Shattered Reflections

Today was definitely not a walk through the park for Danni Carlson; all she wanted to do was get through her first day of school without any incident but then some blue eye lunatic fucking groped her. Danni thought the clothes hid her body, they were big enough to hide her curves and her hair hid most of her face, the only part that could be seen was her lips. Before she got closer to her new home, Danni had to readjust the large bandage that was around her bosom because the perverted lunatic loosened it when he forced his hands up her shirt and groped her bosom.

Life for Danni Carlson wasn’t easy, she was forced to move from the only place she considered her home and away from him; all because her mother wouldn’t let go of the past. Her father on the other hand had no problem moving forward, his new girlfriend and her kids helped him cope with the hectic life of the Carlson family or did. Danni held so much contempt toward her father that she stopped talking him when he phoned which in her mother’s eyes was a good thing. Danni was actually surprise that her mother got custody of her because Danni was the only person that saw how unstable her mother is not even her father noticed. But she would rather be with her mother than see her father act like a father to his girlfriend’s girls.

Unlocking the front door, Danni walked in closing and relocking the door behind her; clatter in the kitchen diverted her attention when she saw her mother, Lucy come out with an apron on and a wooden spoon her hand. Her anger from being fondled still resided at the back of her mind but seeing her mother brought a bit of tranquility and sadness.

“Oh you’re home Daniel!” Lucy walked and brought Danni into a tight hug before releasing her. “So how was your first day? Did you make any friends yet? How’s the school food because I don’t mind making you lunch. Your teachers didn’t give too much work?”

“Mom it was fine, the food was fine and the teachers didn’t give too much homework so don’t worry.” Danni said in a lower voice. “What you doing out of bed, you should be resting and not overexerting yourself, I can take care of things around the house.”

“Oh don’t be such a worrywart, that’s my job! Your job is to live like a teenager, date some girls until you find the one and then get marry but not until you have your dream job!” The grin that was on Danni’s face fooled her mother enough not to question but the joy didn’t reach her eyes at all.

“Okay mom but please don’t overwork yourself, I don’t want you to go to the hospital again.” Danni said as she gave her mother another tight hug.

“Aw I love you Daniel.” Lucy returned the hug.

“I love you too mom.” Danni replied a minute later with a frown on her face, thankfully the hug hid it from her mother.

“Well go get ready for dinner; I made your favorite, chicken soup with corn on the side!” Lucy said as she made her way back to the kitchen, leaving Danni alone in the hallway with a hollow feeling in her chest.

“Yeah I’ll go wash up.” Danni muttered tuning out the happy humming that she heard drifted out of the kitchen. Danni made her way up the stairs, passing boxes that still had things in them that she would later unpack and put them away so her mother won’t overexert herself. Reaching the top of the staircase, Danni tossed her bag pack on the chair and proceed toward her room to change out of the clothes she wore to school. Opting on a dark blue large t-shirt and a beige cargo short cuts, and making sure that bandage around her chest was secure and not out of place. Once she was sure that nothing of her old self showed, she went to bathroom to wash up for dinner. She closed the door despite there was only two people in the entire house, Danni still liked her privacy.

Though one thing she didn’t like every time she went into the bathroom was the mirror. Every time she looked into the reflective glass she would see him not herself. She lost sight of who she was, her once long luscious hair was now short and choppy, her skin no longer had that radiant glow instead her skin was bland and slightly pale. She no longer showed her face completely, she hid behind the curtain of bangs that obscured her face from other people. The only thing that remained the same was her light brown eyes that lost its glow. She may believe that she is still Danni Carlson but to her mother she was Daniel Carlson, her son.

“Dinner’s ready, Dani!” Lucy called from down stairs. A feeling of dreaded twisted in her stomach when her mother called her by that nickname. Quickly washing her hands just like her mother told her too, Danni told one look at the mirror before turning and heading down to the kitchen.

Dinner was quiet expect for her mother asking the occasional question about her first day at school and Danni’s reply were short and simple. She left out the part where she groped because knowing her mother; Lucy would either gush about it or go into her protective mother mode. Once dinner was over with Danni told her mother that she would clean so she could get some rest because Danni knew that her mother was exhausted from making dinner for the both of them. Lucy gave her a heartwarming smile but to Danni was more weight added to her heart, straining her tolerance to keep going and not give in. With her mother in bed, Dannie finished washing and drying the dished, turned off the light and made sure that the doors were locked and secure before heading back to her room.

She had a feeling that she was going to run into the three boys that she single handling took down because knowing boys and their pride, she definitely knew that they were going to confront her once she is alone. Before she went to bed, she made sure that her alarm clock was set at seven ‘o’clock, she didn’t want to be tardy again like she was this morning and worry her mom.

Danni was tired the next day because her mother woke up screaming and crying at the night mare she had so Danni stayed up most of the night to make sure that her mother was alright. So she was in a pretty foul mood that day. Most of the day she was questioned by various of students but she just ignored them and continued on her way but what annoyed her most was how the girls would gang up on her to try and get answers from her. Danni would think that her silence gave them the clue that she didn’t want to socialize but instead it just egged them on because apparently the attitude she portrayed was mysterious and girls just go crazy over that.

When lunch came around, Danni was not surprise when she saw three of the boys that she beat down approach but she was not in the mood to deal with them.

“Hey.” The one that groped her yesterday said nervously with his hands near his crotch. “Sorry about yesterday, didn’t mean to spring that on ya.”

But Danni didn’t believe it once; she could tell in his eyes that he enjoyed grabbing her so she didn’t say anything but stare blankly at him and his friends. The silence that she gave was grating on Matt’s nerves, all he wanted was an apology for hitting him in the face. Jimmy did deserve to have a kick to the nuts because his idea of finding her gender was a stupid one but Matt sure didn’t deserve a punch to the fucking face.

“Hey bitch, Jimmy apologized you could at least accepted and I do believe that you owe me and Zacky for the punch to the face.” Matt said with a glare. “Though Jimmy did deserve the kick to the balls but we sure as hell didn’t deserve the punch to the fucking face!”

“Hey!”

“Matt does have a point, you did deserve the kick to the balls for doing that to her.” Zacky said while ran his fingers through his jet black hair.

“Why should I apologize to you when you could have been in the plan with that lunatic?” snarled Danni. She did not like being called vulgar names and hearing this ‘Matt’ call her bitch just didn’t sit too well for her. She wasn’t concern that they knew her true gender just as long as her mother still believed the lie.

“What fuck is your problem!” boomed Matt, ready to jump Danni if Zacky and Jimmy weren’t holding their fit friend from beating the shit out of Danni.

“Okay you need to calm down buddy. One too many protein shakes!” Jimmy joked as he and Zacky pulled Matt away from Danni, hoping that Matt wouldn’t cause a scene because Mr. Simmons was just dying to get Matt in detention.

As the trio walked away, Matt still fuming from Danni nonchalant character, Jimmy was glad that a fight didn’t break out because he feared that Matt could do come serious damage with his fit body. Zacky was just glad that they left without anyone pulling punches on anyone though the shiner beneath his eye was a bit of an embarrassment but he was glad that no one was around yesterday to see him and his friends get their asses kicked by a girl that barely started school there.

That encounter made sure that the dislike that Danni had for group of three was clear as day and same went for Matt. But for both Jimmy and Zacky, they didn’t mind just as long as they didn’t get their asses kicked in public. Just as long as both Matt and Danni stirred clear of each other paths then things would be okay. But Danni still held some resentment toward Jimmy for groping her but it lessen each time she sees how he terrorizes everyone around the school and his antics that would get a chuckle out of her. She didn’t mind Zacky to much; she could see the determination in his eyes to prove those that would poke fun him and little band of misfits.

The longer she stayed there, she began to learn that the trio had two other friends, one being a total womanizer that had no problem flirting with girls throughout the school but she learned that he had girlfriend and the other being a shorty that would always put down the guys bass player though he does grow on you. It was ironic that Jimmy gave Danni the bad impression on her first day at Huntington Beach High School, she became fond of the blue lunatic and they would converse during lunch or when there was free time during class.

The façade she had going for her mother was starting to wear down on her each passing day and it was taking a toll on her. It really broke her heart every time her mother called her Daniel and not Danni her birth name, the same name that her own mother gave her the day she was born. The calls from her father was more constant and it was adding more stress to Danni, she ignored his calls and threw out the letters he sent before her mother could see them because Danni knew her mother would go into another breakdown if she saw something of her ex-husband. Though the school life took some of the stress away, the fan girls that pestered her during the first three weeks died down and Danni was able to concentrate on her studies.

That night when her birthday came around, it was bitter reminder what she has lost and the hole in her chest was growing as time went by. And it was one of the nights that would change things for Danni and her mother for good.