The Life of Livana Garmadon

August 6th, 2023

Humans are judgemental and often insecure creatures. Sometimes, insecurity is the reason why people judge other people. They are afraid of showing their own flaws, so they make other people's flaws bigger than their own. In reality, they're just scared. Everyone's afraid of something. If you're not afraid of anything at the moment, then you just haven't discovered your worst fear yet.

I've always been scared of losing it. I've always been scared of falling into a world that even me, the one who's supposed to know myself best, can't even decipher. I've always been scared that I'll lose the ones I love the most because of myself. I've always been scared... that I'll take the world down with me.

I've always been scared of going crazy. I mean, the idea of it is scary itself. No one understands you, because no one else you know is crazy. You're the only one. You're the only one who has your personality. You're the only one who can understand yourself. But you need other people's understanding, too. But even if they wanted to help, they couldn't. Because they don't know how to.

I've seen people who have gone crazy. Some people are fine, beautiful even, and others... not so much. I've seen many things in Darkly's Boarding School, plus on the streets, and some things aren't for a 5 year old to see.

A splash of blood that was mistaken for crimson paint.

A small, shivering witness to a murder.

"They say it's alright, but it's not. It's a lie, Liv. And you can choose to lie, or to be truthful with yourself."

I snapped back to reality, just as the washing machine started humming. I blinked, rubbing my eyes to clear the flashbacks, as I watched the clothes spin around in the water. I walked out of the laundry room, letting out a yawn, before I turned around and ran into Cole, smacking my nose against his chest.

"Ow!" I winced, stumbling back and holding my nose, pinching the bridge of it before glancing at Cole. His chest was rock hard, much like his element. Cole barely flinched, instead looking at me with concern as I tilted my head back and touched my top lip. When I realized my nose wasn't bleeding, thankfully, I put my hand down.

"Sorry." Cole rumbled as I adjusted my sleek ponytail, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I rubbed the bridge of my nose with my pointer finger and then nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just did the laundry, so... our uniforms should be clean in a few minutes."

"Okay." Cole nodded his head.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked him as he started walking. I started walking alongside him, catching up with him. Cole looked down at me and I fidgeted with the edge of my shirt, feeling like I was being judged underneath his gaze. Do you see what I mean with the whole judging thing?

"Something happened with Ronin not cooperating, so they went down to interrogate him." Cole informed me, stretching his hands up to the sky as his joints popped.

I raised an eyebrow, "All of them?"

"Zane, Nya, and P.I.X.A.L went to crack Ronin's website code." Cole said, "Lloyd, Kai, and Jay are doing the interrogating portion."

"Why didn't you go?" I asked.

"I don't know, short stack." Cole shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think they need the extra muscle. Plus, I was trying to get my work out and all that." Cole gestured at his black tank top and then laced his hands behind his head, smelling a lot like deodorant. "Your brother suggested that I stay here with you."

"Why didn't they call for me?" I frowned.

"Maybe because they don't want your dragon taking off after you again?" Cole suggested with a patient shrug. "Have you had any lunch yet?"