Chapter 2

Dinner is one of the few times the family is able to get together during the weekdays and despite her loner personality, Mia savors every moment with her parents. Foster parents, to be exact.

It still sometimes gets hard for Mia to believe but she's actually the adopted daughter of Sam and Regina Gates. Okay, not that hard really if one is being critical. They're both fair-skinned and she's black; and to top it, Regina is allergic to macadamia nuts and Sam to peanuts but Mia just can't seem to have enough of those two.

But whichever way it is, the Gates loves Mia like their own biological daughter and she doesn't hold any memory of having another parent or being in the orphanage. One of the perks of being adopted when you were just six months old, she always said to herself.

At the table that night, Sam is droning on about his day at work as usual and Regina is listening to him; or pretending to, as the case may be.

Sam works in a construction company and Regina is a secretary to the CEO of a local candy company in the area, which means they're never short of stories to tell; a polar contrast to Mia's one-woman life coincidentally.

"So, how was school today, Mia?" Regina asks after Sam is done; she likes Mia to talk before she does. "Did you meet anyone new?"

"There was no one new to meet," she replies with a careless shrug and an uninterested expression on her face; her default posture whenever she's asked to say anything concerning herself or her day. "Anyway, I got a C minus in my history assignment, if that can count for event of the day."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, honey." Regina gets up to give Mia a heartfelt sympathy hug even though the latter looks like she'll rather she didn't. "I know you worked your butts off on that assignment."

"Wait, isn't that the assignment that was meant to be worked on by two people?" asks Sam all of a sudden and Mia almost chokes on her dinner.

Thing is, she mentioned it to him only in passing during dinner the previous night and obviously didn't expect him to remember. You should have known better, Mia, she groans to herself.

"Is that true?" Regina asks, her eyes staying on Mia the way they always do whenever she's displeased by something she's done.

Now, Mia can lie and deny it. She has the opportunity. But she knows it's never a good idea with her parents. They always catch on. So, she nods affirmative.

"How could you do that?" Regina is now vividly angry.

"What was I supposed to do when no one was ready to partner with me?!" Mia shouts in her defense.

"Did you even bother to ask them?" she shoots back, knowing very well she didn't. "Mia, you can't continue to live your life this way."

In all her sixteen years of being a parent, Regina has never had anything to disapprove of in her daughter; except her ability to make friends, that is; or the lack thereof. She has thrown countless parties, hosted many dinners, championed many school events; all in the hope that Mia will meet someone that suit her enough for a friend. But that has never happened.

She has even pitched the idea of maybe seeing a psychologist to Mia but the latter argued that it'll take a lot of her connection skills- which she vehemently insists she doesn't have- to see the psychologist and so, Regina has to drop it.

"You already know that I don't like to mingle with people and you accepted me that way," says Mia in an attempt to appease Regina. "Why are you trying to change me now?"

"Because you'll never connect if you don't try," she replies. "Besides, there may come a time when you need help and your friends will be the only one around to provide it."

"Why would I need help from another person when I have the two of you?" asks Mia. She's just not understanding why Regina is so persistent on this "friends" issue.

"Because the truth is that you won't always have us, honey," she replies as she will an ignorant but dogmatic child, which she believes Mia is being at the moment.

"If you don't mind, I'll go finish this in my room." Mia gets up, grabs her plate, and takes her leave. It's either that or she continues to argue with Regina, and it's obvious that the latter isn't going to back down anytime soon.

Mia is already ascending the stairs to her room but she can hear the whispers of her parents' discussion, no doubt about her.

Mom just doesn't get it, she thinks to herself, I have no urge whatsoever to make friends. Besides, the most burning question coming to her mind, what can possibly happen that I'll need the help of another person?

Voices; at least that's what Mia think they are. In truth, they're a bit of everything; and they're stuck inside her head, waiting for the slightest opportunity to burst out.

Mia tosses helplessly around in pain as the cacophony inside her head goes up another notch. That's how her nights go on some days and she has no idea what triggers it. She doesn't even know what it is.

After so many failed attempts at keeping calm, she finally forces her eyes open, but that proves to be a very terrible mistake as the moment she opens her eyes, her headache goes immediately into the murderous mode; and her eyes can't even focus.

It's like she's seeing everything and nothing at the same time if that makes any sense. So many words, pictures, and a little bit of everything else dances all around her vision; and they aren't even consistent. It's as if someone somewhere is playing with a switch in her eyes; or maybe her brain actually, truth be told.

"Mom!" Mia eventually shouts when she can. "Dad! Help!"

Almost immediately, Sam and Regina rush into the room. They're used to her episodes already. "Come here, baby," Regina says and pulls Mia in for a protective hug, not minding that the latter is heavily drenched in sweat.

Sam brings out a syringe filled with a golden-yellow liquid and injects Mia with it, everything in her body immediately beginning to return back to normal.

The numb serum, Mia calls it. Whatever it is, it makes her numb to everything, thereby giving her brain time to reboot- or whatever it is it does- and nullify the killing noises in her head.

"Sleep now, child," Regina lays Mia back in her bed and tucks her in, "it's all over now."

As Mia's body relaxes and her eyes begins to close, she hears her parents whispering about something; and even though she can't pick much of anything else they say, her mind's still awake enough to hear when they mention a certain word that will go on to stay with her for a very long time to come. Tekna.