Chapter 1

ONE thing that Kassandra "Kace" Larson learned in life was to never trust her brother in cooking. Seeing the over six-foot tall guy attempt to flip the egg on the pan infront of her triggered something inside her, but she just let him do his thing as she fixed her long dark hair up in a bun.

“We should’ve just ordered something outside, brother,” she commented, not even disguising her lack of excitement for the breakfast.

“Don’t even try to comment Kace ‘cause you’re far worse than I am.” Her older brother, Kristoff would always insist to cook, and yet he never made a decent meal ever.

Kace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, well you’re not wrong about that. Let’s just grab something to eat while on the way to school, then.”

Kris heaved a sigh. “Fine.”

Even though Kris wasn’t her full-blooded brother, she appreciated the fact that he would always visit her, despite knowing how much hatred their stepdad had for her. She didn’t want Kris to be stuck in the middle between her and his dad. But, her brother never listened and continued to pick her up and drive her to school every single day.

After their real mother died three years ago due to a heart attack, Kassandra’s only close relative was her brother. Her  read dad passed away when she was still a kid, and since then, she had been living alone in an apartment, which their stepdad generously offered.

As they reached outside the building, a black shiny Ferrari came into view. Kace stopped walking and admired the new car of her brother.

When Kris noticed this, he turned to his sister. “What’s the matter?”

“I just…” Her voice trailed off, not knowing what to say exactly. She walked towards the car and stared at it for a minute. “Your dad’s really something.”

“I didn’t even ask for this.” Kris was not really the type of person to ask for material things, even though his dad was really well-off. But since he was the only son, everything was being given to him.

Kris opened the car door for her. “Now if you may?”

Nodding, she stopped admiring the car and stepped in as she let her mind wander on the start of a new school year.

***

WHEN they finally reached outside the school grounds, Kace signalled Kris to stop the car.

The guy gave her a disapproving look before slowly pulling it to a stop. He managed to stop her by the arm and spoke, “Kace, I don’t understand why you still have to do this.”

“Here we go again…” She mumbled, knowing exactly where the conversation was heading. “Brother, how many times do we have to argue about this? If everyone in school finds out that I’m your sister, you’re screwed with your dad.”

“I don’t care, Kace…” He paused, his thick brows furrowed in disbelief. “…and you should know that by now.”

“Maybe you don’t. But I do. I don’t want your dad to hate you because of me.” Opening the car door, she quickly stepped out and waved at her brother. “Bye. Thanks for the ride.”

Kris sighed in defeat. He just couldn’t win any argument with her. Peaking out the window, he yelled, “See you around!”

She smiled, hearing her brother. “Will do.”

***

THE entrance of Wyndham International School boasted a huge wall, barricading the buildings inside. Students flocked at the park, probably catching up with each other, but she had no time for that. Her first class would start at 8 am. If she was lucky, she would still be able to catch up and avoid getting late on the first day of her junior year.

She looked at her watch. It was already 7:45. Accelerating her pace, she jogged past the open field and almost tripped as she ascended the flight of stairs, leading towards the entrance of their building.

Bending down, she fixed the knots of both her shoes, not noticing the person who was behind her. As soon as she stood up, her body collided with someone, making her lose her balance, her bottom landing on the concrete. “Hey!”

When she looked up, a guy stared back at her with his doe-like eyes as he ran a hand through his messy, chestnut locks. “Watch where you’re going,” he muttered, his low voice resonated in her ears.

Creasing her brows in disbelief, she pulled herself up as she prepared to throw a remark at him. But the moment she opened her mouth, the guy already turned his back at her, not even apologizing.

“Who the hell is that guy?” She mumbled to herself, dusting her uniform.

She didn’t have time to spare so she doubled her pace, going up the second floor, until she saw a tall, familiar figure walking towards their room. “Stephen!”

“Kace!” The guy stopped in his tracks, waving at her.

Panting hard, she finally reached her friend, holding his arm for support. “Is Professor Tan in?”

Stephen shook his head. “Don’t worry. He’s still not in. Come on.”

She sighed in relief. “Oh thank god.”

They both entered their room. Everyone was loud and noisy as per usual. Kace sat down and fixed her bag. Suddenly, she got startled when someone spoke behind her. “Hey. Way to start the year without being late!”

Kace looked over her shoulder and saw her bestfriend, Nicaella "Nix" Campbell grinning at her. She was busy fixing her long, wavy hair as she interrogated her. “Stop teasing Nix,” she answered back with a glare.

“And why did you come in with Stephen, by the way? Did he pick you up or something?” Nix had a questioning look on her face, knowing that Stephen Oliver had been crushing on Kace since middle school. They all knew that the guy was very aloof and he never talked to any girl but her. Unfortunately for him, Kace wasn’t really interested in boys.

“What? No! I just saw him at the hallway.” Kace defended herself.

Nix raised both her hands up in defeat. “Okay. Whatever you say.”

Just then, someone tapped Kace’s shoulder making her jumped from her seat. “Seriously! You all need to stop scaring me.” She faced the culprit who was now chuckling.

The guy continued to laugh at her expression. “I’m sorry Chief.” Chester Knight, one of their classmates took a seat at Nix’s armchair. “I just wanted to let you know that our photojournalist transferred to another school so we need to find a new one as soon as possible.”

Kace’s eyes widened when she heard her Associate Editor’s news. As the Editor-in-Chief of their school paper, she knew she had the responsibility to recruit another photojournalist which was a big problem since no one wanted to join them. Everyone saw it as being a part of the Loser’s Society.

“I don’t believe this,” Kace muttered as she face-palmed herself.

“Prof’s here. Fix yourself.” Nix pushed Chester away.

“We’ll talk this over later, Chief,” Chester said, walking back to his seat.

Everyone in class fell silent as Professor Tan entered the room. He settled his bag on the table and fixed his thick-rimmed glasses over his eyes before he spoke. “I trust you all prepared for the class today.” He started with a smirk. “I only want to see your pens on the table.”

They all complied with their teacher’s order. Just then, someone knocked on the door. They all stopped and turned to the guy standing near it.  “I believe I belong in this class sir,” his melodic voice captured everyone’s attention.

Kace almost dropped her pen when she saw the guy entering the room and handing their professor his class schedule. So, he is a new student… she thought to herself.

“Luke Travis Hansen.” Their teacher read the paper. “Yes you belong here. You can just take the seat on the last row.”

The new student nodded his head and made his way towards the last row. He caught a glimpse at Kace and a thin smile formed on his lips before walking past her.

She thought she was just seeing things. Then she felt Nix poking her back and whispering, “What was that all about?”

She just shrugged not knowing how to respond. Maybe he remembered me bumping into him earlier… She didn’t want to tell this to Nix so she just fell silent.

***