The End

Chapter 5: Serena

 Thursday evening, I got home from school before Mom and Addie did, so I took up the chance to relax on the couch with a cup of tea and my book. The house was completely silent, except for the occasional house notifications coming from the Sharp System.

The book I was reading was from one of my favorite authors, Sara Lonan. She had only written three books in her lifetime, probably because she was too busy traveling the world and enjoying life. From the research I had done on her, she had two thick books she wrote based on true stories and accounts of her life. The other one was short, and was filled with words of wisdom and poetry. I actually owned this one, and read parts of it from time to time. My grandmother had owned them before me, and she seemed to love Sara Lonan's work as much as I did, considering all of the bent pages and side notes and highlights. The one I was reading now was called "The Sharpest Point of a Circle" and it was a one of the thick ones, probably about 700 pages. I had started reading it about a week and a half ago, but I never found time to read it much, so I was only about 30 or so pages in. So far, it was about her leaving home at the age of 14 to get away from the advancement. She spoke about feeling like she was drowning in people and she couldn't breathe. Her metaphors ran deep on the subject, and she included a lot of detail and description.

I felt as if I could relate a little with how things were going. At school, I felt as if maybe I was the one drowning in people, losing myself, and losing the ability to breathe. Maybe getting away to somewhere where there were more trees and less people would help. Only, I don't think I could actually muster the dauntless attitude of running away and living on my own in the woods like her.

I was just about to find out how she fared on her own when Mom and Addie entered through the door. Mom was currently on the phone with a client, so I helped Addie with her bag.

"Hey how was school?" I asked.

"Good! We read the three little pigs and then we all got to draw our own houses like we were the pigs! Look!" by now we were in her bedroom, the pink walls surrounding us. She pulled a sheet of paper out of her backpack and turned it toward me so that I could see. I looked at the gray crayon square in the middle of the page. "I made my house out of metal so that it can survive the A-po-ca-lypse. It even has an underground part so that the pigs won't get hurt from the es-plosions!" I gave her a gentle smile, but deep down, a small part of my heart tore at those statements.

"What's that?" I inquired, pointing at the pink glob at the top of the page with gold marks raining down.

"Oh, that's the fairy that protects the house! See, the magic dust makes it safe from the dangerous sun over here," She pointed to the orange glob.

"You know Addie, I think this deserves to be hung up on the fridge. You have become quite the little artist! Come on," I said, hoisting her onto my hip and carrying her out to the kitchen with the drawing.

By now, Mom was off of the phone, but she still had her shoes on and her bag was sitting on the table. "Serena, I have to go back out and run some errands. I'll be back in a bit okay?" Mom said as she neared the door.

"Sure thing Mom," I replied.

Addie settled on the living room floor with her favorite Barbie dolls while I continued to read on the couch. Turns out, Sara Lonan didn't stay in the woods for as long as she'd expected, even with her parents not caring that she was gone. I loved reading her perspective on the subject. Lonan didn't whine about her time in the woods, regardless of how terrible it was. When she went back home, she took the knowledge and experience with her. "And although it was not fun, I did not regret a single second. I have learned, therefore I have made use of." I loved this line so much, but I loved the next part even more; "For my path in life is about understanding, and I will not reach the end of the road until I can understand all there is to understand." I closed the book here, and left that thought to ponder on.

I decided to join Addie with her Barbies for a while. It wasn't long after, and Mom came home. She went straight to her room and called for me to follow. She closed the door behind me, which I found strange because she hardly ever did that. "I have something to give you," she told me. Her facial expression was all seriousness, maybe even a little grave. She reached into one of the plastic bags that she'd set onto her bed and pulled out a can of pepperspray, holding it out to me. I gave her a questioning look. "I want you to be safe while you are out and about."

I was a little surprised. "Mom-"

"I'm serious. I've heard the News reports and things going on around us and at your school. I don't like it, and even though this isn't a lot, it might at least give me a little bit of peace of mind while you're at school."

"Okay, thanks Mom," I said, taking the pepperspray can and turning it over in my hand. "And what about Addie?"

"I was getting to that next. I'm pulling her from school."

"But where is she going to stay while you work?"

"Well, I've decided that I'm going to change jobs. Marriage Counseling isn't going to be a priority for people anymore, so I might do a medical job and work after your school hours. I still have to put in my two-week notice, and apply for the new job. But if everything works out, once I get the job, I'll be leaving Addie with you while I work. You think you can handle that?"

"Oh yeah of course Mom, no problem," I told her with a confident smile. We then hugged, her squeezing me tightly to her in a way that said "I know you've got this", and I went back to my bedroom to stow away my secret weapon.

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The next day at school, I felt as if everyone knew I was hiding something in my bag. Of course, I knew that no one knew, but I felt like everyone thought I was up to something. I guess it was just the paranoia that came with someone like me carrying something like pepperspray. There was also the paranoia of feeling like someone was going to attack me. Having to carry pepperspray for self defense made the craziness of the world around me seem even more real than before, and I found myself constantly checking over my shoulder.

After third period, I found my sense of slight relief. I headed to my locker to retrieve my book for the next class and saw Jasper by his locker, three lockers down the row from mine. I stopped short a few feet, just to look at him. The way he bent over on one knee, back slightly arched in order to see whatever he was grabbing. His shirt had ridden up just enough that I could get a glimpse of the lining of his navy blue underwear. I watched as he closed his locker for a moment, glanced left then right, and then pulled something from his pocket. Whatever it was glistened in the light.

"Hey!" I said, just to get his attention. He jumped slightly, returning the object to his pocket, but relaxed when he saw it was just me. I walked over to him, and he stood, giving me a quick hug. "What was that you had in your pocket?" I asked inquisitively.

"It's uh," he pulled the object out again, revealing a pocket knife. He read my reaction before I could say anything. "Don't freak out! It's just for emergencies, in case I need it or something. You can't tell anyone."

I nodded. "Well, I guess now is a good time to tell you," I pulled out my pepperspray. "Mom got me this to carry around with me everywhere I go."

Now he was nodding. "Well good. Glad we've got the same mindset going here. And I'm glad you have something to help keep you safe. I worry about you, ya know," he said, and kissed my forehead.

"I worry about you too," I replied, whilst subtly brushing my hand against his side, and letting it linger as he pulled away to walk to class, a caring smile on his face.