3 Chapter 3

"What's this? Tia, you just moved in, and you got fans already?"

Mia's voice echoed through the classroom.

Thank whatever gods up there that made sure there was no one else in there except for the four.

"No-" Tia spoke up, but Mia was already getting dragged away by Reggy.

Reggy knew how annoying Mia could get if she stayed.

It would be hell if they were going to try and stop her from all the teasing.

'I guess socializing with the girls can wait.' Tia shrugged.

Her face turned towards Theo's, her hair flinging back as she swung it.

"So! You were saying?" She tried to put on the most believable smile one could put on.

Theo seemed awkward.

"I'm sorry if this sounds weird to you, but have we ever met before?" Theo asked.

Holy cow, that was not something Tia saw coming.

"Repeat that-?" She stuttered.

"I was thinking. Have we ever met before?" Theo repeated.

Tia froze. Did this man just come up to her and ask if they met before?

When he most likely didn't know jackshit about her?

Some guts he had right there.

It took a few seconds for Tia to process and recollect herself.

"What makes you think that?" Tia gave a crooked smile, not knowing how to respond.

She wanted to just say "no" and run home, but what's stopping her?

Honestly, she also felt like they met before! When? How? Who was he?

"Ah, never mind then. I must have sounded weird." Theo scratched his neck.

'Dude, no shit! You were creeping me out there. I thought this was some fantasy reincarnation drama for a quick second.'

Tia wanted to say that.

She wanted to be blunt with him.

Instead, her mouth said something else.

"Oh! No, no! It's reasonable for you to think so, but maybe you mistook me as someone else." she shook her head.

Theo acknowledged her response, nodding.

"Well, I guess I did. I am very sorry for asking you such a weird question like this." Theo apologized once again.

"We should leave now. See you tomorrow, Tiara." He smiled, waving goodbye.

How on Earth did he just ask that and leave so nonchalantly?!

That was the weirdest conversation she ever had in her whole life.

After questioning what just happened for a while, Tia realised that she was supposed to be heading home already.

She picked up her bag, ran for the school's exit, and started her trip back home.

Today was certainly interesting, to say the least.

It was an… ah, unforgettable first day of school.

Tia always brought spare house keys wherever she went.

Nobody could guess if her mom is at home or not.

First, Tia rang the doorbell.

No response.

Ah, so her mother wasn't home.

She rummaged through her school bag, looking for her keys.

Once she found it, Tia opened the door and entered her house.

A cute puppy ran towards her, jumping up to her knee.

It was her beloved corgi, the only friend she has at home.

His name was Kenny.

Tia softly smiled as she bent down to pick the little guy up.

Deep down, she had an obvious feeling of loneliness and emptiness even though now she had a little pup as her companion.

How she desired for a complete, happy family.

Tia headed for her room while carrying the fluffy creature.

She changed quickly, and then dropped herself on the bed, also letting Kenny go.

Left with nothing to do, Tia looked around and started observing her room's details.

It had a unique wallpaper of baby blue and some white roses on it.

Making out different details of her surroundings became a habit when she's bored, huh?

A new room, but it wasn't so bad. She enjoyed it.

It was comfortable enough for Tia and since her rooms are usually her comfort spot, she did not really have any choices did she?

She has to adapt quickly.

No one to really talk to at home except for her friends she could text.

That reminded her.

She never asked for Mia or Reggy's numbers.

Especially since that creepy bastard Theo held her back.

It reminded her of something else too, that her phone was still in the school uniform's skirt.

She rummaged through the skirt's pocket.

Her phone had a cute casing.

Simple, yet something so many people would spend money for.

It was a shade of caramel-brown and white.

As a dog person, Tia bought a puppy-themed phone casing, with adorable-looking puppies all over them.

She unlocked the device and saw a few notifications from her messaging apps.

A few of them were from her mother, and some others from her old New York friends.

Kenny jumped up to Tia's bed, sitting beside her and looking for pats from his owner.

Looking at how desperate Kenny is, Tia ran her hand through Kenny's fur while scrolling through her notification bar to read the messages she received.

Tia smiled at one particular message.

'Hey Tia! How are you in Colorado?'

'Was school fun?'

It was sent by her school friend in New York.

They hung out a lot back in her city days.

She replied to her, and the online conversation kept her entertained for a while.

After it all ended, Tia took her time playing with Kenny.

Hours passed by, then her mom finally arrived home.

Of course, Tia didn't feel like shouting 'Welcome home!' to her.

It's not something they'd regularly do to each other.

Tia sighed.

If only her pride would step down a bit so she could greet her mother and stop the awkward tension they had in the house.

You know what?

She's sick of it. Tia was sick of it all.

'If only' this, 'if only' that.

There was no more reason why she couldn't do it.

So why not?

All she needed to do was walk to the kitchen, greet her mother before helping her cook her dinner.

Boom! Is this not counted as a typical mother-daughter everyday interaction?

Again, what is stopping her?

Tia scratched her hair and messed it up.

It was possible. Having a normal proper mother-daughter interaction was possible.

Why wouldn't it be?

A pillow covered her face. Tia was trying so hard to hold and fight back her tears that were threatening a downpour.

She failed though.

Her mind was filled with different imaginations of her and her mother having fun.

Thinking of it made her devastated.

Subconsciously, Tia yearned for an alternate life where she could belong in a 'normal', loving household.

Tia came to dinner, carrying Kenny down for his dinner too with swollen, puffy eyes.

Of course, her mother was concerned, but she didn't know how to show it.

For the first time in forever, her mother spoke up.

"Tia. Are you okay?"

Her mother asked.

Did Tia misheard? Her mother just questioned her well being. The last time she did that was a literal decade ago, perhaps?

Tia's eyes widened.

"Y-yes, yes! Yes, I am fine." Tia stuttered, taken aback by her mother's remark.

Her mother nodded, acknowledging the answer.

Well, it is normal for the conversation to end there considering they didn't know how to continue.

It made Tia a bit more enthusiastic than before, though.

After dinner, Tia gathered up the courage to thank her mother for the food and then she went to wash her dishes.

While climbing up the stairs to her room and taking Kenny with her, Tia's heart was pounding with excitement and a little bit of her emptiness was covered.

As soon as her room door was shut, Tia jumped on her teal bed, hugging Kenny quite tightly.

"Kenny! Did you see what happened? That's progress!" She exclaimed.

Funny how such a basic thing can make her this happy.

Maybe to other families, it was something they'd do on a daily basis.

Asking how each other's days were, laughing together during dinner, sure, they were all so common.

To Tia and her mother, though, it meant so much to the both of them.

After such an incident, their relationship broke, but both sides cared. They wanted to get through this and stand stronger than ever as a mother and a daughter.

Tia finally prepared for bed not too long afterwards.

Her good mood was still lingering, so she was humming upbeat songs while scrolling through social media platforms and replying to her friends.

Tia's good mood boosted when a guy friend of hers, Keith, texted her.

They were close friends, but it seemed like Tia was interested in the boy, romantically.

Oh Lord, could the day get any better?

She got new friends, even interacted with her mother, and her crush texted her too!

Tia reminisced about her day, smiling at everything that happened today.

It was fun.

She then drifted off to sleep with a happy expression.