Eleanor always considered herself a fighter.

Her mother created a strong ground, preparing the daughter for upcoming dark moments. Eleanor didn't realize it, but the training started way before she could see the reasons. Her mother was the one who created a strong ground. For upcoming dark moments. For twisting words. For fake stories and people.

Eleanor still finds mother's bright ocean blue eyes in dreams. She drinks each drop of the brief presence, inhaling to refuel the recourses.

The warrior continued to grow with what once was a beautiful family.

There were a man and a woman sharing a living, tangible happiness. It tricked Eleanor into believing in beauty. Bright future. Big dreams and hopes. Sadly this fairy tale has turned into a nightmare like all the others.

The man, who never deserved such a woman, managed to turn their home into a big sad building with no warmth. The laugh and happiness were suddenly gone. Home beauty became a cracked picture in a room, sitting on a shelf, waiting for someone to remember.

That is when Eleanor realized there was never a beautiful family. Just a beautiful curtain to hide the decays. All the silk, all the silver, all the other expensive things suffocated her stepfather until he couldn't breathe anymore. He woke up inhuman.

Eleanor finally understood all those late-night talks with her mother about fighting for her self. She knew this moment would come. The moment, when her one and only daughter will drown in desperation. And she needed to know how to swim. Needed to know how to pick up the shatters of her own split image, even when a hand pushes harder.

Today Eleanor repeats all the conversations that raised a warrior in her like a prayer. She could see her mother in herself. In that tinder shape in the mirror, in all those moments when she remembered to say "No". No to humiliation. No to stealing her story. No to the nights of screaming in her face and pushing down by the hands which in the end never caressed her. It only left blue and green marks on her body. But it was her trophy: every day she woke up with new armor and every night it was so broken she had to get a new one. But it never prevented from going to the battlefield again and again. Because it was the only thing she was left with now.

Hard steps echoed along with heels sounds, as Eleanor walked through the parking lot towards the old restless building. With every day it looked as tired as she, trying to caress all the students and failing every time. Even though smiles and laughs were flying around, it had nothing to do with the attempt to raise decent humans.

A crowd of blue and white uniforms was flowing around trying to make Eleanor one of them. They did succeed in camouflaging her, but she never belonged with this herd. Watercolors transformed them into weird merciless sea creatures, pretending to be one community when inside they were nothing but predators waiting for the victim to hit the weak spot.

Eleanor slowed down and raised the look towards rushing students. They were flowing past her like an empty space, leaving traces of gossip and high pitched giggles. Eleanor knew, the minute her presence touches schools floor she is going to be in the center of the daily show. A huge gulp of oxygen entered her lungs, mixing with the awfully sweet scent of perfumes. She couldn't hold it for long and as soon as few coughs caught other ears, sounds of giggles and whispers stung her back. Eleanor tried her best not to return the stare, as thin figures with flowing curls were passing by. Instead, she focused on herself, trying to convince she is prepared for today.

Her fingers trembled as they unconsciously found the tip of the jacket and clenched it. Funny how these uniforms tried to make everyone equal, even though the insides of the students were constantly fighting for a higher position. Eleanor silently wished to be one of them just for a minute, understand the way of their behavior and maybe blend in. But it was enough to see her shining light car once, catch her presence at formal dinners in the stepfathers' shadow and the label stuck for life. It all started with fun innocent jokes about her stepfather's strong worldview, few comments here and there about the companies financial affairs and before Eleanor knew it she was to blame for everything that went wrong with the families decisions.

It's funny how everyone praises life with endless resources and new things thinking it could fill empty holes created through the years of self-search. Eleanor's father enjoyed this kind of life way too much and Eleanor had to pay the price. Friends became strangers, strangers became enemies. It happened so fast she needed only one morning to realize the luxury became her curse. The temptation of changing school or including the stepfather into the school life whispered softly to her every night. And slapped it back every day. It was her fight only. It was something she didn't choose but it was her way of having her life in her own hands.

He was already standing there. Leaning near her locker. Waiting. The white shirt hugged his contours perfectly, mischievous smile sharpening the cheekbones that haunted her nightmares. It didn't take long for Lukas to spot her and the same second two build man came from behind.

"What are you looking at?" Cyclus realized this is going way too slow and decided to spice up the daily play. His firm tone with a drop of giggle reached the others and just like that Eleanor became the center.

Hateful phrases started to fly around her in seconds as Cyclus continued to yell threats. Eleanor knew they were empty but she wasn't the one to give the pleasure of verbal fight. Her eyes were fixed on just one figure.

Lukas gaze was firmly locked to Eleanor. Like two hostages refusing to let each other go. The daily stare-off was slowly rising in tension, as none of then refused to leave the depth of each other blue.

"What is her problem?" Cyclus continued, as he mutely invited one of the giggling girls to step closer to him "What do you not understand? Go away!" he did not wait a minute more and went straight to Eleanor's locker. As he opened it, a pile of ripped books fell on the ground.

The gasp mixed with laughter filled the hall, jumping from paper pile to numb Eleanor's look. All the students expected a visible reaction. But Eleanor stood still.

The girl, that was standing by Cyclus side, leaned above the ripped books and spilled the soda all over them with a silly face as if it was an accident.

"Opps" the laugh grew louder as the girl continued "Now that you have no books in school, could do us a favor and disappear?"

Cyclus applauded the act and spread the arms wide, comically playing a winner. His brief, firm phrases "What are you going to do now, daddy's girl?" tried to drag any visible reaction from Eleanor, but she knew that was exactly what he wanted. And refused to obey.

The longer Eleanor held the blank stare, the faster the laughter left the air. All she could see was a wave of heat from steady Lukas gaze, piercing stares shooting firing arrows. Every time he challenged her, there was a choice she was more than willing to take. With her heart, beating like a war drum, she raised tranquil look at Lukas and crossed arms on her chest: is that everything you've got?

The annoying laugh slowly turned into a buzz as Lukas returned the raised eyebrow. The silent protest was always triggering and she could already spot the igniting fire in him leaving visible sparkles. His face shadowed in seconds as kept trying to spot a glimpse of fear in each other. Maybe it was getting too boring, but the crowd slowly started to fade. It always ended like that: refuse to give them what they want and they go away.

"My God, she is speechless!" Cyclus high-fived Liam, ignoring tense Lukas. He hugged friends shoulders and walked him into the crowd. Eleanor still saw fingers pointing at her and knew that this wasn't the end.

Now, when she tried to ignore morning replicas about deserving such life, Eleanor had to act like a warrior. She would think after a long time she would get used to daily games and emptiness but it kept eating her piece by piece. Even when it seemed there was nothing more they could do, they surprised her and she was back on the ground again. But once she realized she is all alone in this, there was nothing left to do but go every night to go to sleep as though her whole past has been dropped. Die to the yesterday and wake up as a new human on a new day.