Sereena Patel

Sereena is one of the main characters in the #LoveHacks series. She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 2.

Background
Three years before the start of the plot, Sereena was protesting at a coffee shop, shoving flyers at patrons and claiming that it had shut down several small businesses. Brooke, the barista, had overheard her and wanted to know more, until the manager had security kick Sereena out. Later, Brooke found Sereena sitting on a curb, claiming that she quit her job because of the latter's protest. As her roommate had just left, Sereena then invited Brooke to her apartment as appreciation for the latter's act of solidarity.

Later, Brooke and Sereena went into The Double Tap for drinks. Sereena then ran into the same booth as Mark at the same time, where they began to argue about who would get it, even suggesting a fight to the death for it. Cole and Horatio, the attending bartender, broke up the fight and suggested a drinking game for the space. Sereena won the first round, then lost the second after denying to reveal her favorite TV show. The improvised game, which bonded the five people together, soon extended far into the night, where it became what is now Red Herring.

Appearance
Sereena has brown eyes, short, black hair and dark skin. Usually, she wears a black hoodie and a denim jacket.

Personality
Sereena is easily seen as blunt, rude, and rebellious, voicing out her opinions tactlessly. Despite her seemingly unfriendly temperament, she is supportive of her friends, though she is not comfortable talking about friendship; she also despises being included in group hugs/selfies. This does not stop her from messing around with them, as she was very excited to discover Horatio's breaking point and observe how the others can get him angry.

She doesn't like being forced into hobbies she's not interested in, and will try passive aggression to prove her displeasure, seen when she posted pictures of mundane objects, like trash, on "Pictagram" just to rub her hate of social media on Brooke's face. In fact, her unreserved nature regardless of whoever she's talking to made her the only one to bypass Brooke's "Sphere of Prettiness".

In Book 1 Chapter 15, Sereena describes herself as a warrior fighting for social change, and is very passionate about women's rights, racism, and other social issues. She dislikes when people make assumptions about her based on her sexuality. Sereena also dislikes infantilization and overly feminine clothing, as the only reason why she rejected Cole's job offer for her—one she was very eager to try—was the frilly delivery girl dress. Although she can appear to be apathetic, only her friends can usually see her smile, which Brooke calls her beautiful for doing so.

Brooke
Sereena and Brooke are roommates. They seem to have a sisterly bond due to their highly contrasting personalities. While Brooke is optimistic, excitable, and friendly, Sereena is sardonic and bitter; the latter often gets annoyed at Brooke's antics, but Brooke often responds positively to them.

Aiyana
Sereena first met Aiyana at the college where Sereena is attending. She is a love interest to Sereena, and the former's presence can easily fluster her, as Aiyana was the first one to deflect Sereena's rebellious/insulting remark effortlessly, which is what Sereena finds interesting in women. She likes Aiyana enough to feign knowledge about The Burning Sands, even struggling to remember important facts, something she does not usually do.

Cole
Sereena and Cole do not agree all the time, and will often try to get into each other's nerves when they get the chance, such as Cole teasing Sereena about Aiyana. However, they bond over being troublemakers as they like being nosy with other people's problems; in Book 2 Chapter 14, they willingly join Brooke's plan to sabotage Leah and Camilla's meeting, saying that the "rational" members of the group (you and Mark) are away.

Trivia

 * Sereena is shown on the cover of #LoveHacks, Book 1.
 * She is the first Choices character ever to own a Twitter account, the second being Bianca.
 * Her guilty pleasure TV show is Silly Little Gossips, a parody of Pretty Little Liars. Silly Little Gossips was also mentioned in High School Story Prime. She shares this with Horatio.
 * She shares the same surname as Poppy Patel, a character in the Hero series.
 * She is of South Asian descent.