At the crack of dawn, the prankster who had been so caught up with playing his new video game in the cinema, settled the game and decided to walk to his room that was currently occupied by Mladen. Like every other ghosts, because of their power of teleportation they hardly ever walked but he was starting to miss it. He passed through the closed door with determination to walk all the way to his room. Since he had the strength to walk today, he decided not to let his strength go to waste.

He had almost succeeded in walking all the way to his room without teleporting when he noticed a large mirror that was hanged on the wall in the corridor. At the sight of it, his heart missed a beat. He couldn't remember that a mirror was ever placed there, if only he had remembered he would have teleported. He tried distracting the memories that were starting to unfold and the pain that were already enveloping.

For a minute, the prankster wondered how the pervert managed to still look at the mirror and admire himself when he couldn't even gather enough courage to pass by a mirror. He wished he was like his brother who hadn't lost his self-confidence along with his impeccable skin, blue eyes, and brown hair in exchange of mere bones, white hair and a pair of green eyes.

Like every other ghosts in their right senses, the prankster was scared of the mirror. He wasn't exactly afraid of the mirror but what he'd see. He was scared of his own body, his own looks, his own structure, his very own frame; he was terrified of himself. His eyes misted as he looked at his dark skin; the same skin that had caused him so much pain when he was alive, the same skin he hated, but that skin was what he wanted to see when he look into the mirror, but unfortunately, what the mirror would show him was his greatest nightmare; mere skeleton. He had lost the flesh he never got to appreciate when he had it due to racism. He wished he was like his brothers who had always loved and appreciated their skins.

'Oh, wait, they're white,' he thought.

He pulled himself towards the mirror. He was tired of shying away from mirrors for over a century. It was time he faced his fear but at the sight of himself in the mirror; a skeleton with white hair and glowing creepy green eyes dressed in a white shirt and black pants without a nose, he burst out crying. He sat himself in front of the mirror, drowning in tears, memories and thoughts.

Mrs. Richardson turned to the other side of the bed and opened up her eyes. After her morning devotions, she pushed the duvet off her and walked out of their room, heading straight for Mladen's room. While the prankster was still sitting on the tiled floor, he stared at Mrs. Richardson as she walked towards his room. Looking at her, it was almost like he could see his mother. He smiled at her and wiped away his tears.

Mrs. Richardson knocked at Mladen's door and when she got no response, she opened the door and walked in. The prankster stood up, walked into the room as well and sat on the couch. She patted Mladen on his back.

"Mladen darling, wake up. It's morning."

He growled before slightly opening his eyes to see his mother standing in front of him in her pajamas, smiling sweetly. The prankster craved for those smiles.

"Get ready quickly and come downstairs. You don't want your breakfast to get cold or be late to school. Now do you?" She gave her son a kiss on his forehead before leaving. The prankster wished he could get those kisses and mother's love once again. Immediately Mladen walked into the bathroom, he threw himself on his bed.

"Wakie wakie, sleepyhead. Rise and shine! You don't wanna be late for school on your first day of school, do you, Milly darling?"

"Yes, now let me sleep," Mildred growled.

Her mother removed the duvet that was over her body and smacked her butt, making Mildred grumbled in distress.

"Get up, young lady!"

"A minute, please?" Mildred mumbled.

"Hell no. Why is it always so difficult to wake you up? I know how much you hate waking up early and every single day you have to go to school but grow up, Mildred! It'd not only favour me but you as well."

She smacked Mildred who was already dozing off. "Don't make me come here again," she warned on her way out.

Everyone but Mildred was seated in the dining room. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson sat at each end of the dining table, while Mladen sat at the left side. They were about digging into their breakfast; fried eggs, toast, Greek yogurt, and berries, when she rushed in.

Mildred had a white sleeveless shirt on. The shirt was tucked in to her black strip turquoise skirt, with a black belt on her waist. She wore a cinnamon jacket and a pair of knee socks, with a black pair of shoes. She tied her hair in a tight bun to show off the mild makeup she had on her attractive face. She wore a wristwatch, a golden pair of earrings and a necklace, while her hand carried her brown bag.

After exchanging greetings and the usual morning questions like; 'how was your night?' with her parents, she took a seat that was opposite her brother.

Her mother was dressed in a white sleeve shirt which she tucked in to her black skirt that was just around her knee and a pair of white heels. Her dark hair was neatly styled in a bob haircut with a fringe that made her looked really cute. Her father was dressed in his usual black suit and his short hair combed, while Mladen was causally dressed in a red shirt and a pair of jeans. Mildred glanced at his hair, messy as ever.

"The school we'll be attending, is it far?" Mildred asked, chewing on her berries.

"About that..." Mrs. Richardson glanced at her husband before facing her daughter "...your dad and I concluded that you won't be attending same school as Mladen."

At hearing that, Mildred's heart dropped. Her eyes travelled from her plate to her mother. "What? Why?"

"We want you to attend a high school that's separate from its elementary school."

"What? No, I don't want to. I want to be wherever Mladen is. You guys know his situation. He needs me and I need him."

"Because of his situation that's why we decided you guys will be attending different schools. Maybe if you weren't there, he'd be able to stand up for himself because in your previous school you did all the talking and everything for him and we don't want that here. We didn't only move here to work, we came to start a peaceful, and a normal life."

"Oh please, mother," Mildred cried.

Her mother continued, "someday, he'd be a grownup man, and you wouldn't always be there to speak up for him. He needs to learn to stand on his own feet now."

"Until that time comes, I want to be there for him," Mildred paused and turned towards her father who was enjoying his breakfast. "Dad, are you really just going to say nothing? Mladen needs me."

"I'm sorry, Mildred, but your mum and I already concluded on that. We want our kids to be independent. Though I know Mladen is still very young, but we need to start building him up now or never."

"Fine." Mildred's eyes misted, seeing she had no chances in winning the case. She looked at her brother who she was trying so hard to help, but he was so focused on his food like the family had been talking in some foreign language. She looked away, pushed her chair and stood up.

"You haven't even touched your food yet, Milly darling," Mrs. Richardson pointed out.

"I have lost my appetite, thanks."

"I know this seems hard for you and I'm sorry, darling. It's just as hard for us too. You know, we have to do what we have to do. It's yours and Mladen's benefit if you look at it from our point of view."

"I don't want to see it from your point of view but go upstairs and remain there."

"No, Milly, you have to go to school."

"Can this day get any worse?" Mildred cried. She took her backpack from the dining table and walked to the sitting room.

"Don't use that sentence, it's jinxed," Mrs. Richardson warned, but her daughter wouldn't pay attention to her caution.

The whole family seemed to have lost their appetite along with Mildred's. Mrs. Richardson cleared the table and disposed the leftover. She made sure everyone carried everything they needed before heading out, leaving Mr. Richardson to lock the door.

Mildred was forced to drive to school in her mother's car, while Mladen rode with his father. Both parents drove all the way to their child's new school in silence.

"Here." Mrs. Richardson handed a couple of dollars to Mildred when they got to the school. "That's your transportation fee. When coming home get a cab, okay?"

Mildred nodded, took the money from her mother, opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"Have a good day and take care of yourself, Milly darling. Once again, I'm really sorry. Please don't stay mad at mama. Tell me about your day when I get back home."

Without uttering a word, Mildred shut the door and walked away from the car so her mother could drive out and she did.

Now Mildred's full focus was on the building. In awe, she stared at the extremely large school which was painted in white and blue. She was not expecting a school this big in a city as small as Centreview but anything was possible. She wondered how her first day in senior high would go. She took a deep breath and checked herself out.

"Okay, we're good to go!" She walked into Centreview High School premises, hoping to find the principal's office on time. Luckily, she found a student heading same direction.

"So, Mildred Richardson, your books and everything you'd need are in your locker. Your locker is 207," the principal stated. He turned towards a woman who was standing beside the door, looking at the principal and Mildred who were sitting opposite each other. "Mrs. Lola, if you don't mind, please escort her to the lockers."

"Thank you, sir." Mildred stood up and head out with Mrs. Lola leading the way.

As Mrs. Lola and Mildred walked through the crowded hallway that was filled with students using their phones, laughing, gossiping and talking, a particular group of three girls' discussion caught Mildred's attention.

"For real? Four ghosts!" one of the three girls reacted to what her friend had said.

"Shh, keep it down, will you?" her friend hushed with her point finger placed on her lips. "The scariest part is that every leap year, it's said that a person who lives in that mansion gets killed by those ghosts. I can't imagine how many people have lost their souls to those demonic creatures."

"I heard the new owners have kids. I really hope nothing happens to them," the third girl cried. "How evil and selfish of the last owners to have sold such a burden to parents with little children!"

"I wish I knew the children, I would have disclosed this to them," the first girl said.

Mildred wanted to continue lagging behind so she could listen to the rest of the story, but she had to pace up and catch up with Mrs. Lola who was far ahead.

'Are those ghosts real?' she wondered.

"That's your locker, don't be late to class, have a good day and take care. By the way, welcome to Centreview High." Mrs. Lola bade her goodbye and walked away.

"Thanks, ma! Bye."

Mildred unlocked her locker, took out her timetable to find out the subject she had first. It was chemistry. The bell went off. She wondered how her first day in a chemistry class would go. She carried her chemistry book, textbook and writing materials. She shut the locker and rushed to class along with other students.

Forthwith Mildred slipped into an empty seat, a teacher walked in. The teacher was dressed in a black suit. The first thing Mildred noticed was her long pointed nose like that of a cartoon character. To balance her cartoon structure, she had a very small lips and eyes that were hardly noticeable. But instead of cute, Mildred saw her as someone strict. Her white silky skin attracted Mildred. The teenager analysed her teacher trying to detect her age, with the winkles foaming on her forehead, Mildred could guess she was between her mid to late 50s.

"Today we'll be..." she stopped when she noticed a new look in her classroom. She walked closer to the girl. "You're the new student, ain't you?"

Every pair of eyes was now on Mildred and their chemistry teacher.

"Yes, ma," Mildred responded with a nod. "I'm Mildred Richardson."

"I'm Mrs. Wander, your chemistry teacher," The teacher acquainted. She placed her left hand on Mildred's desk, lowered her back and moved her face closer to Mildred's that they were only a few inches apart, which made Mildred uneasy. She held a handful of Mildred's ebony hair, swaying it.

"Did you know you're such a beautiful lady?" she asked. Mildred gave a slight nod, not knowing if she was meant to answer or not. "Good. I hope you also know every student in Centreview High must be intelligent. We have a reputation, lady."

Mildred forced her head which had suddenly become stiff to nod. For some reasons she felt embarrassed. She wasn't satisfied with the way Mrs. Wander had phrased her words. Mrs. Wander gave her a pat on her head before leaving her desk.

"I'm sorry. As I was saying, today we'll be dealing on the topic Acids, Bases, and Salt," Mrs. Wander began her teachings.

All Mildred heard was the topic they would be dealing on before her thoughts drifted to her little brother. She wondered how he was coping alone in a new environment. When she finally realised she wasn't focusing in class, it was already too late. The bell had went off and everyone was walking out of the classroom. She had no choice but to follow them to the lockers. She took her books and rushed to her next class.

Mildred opened the door and walked into her room exhaustedly. She threw her backpack to the corner of the room and herself on her bed. As she laid on her bed, she heard the sound of a door being opened. She assumed it was Mladen.

"Welcome back, Mladen. I'll take a shower and get to you," she said. She stood up from her bed and walked into the bathroom. When she was done, she walked out of her room and knocked on Mladen's door but there was no respond.

"I'll prepare dinner. Get downstairs soon, alright? Please don't make me come here again," she warned and went downstairs.

"Mladen!" she screamed from downstairs. "Food is ready, get down here!"

After waiting for about five minutes and there still wasn't a sign of him, she stumped upstairs. Banging on his door, she screamed, "Mladen, unlock this door at once! What's wrong with you?"

When she realised Mladen wasn't ready to open up, she quit banging on the door and unlocked it. She walked into the room only to find out Mladen wasn't there. Her heart missed a beat but she kept her cool and rushed towards his bathroom.

"Mladen, are you in there?" She knocked. She waited for a minute before opening the door. Mladen wasn't in there. She ran downstairs, searching for her brother around the compound until it dawned on her that he wasn't at home. But it was already getting late. She rushed back upstairs to get her phone. She needed to call her parents but today out of all days they refused to pick up. She continued dialing their numbers until she realised they wouldn't take her call anytime soon. She felt bumps popping up on her skin as creepy thoughts filled her head.

"Mladen, where are you?" she cried. 

^Love, Naomi^