Her Mask - Chapter One

The rain was streaming down the window, drop by drop. Noelle watches them race each other down to the bottom.

I wonder what's it like to be a raindrop. To fall from the sky to the ground then just disappearing. It would be nice to disappear from here...

She fantasies about not having to deal with everybody. She could lock herself up in her room and sulk all day, and sooner or later...

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother, Jackie, opening the front door.

"I'm home, sweetie!" Jackie yells up the stairs.

Noelle runs downstairs to greet her mother. Jackie took off her coat and hugged Noelle.

"Hi, mom! How was work?" Noelle asks her mom cheerfully.

You see, Noelle Hallinger whole life has been blocked from the world with her mask. Nobody can see her sadness or depression. All they can see is her cheerful smile and bright eyes. Not wanting to be a burden on people, she kept her self cheerful and responsible. In her parent's and friend's eyes, she was a perfect child and friend. Always cheerful, helpful, and kind.

"It was great, honey. Thanks for asking! How's your school? You got your homework done?" Jackie asked.

"Yup, It's all great! I got all my homework done and I had some left over time, so I decided to clean the kitchen and do the laundry. It's all done." Noelle says with a kind smile.

"Oh wow! You're such a great kid! Thanks for helping!" Jackie said amazed.

"No problem."Noelle says with a laugh.

"Where is Serena?" Jackie asked.

Serena Hallinger, the only person who could see through her mask. Serena Hallinger was her fraternal twin sister, who came out 5 minutes later. Twins, yes, but they had diffrent tastes and characteristics. Serena had her father's straight and thick blond hair and sea green eyes with her mother's skinny nose and heart-shaped face. While Noelle on the other hand, had her mother's wavy chocolate brown hair, ice blue eyes with a green ring around the iris with her father's oval face shape and semi-big nose. However, they both shared the same birth mark. A little freckle-like dot that rested just under the left side of their full lips.

"I think she's upstairs watching a movie or something." Noelle inform her.

"Oh, well, could you let her know that I'm home?" Jackie says and hands an apple, "Give this to her while you're at it."

"Oh okay." Noelle say and walk upstairs to her room.

The house is setup to where the home theater is on the third floor; the bedrooms are on the second floor; the kitchen, dining room, library, and indoor pool is on the first floor. For a family of four, there is a lot of space. On the second floor, we have the Master Bedroom, two Guest Rooms, Noelle's Room, and Serena's Bedroom. Each bedroom is marked with a cute little sign that hangs on the door and each bedroom has their own bathroom; the twins shares a bathroom.

Noelle knocks on Serena's door.

"Come in." Serena says with a weak voice, but just enough to hear through the door.

"Hey, Mom's here. Oh, and here, catch." Noelle says as she throws the Honey Crisp Apple and Serena catches it without flinching.

"Okay. Thanks..." Serena says, quietly.

She was watching a re-run of Attack On Titan, a new and popular anime. They were both interested in anime and Asian dramas, however they liked different genres. Serena liked violent and gory kind of shows. Noelle liked sad and romantic shows. Sometimes, they could find one they both liked, but that was rare. Last show they both liked was Beyond the Boundary, an anime that compromised at violence and romance.

Noelle flinched as people were getting ripped apart and eaten.

"Weakling." Serena said as she laughed.

"Am not!" Noelle protested.

Serena laughed and didn't answer to her argument. She looks at Noelle for a while, like if she had something to say, but she turns away. She but into her apple and watched the show.

"So. How long are you going to keep up the good girl act?" Serena finally spits out.

Serena's walls are filled with same-old posters of her favorite bands, animes, and photos. Her bookshelf is filled with her same-old mangas and reading books. Her room isn't messy, but it isn't clean. Her flat-screen TV is in front of her bed with black blankets and red pillows and furry throw pillows. Serena lays on her bed in her gray sweats and wine-red tank top and her long blond hair in a long, loose fishtail braid. Her black wayfarer eyeglasses she changes into after school.

"You got a new book?" Noelle say picking a red leather covered book with no title.

Hmmm. I haven't seen this around before, Noelle says to herself.

"Hey, don't look at that!" Serena says in panic as I flip through the pages.

Noelle look at one of the pages in the middle of the book:

Dear Diary,

He broke up with me. I can't beliv-

Serena jerks the book out of Noelle's hands, her face burning a bright red.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was your diary." Noelle stuttered apologetically, "I'll get going..."

"Wait! Answer my question." Serena says quickly.

"What question?" Noelle asks.

Serena leans in,"How long...will you act like this?"

Why can she always see through me? Always asking this. Why does she always ask this? I can't tell her why, Noelle thinks.

"What are you talking about?" Noelle answers with a fake smile, as usual.

"You-Your're... Never mind... You can go now." Serena says sadly.

Noelle walks towards the door walking out. Serena watches her leave, her cloudy sea green eyes were desperate for an answer. Many thoughts were going on through her mind.

Noelle...Why can't you tell me this? I'm so worried about you, Serena thinks.