Cindy's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her alarm, she reached for her phone to shut the annoying sound off before flopping back in her. She sighed as she stared at her white ceiling as she realized that she would have to endure another day at school. The weekend couldn't come any quicker, even then it's not like she would be doing much instead of studying and occasionally playing that MMORPG with Chris.
A smile placed itself on her face at the thought of him. She willed herself up and walked to her shower. After following her standard morning routine, she got out of her bathroom and dressed herself up in her school clothes. The girl's uniform was simple as it consisted of checkered skirt that floated above her knees, a long sleeve white shirt and a tie that was a striped red and blue. Jerseys and Blazers were optional for freshmen, but she preferred to where her navy blue jersey which was slightly bigger, given that it was a hand-me-down from her big sister, it was also one of the reasons she praised her genetics for giving her rather large breasts as it made the jersey fit near perfectly.
After dressing up she walked out of her room only to bump into the owner of the house and the person who allowed Cindy and her sister to live in his house.
"S-sorry sir." Cindy stuttered out. The man grumbled before continuing in his path, scratching his corpulent stomach. Cindy inwardly rolled her eyes at the man; he was rude most of the time and by the times he acts kind he made it as if you owed him something. She knew why her sister put up with him as he was generous enough to let the two of them stay in his house, eat his food and even pay Cindy's school fees. She couldn't complain about his attitude no matter how much she wanted to.
"Cindy!" Cindy turned to face her sister who was fresh out of the shower and covered with nothing but a towel. Her brown strands of hair sticking to her forehead.
"Can you get everything ready for me I had trouble getting up." May begged apologetically. Cindy shivered in her skin as she knew exactly what kept her in bed. Cindy nodded and got a rushed thanks from her sister before she disappeared into her room.
Cindy sighed and made her way to the living room where all of her sisters work laid scattered on the floor. She groaned, realizing that she would have to pick up all of them and organize it before her sister came.
Getting straight to work, she realized the papers were student files on the seniors. The papers had the students full name and surname along with a brief summary of their history and fitness stats. She picked up Brian's file and as expected he excelled in all physical activities, this was the case with most of the boys' files she picked up, except for one. Her cheeks turned to a vibrant red when she realized she was reading Chris's file. Physically he was lacking by a mile compared to the rest of the male seniors, but his Academic stats were the highest out of all the seniors. After a while of sorting, she stumbled upon Maze's file. Academically she rivaled Chris but fell short just by a bit. Physically she out matched him, averaging with stats comparable to the males in the senior class which was a shock to her, considering the fact that she wasn't in any physical sport. The next one she picked up was Tiffany's, from what Cindy understood she was the girl dating Brian. She knew next to nothing about the girl but what shocked her was her stats being nearly identical to Maze's stats. tying in many of the stats and falling short in only a few.
The last file she picked up was Nami's and when she saw it her eyes exploded open. Her stats far exceeded all of the girls and at a closer inspection, they were comparable to Brian's physical stats. She surpassed Maze in academics and fell short to Chris's academic stat.
[Is this girl even human?] She wondered.
In the Name box she was known as Nami, despite Cindy knowing that there was more to it than that. Not even her surname was filled in.
[How come the school doesn't write her surname in her file? Does it purposely exclude it or is there a reason she is not giving her surname?] Cindy wondered.
"Cindy lets go or we're going to be late!" Her sister rushed out of the passageway and walked straight to her.
"Oh, you're done. That was quick. Either way get my bag into the car I just need to do one more thing." Cindy nodded and took the bag full of files to the car, leaving her sister behind to do whatever she needed to do.
After a brief 5 minutes she walked out with her hair slightly messy. She got into the car and turned the ignition. Cindy found herself looking back at the house to see the man of the house standing there with a satisfied smile on his face and waving goodbye at the girls. Cindy shivered out of pure disgust as she turned back to focus on the road. They drove of and in a minute the house wasn't visible. May didn't hold back on the accelerator as Cindy felt her body being swayed left and right by the sharp turns her sister made.
After a while they encountered traffic that brought them into a sudden halt. Her sister screamed profanities out of frustration and rested her head on the wheel with a sigh escaping her mouth.
"I'm sorry I got us late Cindy, now this is going to go on your record." May sulked.
"Would I really get in trouble for being late one time?" Cindy asked.
"No, but it does go on your student record, if you late more than 50 times without a good explanation you get expelled." May explained.
"Oh," Was all Cindy could say as she didn't know how to feel about the matter. She stared outside, looking at the mostly cloudy sky covering the sun's light. It looked like it would rain soon.
"Hey Cindy," May called, gaining Cindy's attention.
"What would you say if I bought us a house?" She asked.
"I'd wonder which boyfriend gave it to you." May laughed at her sister's blunt honesty. She was right. For the entire time Cindy had known May they had just been moving from boyfriend's house to boyfriend's house. Cindy had no confidence that the current one was going to last either, but she didn't have the guts to tell her sister as she was so optimistic about it.
["This one is different." She'd say, but it's blatantly obvious that all of them are the same breed of scumbags.] She thought.
"I'm planning on buying a house soon, I don't know when, but I know that I will do it and it won't be given to me by some "boyfriend"," May said with her familiar optimism.
"What do you think "he" is going to say about all of this?" Cindy asked, referring to May's current boyfriend.
"He doesn't know yet, and I think it is still too early to tell him. It's gonna take a while to get everything ready for me to buy a house." Cindy's eyebrow rose raised in curiosity.
"Really? How long will it take for you to buy this house ours?" Cindy asked, feeling a spark of her sister's optimism.
"With my salary it will take us a couple years until then." That same spark of optimism died instantly.
"Don't sulk, you know teachers don't get paid much, so you shouldn't have had high expectations to begin with." Cindy groaned.
"Then why did you pick such a sucky job?" May forced out a chuckle.
"It was the only job I could bag you little brat. Job hunting ain't as easy as it looks." Cindy groaned again.
"Don't worry little sis. Once we get our own house everything else will be smooth sailing. I promise." May said sincerely. Cindy looked at her sister and noticed the smile she was giving her. Lighting up the bit of optimism she had left.
"Whatever big sis, just stop looking at me like that. It's embarrassing." Cindy turned away, hiding the excited smile she had on her.
___________________________________________________________________________
The only way to describe Maze's morning with even the slightest bit of accuracy was rushed. From the second she woke up she was forced to take a cold shower, dress and meet her mother outside. Apparently, she had sorted everything out for them the previous night and they were to move to their new apartment immediately. All of Maze's stuff was packed by her Maids and they were in the Ford ranger in a matter of minutes.
What saddened Maze the most was the fact that her father didn't even show to say goodbye to them before they left, in what could be her last day in his house he didn't even bother to say goodbye to his only child. Maze felt a sting in her chest when she thought about it. She knew her father wasn't the emotional type, but even that was a bit much.
The drive to their new apartment wasn't a quiet one as Elise kept rambling about the things they would do once they arrived at that apartment. Her mother had called Rosemary and reported her sick which gave Maze the full day with her. Something that she had never done in all her 17 years of life. Her mother, being the CEO of the Amour fashion brand, kept her busy 80 percent of the time while her father managed everything from home and would occasionally leave for meetings. Her mother had the bulk of the work as she was practically the face of the brand. She was happy that she got this opportunity to get to know her mother, but hated the fact it took her running away and nearly killing herself to get it.
Once they reached the apartment complex. They were let in by a kind guard who explained everything to them. They were given their house keys and the guard disappeared back into his duties. Maze explored the two bedroomed apartment, admiring how simple yet classy the design was. She walked into her room that was already fully furnished. She jumped on her bed which wasn't as comfortable as her old bed, but not entirely unbearable.
"Auntie!" She called, forgetting that her maid stayed at her father's place. She felt a slight sting of loneliness hit her as she wasn't used to being without her beloved maid.
"Hey there sweetie." Her mother popped in her room with an enthusiastic smile on her face.
"So, what shall we do with this new-found freedom of ours?" She asked. Maze smiled at her mother's excitement but was unable to answer her question. What did mothers and daughters do to bond in their free time anyway?
"I-I'm not sure." She stuttered out, which seemed to get her mother even more excited.
"Good, because I have a lot of plans for us today, and since you have nothing, you have no choice but to follow my lead little lady." Maze felt as if she should've known her mother would have something planned out for them.
"I-I'm sorry mom, it's so early that I still feel a bit tired." Maze admitted feeling how heavy her eyelids were. Elise sighed but kept the energetic smile on her face.
"You know, now that you mention it, I also feel a little drowsy." She said stretching her limbs before slumping on Maze's bed.
"How about we take a little nap sweety?" She offered patting the spot next to her for Maze to rest. Maze slowly crawled next to her and was pulled down towards her, getting caught in a warm hug between her bosoms. The sweet smell of vanilla clouded Maze's scent, relaxing her as she began to feel the fatigue wash up over her.
Maze wrapped her arms around her mother as she began brushing her hair with her hand.
"I'm so tired." Maze whispered.
"It's okay sweetie. I know it has been hard. It was hard for you to try and impress everyone. Constantly working to meet everyone's expectations. But you don't need to impress me anymore. I'm already proud to be the mother to such a wonderful child."
Maze pulled her mother closer, tears soaking her mother's shirt. Elise smiled and continued to brush her hair.
"Rest now little soldier, you have done enough.
This war is over, let's go grab a cup.
Lay down your weapons there's nothing to fear.
When we meet in heaven let's grab us a bear.
Take off all your armor, remove all the mud.
In this coming summer we clean all the blood.
We pray to our father, let no more be killed.
We pray for forgiveness, no blood will be spilled.
Close your eyes little soldier, we've settled the score.
Close your eyes little soldier, we've won this war.
Close your eyes little soldier, those covered in sin.
Hope your mother is happy, hope you see her again."
Maze dosed off almost immediately as her mother's singing lulled her to sleep. Her tears dried on her cheeks and her snot stuck on her mother's shirt. Elise eventually succumbed to her own exhaustion and fell asleep beside her daughter. The two women enjoying their company together in one of the few moments they had ever shared together.
________________________________________________________________________________
It was lunch time and Cindy waited with Chris to begin their mission. Yes, she was nervous, but she knew she had to do it... for Maze's sake. She might not have known much about Maze, but she knew Chris cared about her and that was reason enough for her to help, despite hating the fact that she had to work with someone like Nami.
"So, Cindy, which group do you think we should start with?" Chris asked looking at the array of Freshmen in the Junior's cafeteria. Cindy didn't know where to start as each group seemed to pique her interest. Though there was one group she was afraid of.
"Can't decide, huh? How about I pick for you then?" Chris asked, seeing her reluctance to pick a clique to speak to.
"Uhm, Chris aren't seniors not allowed to be in the juniors cafeteria?" Cindy asked out of curiosity.
"Well, yeah, but I'll be fine, I'll just watch you from over here." He reassured her.
"How about that one?" Chris said pointing to a random group. Cindy hesitated to answer as her heart began to race, her palms began to moisten, and her feet felt like they were stuck to the ground.
"I don't know about this Chris, what if they reject me?" She asked. Chris patted her back snapping her out of her weariness.
"It's okay, if you get rejected just keep trying and you'll eventually find a group that accepts you."
Rejected.
"Well, that sucks, but we mustn't give up. Try that group over there."
Rejected.
"They don't know what they're missing out on, but you mustn't let it discourage you. There are still 3 more groups left to go!"
Rejected.
"Chris, let's just stop for today, I don't think I can handle anymore rejections." Cindy said with tears threatening to come out.
"Come on Cindy, we can't give up yet. Maze is counting on us." Chris said sounding as enthusiastic as ever.
[Easy for you to say...] She thought. [You're not the one getting rejected.]
"How about I go with you this time, I'm sure they'd listen if a senior was involved." Chris smiled confidently and it somehow rubbed off on Cindy. Feeling this wave of confidence, she wiped away her tears and got ready to approach the next group.
Chris pointed to a group and that very confidence left her when she saw the group he had picked.
"Uhm Chris can't we..." She couldn't finish as he was already on his way to speaking with the group. She ran after him, but the group had already turned to face him. It was a group of all girls with the one girl Cindy made sure to avoid throughout her entire Rosemary career sitting at the center.
"Morning ladies, mind if I can ask something of you?" The girls looked at Chris curiously, but at the same time were intrigued by him.
"I don't think we've met before, my name is Judy, and you are?" The girl in the center spoke in a flirtatious tone that made Cindy feel uncomfortable as she hid behind Chris.
"Lovely to meet you Judy, my name is Chris." Chris introduced, flashing her a light smile which got the rest of the girls around Judy to swoon.
"So, what may I help you with Chris, if you want to sit with us then you're more than welcome to." Judy invited causing Chris to chuckle.
"I'm actually here on behalf of a friend," Chris stepped to the side to reveal Cindy who instantly flared up.
"This is my friend Cindy, she has been struggling to make friends and I was hoping you girls would allow her to sit with you." All the sparkle in the group's eyes had vanished and was replaced with bitter frowns.
"I'm sorry Chris, but on behalf of my team, I would have to deny your request." She said, her tone shifting to smug.
"May I ask why you're rejecting her?" Chris asked, adopting a more serious tone.
"It's simple Chrisy, in this group we follow girl code, and allowing a slut like her will only stain our reputation." Chris squinted at the girl who crossed her arms with a smug smile plastered on her face. Before he could say anything in return Cindy ran out of the cafeteria, inciting Chris to go after her. He turned back before leaving the cafeteria giving Judy a hateful glare and then continued his chase after Cindy.
When Chris caught up to her, she was sitting under the staircase they usually sat on during lunch, when Chris approached her, he made a note of how it smelled like weed under there but ignored it to sit next to Cindy.
"I think we've done enough for today; I'll talk to Nami so that we can revise this plan of hers." There was a gap in between the two as Chris didn't want to invade her personal space. When Chris saw that she wasn't replying he began to speak.
"What's wrong with that girl? We were only being friendly, but she just had to say all that mean stuff about you." Chris gritted his teeth at the thought, his blood slowly beginning to boil.
"Should I report her to Duncan for you, or would you prefer that I handle this myself?" Chris asked with a worried tone. Cindy didn't understand what he meant by dealing with the issue himself but ignored it.
"Don't." Cindy whimpered. Chris raised an eyebrow at her, curious as to why she wouldn't want to get the girl in trouble.
"But she hurt you, I can't just let that slide without doing something first." Chris said with a hint of anger in his voice.
"It's okay Chris, I forgive her." Chris's eyes shot open.
"What!?" He asked, failing to hide his shock.
"I know why she's doing this so it's okay."
"No, it's not! She has no right to treat you like that." Chris argued.
"She...She is my sister." Chris's breath caught in his throat. His mouth hung open struggling to answer her.
"What?" Was all he could let out in a ghostly sigh.
"Listen let's just call it quits, okay? I don't want to deal with this anymore." Cindy's voice was shaky as she struggled to fight back tears. She got up and began to walk away.
"Wait, Cindy! ---" The bell rang, cutting him off. He gritted his teeth in annoyance and called out.
"Let's talk afterschool!" He shouted, but she didn't turn to acknowledge his request. Chris felt a slight ache in his chest as he watched her walk away and get lost in the pool of learners moving to their class.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Afterschool came along and Chris waited at their usual meeting area, hoping that Cindy would actually show up. He had never seen her so upset so what came was a complete shock to him. He wanted to make things right and with a determined look on his face, he told himself that he would wait there for her so he could apologize properly.
"Uhm excuse me." Chris heard a young voice from behind. He turned and saw a freshman come up to him.
"Can I help you with anything?" Chris asked politely.
"I wanted to ask you a question. It might come out as personal so brace yourself." The boy said, Chris stared at the young man curiously wondering what he wanted to ask.
"Sure, ask away?" He said turning his body to him.
"I want to know if you and Cindy are dating?" A long pause followed after that as Chris processed the question.
"N-No, or I don't think so at least." Chris said sheepishly scratching his head.
"Really?" The boy asked.
"Uhm yeah I guess." Chris said unsure with his answer. He didn't know the first thing about dating and wasn't sure if Cindy felt that way about him. Then a question sprung in his conscious.
[What would I do if Cindy asked me out?] His cheeks began to redden at the thought.
"Oh good, guess the rumors aren't true then."
[Rumors?]
"Wait, what rumors?" Chris asked snapping out of his delusions.
"Oh, uhm I've said too much." The boy tried to withdraw the question, but Chris wasn't letting it go.
"No, you haven't at all. What do the rumors say?" He figured it was nothing good and could already tell where they were coming from.
"Well, people thought you and Cindy were dating and that she has a thing for older men." The boy said, Chris felt a mixture of confusion and sheepishness as the blush on his cheeks returned.
He cleared his throat and said "F-First of all. No, me and her have a good freshman senior relationship. Secondly, we are actually the same age." Once done with his clarification he looked at the boy for any response.
"Come on dude, not even I'm that close with my senior. You two literally sit alone together during lunch every time."
"That's just because she has been struggling to make any friends amongst her classmates, and those rumors aren't really helping her." Chris could feel his blood boil every time he thought about that girl Judy. Sister or not, what she was doing to Cindy was inexcusable.
"So, was that why you were in our cafeteria today?" The boy asked.
"Yeah, I was trying to help her make friends, but that backfired terribly. Now I'm sure she doesn't want to speak to me, let alone be in the same area as me." Chris sighed, hating possibility of what he just said. It was getting late, and Chris figured that Cindy was long gone at this point.
"I should head out; sorry I didn't catch your name?" Chris asked sheepishly.
"That's cool, my name is Finn." Finn said, giving Chris a playful salute.
"Oh, and if Cindy needs a group to sit with, she is more than welcome to sit with us during lunch. We have a physical assessment tomorrow, so I'll let her know when I see her." He finished before turning to walk away. Chris's eyes lit up as he realized what that meant. He quickly took out his phone to text her, but stopped just as he was about to type.
[No, it's best I tell her face to face. Tomorrow is the freshmen physical assessment, I'll be sacrificing my weekend, but it's better than her staying mad at me.] He thought. His face shining with determination as his plan was set.
________________________________________________________________________________
Maze rolled around in her bed as she slowly began to stir awake. Her room was dark with a weak light coming through her window. She sat up noticing that her mother wasn't on the bed. Brushing the area Elise slept in she smiled, realizing that was the first time she shared a bed with her mother. Her body was so warm and her scent. Maze planted her face on her sheets to smell the comforting scent of vanilla that her mother left. She noticed her mouth felt a little dry and sighed knowing that she'd have to get off of her bed.
[I wonder if mom cancelled the plans she had with me today.] Maze thought as she hopped out of bed.
Excitement filled her heart knowing that she was finally getting a proper reset. She didn't want to leave her friends behind, but if that was the cost to spending more time with her mother, then she would gladly take it. Her mother was the only one who understood her pain. They both shared a loss when Marcus died. This was their chance to finally heal those old wounds. Maze walked out of her room and a savory scent hit her nose, reminding her that she hadn't eaten the entire day.
[Is mom actually cooking?] Maze wondered getting excited about eating her mother's food. Having only tasted what the maids made her she was curious with what her mother could make. She skipped in glee towards the kitchen.
"Hey mo..."
Her feet froze to the ground as she struggled to compute what stood before her, her skin went cold and her breath caught in her throat. Burned red skin, horns protruding from its skull and a massive figure that made her feel dwarfed in comparison.
Her heart sunk as she saw the demon hold up her mother by the throat. Elise kicked and screamed in a choked breath. Maze couldn't see her face, but the saliva bubbling out of her mouth flowed down her once pale cheeks.
When Elise turned her head down to look at her daughter, the look in her eyes told her everything to know.
[Run.]
Snapping back to reality Maze felt her heart accelerate out of control. Maze stepped back and began walking to her room when a loud crack echoed through the corridors freezing. Her heart sank as she knew exactly what that sound meant. She covered her mouth to muffle the scream that wanted to escape her throat. A loud thud followed, snapping Maze out of her petrification. She had to run.
Maze walked in her room and just as she closed the door, she heard footsteps coming towards her. Her heart felt like jumping out with each thud that grew closer. She climbed back in bed and turned away from the door. She told herself on repeat that it was all a dream, but her hopes were dashed as her door flew open. Heavy footsteps walked towards her as she had to will her entire body to stop shaking she felt the bed shift in weight as whatever it was climbed on her bed. A hand caressed her shoulder and a cold breath whispered in her ear.
"Sleep tight sweety." Maze wanted to scream, she wanted to turn and run, but all those emotions held her in place as that voice that whispered so gently in her ear, was the voice of her mother