Chapter 7: New school, First day
Reyna
"... find me. I'm waiting..."
I woke with a start.
That voice. It's been haunting me. Terrorizing my dreams by night and clouding my thoughts by day.
Who is calling me? Why does it want to be found? What will happen when I find it?
With those thoughts swirling in my head, I pushed myself out of the heavy covers so I could sit up in bed. I wiped off the beads of sweat from my forehead because as usual, I'm covered in a cold sweat.
I put my hair, that's now draped around my shoulders like a curtain, in a messy bun, and turn on the lamp after making my bed and taking my phone out of the drawer beside my bed. Two missed calls, one text, and seven missed alarms.
Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother with the alarms. I blame it all on Ed. If he were here, I wouldn't even bother with the alarms because he just walks over and wakes me up.
Tossing my phone aside, I picked my dream journal out of the same drawer. My dream journal is really old fashioned. It's made out of parchment that has neatly been aligned and bound. It even comes with its own ink pot and peach-feathered quill.
I guess my grandma got real value for her money. She got it for me when I was eleven, around the time I started having these weird visions of the voice. Hopefully, one day I'll turn my dreams into a story.
After writing my dream down, I got up to go to the bathroom. Seven-thirty means only an hour and thirty minutes left. After brushing my teeth and running a bath, I decided to return the calls. The first was my brother.
"Kalmin?" I said when he picked up after two rings. He seemed quite busy judging from all the noise on his end.
"Winnie. What's up?" he said after hearing my voice.
"Uhm... you called?" I said as a matter of fact while trying to pick between uniforms. They arrived yesterday and it comes in three different skirts, blazer, tie, socks and sweater colors. My mum chose grey, navy blue, and maroon. Today, I'm going with grey.
Why?
I hate Mondays and I want the world to feel my pain.
"Just wanted to wish you good luck on your first day. Try not to break any bones today please?" he said with every word dripping with sarcasm.
"Haha. Very funny. That was one time Kally. One! Time!" I reminded him. It was in fifth grade! I fell off the swings during playtime and broke my left wrist.
"I'm moving home after school, mum said she was going to send the truck. And you're going to help me?" he added. Yeah. Nice try.
"Of course. NOT. You're paying this time. Card", I refuse to work for free again. Especially because he is moving a lot of stuff. The last time he came home from school, I spent a whole week making sure all his stuff had arrived and organized them, simply because I got a tiny scratch on his baby, which also happens to be a Ferrari Portofino and his birthday present. Oops!
I took the liberty of getting his toiletries organized along with some other stuff to make him feel comfortable and ease his stress. I even got his favorite bath and shower gel! I know most of the stuff he uses because we're both athletes.
For example, we learned how to make ice packs at home by adding rubbing alcohol to water. It never freezes and it's great if you have pain, especially after a game or practice. I have a ton ready to go in the freezer because he's on the school's basketball and football team. Plus, I guess he's going to make me the team's sister. Again.
Basically, I get called the team's sister because Edward being the world's best brother(note the sarcasm, even if it is true)likes me being unavailable to his teammates and friends. So, what does that make me? Team Sister. I attend every game, pep rally and after party but i'll only ever be a sister to them in the same way my mom is a team mom. Yay!
"Your limit is five hundred and I am not driving you," he added. Oh, how I love a good deal!
"Later big bro", I said as I waited for his usual response.
"In a while, little sis", he said and hung up. Typical Edward. Still calling me Winnie. That's why I call him Kalmin. Middle names, am I right?
After taking my uniform out of the closet and laying them out on my bed, I went into the bath. If I could scrub that dream out of my skin, I would've. Years ago.
There are possibly multiple burn holes in my loofa now. I got out, dried off, and started putting my uniform on after applying lotion and sunscreen. I'm already brown-skinned and I would love to not get any darker. Not that I have a problem with being dark-skinned, it's just sunburns are really painful, especially when your skin is sensitive.
After lacing my boots, I left a note for Mary, letting her know she could have the day off after cleaning my room, and grabbed my bags to head for the kitchen. Maraiah texted she was picking me up so I need a speedy breakfast.
As I walked through the halls and down the stairs, I noticed the house was more furnished and the maids were already in a frenzy, which means my parents are up.
Bouquets of flowers stood on their stands, adorning the white walls. Some family portraits and photos hung in their almost wall-sized, golden frames. There were even some with me in them. Some had my grandparents and their parents!
I also noticed that the rooms were being aired again, and in the bright morning sunshine, I could see the furniture clearly. The rooms were a lot bigger than mine and they held furniture in every corner.
"Morning all", I greeted as I walked into the kitchen. The maids and butlers were hurrying about but a few stopped to respond while I walked over to my parents who were by the island. Mum was dressed corporately but very fashionable in her deep purple suit and gold accessories while as usual, eating a bowl of fruit while reading this months issue of HER, the magazine company she runs, while Dad was cooking up a storm at the stove and answering calls through his Bluetooth headset.
"There's my baby, no not you... Of course, I'm not talking to a car", my Dad said into his microphone as he passed me a plate of food. Berry waffles, sausages, scrambled eggs, and bacon. High protein, I love it.
"All I see when I look at that plate is fat", my Mum said in disgust as I opened the bottle of apple juice I grabbed from the fridge. Don't get me wrong, my mum is really nice, but she hates fat as much as she hates the devil. That's her secret to looking twenty at forty-seven.
"Haters must hate. It's the only way to keep them and us employed", I said while quoting her through a mouthful of food. At that, her brown and silver highlighted hair snapped in my direction. She barely ever wore makeup but managed to look like she's wearing it all the time.
"Miss Haden?" a butler named Phil, said as he came into the kitchen looking very unamused.
"Morning", I replied after swallowing.
"A guest", he said while letting out an exasperated sigh. Suddenly, a female voice came into earshot and it sounded like she was chatting up a storm.
Both I and my parents turned to see who it was.
"...and also I think lemons are great for room temperature water you should really try it out sometimes. Did you know that two ice cubes will never melt at the same speed? Oh, hello Reyna. Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Haden", she said as soon as she noticed the room she was in.
"Good morning Maraiah", they said in unified monotone voices before going back to their work.
"Are you ready?" Maraiah asked as she came closer to where was sitting.
She was dressed in the navy blue version of my uniform. Her hair was flowing in waves as usual and her sweater's fitted, unlike mine that looks two sizes too big. Unlike my all black, lace-up leather boots, she wore black heels and knee-length socks. I'm so causal compared to her, but oh well.
"Yeah. Help me with my bags?" She took my bags and we began heading towards the door when my dad stopped me. He was dressed in his golf attire, which meant today wasn't an office day.
"A little something for your nerves", he said with a wink of his big brown eyes and handed me a brown paper bag. Eyeing the bag suspiciously, I opened it slowly.
"A mochaccino and a red velvet, chocolate-infused cupcake. Am I the best dad or what?" he said with a clap of his hands as I hugged the life out of him. Any guy I end up with has my dad to compete with.
"You're definitely the biggest", my mum said with a chuckle, her eyes never leaving the magazine.
"And you're one of the prettiest, yet here you are", he said under his breath. That earned him a smack to the back of his head while we all laughed. It's funny how we all act like children sometimes isn't it?
"We're going to leave now, I don't want to be late on my first day," I said as I turned to leave.
"Have a great day girls! And be nice!" my mum called after us.
When we walked out the front door, I was amazed to see a black Audi e-Tron with tinted windows.
"We made it a thing at my house to always ride in style. Especially since my brothers bought their cars," she said while we walked towards it. Suddenly the window in front of us went down and an older male version of Maraiah stared us down unamused.
"So this is the newbie huh?" he asked with a sarcastic chuckle. He stops laughing as soon as he sees my eyes. I couldn't help but notice his teeth grills.
"Twenty-three karats?" I asked curiously which caused him to smile even more. Just that it was a genuine smile this time.
"Keep her. She has a nice eye. So are you getting in or not? I have practice in thirty minutes," he said getting impatient as he checked his watch.
"Yeah, whatever. Reyna, you sit in the back. You'll have a higher chance of surviving if he crashes again," Maraiah said with a wink and slight chuckle.
"Very funny," her brother said unamused as we got into the car.
"I never really got your name?" I said after ensuring my seat belt's on right.
"Kade. Yours?" He said in a monotone voice as he drove out the gates and unto the path that led to the expressway. Our house is so deep in the foliage, you'd never guess anyone leaves in there, which I guess is the point.
"Reyna," I said with a smile as I met his eyes in the RV mirror. He broke the eye contact and began focusing on the road, which I'm glad he did. It gives me time to take in his appearance.
He's over six feet. I can tell by the way his head almost touches the roof of the car, and his seat is barely adjusted which means his legs are fairly long. He has brown curly hair with faded sides from a haircut. He has only one piercing, which is on his right ear. His eyebrows are neatly shaped and he wore his uniform, the blue version, as professionally as possible with every item pressed to perfection. I spend so much time looking at him, I forget to look at the way to school.
We pull up in a cue on a fine gravel path. There are so many cars, and most of them are luxury. We soon arrive at the car pack. I guess that's the school building. It looks like a large Victorian palace, you could fit in fifteen of my house to make up the school building. That's minus the sports facilities and the halls of residence.
We come to an abrupt stop and we get out. Maraiah takes my hand after swinging her book bag over the right shoulder.
"Let's go. I think you're really going to like it here. There are so many different nationalities, cultures, and most especially food," she says with a giggle as we walk through the rows of luxury cars and unto a pavement. Kade walks behind us and the slapping of backs tells me he's with his friends. We eventually stop in front of a row of three double doors. Maraiah leads me to student services in the main hall and leaves me with the promise of meeting up at lunch. After waiting ten minutes and sending two angry voicemails, my brother eventually shows up.
"Finally. I don't want to speak to the receptionist myself," I confess. His hair is messed up from running and I'm actually glad I convinced him to grow it out because it looks so nice. I stepped to my tippy toes and ran my fingers through his hair like I used to do when we were younger. He looks evenmore tan than the last time i saw him
"Say no more. I'll handle it," he said after dropping his duffel bag. After spending a few minutes at the lady's desk, he returned with my schedule and some forms to fill regarding clubs and extracurricular.
"Your first period is World History, so let's drop your stuff at your locker and get going," he said as he led me down the hallway.
"Aren't you meant to be at practice?" I question. I don't want him to get into any trouble because of me.
"I ran twelve laps by 6:30 because of this, so please stop asking questions," he said with a sigh as he took my duffel bag.
"Why is this so heavy? Another one of your victims?" He said sarcastically.
"No. Another friend," I replied with his tone of voice, which made us both chuckle.
Eventually, we got to my locker in the West Arm of the school where my locker was located. It was a bit crowded as students stood in clusters and some on the polished cherrywood furniture. I couldn't help but notice the group of students that stood beside a set of lockers at the end of the hallway. They look like they belong to a gang or something. I guess someone said a joke because they all started laughing and a brown-haired girl noticed I was staring. This is so not happening today.
I stared her down and slowly turned to my brother who was organizing my books already.
"K? Do you know those people over there?" I asked curiously as I tapped his shoulder. I turned to see if she was still looking at me, and she was. She kept looking at me while she whispered something to her friends and they all started approaching me. I kept my head down the whole time so she won't see my eyes.
"Hey, Edward!" She literally purred. Now that she's up close, I notice her appearance more. She's shorter than me because she's my height in those six-inch heels she has on. How can she even walk? She's wearing a lot of makeup and hair extensions. Even her lashes are false. She carries a Gucci purse ( I have the same one, which I will now be burning eleven hours from now) and wears too much perfume. She is the basic high school, rich snob.
"Hi London," he says without sparing her a glance, which causes her smile to falter. He seems really interested in organizing my stuff.
"Who's this?" she asks in a high pitched voice while looking at me in disgust as she curls her lips.
He looks up and slams my locker shut at her question, which causes me to look up too. She seems taken aback by my eyes, but she quickly recovers.
"My sister," he replies uninterested. I smile a little when I see her make an 'o' with her mouth. Surprising, I know.
She makes a fake smile at the realization and her friends try to cover up their disappointment in the same manner.
"Nice to meet you," she mutters. Her friends walk away with her behind, whispering nasty comments about my eyes. I didn't know I was suffocating until they left.
They could've dumped the entire bottle of perfume on themselves for all I know. K dragging my arm to class brings me back to reality as I notice my legs are moving.
As we walk, I notice the guys they were standing with are still there talking. But what I find weird is one is staring directly at me. What's even weirder is I can't stop staring at him either. Something's wrong.
No.
Something's different.
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