Beauty Is Useless.

Serene woke up at exactly seven that morning, she yawned and stretched lazily. She shook off the old blanket that she used to cover her body and climbed out of the bed. She stumbled to the bathroom and subconsciously turned on the tap. Cold water gushed out of the tap and she was forced to take a step back. She raised her brows and turned off the tap again. It looks like they have pitied her again and gave her water.

She took her toothbrush and forcefully squeezed out the last toothpaste from the tube to brush her teeth. After brushing her teeth, she returned her toothbrush and stole a glance at her reflection on the mirror.

She had a straight long hair that was very thick and full, her heart-shaped face made her appear delicate and cute, the kind of innocent beauty that made people's heart fluster. The years of hard work had made her skin darker but she still met with the latest beauty standard of the girls of her age.

She dropped her eyes and and looked at her palm. She saw the callousness of her palm and she clenched her fingers into a fist. She looked away and began pulling her cloth.

To her, beauty was useless.

After a refreshing bath, Serene returned to her cranny room and changed into a simple pair of old Jeans and a white T-shirt, that was like her best spare clothes. Since was going to meet out for something important, she could only wear them.

She had just finished dressing when her phone rang and she picked it up from the little bed side table. She answered the call when she saw that it was Paige calling her.

"Hey" She said.

"Good morning, Rene, did you have a good night?" Paige's joyful voice rang into her ear and her lips tilted slightly.

"Hm, I had a good night, thank you" Serene answered with a smile that she does not usually have.

"That is good, that is good!" Paige exclaimed and chuckled. "I hope you still remember your appointment today? It's by nine O'clock this morning, you cannot afford to be late, do you understand? I mean, even if it isn't the model that you will see, you must show up early to have a good impression from them"

"Yeah, I know" Serene uttered.

On the other side, Paige pressed her lips together and rubbed her forehead. She had long known that her best friend was a person of few words and even if she said a thousand words, Serene's response would be less than four words. Even still, she knew that Serene understood everything that she was trying to pass across.

"It is okay that you know. Since you will be busy today, I happen to be free so I will use my leisure hour to check on your brother in the hospital. We must not let the boy be alone in that creepy place. I heard that when you keep a sick person in company, they will definitely feel better and we can pass our good luck to them and they will retain their health!" Paige voiced.

Serene pressed the phone closer to her ear, for a moment she was silent and at the mention of her little brother, she could not help but feel her chest become stuffy and her eyes reddened. She batted her lashes and bit her lower lip until a sharp pain from the bit caused her to regain her consciousness. Then, she nodded.

"Thank you, Paige" she muttered. Just like most girls out there, she was pretty emotional at certain times.

"It is okay, it is okay! We are best friends after all and I just happen to be free today. You don't have to rush your meeting, I will take good care of your brother and we will wait for your good news" Paige pleasantly said.

"Okay" a smile crept up to her face and lightened her aura. Once again, she braced herelf up for the day again.

"Okay, okay... I gotta go now. See you later!" Paige said.

"Mm"

Serene dropped her phone after the call ended and picked up a wooden comb to brush her hair. Since she did not have the time or money to take care of her hair like other girls, it took her a while to untangle the knots of her thick hair. But once she was done, the thick dark hair cascaded down her should like a giant water fall. She looked down her lengthy hair and smiled. Someone had once asked her to shave off her hair and sell it off to a salon for money but she ignored that person. She could lose everything but, not her hair. Her grandmother once told her that it was her final worth as a lady.

She walked out of the room and headed for the kitchen. There was almost nothing left in her cabinet but she still found some cereal in a carton and half a bottle of milk. She mixed the cereal and took a spoonful. Her face twisted in disgust from the taste of the cereal but she still swallowed it up. Not like she had a choice anyway.

She quickly washed up the bowl after eating and returned to her bedroom. She took out a baseball cap from her wardrobe and grabbed her phone from the bed. She checked the time and saw that she had less than thirty minutes left to her appointment.

Serene walked out of her house, she could not afford to be late. She was just stepping out the house when she heard a person called her out.

"Young lady, you are around now!" A woman who looked around forty years old rushed towards Serene as soon as she saw her. The woman looked at Serene with pitiful eyes and she opened her mouth.

"The landlord came looking for you yesterday but, thankfully, you were not around. That hideous old man, he nagged and nagged about you in your absence and even threatened to throw you out. When he saw that we would not let him touch your things in your absence, he just cut off your water supply. It was me and your other aunties that help turn the water on again this morning. You see that man... you, just don't worry my dear, we know you are working really hard and things are hard... we may not be about to do much but, we won't let that man bully you!" The woman expressed in one breathe.

Serene was speechless for a moment, she looked closely at the woman and only after a while did she recognise her to be her neighbour.

"Ah, thank you" she finally said.

"It is nothing, just go and do you things, okay" the woman voiced and waved Serene off with a smile.

Serene gave a polite nod and began walking away. She flagged down a taxi and gave the address where she had her appointment that morning. Seeing that she might be late, she hurried the driver impatiently.