The Crackle Of Fire

One

The loud beeping of a smoke alarm awoke the whole house. Seraphina sat up in a cloud of smoke​. She immediately got on the floor and crawled to her window.

She used a shirt to open the lock and pull it open. She crawled through the small space and jumped to the ground. She was still in her pajamas and she had no shoes, but she sprinted into the street where her sister was.

Her sister, obviously happy to see her, hugged her and started crying. Seraphina stared at the burning house and couldn't move. Not two seconds later, sirens rung down the street.

She turned to the fire truck and ambulance and realized she had been coughing. People walked into the street, trying to comfort the two. They were pushed away so the doctors and medical assistants could check them out.

That was when Seraphina was thirteen. She remembered that day like it happened every day. Because that was the day her dad died. Her mother had died when she was three.

After the fire, her sister went to court to become Seraphina's legal guardian until she was old enough to move away. At that time, Emberlynn, her sister, was seventeen and had just graduated from high school.

Everyone has a tragedy growing up. Misty and Marco's mother left them at a mall at age seven. They were sent to an orphanage for three years. It took a long time to be adopted because the two wouldn't separate.

Donnie was almost aborted, but his mother gave him to her sister to take care of. Donnie says his mother told him that she didn't want to kill him and that she was too bad a mother for him. Donnie grew up with his cousins that are now off to college.

Pandora ran away from her life. She was abused and beaten. She walked all the way to a police station to tell them everything. The only bad thing is that she waited until she was thirteen to do it.

Ethan had only recently started talking about his family, for he had only been in the group for the last semester of that school year. His life seemed perfect, until he mentioned that his family had a bad history with cancer. His father, his grandma, and a bunch of other relatives died of it. His remaining family kept track of him and what he did.

The group mostly stayed off of that topic, because it made everyone uncomfortable. They tried to talk about stupid stories and video games, but every now and then it would slip it's way into a conversation.

Lunch was basically the only time they all could talk, unless they had decided to meet at someone's house or in the library after school. The days at the library they called "club meetings" because everyone at their school considered them a club. Even teachers.

They would often go to Ethan's house because his family was super sweet and excepted everyone.

Sometimes Donnie would let them come over and learn to play some card games his cousins taught him. He also had newer game consoles and they would take turns playing together.

Other times, Emberlynn would watch them and take them places in the town of New Pix. Sometimes even outside of New Pix.

The group often even went back to school after everyone had left, so they could hang out at the park.

Now, during summer, they have some other things to do. Bigger, better things to do.

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