“Oh, Roxanne… Your hair” Her mother said, noticing the few blue strands of hair among her dark hair.

“Oh yeah… I just noticed this morning too. I was going to dye it as usual, but too much time has gone. I’ll do it later.” Roxanne responded, feeling uncomfortable that her mother had noticed her hair.

“But, you know… You don’t have to. It really looks nice. Why don’t you…” Her mother smiled nervously, trying to reason with Roxanne.

“Mom, we talked about this!” Roxanne immediately let out.

“Right… Sorry about that” Her mother said in a low, dejected tone.

“M-Mom, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. It’s just… Let’s drop this matter already. It’s not normal for a regular High school student to have Blue hair matching her blue eyes. It makes me stand out, and that’s the last thing I need in my life right now.” She explained, feeling hurt herself.

“I know dear. I just, I’m sorry okay? You should know that you’re okay with your natural looks too. I just wanted you to know that” Her mother responded.

“Yeah, I know Mom. Thanks…” Roxanne said, letting out a slight smile.

She and her mother stared at one another, locking eyes with each other with a sense of distant love and longing, but neither could further explain what was in their hearts.

“Okay, I’m super late, so I better get going!” Roxanne said, cutting off the brief connection they had.

“O-Oh, yeah. Aren’t you hungry? Why don’t you have something before leaving…” Her mother quickly said, rising from her chair.

“Oh no, it’s fine. Perfect attendance record, remember?” She said with a slight smile.

Her mother joined her as they both chuckled at the little joke Roxanne made.

“Zzzzzzrnggggggg” Vibrations, followed by a familiar sounding ringtone suddenly filled the room with its sound.

“Aaaaand, you should probably get that… Deal with your ‘annoying client’” Roxanne said with a wide grin before quickly slamming the door and leaving, making sure her mother didn’t have enough time to give her a response.

“Roxanne!” Her mother groaned in a whiny tone.

She put her arms akimbo as she heaved a sigh. She stared at the table from where she stood and glared at her phone. She hesitated, but finally decided to answer the call this time. After all…

“He’ll just keep calling me anyway” She muttered to herself.

She picked the phone and used her shaky finger to answer the call as the phone continued to vibrate on her hand.

“Hello Melissa… I’m glad you finally picked my call” A deep masculine voice sounded from the phone’s speakers.

“Damien, please… Let’s stop this. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep lying to Roxanne. I…” Melissa, Roxanne’s mom said with a sad and concerned tone.

There was silence from the other end of the phone as the caller didn’t say anything.

“Please, don’t call me anymore Damien. Roxanne is… She wouldn’t be able to handle it. I can’t do this to her. So please, if you understand… Let’s just stop this now…” She said with shaking hands and a teary look in her eyes.

“Melissa… Is that what you really want?” Damien, the caller asked.

“I… I…” Melissa couldn’t form the words as her voice choked without her able to properly express what she wanted to.

“It’s about time she knows the truth, isn’t it? You don’t have to lie to her anymore. Just tell her, tell her that…” Damien said in his deep and calm voice.

“No! She can’t know! Not yet! She’s still… She can’t handle it now” Melissa interjected, not allowing Damien to finish.

“You can’t hide it from her forever. Besides, I didn’t call you just for that. Isn’t it about time you gave me your answer?” Damien asked.

“Damien, you know I can’t… Roxanne is still…”

“Stop hiding behind your daughter Melissa. She’s already an adult, old enough to make her decisions. This is something that concerns you, not her. So tell me with your heart this time Melissa. What is your answer?”

“I-I…”

Once again words failed her. She stood, unable to speak, unable to think about what to say. She couldn’t form the words.

“You know, sooner or later she’ll discover the truth for herself. I’m sure she has started noticing signs already, and If you are still intent on keeping me and everything else a secret from her, then it won’t end well, I promise you that!” Damien said.

Suddenly Melissa’s brown eyes shone, turning bright orange. Her soft look turned into a glare as her face tightened and her fists clenched tighter than it did earlier.

“Damien… Are you threatening me right now?” Melissa said in an unusually deep and threatening voice.

Damien became silent once again. Not letting out a single word.

“I decide what’s best for my daughter. She can’t know of anything now, not yet. And as for the other matter… I’m sorry Damien, but you know my answer already. It’s too dangerous. I can’t risk it or take any chances.” Melissa said, her eyes returning back to normal as her face also softened up.

“Melissa, you…”

“Just listen to me. You stay away from me and my daughter! Don’t ever call me ever again, and if you ever try to reach me… Damien I swear to god…!” Melissa cut his words short with hers

“This doesn’t change anything. For me, for her, for you… For us. You can try to fight it, but it is already beyond your control and you know it.” Damien said to her, obviously starting to get desperate.

“Nothing is beyond my control Damien, I’m a mother after all!” She replied with a serious tone.

“Melissa, I…”

Before he could continue, she quickly cut his call and threw her phone on the couch beside her.

“Ahhh, Melissa what have you done?” She said to herself as she crashed on the sofa.

She heaved a sigh as she used her hand to cover her head in both disappointment and overwhelming emotions of weakness.

“I don’t know how long I can hold it off anymore… Roxanne, I’m so sorry” She said silently while her two hands covered her face.

Suddenly she started to sob and tears fell from her cheeks uncontrollably. She wouldn’t stop, or rather it was that she couldn’t stop the tears which flowed down her cheeks.

“Oh, what have I done?”

Roxanne walked to school with her backpack only hung slightly in one part of her shoulder, betraying her very distinguished looking outfit. A purple sweater, with tight winter jeans and thick dark boots. Her clothes underneath the sweater was grey, though it leaned more toward the white side if she was being honest with herself.

The conversation she had earlier with her mom continued to play in her head.

“Maybe I was being too hard on mom,” She thought to herself.

Perhaps it was due to her youthful look, understanding behaviour or very young age, Roxanne never really viewed Melissa with high regard as a strict or high reach mother. This caused her to often talk to her as though they were equals, which Roxanne knew was wrong, but at this point it was difficult for her to change.

She knew her mother was trying to encourage her in her own little way, but she just didn’t know why she always reacted that way.

“It's been this way since dad died” Roxanne mumbled to herself.

Her father was always closer to her than her mother, a man who also had blue colored hair and eyes, same as herself. He would always flaunt his blue colored hair proudly, even though it was beginning to get riddled with grey hairs.

This gave her confidence, and made her also proudly carry her hair wherever she went. She was never embarrassed about her hair colour, and because her eyes matched it, she felt all the more special, like her father.

However, after he died… She lost all of that confidence and pride. As she stared at his corpse before he was buried, she saw those very same grey hair. Most of them had turned white and his pale face wasn’t smiling as brightly as they did. His stocky look and mannequin-like posture in the casket was something she would never forget.

She always saw herself in her father and as his body was placed six feet under… So was her identity in relation to him, at least his physical traits. She wanted to leave everything behind her, bury the sadness and grief she could not seem to empty out. After some months of being miserable, she finally had enough. She wanted to get away from it all.
It seems her mom understood how she felt and so after a suggestion from her grandmother, they moved from their previous Hometown and settled in Gravity Falls Oregon, for their new lives. She enrolled in a new school, started dying her hair and wearing contact lenses and most importantly… She kept to herself and her schedule.

Over three years had passed since then, and while she had made progress toward her life and prospects, she still didn’t feel satisfied. Perhaps that was the reason for her escapades at night. A way to fill the void her father’s death left within her.

So far it was alright for her, she enjoyed it. After the first time, she felt so guilty that she promised herself never to try it anymore, but she repeatedly continued until she couldn’t stop.

No one knew, not her mother, not her best and only friend. Only she knew, as well as the company she had during the time. She brushed those thoughts off and decided to enjoy the scenery to forget the thoughts dancing in her head.

As she looked around, viewing the snowy fields and snow covered houses, she couldn’t help but appreciate the winter season. She was not a fan of the cold, but she couldn’t say she disliked the way the white colour of the soft balls of ice blended with everything they touched. Plus, she had winter break so it couldn’t get any better than that.

“What am I doing? I should be hurrying to school” She suddenly realised, chiding herself for taking her time to slowly appreciate the winter.

She picked up her pace as she more hurriedly walked to her school, which by the way, wasn’t so far from home. After close to ten minutes of walking, she arrived at her destination.

“Ah. I’m really late, aren’t I?” She said, increasing her pace even further.

Standing in front of the very huge gate, she couldn’t help but let out a little smile. It had only been three years since she started attending the school but the view never got old.