The Path to Love Ch. 04

I have never been to any of the schools mentioned in this chapter, I just googled the towns and the schools. All characters and layouts are a product of my imagination. Thanks for reading.
Ashira

CHAPTER FOUR

Serenity walked nervously down the hall of Ramona High, her new school, looking for the guidance councilor's office. When she finally found it, she pushed the door open. "May I help you?" the secretary asked.

"My name is Serenity Barnes and I'm a transfer student from Clairemont High," Serenity answered.
"Welcome Miss Barnes. Mr. Traver, your councilor will be with you in a moment," the secretary told Serenity.

After a moment, Mr. Traver opened his office door and ushered Serenity into his office.
"Welcome Miss Barnes, I know this will be an unwelcome transition for you, moving in the middle of the school year," Mr. Traver began, motioning for Serenity to have a seat. Serenity sat down and took the three ring binder handed to her. "In this binder, I have included the school rules, some information about the school and our community and right now, we need to work out your class schedule. "When you were at Clairemont, did you participate in any arts, music or sports?" Mr. Traver asked.

"I'm pretty good at Soccer, and I played in the concert band last year, flute. I was first chair," Serenity answered.
"Are you interested in continuing with your music?" Mr. Traver inquired. Serenity nodded.
"Do you have your flute with you?" he asked.
"It's at the house, but not with me on campus," she answered. Mr. Traver nodded.
"I'll speak with the band instructor, I'm pretty sure they have a loaner you could use today," Mr. Traver said, entering some information into the computer. "I see you passed your algebra and biology last year. This year, we'll enroll you in algebra two and physics. I'll enroll you in the speech class, yes, I know, most students hate it, but it's required. Now, you have a choice of literature or creative writing." Mr. Traver looked at Serenity expectantly.

"Literature. I'm not into writing," Serenity answered. Mr. Traver nodded and finished entering things into the computer and printed out Serenity's schedule and handed it to her.
"Classes start in ten minutes. When you leave the main office, turn left. Go down three hallways and turn left. Your class will be on the right hand side," Mr. Traver said. Serenity nodded, stood up and left the office.

It felt like forever, but Serenity finally found the class room. She opened the door and slipped inside as the final bell rang. "You're late," the teacher announced.
Serenity blushed. "I apologize. This is my first day here," Serenity said softly. Some of the girls snickered.
"My name is Mrs. Parsons, and you are?" the teacher asked, peering over her wire rimmed glasses.
"Serenity Barnes."
"Take a seat Miss Barnes," Mrs. Parsons said, pointing to an empty seat in the second row.

Before Serenity knew it, it was lunch time; the part of the day she was dreading the most. Serenity walked through the line and grabbed a chicken patty and slathered ketchup over it before grabbing a thing of fries and a bottle of water. Serenity pulled the money out of her pocket, paid for her lunch and found an unoccupied table. After lunch, Serenity had concert band, and true to his word, Mr. Traver had spoken with Mr. Parma and he was waiting in his office with a loaner flute.

When Serenity got home from school, she found Mark and Melinda waiting for her in the living room. "I thought you guys would be at work," Serenity said, surprised. Mark grinned.
"We wanted to be here when you got back from your first day. How was it?" he asked.
"I think I'm the only person in the world, aside from a fictional story who made enemies on their first day," Serenity said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Melinda asked.
"I signed back up for band; and the director wanted to hear what I could do. I made first chair," Serenity answered.
"That's great! Do you want to call your mom and dad?" Melinda asked.
"No, that's okay. I want to get started on my homework, there's a quiz at the end of the week," Serenity said, running up the stairs to her room.

-Meanwhile-

"Mom, when's Serenity coming back?" Allyson asked. Ashria sighed as she checked on the status of the chicken roasting in the oven.
"Not for a little while. She needs to find herself first," Ashira answered. She turned around and looked at her daughter. At nearly thirteen, Allyson was blossoming into a beautiful young woman.
"What's wrong?" Ashira asked.
"Nothing, I just needed some sisterly advice," Allyson said, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and heading towards the front door. "I'm going to go find Tyler," she added.
"Be back by six," Ashira told her daughter as she closed the door behind her.

-Two weeks later-

Serenity jumped as her locker was slammed shut. "May I help you?" Serenity asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, you can go back to where ever it is you came from!" Serenity rolled her eyes and locked eyes with Tiffany, the girl that had tormented her since she moved to town. Tiffany was the previous first
chair, and she resented Serenity for taking her place and her solo spot.
"I don't have that option Tiff, so why don't you just practice a little more and take first chair back," Serenity retorted, reopening her locker, pulling her books out, slamming the door shut and walking away. Serenity walked the four blocks to Melinda's restaurant and walked inside.

"Hey Serenity," Melinda called from the counter.
"Is it just me or is it busier than usual?" Serenity wanted to know.
"I found one of the wait staff stealing money from the till this morning and let him go," Melinda answered.
"Do you want some help?" Serenity asked. "I wouldn't mind having some pocket money," she added.
Melinda smiled. "Under one condition; your grades don't drop. You have to maintain a C average or I'll make you quit," she answered. Serenity nodded.
"Agreed. Here's the after school band rehearsals and concerts," Serenity said, handing Melinda a piece of paper. "And this is the soccer schedule, try outs are next week," she added, handing another paper to Melinda.

Melinda nodded. "We'll give you a two week trial run," Melinda decided. Serenity nodded and accepted the apron Melinda handed her. "Your first table just walked in," she added. Serenity followed Melinda's eyes and groaned. "What's wrong?" Melinda asked.
"That's Tiffany Carter and her bubble gum friends. Tiffany used to be first chair for the flute department," Serenity answered. Melinda grinned.
"You'll do fine," Melinda assured Serenity. Serenity grabbed four menus and walked over to the table.

"Welcome to Heaven, here are your menus, can I get you anything to drink?" Serenity asked politely as she passed out menus.
"What are you doing here?" Tiffany sneered.
"Working," Serenity answered.
"Since when?" Tiffany asked.
"Five minutes ago," Serenity said. She smiled at the lone boy sitting at the table. Bryce St. Paul was tall and handsome; he was also the only boy in Tiffany's posse that was nice to her.
"I'll take an iced tea Serenity," Bryce said, hoping to set some calm. Serenity nodded and jotted it down on the note pad from the apron. Tiffany and her other two friends ordered lemonade in very snooty tones.

When Serenity returned back to the house after her fifth closing shift, she found Mark and Melinda waiting up for her. "Have I done something wrong?" Serenity asked.
"No, not at all. We just wanted to talk," Mark answered.
"What'd I do?" Serenity asked with a sigh as she plopped on the couch.
"Nothing! Your report card came in today. Not only have you been working your butt off at Heaven, but you've managed to maintain a 4.0 g.p.a. We're proud of you," Mark told Serenity.

Serenity smiled. "We talked to your mom and to Jake, and the four of us agree that you deserve a reward," Mark continued. Serenity tapped her fingers on her leg impatiently and Mark laughed.
"You are just like your mother," Mark said.
"So what's my reward?" Serenity asked. Mark grinned and led Serenity to the garage where a powder blue mustang convertible with a tan rag top sat waiting.
"We'll be watching how many miles you drive, but it's your car. You can use this to go to school, to work, to band concerts, games, whatever, BUT you will not go and see Pyro. That is your mother's stipulation, one I happen to agree with. We met him when he tried to come see you last month, and I got a bad vibe. He doesn't treat you well," Mark said gently. Serenity looked like she wanted to defy Mark for a moment but nodded.

Flashback
Serenity looked up at the sound of a loud engine in time to see a Harley pulling up to the side of the house. "Pyro, what are you doing here?" Serenity asked as he cut the engine on the massive bike. Eighteen year old Pyro was tall, over six and a half feet with short dark hair and dark brown eyes.

"I missed you babe, your whore of a mother refused to tell me where you were living, so I found out my own way," Pyro answered, giving Serenity a kiss.
"What did you do?" Serenity asked as Mark walked out of the house before Pyro could answer. "Pyro, this is Mark, Mark, this is Pyro," Serenity introduced. Mark nodded politely and turned back to Serenity who was standing in the middle of the garden, her hands full of weeds. "Is it okay if I go hang with Pyro for a while?" Serenity asked. Mark hesitated as he looked at Pyro in his leather motorcycle jacket, black jeans and chaps.

"Sure, go ahead, just be back in time for dinner, and bring back a loaf of french bread. Melinda is making roast chicken and potatoes. I'll let her know we'll have a guest for dinner," Mark said finally. Serenity kissed Mark on the cheek.
"I'll be right back," she promised, throwing the weeds into the compost bin and running into the house. She washed her hands, changed into a spaghetti strap top and jeans before pulling on her own leather jacket. She ran down the stairs and out the door. "I'll be back by 7, bye!" Serenity shouted as she jumped on the back of the harley and accpeted the helmet that Pyro handed her. Mark watched as the bike sped away.

When they returned that night for dinner, Serenity handed Melinda a large loaf of french bread.
"Thanks, you're just in time. You and Pyro need to go change, you know how I feel about leather and spaghetti straps at the table," Melinda said. Serenity nodded and headed back to the living room. David and Chrissy were staring at Pyro in awe.
"C'mon, we have to change for dinner," Serenity said, grabbing Pyro's hand and pulling him up the stairs. Pyro followed Serenity into her bedroom and watched as she exchanged the spaghetti strap for a regular teeshirt and her jeans for a denim skirt. "You have to change or Melinda won't be happy about letting you eat here," Serenity warned him.
"Have you forgotten your place?" Pyro asked. Serenity lowered her eyes to the floor. "That's better. I'll lose the jacket," Pyro said.

Serenity reached for a second helping of chicken and salad when Pyro reached out and stopped her. "Don't you think you've gained enough weight? When we were on the bike earlier, it felt off balance," Pyro asked, giving Serenity a look, daring her to disobey. Serenity resisted the urge to stick out her tongue and just took some more salad. "Low fat dressing if you please," Pyro said softly.

"I don't know where you think you are, or who you are, but in this house, if someone wants seconds, they are allowed seconds," Mark said cooly. He turned to Serenity. "If you want more chicken, go ahead and have more, you look fine," Mark said. Serenity smiled and took the second chicken breast. When dinner was over, Pyro grabbed Serenity by the arm and pulled her to the garage.

"I think you need a lesson in who's the boss," he growled, unbuckling his belt.
"Pyro, it's time for you to go," Mark said from the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, the phone in his hand.
"And who's gonna make me?" Pyro asked, unafraid of Mark.
"The police. I have a feeling your parole officer would not be happy to hear from you," Mark said, pressing the 9 on the phone. Pyro rolled his eyes, gave Serenity a light smack on her bottom and left.
End flashback