"I-I've always felt tha-at girl had bad blo-ood but not to-to this extent." Gianna frown's deepened at a sticker on her notebook cover as if it had offended her more than Kelly's surprising breakout two nights ago. She'd narrated the entire story to Mimie careful enough to not mention the new light her mum viewed her in and of course Sean's threats lest it reached Adam's ears. But then, Kelly's attitude ached Gianna so much that she couldn't help but wonder why she said that. Perhaps she was too fast to conclude; Kelly could possibly have been under the influence of her brother. Blood is thicker than water. "I thought alcohol wasn't sold to minors." Mimie pulled out her glasses and rubbed a smudge away from them with the hem of her blouse. With her eyes squinted she said, "True. That's be-below eighteen or twenty-one in some ci-cities. Even though the t-town's federal drinking age is from twenty as stric-ctly decreed by the mayor si-since two years ago, do you believe Sean to b

The journey to school was the most soothing and exhilarating in a long while; her father sat behind the steering wheel. He introduced an old game of theirs that consisted of guessing either a fruit or an animal with the opponent's given letter within a given time. Preferably within seconds. With Gianna leading, Petra promised to surpass her sister during their next encounter before walking out of the car. Finally alone with her father, Gianna took the little pause between them to ponder on the previous day. She would've loved to play the binding referee as soon as possible had it been Adam was in school. He alerted neither her nor Mimie about his absence. And when they made time to reach him, they kept falling into the answering machine. Mimie who had promised to check up on him in person returned with feedback from his auntie that he had traveled on short notice and will be back the next day. She was officially going to be sixteen on Saturday and she wondered how things will un

Saturday had finally arrived with the house as quiet as Cold Spring's graveyard. Apart from Mimie and Adam's midnight calls of boisterous wishes, there was nothing. Nothing else felt birthdayish. Disappointed, neither Seth nor Julia called or messaged. Vexed, her parents must have already left home without a word. Slightly surprised, Kelly messaged her, called, and even went the extra mile of changing the book donation group subject to 'It's our registrar's birthday.' That lashed chains of wishes from all seventeen members. Since the restroom talk, there hasn't been any major encounter, but the nanoseconds they casually met in the cafeteria and involuntarily in the corridors proved that she was recovering physically. She hoped mentally too. And she prayed for that day to come when she'll want Kelly to cool the unattainable itches on her back. Her apple wall clock read 8:50 a.m. She sighed and began to prepare for the first step into the most boring birthday of her life hadn't it be

Gianna was staring at the home party invitation card Elodie had given her before hopping into Gerald's car for home. With her name precisely inscribed on it, nothing bode well. She'd heard about Elodie Jones' house parties, "Hell's bait", organized almost every month and how top-notch, over man's expectations, they often were. Given the constant absence of her parents, Elodie made good use of the opportunity to throw irresponsible parties, regardless, absent or not she still had a party permit with the sole difference being parent's recommended upper-cruster's kids responsibly discussing over tea, cakes, patties, and hired violinists or pianists performances. Modest parties. What a bag of bore. But what she had never heard about was the distribution of invitation cards. Gianna glowered at the shimmery pink card on her study table. It terribly stunk of pungent intentions. Especially if she had to add the girl's uncertainties about her relationship with Sean. Gianna shuddered at th

It was close to eleven yet Gianna's eyes and mind functioned like the day had just begun; fresh and kicking nonstop. She had lost count of the number of times she'd changed positions in bed and the remembrance of the types of positions she'd taken apart from that which she currently was in—her pillow tightly buried in her chest as her back rested on the headboard.She still did not want to reckon.When she finally picked up the phone that had been changing positions with her in her process of intense thinking, her thumbs roamed to Mimie's name in an attempt to call but her time consciousness made her go for the messaging icon instead.Gianna hesitated as the lightened screen dulled to the extent of a total blackout. Gratitude to the calm lightning from the archaic designed bedside lamp.As her chest deflated, her chin rested on the top sector of the pillow, saved from her tight squeeze, deep in thought.She couldn't tell Mimie. However, she had to talk to someone.Her message to Julia