Hidden Away

A young girl with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes stood before her vanity mirror, growing increasingly frustrated as she fumbled with her tresses. With a groan of irritation, she let her hands fall to her sides, staring at her reflection.

Today was a new day at a new school.

A mafia exclusive school to be exact and here she was, attempting to look presentable. It took her a lot to convince her father to allow her twin brother and her to be separate, but that notion came with a loophole. She got separated from her twin brother, only to be enrolled in a Mafia school with her younger brother.

"What happened to your hair?"

Looking over her shoulder the girl caught sight of a tall man in a grey suit standing in her doorway, looking at her in amusement.

"Looks like a bird's nest, " He chuckled, walking towards her.

"Ha-ha, very funny, dad, " She grumbled in distaste, allowing her father to turn her towards the mirror as she handed him the hairbrush, his 6'3 stature dwarfing her 5'6 figure.

"Let me guess, Serafina, " He brushed the tangles out of her hair. "You tried making a braid, "

"You know how horrible I am with those, "

Her father only laughed as he parted her hair in three and braided them with deft fingers before tying the end, tossing it over her shoulder to be at the front.

"Thanks, " Serafina murmured, playing with the ends of her tresses.

"You're welcome, " Her father placed a kiss atop her head. "Come on down, everyone is waiting for you, "

She nodded, watching him walk away in the mirror before she halted him by calling out to him.

"Hey, dad?" She turned to be facing him, her father standing in the doorway. "Do I look fine?"

"You look beautiful, " He assured before heading out the door.

Serafina smiled to herself before pulling on her gladiator pumps and cardigan, picking up her backpack from the floor and heading out her room and down the stairs, towards the dining room where her mother, father and two brothers were seated and eating.

"Morning, " She called out, placing a kiss on her mother's cheek and ruffling her twin's hair in good nature as he grumbled something under his breath before she settled beside her younger brother.

"Are you two excited about your new school?" Their mother inquired with her infamous dimpled smile.

"Oh! I can't wait to get rid of her!" Her twin, Salvatore, jabbed his thumb in her direction.

"Really? Because last I remember, I was the one who insisted our schools be separated, " she taunted, Marco chuckling beside her as Salvatore's blue eyes glared at her from across the table as Serafina stuck out her tongue to him.

"Salvatore, Serafina, " Their mom reprimanded. "Be nice, "

Once the two had settled down, their parents sighed, shaking their head at their children.

"You two don't need us coming along, do you?"

"They're 17, Rosa, " Their father spoke up with a chuckle. "I'm sure they can manage just fine on their own. Get a taste of independence. For once."

"But, Arcangelo-"

"-No 'but', Rosalie. The bird has to leave the nest sooner or later, like Arsenio. And I'm sure in 2 years' time they would follow their brother's footsteps by not only leaving the nest but the forest as well, "

"Don't remind me, " Rosalie grunted at the thought. "But they're not only my birdies, they're your's as well, "

"I should never have let you spend time with Alyna." Their father groaned. "This arguing back is all her doing."

"I'm not arguing. I'm just stating the facts here, Mr. Regnante."

"Are you seeing this?" Arcangelo gestured to his wife, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. "This all your wife's doing. Corrupted my poor little and innocent spouse." Those words had Rosalie flush a deep red as she stared at her husband with an open mouth.

Looking up, the three of us noticed a man with dirty blonde hair and freckles leaning against the doorway, rolling his misty green eyes at the man's antics. Neither one of them having heard the man enter.

"She was your sister before she was my anything." Vincent chuckled as he high-fived the three in greeting. "So technically speaking, it's your sister's fault, and not my ex-wife's."

"Okay!" Arcangelo intervened. "Vincent, we have work to do. Rosa, sweetheart, you had some errands to run. And you three, are late for school. So hurry it up."

Realizing that he was right, the twins hurried to finish their breakfasts as Salvatore was the first one out the door. Saying farewell to everyone before dashing out the door, followed by his guards. Serafina was less rushed as her school was comparatively closer than the one Salvatore choose, but the look of unease on Marco's expression reminded her that she wasn't the only one and he was getting late.

"Should we follow you like 'lost puppies' or do you want us to be stationed outside?" Serafina's guard, Sean, asked with a teasing smile.

"For heaven's sake. Please stay outside." She groaned. "Because of you two showing off your guns, I can't make friends!"

"Hey, we're the good guys here." The other man, Alberto, defended in mock offense.

"Please. You two work for the Mafia. And you're the good guys? Irony at its finest, don't you think?" Serafina taunted with a scoff as her younger brother laughed beside her.

The remainder drive resumed on in silence, soon halting in front of a large red-bricked building that looked like it had been standing for a few years with its slightly old look, but otherwise, it seemed relatively new. Stepping out of the car, Serafina gave a quick wave to my guards, who told her to just text them if need be.

Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, she glanced towards Marco who offered his signature lopsided grin.

"Don't worry, you'll do great. Plus everyone here is very nice." He assured since they would be parting ways. Nodding to his words Serafina took a calming breath and walked inside.

The hallways were crowded with teenagers of all age and size. Looking around her, she found that no one was paying her any mind as she found her way to the reception. Greeting the lady seated behind the desk; introduced herself as Serafina, the woman taking out a folder with her schedule, locker number and key. Handing it over, she took the direction from her before venturing out to find her first class

Placing all the unneeded books into the locker, she closed it shut before making her way inside the classroom, being one of the few students that loitered around.

No soon had she taken a seat, her phone buzzed to life in her sweater's pocket. Taking it out she read the concerned message of Alberto, who was inquiring if everything was alright and if they had to knock out a few teeth from a guy who was messing with her. It had Serafina laugh out loud before she clamped a hand over her mouth, uncertainly glancing around to see if anyone was watching her. Her tense shoulders relaxed since everyone was busy with their own things. Exhaling, she typed back a response, assuring him that everything was alright and that nothing has happened since her first class hadn't even begun.

Slowly, more and more students trickled in and took a seat, the one next to her was still vacant. She didn't mind since she was busying trying to assure her mother hen that everything was fine and that her class is starting soon. The bell ringing had Serafina jump in alert and place a hand against her chest, feeling the heart beating in overdrive.

A sound of someone' chuckling beside her redirected her attention to the guy watching her with an amused smile.

"Hi." He spoke in a deep voice, Serafina looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze. "I'm Paolo."

"Serafina, " She spoke uncertainly, shaking his outstretched hand.

He was relatively cute, with light brown hair and hazel eyes and an angular face. He seemed harmless enough and didn't make Serafina feel on edge.