Ellie's Flames BOOK 2

9: Pinkalicious Room Sears My Eyeballs (And A Friendly Shrimp Didn't Help)

(I wanted to try this, since Sera is a key character in Ellie and she'd been kind of feeling not like that in D3 Ellie. I mean, for Pete's sake, Sera literally sacrificed a year of her life for her brother, and she's had like four lines of dialogue in Ellie D3 so far!)

(Plus, she's got family here and I wanted to be able to show her reaction to everything going on if Arson was threatened.)

(Also, I realized I never described what Sera looked like outfit-wise so far, and it'd be kind of weird t include it now so I'll just describe it here. She's wearing a bloodred top with those metal spike things on the shoulders on top of black epaulet-kind of things. Like Evie has on her shoulders, except wider and with frayed sides. No sleeves, just on her shoulders. Black leather gloves on both hands, fingerless. Black pants with red stripes down the sides, pants only reach a little above her knees. Brown combat boots, red laces. Lots of jingly bronze stuff hanging off of her entire outfit. Black parts of her hair pulled into a ponytail, but every red braid hanging down)

SERA'S POV

After we get to Audrey's dorm, (which is WAY too pink, by the way---I need to cleanse my eyes after this) we split up to look for clues. Celia makes a beeline for Audrey's dresser-mirror-whatever that thing is called and starts bedazzling herself with things too sparkly for my taste. I end up by the (PINK!!!! WHO HAS A PINK ONE???) fireplace, examining golden pokers and whatever fire tools are called, with Evie. One is missing. Big whoop. Mal is going through Audrey's dresser drawers while Uma watches.

I pick up a large golden-gilded picture frame with teeny weeny Audrey and Ben side-by-side, with cute baby grins on their faces.

"Wow. How long were these two dating?" I ask, rubbing my finger on the picture where baby Ben is holding a teeny weeny crown for teeny weeny Audrey's head.

"I'm not sure." Evie says, looking at the picture. I look over to Mal, but she stubbornly keeps her gaze on Audrey's bobby pins.

"This is useless. Maybe some of us should search the actual school." Uma suggests.

"E and I will go." Mal instantly says, jumping up and abandoning the pins that were her only lifeline a minute ago.

I shrug. "See ya, then." I notice a picture lying face-down on a plushy (AGAIN PINK) mini-couch, and I pick it up. It's a photograph of teenage Audrey, before her hair turned into candy, with Ben behind her. Both of them are smiling, but even I can tell it's a little... lacking on Ben's side.

"Sera." Mal says. Guiltily, I drop the picture back on the couch. But Mal doesn't seem to care about the picture. She just gives me a look that oh-so-clearly says watch Uma. I nod, and then she opens the door. As soon as Mal and Evie are out of the room, Uma flops down on Audrey's bed.

"Think she's under the covers?" I ask, tapping my foot on the way-too-glossy floor. I know from my days aboard her smelly ship that she despises noises like this. Whistling is what really ticks her off, but I can't whistle.

Shrimpy Uma shrugs. "Maybe. Never know unless I try, right?"

Cue my scoffing. But after a few seconds...

"Scoot." I say, flicking my fingers. "That bed looks comfy."

"Oh, it is." Uma gloats, rubbing the blanket. I totally thought she'd just make fun and leave me standing, but she moves over and crosses her arms, as if daring me to get close to her.

I grin and jump on, landing on my back on the bed. "Woof. Yer right, this bed is pure awesome. But, this pillow feels like a brick."

"Just like home." Uma mutters, crossing her legs comfortably.