Mermalia

the first

~~~

"DANIKA, wake up! You dimwit!", I jumped myself from sleep when I felt a sting of pain on my shoulder.

"The fudge is wrong with you?!", I spat out as I saw the evil friend of mine - Cassandra.

"Well let me just remind you that it's our first day in college, you lazy ass.", she shouted as she scrambled through the closet.

"A'right I can hear you. No need to shout, tss.", I stretched my arms and walked myself into the bathroom.

"You're such a nuisance for an eighteen year-old woman aish!", she whisperedly whined but I can still hear her.

"I'm just seventeen, Cassy.", I shouted as I shut the door as soon as I've entered.

"Well, your birthday would be next week. So you can't use that seventeen-reason of yours.", she argued.

"Cassy, you realized I'm still technically seventeen.", I replied. She said a lot of things but I just let it pass and focused myself with the bath.

---

3 YEARS AGO...

I run of inside the hotel as soon as I got off from the cab. I can't risk the chance that someone amongst those guys would see me. I'm not sure if I am the girl they're referring to but I know I am not safe based from what my mom and me had experienced.

Once I am inside the room that I've rented, I scrub through the purse my mom gave me and saw the things inside - a flash drive, bank cards, folded files, ands some cold cash. I also noticed that there were some identification cards, with my face yet, with a different name.

Danika Martinez. I read through the files. It goes with some new personal backgrounds. It's like me - but in a whole lot of different character and upbringing.

Danika Martinez. An orphan. Lost both parents in a fire accident back when she was still 5 years old. Was adopted by a rich chemist - Inigo Martinez, who also died after 10 years and left all his wealth to Danika.

I continued to read the files and then my eyes went back to the flash drive.

Good thing the hotel room had some television set with complete cords and stuff. I inserted the flash drive and saw one file register as "To Dani".

I clicked open and the video started playing. I didn't realized I was silently crying. For my Papa and Mama. For myself.

And that's when I understand everything.

I am not Danielle Amber Lazaro anymore, I am Danika Martinez. From birth to death. No one would know. No one should know.

---

"How long do you plan to camp in there?!", Cassy knocked hard through the bathroom door.

"You do realized that I ain't fond of pleasing you, Cass", I smirked as I imagined her annoyed face.

"You should be thankful I love you, you b'tch", she laughed as she realized I'm just making fun with her.

As soon as we finished prepping ourselves and eating some fiber snacks 'cause we're both not fond of breakfast, we made our way to the university.

Well, sadly, me and her don't go along with our courses. She chose to proceed her path through her medical career and took Medical Technology as her pre-med course, while I took Civil Engineering, just because I'm fond of structures.

As we enter the front door of our first subject, which thankfully on the same building, we looked at each other like we wanna tell ourselves that everything looks really weird.

Like who the hell experienced a university life this silent?! People seems not to have some voice, not even a single whisper.

"So weird...", Cassy trailed as we reached her room first.

"Yours is here, I'll get going", I told her as I gestured the way.

"Let's meet at lunch. Text me, a'right?"

"Sure thing.", I simply said as I jog my way to the third floor. Can somebody tell me why am I so unlucky? Just c'mon I hate walking for things like this!

Right when I settled myself in the middle part of the auditorium, the tardy bell rang signalling the start of the first period.

"Looks like I am really in college", I smirked in my mind, plotting my life ahead.

~~~

@dauxology
PS. Until next time. Lemme know what you think will happen on the next chapters *winks*.