"Mother!"

She ran down the street, chasing the black limousine. Her short, weak legs eventually gave out, and she fell on the concrete road, her tears splashing on them.

She felt blood welling up her knees and elbows. She heard her grandmother ordering the guards to get to her, but all she could feel was the turning of the wheel as her mother drove away.

"Mother!" She cried. She reached out a small hand to the disappearing car, her sight foggy with tears.

As if it couldn't hear her cries, the black van just drove away.

~

☆Glory☆

"Tsunami, are you going to eat that, or what?"

"Clay, the Hot Dog Man," Tsunami snickers as she chucks him her hotdog. "So, Glory, what's up with you leaving the famous lunch table? I mean, I did ask you if you wanted to sit with us. But like, you must have had a reason."

So that was what she was wondering about. That was what most people tended to ask about me- cancer and Deathbringer. "Nothing much. I just got tired of sitting there with those two lovebirds." I motion at Deathbringer and Greatness. "Thanks for having me."

"So, what's up with you?" Sunny, the smaller girl, says with a smile, rainbow braces flashing. They seem a little forced, like a smile people have when talking to a girl with cancer. I can almost read her mind: I pity her so much. Almost everyone I talk to believe that their lives will outlast mine. They're probably true.

Tsunami nods. "What's your story?"

"You can't just ask what happened to her randomly, Tsunami!" Starflight gives her a look. Then he sees me staring at him and shuts his mouth.

I've heard that a lot. They're not talking about Deathbringer, so it must be about cancer. I take a deep breath. "I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia when I was in elementary school." Tsunami's eyes soften, and I'm almost surprised because she seems like a person that cannot soften.

Sunny, in turn, raises her eyebrows as if she is surprised. "Woah. Not your cancer story, your life story. What kind of food do you like? Do you do any sports?"

"Oh." I start to feel embarrassed, and I don't know whether to be glad or angry at myself. So I focus on opening my lunch box. "I don't do much sports, but I walk when I can." I smile. "I have a sloth named Silver."

"What?" The girl next to Clay gasps. "You have a sloth as a pet?"

"Um, yeah." I peel my banana. "My grandmother got her for me when I was younger."

"Are you interested in swimming?" Tsunami shares a look with Sunny. "If you are, maybe we can swim at my house. Or go to the swimming pool."

"There's a really hot guy there, in Tsunami's own words." Sunny wiggles her eyebrows. It's like her eyebrows are their own thing- they move so frequently that it's almost fascinating. "And his name is Whirlpool."

"Do NOT do that to him!" Tsunami groans. "Sunny, you're evil. How can you ever compare Riptide with that piece of junk?"

"Both of them go to Sea High, and Whirlpool leaves Tsunami these stalker messages every week. They're destined to be together." Starflight snorts when Sunny finishes. Tsunami hits him with her mayonaise.

"You should be thankful that I have known you since first grade, or I swear I would have thrown up on you for saying such things." Tsunami gags, and Clay laughs.

"You guys have known each other since first grade?"

"Yup. Me and Sunny are both from rich families. That's why we're SO MUCH BETTER THAN EVERYONE." She flips her hair back with a crazy grin. "AHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA. But, you know what? I think I have seen your grandmother at parties."

"You know who my grandmother is?" I repeat, panicked. "But she never goes outside."

"She and my mother have some history, I saw her when I was really young." Tsunami shrugs when I open my mouth in surprise. "I heard you were adopted. Or is that an area I shouldn't talk about?" Her cheek flushes, her entire face panicked.

I try not to sigh in relief. "No, it's okay. Yeah, I'm adopted." Nobody knows.

"Glory." Someone taps my shoulder. I look up and see Deathbringer, and his dark, dark eyes meet mine. Afraid that he will see my blush, I quickly look at my lunch box.

"What?"

"Why did you move your lunch table without telling me?" He sounds genuinely hurt, which pleases a dark side of me. "Not that you have to tell me everything you do, but-Hi, Starflight."

"You guys know each other?" Tsunami seems confused.

"We're distant cousins." Starflight nods at him, which makes me genuinely surprised. News, Deathbringer has distant cousins. Does that mean he knows about Deathbringer's uncle?
Starflight looks at me and raises an eyebrow. I try to sign that I want to stay, and I guess it works, because he immediately shoos Deathbringer away. "Glory was discussing about the play with us, we'll need her here for a while."

I stare at him, blinking. Thank you. He shrugs at me. "Yeah," I add after a short pause. Also breaking news: Starflight, the boy with one eye, and I, the girl with leukemia, make a good team. "We had a try out today and I wanted to talk about it. Where's Greatness?"

"She's right over there." Deathbringer stares at me for a moment. I can tell he wants to talk to me, but it is probably overshadowed by the longing to sit by his girlfriend at lunch. "Well, have a good lunch. Did you get a role?"

"I don't know yet." He's giving me attention, and I'm enjoying it despite myself. I know I shouldn't- he has a girlfriend, after all- but it's not like I can help what I feel. I'm not going to do anything, either. "Maybe Melanie, one of the main characters, if I'm aiming high. I actually liked it, though. It's going to be really fun."

"Melanie? Who is that?" Deathbringer scratches his head innocently.

"Do NOT act so cool that you don't know Gone with the Wind!" I cry out hotly, unaware of the other people and the fact Deathbringer has a girlfriend, which usually means we must stay a few feet apart at school. "You hopeless romantic. You cried when Scarlett begged Rhett to come back! You even tried to write a second novel in sixth grade just to realize you sucked at writing! We made a fanclub! You BETRAYER!"

The entire crowd of the lunch table looks at the both of us, their eyes switching back and forth as if looking at a pingpong match.

"Okay, okay, of course I know Gone with the Wind! And my undying love for the book and the movie affected you so much that you just had to go to try outs for the exact play." He grabs one of my brocolli before I can hit his hand away. "You can express your undying gratitude to me later. I'll wait." Nobody tells him that the play was decided after I decided to join. Deathbringer Black believes what he wants, and nobody tells him otherwise.

"It'll take a while." Deathbringer snorts and waves at me as he walks back to his own lunch table.

Tsunami stares at me for a second after I turn back to my lunch. Then she slowly opens her mouth. "Who would have guessed, Deathbringer Black a Gone with the Wind geek?"

Sunny covers her mouth. "And Glory, too."

Tsunami bangs the lunch table. "It is officially decided. Glory Bright, you are invited to our lunch table. Every day of the week. Every year. You are also invited to my very house today, which is very very, very rare. Anything for a fellow Gone with the Wind geek. The fact you love the book makes my rebellious heart set on fire." She dramatically motions with her orange, smiling slightly when Sunny and Clay join in. Starflight just rolls his eyes. I'm starting to like this guy. "And, of course, you seem pretty cool."

"Anybody against this new statement?" Sunny looks around the table.

No one raises their hand.