New Student (1)

Oxy had just arrived at school and felt something was odd. The kids at school glanced at her with strange eyes.

Was this about yesterday? They might be wondering why a pretty girl knew her.

"Hey," Darren suddenly blocked Oxy's way.

"What's wrong?" asked Oxy. She was taking a step back to keep her distance from Darren. Darren's friends were standing as usual in the back as his cronies.

"You never said you had such a beautiful friend," Darren demanded. "How did you know her?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Oxy, confused.

"Hey, do not pretend you don't understand," said Darren irritably. "That new girl has been looking for you since morning."

"New girl? Who?"

"She was waiting for you yesterday, still forget?" Asked Darren.

"What do you mean a new...? She's just..." Oxy stopped suddenly. Her eyes widened after understanding the situation. New girl?

"Wh... Where is she?" She asked immediately.

"In the class," Darren replied.

Oxy immediately went through Darren and his friends. She ignored their calls and continued running toward class. Arriving in class, she found the new girl. That was exactly her, Selena. And Selena was sitting on a bench that was next to Oxy's place.

"Hey, Oxy Jane!" Selena waved cheerfully after noticing Oxy's presence.

Oxy could feel the students' gazes on her. They might be curious, as to why she could know that pretty girl.

Oxy immediately approached Selena.

"What are you doing here?" Oxy whispered, she sat down on her bench.

"My mother and I agreed to live in this city from today," said Selena, looking cheerful even though her father was arrested by the police. "And I'm going to transfer here."

"Are you serious?" Oxy could not believe that. The decision sounded too fast.

"My mom wants to be here for dad," Selena said, her expression slightly changed, looking bitter. "As long as my dad is locked up, we'll be here. And Oxy," she lowered her voice. "Please help me. I don't want people to know if your principal is my adoptive father."

"The news will spread soon, Selena," said Oxy.

"I know," Selena shrugged. "But the vice principal also will help me. At least I have time to prepare myself before people know about me."

Oxy sincerely hoped Mr. Dome will be released soon. But they didn't know how the police managed the case.

"Where will you guys live?" asked Oxy.

"We're moving into dad's house," Selena replied.

"Good," said Oxy.

"I'm happy to have you, so I don't feel awkward being here," Selena said. "Even though we just met, I already like you."

Immediately, Oxy's face turned red. Did Selena seriously like her? Maybe Selena just didn't know more yet.

"But I'm not a fun girl," said Oxy.

"Why do you say that?" Selena looked surprised.

Oxy had a hard time explaining. She didn't want Selena to regret being friends with her after finding out that she wasn't the popular kid at school.

The bell rang. Oxy sighed in relief. She didn't need to explain more because Selena would immediately know everything.

--

After the bell rang for the end of first class, Selena was immediately approached by other students. Of course, many kids want to be friends with Selena. Selena became popular easily because of her good appearance.

Oxy immediately ran away from class, she didn't want to disturb Selena. She went to the cafeteria and sat in her usual place. She took out her lunch and ate in silence. She checked her phone just to see the group messages. Selena and Hydroxxx were inactive.

Oxy did not expect much about this.

"Hey!"

Oxy was taken aback when Selena suddenly sat across from her, putting down the lunch tray.

"Hey, you brought lunch from home, huh?" said Selena when she looked at her. "Oh, it looked so delicious. Did your mom make it for you?"

Oxy still felt shocked. She looked around and people seemed to be watching them.

"Why are you here?" whispered Oxy.

Selena frowned. "Why?" She asked back.

"You shouldn't be here," Oxy said.

"Oxy, I don't understand why you're trying to stay away from me," Selena said irritably. "You're the first person I've met here. And we're friends, aren't we?"

Oxy blinked. "I'm sorry. It just felt..."

"Please explain, you keep saying things without finishing. Is there something wrong with me?" Selena asked worriedly.

"No! There's nothing wrong with you!" said Oxy hastily. She didn't mean to offend Selena, but it felt messed up.

"Okay, then what? Please explain why you're avoiding me?" demanded Selena.

"About that... I just don't think I would be suitable to be your friend," Oxy said quietly.

Selena was confused. "Why do you say that?"

"You must have heard about me. I am the weirdo."

Selena was silent for a moment. Then she sighed. "So what?"

Oxy blinked.

"Hey, Oxy Jane. The decision to be friends with anyone is my own choice. So are you. Please stop being so worried."

Oxy was quite surprised to hear.

"From now on we'll be friends. Don't think you're the only weirdo. I'm weird too, you know." Selena whispered then smiled. "Don't we have a big secret?"

"Even so, you are a cool girl," Oxy commented.

"Oh, is that a compliment? Thank you." Selena laughed. "But really, don't stay away from me anymore. There are many things I want to discuss with you."

Oxy nodded. "Sorry for making you feel uncomfortable."

"Yeah, take it easy. Now, finish your lunch," Selena said.

Oxy nodded. She smiled happily because Selena accepted her as a friend.

--

"So behind these walls, was the place where the lost city ever exist?" Selena asked, patting the barrier wall.

Oxy nodded.

"Ever checked back there?" she asked.

Oxy frowned at Selena's suggestion. "We can't go there."

"Why?"

"Government said the place was dangerous," replied Oxy. "Not even worms can live in the soil."

"Maybe because of the radiation. You said the city was trapped in a dimension? Wow, that's hard to believe."

"Yeah, it's hard to believe," Oxy nodded in agreement. "Have you ever had another dream about that dimension again?"

"The red city?" Selena shook her head. "No. I always take the green pill. I don't want to be stuck in there."

"That means you've never seen Riverwaze High School inside there?" asked Oxy.

"The school was inside the dimension too?" Selena asked back.

Oxy nodded. "That school is the safest place in Cerebra."

"I don't understand much. My father never discussed my dream."

"You entered Cerebra a long time ago," Oxy said. "While I was just a few weeks ago."

"Is that weird?" Selena asked.

Oxy shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel weird knowing that I'm born at Cerebra."

"Me neither, I can hardly believe it. I just knew if I am an adopted child. And my parents never want to talk about my real parents. If I was born in Cerebra, that means my real parents live there too, right?"

Oxy nodded. "Maybe."

"Is anyone still alive in that dimension?" she asked.

"I am sorry, I don't think so," replied Oxy. "I only saw Urons."

"Urons, what kind of creature are they?" Selena asked in confusion.

"I don't know," said Oxy. "Helio said maybe they were humans before."

"Seriously? Ugh, that's horrible," Selena commented.

"Wanna try it?" asked Oxy.

"What?" Selena turned to Oxy.

"Back to the place," replied Oxy and started walking away from the Cerebra barrier walls.

"Ugh, I'm not sure I want to go back there," Selena followed Oxy. "What if I get trapped and Uron will eat my head?"

"I will find you and save you," Oxy promised.

"Are you sure?" Selena still couldn't believe it.

"Try to remember where you woke up inside there," said Oxy. "Then I will find you and save you."

"That's been a long time," Selena said. "I'm not sure I can remember."

"Just take your time. I have a map of Cerebra, maybe it can help you to remember."

"Map? That's great. I'm pretty good at reading maps," Selena said, suddenly excited.

"Hey, I wonder why the account called Hydroxxx is no longer active," said Oxy.

"Oh, the boy who put us in the group huh?"

"Are you sure hydroxxx is a boy?" asked Oxy.

"Of course, he's a boy." Serena nodded confidently. "Just leave it, he'll call us later."

Oxy nodded.

"Well, let's stop talking about that stupid dreams. I'm so hungry now," said Selena.

"You get hungry easily. We just ate ice cream before," Oxy commented. Selena kept asking her to eat but Selena's body was slimmer than her. It's unfair. Lol.

"Come on, let's find something delicious!" Selena immediately put her arm around Oxy's shoulders.

Yeah. Maybe this was what was called befriends, Oxy said to herself. She had to get used to it.[]