Non Human

IV - New Home

Serene POV

"Serene…"

I opened my eyes. I am now hearing this unfamiliar voice again. Where am I? This place seems familiar, but I cannot remember where it is.

"Serene…" says a man's voice once more.

I remembered! That voice is the same one I heard from the van and the backyard earlier. They're both the same.

"Who are you?!" I shouted. I looked around but I don’t see anyone. There is a mist in the surrounding that makes my vision blurry.

"Serene…" I turned around. The voice became closer.

"What do you want?" I asked "Why are you calling my name?"

I do not know where my guts came from to ask him.

"Answer me! How did you know me? " I asked again. I am so confused.

Where is he? I cannot see where the voice is coming from.

"Serene!" I was awakened by my sister voice…

again.

It was just a dream.

"Wake up sleepy head and get up!" she said.

I sat down and had a look around. It was already morning. The night went by in a flash. I felt like I traveled again. Why am I so tired when I received the rest I needed?

"Someone is looking for you." I looked at her because of what she said.

Looking for me? Now? Who will look for me at this time?

"Who?" I asked.

"No other than Apollo. He is knocking early in the morning just to bring us bread or maybe a bread he made just for you," she answered.

"Do not give meaning to it, Sienna. That is what people do to welcome their neighbor," I said.

She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"He asked me directly. He is expecting that you will be the one to open the door but because I’m the early bird I’m the one who opened it," Sienna said while unpacking her things.

Oh yes. Sienna never woke up late. She is always early. Maybe that is why she is always get all the opportunities. I’m the night owl. I sleep too late but you know there is an opportunity for late sleepers too.

"How do you feel about him?" She guffawed, "He's gorgeous and half-foreigner."

I let out a sigh.

I countered, "He's being friendly."

"Friendly? Looking at you in a whole time of dinner last night was being friendly?" She grinned and replied, "That is what boys do when they like someone,"

""We've just just met, and he already likes me? I don’t think so," I said, shaking my head.

"It was love at first sight," she declared.

I sarcastically laugh.

"Impossible! I do not believe in such things and please stop teasing me to Apollo! " I murmured as I stood up to straighten myself out.

"Why? Don’t you like him? " she asked

I let out a sigh.

"I don't," I answered, "and you know how much I despise it when you keep pushing me to someone I hate"

"Really huh?" she asked sarcastically.

I just shrugged my shoulder and left the room. I know If I stay longer, there will be a fight between us. Sienna hates it when someone is dictating her on what to do.

"Good Morning!" My mother greeted me on my way to the bathroom.

She is arranging our stuff in the living room.

"Good morning." I greeted back.

"There’s a hotdog and fried rice in the kitchen. Just go there to eat your breakfast," she said

I nodded and went to the restroom to pee.

I took the toothbrush and put toothpaste on it. I started to brush my teeth. I’m excited to take a bath because of this bath tub. I've never used one before. I know it sounds cheap, but bathing in a bath tub has always been a dream of mine.

I gave a gentle shake of my head.

I cleaned my face after brushing my teeth, and then I remembered why I brushed my teeth before eating.

Agh. What a blunder... Well just let it be. In fact, it is the right thing to do. It is just I wanted to eat first before brushing.

I put my hand on my neck. I felt so stiffed. I gently rotate it. Why do I feel so exhausted?

I was shocked when I saw the mirror become blurry.

What is happening?

There is something happening in the mirror.

It was as it was becoming a black hole that anytime can take you away from reality.

Is this a dream?

I blinked my eyes three times just to be sure. I even pinched my skin.

I’m not dreaming!

I’m seeing something unnatural.

Slowly, I approached the mirror. It was only a matter of time before I touched it. This appears to be quite intriguing. Will I go back in time if I'm sucked into this portal?

*BLAG*

*BLAG*

My soul almost came out from my body because of the loud bang on the door.

"Please hurry Serene! I have to pee! " I heard a young boy voice outside. It must be Shawn.

Why does he have to slam the door so hard? He's about to give me a heart attack. I examined myself in the mirror. What I saw made me frown. It's back to normal now.

What? Are you serious? It was not like that earlier.

"SERENE! PLEASE HURRY! " Shawn yelled.

"Coming!" I said

I hurriedly opened the door and exited.

"Why are you knocking that loud. That is too rude." I scolded him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized as he dashed into the restroom.

I merely shook my head and went to eat in the kitchen.

"Our landlady told me that this is the time where students get enrolled. The school enrollment here is different from the province. I guess you will need to ask help from our landlady children for you to get enrolled. I already told this to Sienna and she said she'll ask them later," my mother said while entering the kitchen.

"Is it okay?" I asked her.

I know it is hard for them to raise four children.

"There you are again. We already told you not to meddle with adults problem, right? Just focus on your study. Help us by studying hard so when you finish your studies you can pull us out from being stuck on the mud," she said.

I quietly ate the food on the table. Wondering about what will happen next.

Are we able to pay rent without delays? Are we still going to eat three times a day?

Everything here, according to what I've heard, is incredibly pricey. If you are going to be ignorant then you will be left behind.

Can I keep up with the people here?

For sure there are some people who will look down at me because I’m from the province and I read from the books that they think of us as an ignorant person.

"What’s with that face?" my mother asked me.

"Nothing," I answered and smiled at her.

She just simply raised her eyebrow and go back from what she’s doing.

After I ate my breakfast, I ready myself because Sienna told me that we are going to go to school today.

Now we are here in front of our landlady house waiting for Apollo.

"Hi! " He greeted us as soon as he steps outside of their house.

A lovely young woman followed him outside. It must be his sister. No wonder they look a like. She is like the girl version of Apollo.

"Hi!" Sienna greeted back.

As a greeting, I simply nodded and smiled at them.

"By the way this is my sister- Hera and Hera this is our new tenant and our new friend I guess." Apollo introduces us.

"Hi Hera" Sienna greeted her warmly.

"Hi! Good morning where did you come from? " she asked us.

"From a very far far far away land" Sienna said.

Oh yes! Our parents forbade us to tell anyone any information we have. Now, we looked like a dark human with a deep secret.

""Perhaps you're from Shrek's kingdom!" Hera jokingly said.

"And my sister is Shrek." Apollo teases her. "And Shrek has no kingdom"

Hera smacked Apollo in the face with her left hand.

"And you must be donkey!" Hera said and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, if Serene is my dragon" he said and looked at me.

"What?" I asked when all of their eyes are stuck on me. My gaze drawn to the two girls, who are smiling at me in a strange manner.

Actually I don’t get his joke. I know the movie – shrek but I’m not familiar with the characters.

"Girl, can you smell what I smell?" Hera asked Sienna.

"Yes. A scent of a new love story," Sienna said while giggling.

I just told her not to tease me with Apollo but now look at her pimping me.

"I’ll guide Sienna and you guide Serene. Is that all right?" Hera asked Apollo.

No way? They will leave me with Apollo? Seriously?!

"One hundred one percent okay," he answered.

"Bye. See ya on the school! " Hera murmured as Sienna waved her arms at me.

Sienna did not fail to annoy me everyday.

They walked away from us.

"Uhm… let’s go?" Apollo said while his eyes are very frisky.

I felt so awkward.

"Yeah sure," I answered as I walked quickly.

"Serene!"

I stopped when he shouted my name.

I looked back and asked him. " What? "

"We are going to take a jeep," he said with a bright smile on his face.

I avoided making eye contact and muttered, "Oh o-okay."

We took a jeep to reach our destination. We went down in front of a big university.

I was astonished by it hugeness. Are we going to study here? For real?

"You seemed to like it," he said. Maybe he noticed the surprise in my face.

"Not yet. I was just amazed," I replied.

"Did you bring your documents?" he asked me.

"Yes. It’s here," I said and handed him the brown envelope containing my important documents.

"Wonderful!" he said and asked me to come with him inside the university.

I tell him to wait for her sister and Sienna but he said it is okay. Hera will accompany my sister and he will accompany me.

Their gate is around twelve feet tall. It is a traditional gate made with heavy metal. It was freshly painted with a plain color brown.

In the left side, there was another narrow gate that was about twelve inches wide. It was open, with a modest guard house near it.

The guard is looking at us. He is wearing a plain white shirt and a black slack accompanied with a black leather belt. His downturned eyes are inspecting me. I avoided his eyes and turned to the wide open space of the University.

From outside I can clearly see the wide green lawn of the school since the gate has five inches apart in its every grill.

At the end I can see a tall , cosmic latte color building with a corridor in every floor.

I followed Apollo. We entered at the small gate on the left side.

I just found out that there’s a long pathway with a roof to prevent the students on becoming wet when there is rain and to protect them on the sun heat.

There are three building connected to each other. In every side of it is a has pathway and beside the pathway is cemented. Perhaps this is where they parked their car or motorcycle.

On my left side is already a building with a corridor. It was impressive.

After an almost ten minutes walk we reach a way to enter the building. In every building there is one entrance.

"This is the building of college students," Apollo said. "The center building is for high school students and on the opposite side is for elementary students."

I simply nodded and walked after him.

I was a little disappointed when we does not went through upstairs.

"Don’t worry. After enrolling I’ll show you around the school," he said

Woah? Can he read my mind? Certainly not, Serene! He has the ability to interpret people's expressions.

"You are too easy to read," he added.

Yeah! I'm terrible at concealing my feelings.

We walked into the room. A man with a dark complexion greeted us.

I think he is in the mid of his thirty. He has a good body build and he is pretty handsome. I like his protruding eyes. I think if there is any profession that suits him that is pastor.

" Good afternoon Sir! " Apollo greeted him in a very delightful way.

I just bow to show some respect. I shyly smile.

"Are you from Korea? Or Japan? " This man asked.

I shook my head.

"No, sir," I replied, "I live in the Philippines."

He laughs. His voice is so manly.

"Because you're bowing to me, I assumed you were from there. I think it was their sign of respect, right? Anyway, how are you Serene? " he asked while inspecting the brown envelope Apollo had handed him.

"I’m good," I answered in a low voice.

"I see. You’re a very competitive student based on your card," he paused "Looking forward on meeting you this school year Ms. Serene."

"Thank you sir. We will go now." Apollo bid his goodbye.

I looked at him with confusion. Is that all?

"Are we done?" I asked him.

"Yes, I will process this today Serene." The man answered.

"How about you?" I asked Apollo.

"I’m done. I study here last year so they already have my documents." He said.

I nodded and followed him outside.

"Who is that?" I asked Apollo.

"Ah? Him? He is Mr. Pleto. He is a values education teacher. He teaches manner and good conduct " he answered.

"Is that how you enrolled here? I mean aren’t I’m going to fill out anything? " I asked.

"Your mother already fills out the form earlier. Does she not tell you? " he asked me.

I shook my head.

"This is our open space area. This where we do flag ceremony when it is not raining. Majority of students uses this space when they are taking class of physical education," Apollo said while looking at the wide space.

"That’s amazing" I said and stroll my eyes.

"We have a separate gym where you can play and watch basketball," he said, and looked at me. " Come with me"

He shows me around. Their school is big. All buildings consist of eight floors. They have their own theatre, their own pool, their own cafeteria, and so many more.

I lost count of how many classrooms they have. I will enjoy studying here even though the stairs are an energy sucker. They have neither an elevator nor an escalator in their school. That is fine with me. I am not that demanding and I do not have any right to demand. I know my standing. I’m a lower class person.

What makes my eyes shine is their library, loaded with different books. I will surely spend my free time there trying to read them all. Yes, I love to read books.

Apollo is good at accompanying people. You will never get bored. He is a funny guy who will make you laugh every second of your life. No wonder all the girls knew him and greeted him with a smile and red cheeks on their faces.

I just found out that Apollo is a varsity player at their school. He is a very talented young man. He is surely every girl’s ideal man, but not for me. He might be characterized by such characteristics, but it does not even interest me.

"Tell me if you want more," Apollo said.

I just nodded.

We are eating in the restaurant because we get tired of strolling around. It is his treat. I like it when everything is free. It was my first time being treated by a stranger like this. He cared so much.

"Hera texted me. They got home already, " he said while looking at his phone.

"After eating, do you want to go somewhere?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Not today," I said, sipping my coke from the glass.

"Okay, but if you need something or you want to go somewhere, do not hesistate to ask me. I will always be here, " he said, with his eyes directly looking at me.

His cute cupid lips are half smiling at me. His monolid black eyes are staring at me, shouting for something I cannot hear but I can feel.

His aqualine nose, together with his diamond face , his slicked blonde hair, suits his fair complexion. His body is too good for his age. Maybe he goes to the gym once a week? Maybe?

He is wearing a black cap with a heart patch on the side. His plain blue shirt, together with his black jeans, shows his good body build. He is a head turner. I only notice the details about him now that I can see him closely.

I think we can be friends because he is easy to get along with.

After we finished eating, I insisted on getting home early. I’m not the type of woman who loves to stroll and ramble outside. I’m solve on staying at home. Actually, staying at home is far much better than going outside. Well, it is because I’m an anti social type of people. Famous at the word introvert.

Apollo suggested just walking home because he wanted the food he ate to be perfectly digested. I agree with him. Besides, I want to be familiar with the place too. I want to see what kind of environment they have. The place here is very different from the province. I think their air is very polluted. The area is too noisy. Even the people here are different in every way. What I also believe is that bulgar appears to be normal for them.I do not know if they were taught that way or if we were just left behind by their advanced technology. Well, there is no problem when it comes to this, I’m good at coping with where I am. I will get used to them soon.

I turned to Apollo when he spoke suddenly. "Do you consider yourself an Aphrodite?"He is walking and his eyes are not on me.

"Aphrodite? Why?" I asked.

I’m confused by his question.

"Everyone is looking at you. "Seems like they were attracted by your overflowing beauty," he said and smiled more.

I raised my eyebrow. Isn’t he is over reacting? Aphrodite his face. I looked around, and it turns out that he is right. People eyes are stuck on me. I know , it is not because I’m beautiful or pretty but because I’m new to their eyes. How I dress and how I look. I looked like a country girl. Well, I’m really a country girl.

"They looked at me because I’m different. My style is old. My face is haggard, " I said and just looked ahead.

Now that I know that someone is looking at me, I can’t focus on walking in a normal way. It feels like my feet have become heavy like something was put in there. I can’t walk straight because of the eyes staring at me. I feel uncomfortable and I’m starting to notice how I breathe. I’m now controlling it.

"Yes, you were so different. Imagine a goddess from above getting off the ground and walking beside me," he said.

My steps became faster. I want to get out of there as fast as I can.

"I’m sorry. Are you mad at me? " Apollo reached for my shoulder as he asked me.

"No," I replied.

"Then why did you run and leave me behind?" I looked at him. His eyebrows are a mess and he looks confused.

I am too. What is he talking about?

"I did not run," I said. I just walk a little bit faster.

He said, "You walk so fast and you left me," and he was offended.

"Ah, I’m sorry about that. My mind was just in another parallel and I did not notice that you were left behind, " I apologized.

He smiled and tapped my head.

"Forgiven, but make sure to bring me when you travel to another parallel," he said and laughed.

I put away his hands. I do not like people touching me. I hate it when our skin has no space between us.

The day passed so quickly. So quick that I did not even realize it.