Chapter 5: unpredictable

Zayne's viewpoint

It's always the same routine and pattern. Wake up, hygiene, eat, help Mom, kiss sisters, talk to siblings, school, back, eat, work, study, and sleep. Every other regular nonsense came within. It was always the same. Nothing exciting, nothing ever new. Exciting things only happened when my older quint sisters were around or in a blue-moon situation. For example, when Zyaire got his girlfriend pregnant and welcomed a baby. That was a blue moon excitement, then back to my regular boring life.

Nothing was ever exciting to me. Every day came and went, everybody did their own thing. I was loved and cared for, but alone. Serenity, my best friend, was always away on this tour or the other, in this drama or a shoot. Zyaire was focusing on his acting, baby, and writing career. He was the only one who stuck around because of his girlfriend and baby and average grade.

Maybe I should have gone to college with Savvy and Zach, but I never felt like being with them. Zachary is always more comfortable with Savia, and he only ever listens to her. He loved me, he cared, but it was not enough. With him, loneliness came to a whole new level. Savvy is too bossy, and strict and her brand of crazy is too much to handle. Where do I stand? Alone, always the supportive son taking care of the adopted and biological sisters. Living a particular day over and over again.

Until her.

A surprising turn of events. All the rest changes were expected, not surprising, especially Zyaire's. Everything is predictable, everyone is predictable if you focus and observe. Something I shouldn't know because it made me what I was; depressed, bored. What good is living when you can guess everything that is to happen? What good is predicting your own future? Maybe Zachary liked it that way, but I didn't. But she was different.

She was an unpredictable change, one I would never have seen coming. She was different from other girls in the school. Yes, I knew them all, knew their attitudes, knew their true motives, knew her. It was always hard not to. She had always been the most unpredictable part of my day whenever I caught sight of her. She always did something new, something crazy, something abnormal. Dressed oddly, surrounded by social class best friends that did not fit her friend category, and defiled the social standard of high school. Bold, cheerful, wacky; a specimen I tried my very best to ignore and turn a blind eye to. She smelt like trouble, she was trouble.

Not-so-soft lips glossed with apple lipgloss, the body a sea of apple blossom, avocado, and bubblegum. In the brief moment of six seconds, the scent of her body, her lips, the apple mint in her hair, everything was imprinted in my head. I knew she was trouble from the start, because the very moment her lips touched mine, she made herself my new observation guinea pig.

What makes her so happy and easy? Why does she always act differently? Why is she always weird, bold, and fearless? What makes Larissa Justice tick?

The first thing I thought, the first thing I wanted to know. At first, who kissed me? Why couldn't I get her out of my head? Why did she trigger my curiosity? I'd had a couple of kisses, both stolen and given, but none had left a mark like the brief one I would never classify as a kiss. Still, I liked it. Then I perceived her scent. She bumped into me and fled. Why would she flee? My mental data ruled it down to five girls. Two were not on the school premises at the particular minute of the kiss, one, was too shy to ever make such a step. One was too nonchalant to run away, the other confident in her beauty though would never see me as a love interest. It left the possibility of one, her. And with her jock friend laughing in the hallway, it was possible and all I needed was a confirmation.

Confirmed.

Sitting in class very close to her affected my boring life. A repeat of the difference in the space of one week. It seemed everything with her was different, a new experience, and so far, my facts have been proved right. For example, she is standing on the roof of her friend's car, dancing in a way I believe is considered madness, and screaming at the top of her lungs. A means to get over the shock of my knowledge of the little game played on me. She is weird, she is different and I must find out how her presence in my life will affect me.

Will it be positive or negative?

Would I run mad like her in the end?

"Will you stop ogling her and just talk to her already," Zyaire snapped. Glancing at him over my shoulder with a smile, I shook my head. Ogling? There was nothing to ogle about her. Her taste in fashion was absurd. A combo of sporty, rebel, tomboy, rockstar, crazy. Beautiful? Definitely, but I've seen better. Zyaire would never understand the possible amusement that comes with my new time waster.

"Like, dude, what do you even see in her?" Tommy, one of Zyaire's many friends asked. Explaining was a waste of strength, saliva, and time on brains that can never comprehend the difference between the species of monkeys. They were free to assume as much as they wanted.

"I mean, look at her, she's terrible and the weirdest girl in the school. I would have said the kiss was good then, but that wasn't even a kiss," imbeciles. Why do I put up with them? My brother.

"Will you guys cut it out and leave my brother alone? Let him do what he pleases, but please, Zayne, just get her down from the car. Her singing and screaming are going to make my ears bleed." Zyaire spoke, silencing them. He was their ruler, the so-called king of the school. The king I had to keep out of trouble almost twenty-four seven.

Rolling my eyes, I jumped down from my car, tapping the trunk of my Koenigsegg Gemera, silently telling them to disappear before I returned. Thankfully, they were used to my silent signals. Well, Zyaire was so he made sure they got it. I don't joke with my car.

"Larissa, get down from my car or I drive out and crush you underneath it," the football friend snapped. I stood quite a distance away from them, observing his body language, and his speech, to get a slight indication of emotion that he harbors any sexual or intense affectionate love, or strictly platonic. If the former, then he would be an obstacle to my observation and new experience. I do not need one.

Larissa threw him a dirty look, still singing at the top of her voice. "Seriously! You're still singing, Risa?" I turned my attention to the new appearance. Starliss, a mutual friend of Larissa and a supposed high-ranked beauty queen. Kind, harbors benevolent love for everyone except jocks and her best friend, male–probably–obstacle, Neo. From my observation of her thanks to Zyaire's habit of learning everything about girls he finds beautiful, the knowledge of her perfectly hidden love for her friend was safely kept in my head.

"I've been telling her to shut up too, but no is her middle name!" The final member of her group of beloved friends and absolute weirdo, the one the school tagged as Satan's bride, the freakiest of the freakish; Odette Wright. The off friendship between a jock, a prom queen, a… Well, a mad cemetery keeper and an empty head with an upside-down brain.

This ought to be interesting.

"Yo!" Odette shrieked, drawing attention from the students scattered all over the parking lot. "Watch us do the booty dance!"

"Please don't," Neo pleaded. Narrowing her eyes challengingly, she dared him to stop her. I'd gotten about enough of the mad play, my sisters were waiting for my arrival. Making my way over to them, I ducked my hands into my pockets, eyes partially fixed on my new subject of amusement.

"Larissa, time to go," she rolled her eyes over to me, directing her glare in an attempt to cover the brief stiffness of her body movement. The one thing that amused me more about the walking bundle of joy and craziness. She never let her feelings or nerves get in the way of her dramatic and bold attitude. Always had something to say, always prepared for whatever was thrown her way. Larissa indeed was a great momentarily amusement.

"Can't you see I'm a little busy?" She asked, attempting a French accent, a terrible failure for a mimic.

"You call that French accent?" Starliss snorted, "You should speak with power. You tighten your voice like so," she said with an exaggerated snap of her fingers, "and let your powerful voice come out as la French," perfect simple French accent. Not to my surprise. A girl like her had every resource at her disposal, the time and dedication to learn whatever she wished.

"Show off," Odette said with an unnecessary middle finger. Turning my head to observe the boy, I arched a curious brow at the expression on his face. Larissa had the same, no doubt a silent conversation. His body language was relaxed and energetic. He was teasing her, I felt no bad emotions from him but for some reason, I felt like I knew. Not a possible obstacle—yet.

"Larissa, we need to go now, or I'll leave—"

"Where are you two going?" Odette asked with a suspicious and protective glint in her eyes. Great, the armies.

"Zayne and Larissa have some kind of homework together, and the other thing that deals with resurrecting the dead from their grave," Neo said, indirectly mocking Risa.

"Too bad he can't resurrect your lost Nutella jar," like I said, always prepared.

"Seriously," Neo cussed under his breath, "why the hell did mom tell you that?!"

"Because I'm the better child and you are the black sheep,"

"So says the girl who wears failure as a second skin,"

"At least I didn't foolishly slam a door against my dick and render myself useless!"

"Jesus! It was an accident! It can happen to anyone! Because it happened once doesn't mean I'm an idiot like you say!" I knew I would end up in their worthless but entertaining argument.

"You are an idiot," all females blurted out, "big one." Turning his head to me, he pleaded for assistance with his eyes. Bothersome eyes that share too much resemblance with someone I once knew. Why do I not like him?

"There's a level of clumsiness, Neo, and slamming your male priority to a door is the height of klutziness and stupidity,"

"Hey! Which side are you on!"

"Idiot, he doesn't even know you, how can he take your side!" Shouted Odette.

"He took the side of… Oh, I get it, you want to impress the ladies and forget all about bro code. What happened to bros over boobs? Or cocks over pussies?!" He shouted, throwing his hands up with dramatic frustration. A smirk found its way to my lips.

"Sorry, bro, I'm not gay." The whiteness of his cheeks was immediately pinkened with an embarrassed blush. The ladies, on the other hand, burst into laughter. I attempted a joke, that's new.

"I didn't mean like cock cock, I just meant like brothers over girls, guys over ladies you know. I didn't mean gay, I am one hundred percent straight because I had this girl—"

"Shut up, Neo," Starliss sighed. "Do you always have to gabble when nervous or sheepish?"

"Do you always have to suck a cucumber before you eat it?" Another embarrassing blow. Hmm, this would have to wait for another day. I snapped my fingers at the girl standing over the Audi. Unexpectedly, unpredictably, she squealed and threw herself from the roof of the car, tossing herself directly at me.