My name is Serenity Grace Valentine. I would like to start off with mentioning that the name “Serenity’” means ‘the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled’. For some bizarre reason, the past 16 years have been a little bit different then calm, peaceful, and untroubled. In fact, they’ve been just about the complete opposite.


Before I begin my story, I should probably fill you in on a few details. When I was 7, my dad left my mother and I for another woman that he had supposedly been “working” with for the past year. At the time, my mother was 8 months pregnant with her soon-to-be baby boy and my soon-to-be annoying little brother, Dominic, or “Dom” as we call him now. Everything was okay until our mother got diagnosed with stage 4-breast cancer.

It happened when I was 13 and Dom was 6. I remember coming home from school to see my grandmother, former stage 2-breast cancer survivor, pacing in my living room. My school ended an hour earlier than Dom’s, so it wasn’t time to go get him yet. I walked up to my grandmother, who was still pacing, and all I saw was fear in her eyes. “Where’s mom?” I asked. She kept pacing as if I wasn’t there.

“Grandma! Where is mom?” Still I got no answer. “GRANDMA!” Finally, I got something. She turned to face me, yet she had this blank look, as if she was staring straight through my head at something behind me. “Grandma?” I asked softly. “Your mother…she went to the doctors office today.” Now that caught my attention. I started to think about the worst possible scenarios. Could she have lung cancer? Will she have to get her leg amputated? Is her heart skipping several beats? Before I can finish my list of terrible sicknesses, my grandma continued by saying, “Something was wrong with her tests. They had her take some more tests and they figured out her diagnosis. Remember how I had breast cancer?” Oh no. This is not going in a good direction. “Well, your mother seemed to have gotten it, just like I did.” A shot of fear raced through my throat. “Your mother was diagnosed with stage 4-breast cancer.”

The next few seconds were a blur. My mind went completely blank, and at that moment I couldn’t remember anything. I almost didn’t even remember where I was. I then started to stumble and at that point, my vision went black.

My mother died on Christmas Eve that year, which practically ruined my lifetime, and my Christmas. Now, Dom and I would be moving to my grandmother’s house, where we would be living for the next two years, until I was old enough to be Dom’s legal guardian.

Well, let’s just say I thought that was the plan. It turns out; my grandmother got a “life-changing” job in Bora Bora where she would be working in a resort giving massages. I don’t understand what’s so “life-changing” about rubbing the backs of hairy old men.
By the look of it, Dom and I are going to have to move in to my Aunt Delphine’s house. She’s completely and utterly evil and I’m almost positive all she wants to do is kick us in the butts and send us to an orphanage. Luckily, the dad who hasn’t said one word to either of us in the past 5 years is still alive. Technically we aren’t orphans. I guess she is just stuck with us. Or we are just stuck with her.

It’s been four long weeks since my grandmother left for Bora Bora. So far, we haven’t heard a word from her and her “life-changing” job. It really sucks living with Delphine. Dom and I both had to transfer to new schools since we lived in California but Delphine lives in Ohio. I am now attending Norwich High School in a little town located in Ohio. I dread it there almost as much as I hate living with Delphine. Almost every girl thinks she’s “all that” and almost all the guys believe he’s the hottest. Every perfect girl has a perfect boyfriend who they are supposedly in love with. It’s sick.

The next day, I woke up at 6:30 to get dressed. I woke Dom up and staggered into the bathroom, still half asleep, to wash my face. That managed to wake me up a little more, but 1/3 of me was still asleep. I managed to stumble back into Dom’s room, only to find him still sleeping. I tip toed over to his bed, yanked off the covers, and rolled him off. He landed with a loud “THUD” on the floor. “Hey! I’m awake, I’m awake!” he yelled at me with his eyes closed. That seemed to do the trick.

I walked back into my room and pulled open a drawer with my sweats and jeans and took out a pair of my skinny jeans and pulled them on. Then, I pulled a white T-shirt over my head and trudged out of my room. As I walked down to the kitchen to eat breakfast, I checked my phone for anything that came over night. My phone read “6 missed calls- unidentified caller.” Well that’s strange. I thought to myself. I didn’t really think about calling back because there wasn’t even a number there, so I just continued walking down the stairs.

When I got down in to the kitchen, Delphine was sitting in one of the chairs by the table with a bottle of beer in her hand. “Don’t you think it’s a little early for beer?” I questioned her. “Don’t you think you should be minding your own business, doing whatever little girls do?” she snapped back. “I’m not a little girl, Delphine.” “You’re whatever I say you are! Understood?” I knew it wasn’t worth a fight, so I just nodded. She stood up with her beer bottle and walked out of the kitchen but right as she got to the door, she whipped her head around and said “Oh, and to you, I’m Mrs. D.” She whipped her head back around and opened the door, only to see Dom standing there, as if he was listening in to our conversation. “Ugh. Kids these days are so annoying.” She complained out loud, not caring who heard.
Dom walked in to the kitchen with an anxious look on his face. I turned to face him and said, “Hey, it’s alright. She is always in a bad mood, bud. It’s my fault that I even talked to her in the first place. Don’t worry about it.” I tried to comfort him. “Yeah, I know. I am fine.” He tried to persuade me, but based on the nervous look he had on his face, I wasn’t very convinced. “Alright, well I have to get you to school. Grab your lunch and let’s head out to the bus stop.”

We walked out together, hand in hand, and I remembered that he is still just a little boy. I am in charge of him. I have to take care of him and protect him. That’s just what I have to do. I thought to myself. Before I could do anymore thinking, Dom’s bus pulled up. I pulled him in to my arms and waved to him ‘good-bye’. I then headed back in to eat some breakfast, since my bus came 15 minutes later.

After I finished my breakfast, I got my shoes on and pulled a sweatshirt over my head. I then found my backpack, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out, not bothering to say goodbye to Delphine. I walked out the door to find my bus sitting there, waiting. When I got there, the door opened automatically, and I climbed the steps. I made my way down the aisle, curious eyes finding mine, and searched for a place to sit.
“Hurry up, kid!” the bus driver yelled impatiently. I was still searching for a seat when one annoying kid stuck his foot out. I stumbled but didn’t fall. It was only when another kid stuck both his feet out, when I fell. I got about halfway to the floor when I stopped.

I was confused, very confused, until I felt two strong arms pull me towards them. I thought I would fall on top of this person but instead, they pulled me down to the seat next to them. When all the confusion was over, I looked at who tripped me and glared at him. He just continued snorting with his friends. Then, I looked at the person next to me. “You alright?” he asked me. “Um…yeah I’m okay. Thanks.” “No problem.” I didn’t know what to say. Resulting from my stupidity was 45 seconds of silence. Finally, he said something. “I’m Charlie “I’m Serenity.” I responded back. “Serenity…Ser-en-it-y…” he said back to me. I was really confused at that point. “What are you doing?” I asked. “I like that name. Serenity.” He kept whispering it to himself as if he were trying to memorize it. I was going to thank him, but right then, the bus pulled to a stop, and we were at school.

Everybody stood and started piling out of the bus. Once I got out, the boy who liked my name acted as if he never met me, and walked away to his friends. Oh of course. How could I ever think there was one nice person at this school? Yet before I got out of control with my thoughts, I heard something. “Hey! Serenity!” I turned to see who called me and it was Charlie. “Uh…Yeah?” I responded. “See you around.” “Okay.” I answered, and I walked in to Norwich High School.

The day was going okay. Well, it was like any other day at that terrible high school. I was ¾ through the day and on my way to my last period class of Pre-Calculus with Mrs. Lenny, when I bumped in to somebody and all my books fell. I was half expecting to see some stuck up girl who did it on purpose, and half expecting it to be a jock with his stupid friends. Surprisingly, I was wrong. I looked up to see a girl with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide. She looked shocked. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that just happened. I am SO sorry! Here, let me help you.”

She helped me with my books and got up. A few snickering girls walked past us and they laughed at me. “Oh, ignore them. They’re just arrogant. Oh, I almost forgot! I’m Jillian.” She helped me up. “Thanks, I’m Serenity.” “Ooooh, Serenity! Pretty name.” “Thanks.” That was twice today I heard that from someone. “Yup! Now, what class are you going to?” “Pre-Calc, where are you going?” I asked. “With Mrs. Lenny? Me too! I was just on my way there from the other building. I was in a rush not to be late, so that’s why I ran into you. Oh my, did I ever say sorry? I’m so sorry!” I laughed. I can tell that she liked to all a lot, but I didn’t mind. “Yeah, I think you might have mentioned it before.” Then, we made our way to class. Hopefully, I had just made my first friend.

School was over and Jillian had just said goodbye to me when I heard my name being shouted by a familiar voice. “Hey! Serenity! Over here by the bench.” I turned to see Charlie sitting there looking at me. I walked over to him, hoping I wouldn’t miss the bus. “Yeah?” I asked him. “Wanna go somewhere?” he asked me. “Where?” I questioned him. “It’s a secret.” He responded. I thought about this for a second. Should I be going with him to this ‘secret’ place? All in all, I just met him today. I probably shouldn’t. But what will I say to him? I don’t want to make him feel bad. My mind was running crazy. “I don’t think I can. My little brother gets home from school soon and I can’t just leave him.” I responded back. “Well then, after you get your brother, call me.” He handed me a slip of paper with a number on it. “ Okay, maybe.” I said back. He turned and walked away but before he was completely out of my sight, he yelled, “I’m going to be expecting a call!” “Yeah, yeah.” I shouted back. He grinned and turned to keep walking.

When I got home, I searched the house for Delphine yet she was nowhere in sight. “She’s probably at a bar.” I accidentally said out loud. Almost immediately following me saying that, Dom’s bus pulled up. I walked out to get him, searching a little more on the way to the door, just in case Delphine really was here. Still, I didn’t find her, so I just walked out.

Right as I got out, Dom was making his way off the bus. He saw me and waved, so I waved back. When he got over to me, I asked him, “How was your day, bud?” “It was good.” He responded. When we got inside, he ran straight upstairs to his room and shut the door behind him. “My day was great, thanks for asking.” I said to myself in a sarcastic tone.

I walked down the hallway, to the living room, and plopped myself on to the couch. I slid my phone from out of my pocket and something green fell on to the floor. I crouched down. It was a green piece of paper with a number on it. Oh! I almost had forgotten about the number that Charlie gave to me.

I sat there, staring at the crumpled slip of paper in my hands, debating whether I should call or not. I decided that I had nothing to lose, so I might as well give it a shot. I dialed the number in my phone and saved it to my contacts with the name “Charlie” as the contacts first name. I then pressed the green “call” button and the phone began to dial.

It took a long time for him to answer but he finally did. ”Hello?” He asked through the phone. I didn’t respond. I don’t know how this happened but for some strange reason, my words weren’t going to come out of my mouth without a fight. “Um…Hello?” He asked again. “Uh…Hi” I responded. It felt as if my words were as thick as maple syrup, too sugary, and hard to get out. “I was worried you wouldn’t call. It’s a good thing you did. Can you meet me by the candy shop on Ford St. in half a hour?” he asked me. “Um, I will try.” I responded back. “Great, see you soon.”

I told Dom where I was going and gave him the whole talk about not opening the door for strangers. He seemed annoyed. But I knew that he knew what to do, so I got ready. I pulled a brush through my hair and got a sweatshirt on. I didn’t bother leaving a note for Delphine because as long as I’m not home, she’s pleased. So I just grabbed my phone and walked out.

The candy shop is only a few blocks away, so it only took about ten minutes to get there. When I did finally get there, Charlie was sitting inside, waiting for me. I walked in and sat in the seat across from him. “Hey,” I said. It was weird being the first one to say anything, but I wanted to try. “Hello,” he responded. He continued by saying “I like you, Serenity.” I felt my cheeks getting warmer by the second. “I want to know more about you. Tell me your story.” I told him about my dad, and how he hasn’t said a word to any of us in years. I told him about my mother who died of cancer, and my grandma’s “life-changing” job in Bora Bora. And lastly, I told him about my brother, Dom, and I living with the rudest aunt on the planet. When I was done, he looked down. “Wow,” is all he said. He said it in a whispering tone so I could barely hear it. “Yeah,” I said. Then, he started talking. He told me about how his parents died in a car crash, 1 year ago. His grandma had died from a lung disease a long time ago and now, he had to live with his step-grandfather, who was a jerk. “I didn’t know we had so much in common.” I said.

Without warning, tears started heavily falling from my eyes. I tried to make them stop, because I was getting embarrassed. But, all he did was stand up. I don’t know why, but I followed. We stood there for about a minute and he watched the tears flow from my eyes. Then, he pulled me into his embrace. I was stiff for a moment, but after a second, my muscles relaxed. We stood there for a while, him hugging me. I closed my eyes to try to get the tears from coming out of my eyes but they wouldn’t sop, so I let them fall.

Right then and there, my world seemed to come together a little bit. As if I had just found a missing piece in a puzzle of my life. He then whispered something in my ear. “We will get through this together.” He said softly. I nodded, tears still flowing steadily from my eyes, and I thought. I realized that I had never really mourned for my mother’s death. I realized how un-healthy that is. And I realized that now would be the time I would have to. And I had someone with me, to be there for me, and stand at my side. At that very moment, I also realized something else.

Maybe things were going to be okay.