I am Serenity, which means "peaceful." However, I am far from peaceful. I am not the lady that my classmates expected me to be when we first met. And they are fine with that. In fact, some think that I am cool. It pays off to be a good kind of different.

I am not among the popular kids. Not even close. But I am the coolest in class. Not because of my difference. I can thank my special skill. I can make slime. Big slime. Tiny slime. Glittery slime. Smelly slime. I can create all types of slime without glancing at the instructions. You would think that I invented slime!

Creating slime is not the most impressive skill. I know. But you would agree that my slimes are rare when you saw them. No one can do them justice like me. And my slimes never harden. Never lose the interesting smells. Never stop growing.

Okay, okay. I am kidding about that last part. Mine are safe to use. I never use chemicals in the slimes. Just do not eat them. If you eat slime, you are sick. You will die sooner than expected. Die from slime poisoning. Know what would be worse than somebody devouring slime? Slime devouring somebody! Haha. Slime eating people and animals. Like that could ever happen.

I know what you are thinking. Anyone can make slime. It is not difficult. So it is not a special skill. Do not even argue that you can make a career from it. About that...I have already made a career from doing this. My slimes are unlike other slimes. They last as long as this planet stands. Er, floats. It is all thanks to how I make them. I will never reveal any of my ingredients because it is my secret recipe. Nobody will steal it, not even Megan and her pals. I will admit that all my slimes are made in the comfort of my bedroom. I have a wooden desk that my dad made for me so my things would not be covered in slime. He even engraved it in a corner. It states, "I love you.~Dad."

Did I mention that Mom and Dad are supportive of my slime career? I was fearful that they would stop buying me my ingredients and toss out my small containers of slime and tell me to get a more promising career, like a doctor or a mechanic. I am terrible at math. So terrible that I cannot be taught it. I do not have my times table memorized. And I do not care because I could care less about math. It is useless in Forlot because the folks try avoiding it as much as possible. Money is banned. The doctors and nurses do not use numbers - and still save lives. Hope that my parents and I never move. I do not want to act like real worlders.

Before I start my story, I should explain who Megan is. Megan and her rotten friends are not just bullies to me and the other students in our class. They are my rivals, Megan being my biggest. They are so full of themselves that it makes me gag. They assume that they are better than everyone else in school. Except me. They can do - or attempt to do - every activity except make their own slimes. Unlike me, they refuse to get their hands filthy. Or in this case, slimy. Slimed up!

Girls like Megan and her pals despise doing dirty work because dirty is deemed trashy. Dirty is the opposite of beauty. And they do not want to ruin their makeup and clothing and flawless skin. Newsflash. Those and other nice things and good works are not beauty. Beauty will always come from the inside. From your heart. What is in the heart spreads to the outside. It can be difficult to decipher who is kind. I have been there. It causes more stress than it must. Just ask God for clear paths. If you are not a Christian, you must find the strength on your own. It is the truth.

Megan hates slime more than her buddies. The strange smell. The texture. The squishy - and relaxing - noises. She told me one time that slime reminds her of puke. I grinned and said to stop puking when she sees me. She knows that she cannot top me, so she tries everything - and I mean, everything - to keep me from bettering my passion. She will "accidentally" knock over or drop my slime containers before stomping on them. It bothered me at first, but not anymore. She gives me an excuse to create more slime in the afternoon and evening. Now I smile and thank her for the opportunity to work on my slime-making skill. I enjoy her reaction. Her face is red like a tomato.

It was the last class of the day. Like always, I could not wait to return home. Run to my bedroom and start my next slime. I create so much that I lost count. I stopped on ninety, I believe. So I passed a hundred. I have been doing it for less than a year. I would not be surprised if I broke a world record. I must have.

My desk was in the front row across from my teacher's. I had to be close to the board. I can see and hear fine. I just must be close to pay any attention. I get distracted easily. Even little things can shift my focus. Megan and her pals unfortunately know. I am unsure how. I never told them or anybody else besides my teachers and my parents.

The teacher was at her desk and holding up a book. My classmates and I had the same book. We had finished a chapter and were discussing it. The book is about some green blood that comes to life. He is one of my favorite monsters.

I snickered.