I've always had the greatest luck—really, the best.
Take today, for example. I just wanted a quick break between classes, but of course, every single restroom on every floor was full. So naturally, I ended up at this one—the one tucked away in the farthest, creepiest corner of campus.
No big deal, right? Except when I tried to leave, the lock jammed. I twisted, pulled, rattled it—nothing. Totally stuck. Meanwhile, class is rolling on like everything's normal. And right on cue, the bell rings, signaling the end of break...
I sighed and took a deep breath—big mistake. I instantly slapped a hand over my nose and mouth, completely forgetting just how bad this place smelled. Great, just great.
I glanced around frantically, searching for any kind of escape route. I looked up at the door, wondering if I could somehow climb and jump over it. Then I eyed the gap at thebottom—could I crawl through there?
Both options sounded dangerously stupid. Fall and break a leg, or crawl through and risk every bacteria known to humankind?
But then again—who am I if I don't live like it's my last night?~ Right Bruno?
So, jump it is.
I grabbed the toilet lid and propped it down to get a little extra height, trying to haul myself up. If only there were something solid for my feet to push off of—anything better than the flimsy lock rattling beneath my weight.
Just as I was pulling myself up...
SNAP
The door's lock gave out with a loud snap. I tumbled forward...
SLAM
f*ck... I felt my whole body slamming into the door, my leg kicking out wildly—and then, well…
Everything went south. Fast.
Because, like I said, I have the greatest luck.
So while my legs were kicking out wildly, my hands were just as desperate, scrambling for anything to hold onto—because yeah, I wasn't exactly looking forward to a broken limb and a face full of bathroom bacteria. I groped around and finally grabbed onto something to pull myself up. And, well...
By the time it was all over, the restroom was completely flooded. But somehow—miraculously—I came out of it unscathed.
I stepped out, hearing shouts and screams echoing down the hall, only to find a lovely little welcoming committee waiting for me... the faculty staff, the principal, and—of course—the school president. All of them standing there, drenched. Staring at me.
Oh, and me? I was clutching a ceiling panel—the only thing that kept me from getting completely showered in... uh, waste water.
So yeah. Greatest luck ever.
***
"Three months."
My dad's voice echoed through his office. I was standing right in front of him, facing his huge glass desk.
"Three months, Reina. This is your third school transfer this school year. The first semester isn't even over yet, and here we are."
"It's not like I chose to kick a flimsy pipe, Dad. I told you, it was an accident."
"It doesn't matter!" Dad let out a deep sigh. "No private or international school is going to accept you anymore. What am I supposed to do with you?"
"How can they not believe it was just an accident," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"Was it really an accident?" He rolled his eyes right back at me. Attitude, huh? As they say, like father, like daughter.
And just like that, we were back to the list—my greatest hits, all from this semester alone.
"You caused a fire in your school's laboratory."
"I just stumbled a bit and bumped into a cart, which knocked into a model of the solar system, and that tipped over a bottle on the open shelf, which rolled and knocked into another bottle—and its contents just happened to spill exactly where I was working!"
"You flooded the entire school."
"I got locked inside! And when I tried to escape—so I wouldn't get marked absent again—I tried to jump over the door, but somehow the lock I stepped on gave way, and I accidentally kicked a pipe that was apparently this close to bursting from pressure. I didn't know it would set off every pipe in the school!"
"You were in a school fight."
"I wasn't! I was walking when I stepped on a water bottle rolling out from a vending machine, I stumbled, and to catch my balance I accidentally grabbed someone's hair!"
"That started a fight."
"Well, I finished it!"
Dad sighed and shook his head. "Reina, even if you say it's an accident every time, people won't believe you. This happens everywhere you go. How clumsy are you?"
"I'm not clumsy," I pouted. "I just have... odd luck." Because even when everything goes sideways around me, I'm somehow never the one who ends up worst off.
"What am I going to do with you?" Dad groaned again.
"You could always send me abroad," I said, rolling my eyes.
"You sure about that?" He shot me another sharp look. Again with the sass. Seriously, it runs in the family.
"Ehh, it might even be better there, dad," I shot back. Who knows, maybe this time they'll chalk it up to freaky luck instead of labeling it vandalism or school violence… probably.
He shook his head, holding back an exasperated laugh. "No. I don't even know what you'd do to your classmates there. If we can't handle you here, what more in another country?"
"You could transfer me to Reinold's old school?" I teased, knowing exactly how ridiculous that sounded.
He shook his head, dead serious. "I am not sending my daughter to a Christian boarding school."
I laughed. "And thank God for that." I muttered under my breath, I'd probably burst into flames just walking through the door.
Suddenly, his landline phone rang. He immediately answered it, eyes flicking to the privacy glass wall—opaque a second ago, now turning transparent again.
I followed his gaze. There was Ms. Claire Evergreen, his ever-efficient secretary, holding the landline, probably calling to inform him about something urgent.
He glance at me for a moment, then set the phone down. "Reina, go home. You're still suspended. And by the way, you're also grounded."
"What? dad, come on!"
He didn't budge. "Go home. Now."
He glanced at the glass wall again, then called toward the door. "Come in."
Ms. Evergreen walked in, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. She gave me a brief nod, full of her usual icy professionalism, like always—even when dealing with the Diones' nonsense.
With an exaggerated sigh, I grabbed my phone and stomped out of his office.
Just before I left completely, I caught a glimpse of them talking inside. I didn't hear the whole conversation, but barely a sentence stuck out
"Sir, they're back again—they're really insisting that you transfer Miss—"
Then the door clicked shut.
***
"You flooded another school?"
Reinold's voice rang out over the phone as I sprawled out on my bed, trying to relax. Grounded? Please. That's nothing a quick call to my brother can't fix.
"I mean, it was an accident," I said with a shrug, even though he couldn't see me.
"You really can't stay out of trouble, huh?"
In the background, I could hear the faint rustling of wind and leaves. He was probably out walking around his campus.
"Would you even be proud of me if I did?" I teased. I smiled when I heard his quiet laugh.
My brother Reinold has been my rock for as long as I can remember—the only one who never made me feel like some problem that needed fixing. He knows I'm not out here causing chaos for attention, unlike that so-called therapist dad hired. Honestly, I just can't stand stupid people. Too bad I'm surrounded by them.
"I don't get why they're making such a big deal out of it," I muttered, staring up at the soft glow of the light by the fountain outside my window. "I mean, we can pay for it."
"Well, dad can," he said with a warm laugh. Classic Reinold.
"Just be careful, Reina," he murmured.
Ha! He means they should be careful around me.
"Always," I promised. But deep down, I knew—it's never me looking for trouble.
Trouble always finds me.