Chapter 1
I walk into school and the hallway is even more crowded than usual. My boisterous school mates all seem to be whispering excitedly to the other making it seem like I'm the only one not in on some inside joke. Where are my manners? My name is Cora Kinsley and I'm a high school senior at Crestview Academy. I live with my parents and two siblings; an older brother and a younger one. Yep. I'm the middle child. Aaanyway. I make my way over to my locker to get the books I'll need for homeroom when I feel someone pull my bag from behind me, until my back is flush against them. "Good morning Cora!" A deep but cheerful voice greets me. "Would that if it were, Tony. And let go of my bag please.""No can do!" Tony replied, his voice still cheerful. I sigh. Seriously, how can anyone be so cheerful on a Monday morning? And I tell him so.Although out of sight, I imagine Tony's grinning. "Well, the thought of seeing you fuels me with energy, you know. That and a lot of coffee."I slap his hand away from my bag and move towards my locker. Antonio- Tony for short is pretty much my best friend. Not that we exchanged the titles of best friends or anything like that, but he's my oldest childhood friend and there's no one currently holding the spot so..I take the books I need out of my locker, stuffing them into my bag before closing it. I make my way through the hallway but for some reason, Tony trails behind me like a lost puppy. I turn around to face him. "What?"Now that I'm facing him, I take him in for the first time today. His curly brown hair is messy (as always), and he's wearing a blue varsity jacket paired with black pants and all star sneakers. It really annoys me how tall he's gotten. When we were kids, I was a full inch taller than him, and now he's got four more on me. Tony cocks his head to the side. "What?""You're following me because..?"He grins at me. "Because I want to, silly!"Yeah..I'm pretty sure this guy stopped growing at twelve. I roll my eyes and attempt to turn away, but he grabs my shoulder, halting my movement. When I faced him, I could see his grin had faded and he was wearing an almost sympathetic look on his face. "Besides," Tony started, "You're feeling lonely, right? Now that Corey's not around anymore."I stare at him, shocked. "How did you-"His grin returns, though not as wide as before. "It's kinda obvious, isn't it?"I shrug him off. "I told you I'm fine."That's a lie. I'm not fine. "Well, you know, it's okay to feel sad about these things sometimes. That's what makes us human. But I'm sure if you say you're fine, you are," Tony said, shooting me a thumbs up. Huh. Sometimes I forget that he can be pretty intuitive too. Corey's my twin brother. He was born five minutes before me, so by his calculations, that makes me his younger sister. Without a doubt, he's our parent's favorite. Who can blame them? He has an easy charm and remains humble and kind despite being a prodigy. And because he's a prodigy, he got into university early, but decided he wanted to finish senior year before leaving for college. Corey remained a grade above me, even though he could've as well graduated three years ago, because he wanted us to at least be in the same school together at the same time. Even after I told him I was fine and I didn't want to hold him back. You could say despite being twins, I lived in my brother's shadow. I never really minded though, he's my brother and I love him, but at the same, being (technically) the middle child, our parents acknowledge my existence on a good day, I'm pretty much invisible to the rest of my family. Being in the house without the only person who ever noticed you gone is just…I can't wait to graduate high school.I clear my throat, anxious to change the topic. "So, what's going on in school today? Everyone seems excited about something."Tony looked surprised. "Wait, are you saying you didn't hear the rumors?""If I knew what was happening today, would I be asking you?" I ask slowly, like I'm explaining why two plus two equals four to a five year old. At least he had the grace to look flustered, albeit slightly. "Yeah, apparently some hot shot rich kid is coming to school today." I raise my eyebrow. "We're right in the middle of the semester, I don't think the school's admitting new students."Tony looked at me like I was the dumb one. "He's rich. He could just donate to the school and they'd take him in." I hate to admit but he had a point. I can't believe that's what everyone's excited about. Just then the bell rings, and chit chatting is over. "That's the bell. I'll catch you later Cora!" Tony said, heading towards the east side of the hallway. I have no doubt he will. I make my way over to homeroom, but I'm not concentrating on my surroundings, so lost in my thoughts and memories, I almost miss the roll call. "Cora Kinsley," Mr Barnes, the homeroom teacher, calls out louder for what seems to be the third time. "P-Present!" I squeak. The whole class burst into laughter at that, and I laughed nervously along with them. After homeroom, I head towards my first period class; Biology, berating myself for not paying attention during roll call when I hear the loud speaker static before the principal's voice booms out. "Cora Kinsley, please report to the principal's office."Uh-oh. That can't be good. It's actually not my first time getting called to the principal's office. Not for getting into trouble or anything like that, but I used to be the student council/government vice president back in sophomore year. And because of that, I try to use my former influence to wring information out of the principal's secretary but unfortunately I have none of my brother's charm. Before I knew it, I was whisked into the principal's office. On the way here, I had planned how I'd walk in with my head high, all dignified and demanding to know what wrong I was being accused of. Because you don't get called to the principal's office without being in some kind of trouble, right? But instead, I eloquently blurt: "Am I in trouble?"Principal Mathews chuckled at my outburst. "No, Cora. You're not in trouble. I called you here because I have a special task for you."I felt so relieved when the principal said I wasn't in trouble, I almost missed the second part. "Task..sir?"Principal Mathews nodded. "Yes. As you may have heard, we have a new student amongst us. I'm entrusting him in your care, if you'd have him."I definitely do not want to be stuck with some prissy rich kid. "Are you sure about this sir? I mean there are better people more suited to this task than me, aren't there?""That may be true. I called you here because I recognise and value your discretion. But if you're not up to it and want to give up, I'm sure we'll find another person for the task."Dammit. Principal Mathews knows just what to say. I'm a lot of things but I'm not a quitter. "Fine…sir. I'll do it.""Excellent. It's not much now, but I need you to put Mr Thorsen through school for at least a month. You know first hand how hard navigating through the school can be..."As the principal was talking, the swivel chair opposite of Principal Mathews turned. And in it sat possibly the most handsome guy I've ever seen.The thing about me is that I've never had a lot of interest in boys my age. Not that I don't swing that way, I do, but I just feel like they're too much of a hassle to actively pursue. I couldn't tell if I was more surprised by his looks or how I reacted to it.I try as much as possible to not make eye contact with him, even though I could see him from my peripheral vision, instead I try to focus on what Principal Mathews was saying. "...and after a month, I think Mr Thorsen would be capable enough to get through school by himself," Principal Mathews finished. "Alright then..sir. Just a month.""So, I do believe your first period class has already started. Please take a note from Mrs Givens to explain where you've been…and I believe Mr Thorsen is also headed the same way, so please show him to class."I nod at the principal respectfully before exiting the office and going to the secretary's desk. I don't even look back to see if 'Mr Thorsen' is following. He wasn't. I take the no
I walk into the class first, and I see a stern cross on Mr Rogers' face. Theo walks in behind me and stops. At his entrance, the students murmur in the background fades to a hush and everyone's eyes are on us. Well, I suppose he does look…striking. Mr Rogers was not amused though. "Do you care to explain why you were late for class, Miss Kinsley?" "Yes sir, well..I was called to the principal's office just before I got to class," I answered, offering up the note. Mr Rogers takes the note and scans through it. "So who's your friend?""We're not friends," Theo and I say at the same time. Theo clears his throat before explaining. "I'm Theodore Thorsen and I just transferred here. Cora was sent to the principal's office to fetch me."Mr Rogers looked confused. "Fetch you..?" "Yeah. I was having trouble with my class schedule too, so.."Mr Rogers looked like he was still confused but decided not to push the matter. "Right. Welcome to Crestview, Theodore. I hope you enjoy it here."The
I hopped down the base of the pillar when the crowd had begun to thin out. I don't think I can assume he went home, can I? Okay Cora, calm down. I can't just keep searching blindly..I have to have some kind of a plan. But then again, he never said where he was going when he left the cafeteria. Should I go back to search the cafeteria..?"Cora." A deep voice called behind me. I looked back and there he was. Relief flooded through me, though it was soon replaced with my pent up frustration."Where have you been?" I asked through gritted teeth. Theo looked back, towards the driveway. He wasn't wearing the grey hoodie anymore, and the blue tee shirt looked tighter without it. "I went to the car after I left the cafeteria. I guessed I slept off."I pinched the bridge of my nose. Of course he was sleeping! While I was worrying and looking for him..he was sleeping! I don't know why I bothered looking for him anyway. I can't believe I was actually worried. I managed to control my express
I was woken up by the sound of an incessant, annoying buzzing the next morning, a.k.a my alarm clock. Without bothering to stand up, I reached for the desk, my hand searching for the alarm clock and putting it off when I found it. I stretched, stifling a yawn with the back of my hand while climbing out of bed. I looked out the window and saw a blanket of white filling the driveway and the streets. Seems like it snowed overnight. If only it were heavy enough to cancel school..but that's just wishful thinking. I head to the bathroom to brush and change out of my sleep wear and after, I walk downstairs to get myself some breakfast before I go to school. When I got downstairs though, it was as deserted as it was yesterday. Maybe mom and dad didn't eventually come back last night. My mom's a nurse and my dad's a lawyer, so them pulling all nighters isn't really uncommon. As much as I liked being alone, the quietness was a stark contrast to what I was used to. Wonder if Catty came
I was trapped between him and the wall of the (very cramped) closet. Even though it was sorta dark (the lights were on but were flickering), I didn't miss the dangerous gleam in his eyes flicking from my eyes to my lips, or what it meant…and even if I didn't, the way he was leaning towards me made it pretty clear what was going to happen next. The whole situation might have been exciting, if he wasn't my friend Hailey's boyfriend. How did I get into this? Good question. And to answer it, we have to go back a few days earlier: It turned out my little stunt or prank (or whatever you wanted to call it) with Theo had made it's way around the school, surrounding me with unwanted attention. It really was annoying. Especially when you factor in the fact that Theo started it first. Yes, I know how petulant that sounds. But still. I'm probably just going to keep my head down for a while, before his fan girls decide to tear me into shreds. Speaking of which..A couple of girls were standi
Okay, so I know I had a really cool quip moment with the whole 'I'll be there' thing but it's easier said than done. Yes. I mean clothes. Hailey was at my place on Saturday afternoon to help me get ready. My mom had surprisingly (almost enthusiastically) agreed to me going to a party. The same couldn't be said about my wardrobe though. Hailey was looking through my closet getting more exasperated each second. Hailey sighed, turning to face me. "Do you happen to have any clothes that aren't maybe merch related or have cats on them?""Can't say that I do.""Right. What was I expecting..?" Hailey groaned. "See? It's sorta your fault for having high expectations from my closet," I said proudly. "You know the saying, 'if it isn't comfortable, stash it away in an old traveling bag.'"Hailey's eyes widened in realization and flew back to the closet, and I was hot on her heels.This is on me for being very specific at odd times. Hailey got the upper hand eventually and opened the bag fu
I pulled my hoodie over my head as I walked into school on Monday. Saturday had been..new, fun, exciting and very scary. But now it's over and I need to to my head in the game. Normally Hailey's supposed to be my guide on all the social things I'm incapable of but currently she's involved in the problem so I can't exactly ask her for help. As I walk down the hallway, I see Xavier Brown and his friends; a.k.a. the other people I was playing truth and dare with but would never recognize me because I literally have no social standing (and maybe because I look different with makeup on). Though I can't say I blame them. I hardly recognize most of them either, since Hailey made me take off my glasses and the basement was pretty dark. I look over at them again for some reason. It was probably just a game to them, right? Or maybe it was just a game and I'm the one taking this too seriously. Just as I was about to look away, me and Xavier made eye contact. I could see his eyes flash with
"Hey, nice to meet you," Josh greeted. Oh, this is how he wants to play it, huh? Josh was a pretty tall dude (like 6'4-ish), and was built like a Greek god. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but the guy was pretty muscular. Which is funny cuz he had that innocent baby face look. Josh was dressed in red and white; our football team's colors. I waved in greeting and he smiled back at me. He had a nice smile..I don't know what..but something feels off here."Oh yeah, Cora what did you want to tell me?" Hailey asked.So now she wants me to go first? Yeah, she definitely knows."Having fun without me, coz?" A male voice teased from behind Hailey."Oh hey Jay. What're you doing here?" Josh seemed genuinely surprised. "Hailey said to wait before she introduced me, but it seems she's gotten sidetracked," the person finally came into view. He looked like he walked out of a K-Drama. He was tall too (not as tall as Josh but still), pale skin and had short hair covering his forehead, neat