feelings first. Follow your heart. Isn't that what things are about? If you're just going to give them your choices for them... Then why bother living if you're not going to have a choice for yourself..." Serra calmed down and went back to her poker face hearing that from me. She let go of the chair, and I slowly dragged it back into place.
"You're honestly such a pest. Not to mention a dog that just keeps barking words out."
I sigh, hearing that from her made me feel disappointed.
"But... You're not wrong. Life has been unfair for me since the start. My family just used me as a tool for their own selfish desires. And my classmates just pushed me down after I've done all the effort. Do you really think I still have something even after all this?" She gave me a straight question.
And I took a deep breath and thought of a straight answer.
"Yes. I do. You've done so much just for literally everything. Even if your family has done a lot just for their selfish gain, you still have your talents to show how far you have gotten. People can change. You just need to make the right choice for yourself. I believe you can make it even farther." I reached out a hand to her, placing my full trust in her.
"If you're so certain, then I'm going to feel sorry for you that you're placing your hopes in the wrong place. But I can see that you are not like them, so I'll trust you slightly. If I feel that you have ill intent towards me, I'll make sure you never see the light of day again." Serra went to take her phone.
I didn't smile, but I placed my hand on my chest. I felt relieved that I at least got her to trust me, even if it is slight.
But while I was just standing there, I heard a knock on my door. I looked at Serra, sitting in the living room. I guess I can open the door and see who it is, and funny enough...
It was Syrra.
"Renn! Hello!"
It was a surprise to see her here.
"Syrra? What brings you here?" I asked her.
"Just thought of visiting... Thought I should stay at the house of my best friend for a bit." So she just wanted to visit me uninvited.
Classic Syrra.
"Pardon me entering!" Syrra entered the house and she took a look around, but then she stopped at the girl.
She looked at me and pointed at her with fear.
"It's the... Girl from the park last time... Renn... Why did you..."
She's misunderstanding the situation...
"Calm down, I let her stay for a while. She's not all that bad." I reassured her, and she calmed down a bit. She walked closer to her and sat down beside her on the sofa.
"Hey... Umm... I just wanted to say sorry for last time..." Syrra tried to communicate with her.
"... Are you friends with this boy?" She asked Syrra.
"Yes. we're very close." Syrra answered.
"I see..." Serra opened her phone and went back to playing her game.
"I'm Syrra Winters. Mind if I ask your name?" Syrra introduced herself and wanted to know her. She didn't say another word.
"She's Serra Myers. It takes a while to get through to her." I introduced Serra in her stead.
"Shut your mouth, muppet." I was slightly attacked hearing that. How am I a muppet?
"Our names are almost alike... We're practically almost twins..." Syrra... Serra... Hmm.. Syrra's right. The last names differ but the first names are similar. Are they siblings in their past life?
"Do you have a favorite book?" Syrra asked her. Serra was concentrated on the game.
"My favorite was the "John The Strangler" book." I smiled and giggled at her answer. So she liked reading books with serial killers as the main antagonist.
"Oooooh! I read that one! I remember when the seducing cheater was tied to the table and he strangled her with a machine that the more it turns, the more the rope around your neck will tighten until your head is separated from your body…" She shivered at that part of the book. Syrra read that book as well? Huh, good to know how excited she was hearing her reveal her favorite book.
"That one was very brutal. I liked it when the trapped tophat man was hanging upside down, he used a barbed wire to end his life… And his throat…" Whoa… Now I'm shivering at Serra talking about it.
"Oh my god… Yes! That book was so brutal… And at the end when the police found him, he was on the run. But he was more agile than he looks, so he always comes back…" I felt slightly scared knowing the details now. Now that's a book I DON'T want to read.
"I didn't know you both liked to read about serial killers like that…" And even if I don't read it, I'll have nightmares for weeks.
"Weak." Now Serra's calling me weak... What's next on the list?
"You'll get used to it, it's just fiction anyway." I got a little unsure about that... Fiction or not, serial killers are serial killers, Syrra!
Syrra kept on starting conversations and Serra ended them with blunt answers. I sat down near the doorway. I am relieved but slightly tired... This is honestly draining me, but for what it's worth... I'm happy... I can fall asleep here in peace.
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*2 hours later*
"Wake up."
Serra woke me up with a slap on my face.
"Ow... Couldn't you have a better way to wake me up?" I asked, rubbing my stinging cheek. I don't see Syrra anywhere, she probably went home.
"No. You were sleeping like a weakling baby." I have a feeling she's going to stick with that naming for a while... I was slightly attacked by her, but it's a matter of getting used to.
"Anyway, are you heading home?" I asked.
"I don't want my parents to suddenly start screaming at me if they found out I visited you. So I'm going to be lonely for the rest of my day." She turned to the door.
"But we can keep in touch, right?" I pulled out my phone and handed it to her. She turned to me and stared at it for a bit.
"... Sure." She then gave me her number before finally leaving to her house.
Watching her leave, I felt bad for her about her life experiences. I only know what's going on at the surface. I don't know much about the details. But all I can do now is hope that one day, an opportunity opens up for her...
If only...
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