About You Now

Serenity's Tumultuous Week

To say Serenity's week had been tumultuous was an understatement. Everything had started normal enough. Monday hadn't been any different from the beginning of any other week. A little more attention than usual. Her pregnancy was common knowledge, so people paid more attention to her than expected. Some asked questions and offered help, whereas others whispered as she walked past. A few made comments, but nothing Serenity couldn't ignore. The perks far outweighed the cons.

Even being cooped up in the little room near Stephanie's office had been different that Monday. In the place of the comfortable static chair was an adjustable office one. The tables had also been separated, and they were no longer gathered in the middle of the room as if prepared for a meeting. Now, they resembled ordinary classrooms spread across the school premises, all smaller in scale. A seating plan had been arranged, too, and a small list of rules had been blue-tacked to the whiteboard; underneath the rules was the daily schedule.

Breaks and Lunch had passed like all the others since the intervention. The only difference was Roman. Where he'd once been attentive and talkative, he turned quiet and distant, dare she say suspicious of her. When the group in the little room spoke about little things, Roman would be fully invested, but the moment it was just the two of them, his answers were short if he used words; if not, it was a combination of mumbles and growls. If Roman wasn't doing his studies, he was on his phone or writing and drawing in another notebook. Oddly, he refused to allow Serenity to look at it, even when she demanded to see it. His only response was to ask why and clearly state it wasn't her business. Even when she insisted it was. Even worse, when Serenity repeated his actions to spark jealousy. He didn't seem to notice; if he did, he never asked about it or demanded to see what was inside.

Tuesday was when things had begun to change. The day started with a school assembly. Stephanie called all students and staff to the NXT sports hall, the only place within the school that was big enough to hold everyone. At the assembly, Stephanie announced that she and the teaching staff would be working with police inspectors while also confirming the rumors of a car accident the previous Friday were valid. The headmistress's words made it clear the many incidences around the school over the year and the accident itself were connected. Even worse for Serenity, it was made incredibly apparent by the investigating officers that they didn't believe the hit and run was an accident, although they didn't share more.

Coincidentally, the Mix-and-Match family disappeared the same day. They had been present at the assembly, but after that, it was as if someone had put a blanket of invisibility over them. Serenity was initially suspicious but soon figured it had to do with the investigation; they'd be back soon enough. However, they didn't return; at least Serenity hadn't noticed them. She'd gone looking for them at lunch and went to all the spots she knew they gathered, only to find each void of life or occupied by a different group of students.

While searching around the school, however, she came across Roman on the first floor. He was near a row of lockers, seemingly blind to everything around him, bobbing away to the music he was listening to, a slight grin on his lips as he worked on something. At first, Serenity didn't think much of it; she was halfway down the stairs when suspicion hit her. Roman's locker was on the ground floor, near the south entrance. He did not need to be near the first-floor lockers, at least when alone. So she went back up the stairs to confront him.

Only when she reached him did she realize what he was doing: decorating AJ's once boring locker door. The silver metal had been covered over with a patchwork of dark purple and white paper. Some glitter, sequins, and fake jewels had been glued onto each bit; on top of the patched work paper were different things, a few photos of AJ with different people framed with feathers and cutouts of her favorite comic characters. A few trinkets here and there, a get well soon banner, and, of course, a little banner with AJ's name and nicknames written on them.