It's New Year's eve, and currently, I am on a facetime call with my friends.
"So guys, how was your Christmas dinner with Keith?" I ask them with a smirk.
Anna's cheeks go pink just like I expected. Anna has had a crush on him forever. She thinks that I don't know. But I found out a couple of years ago when Anna acted all shy and strange in his presence. Whenever they are together, you can see a faint tint of pink on her cheeks.
I don't think Div has noticed it yet.
"Why are you blushing, Anna?" Div asks with a smirk.
.... okay, she knows.
"What I... I ..am..not blushing ..you..you are." Anna stutters, and I mentally facepalm. Nice save, Anna.
Looks like we are gonna talk about my best friend's crush.
"You like him, Anna."
"But I don'.."
"Don't even think about lying." I cut her off.
"Yeah, Anna. We know about your crush on Keith, so spill the beans." Divya tells her.
She sighs, "Fine. What do you guys wanna know?"
"Tell me, how did it start?" I question.
"Fine, you guys remember Kiara's birthday party four years ago?" She asks.
We both nod, and she continues.
"Well, when Div, you took Kiara to your house to distract her so we can decorate the house. I fell from the ladder and sprained my ankle, and I didn't tell anyone. Keith found out since he saw me limping and made me sit down and gave me some ice. He applied some nonswelling cream and did all the work himself. He took such good care of me." Anna completes with a smile. I did remember Anna limping during my birthday party.
"Then what happened?" Divya questions eagerly.
"Well, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I was confused about my feelings. One day I was walking to class and, I saw some senior boys harassing and teasing a girl. And Keith saw it and saved that girl. He fought with the boys and also got in trouble. That day I realized that he respects women. Which is pretty hard to find in men these days. So that day, I knew I liked him." Anna finishes. I remember that day Keith came with bruises all over his face.
"So you have been crushing on my brother for four years?" I ask her, and she nods.
"So, you are not angry?" Anna nervously asks me.
"No, Anna. I am not, but instead, I am happy that it is you," I tell her with a smile.
"Phew... I thought you were gonna kill me."
"Let's save the killing part for later," I tell her with a smile
"You are so.." she starts.
"Amazing." I finish.
"No, but.."
"Beautiful." I finish again.
"No, let me..."
"Buy you ice cream."
"No, Kiara sto.."
"Stop being wonderful. Nah, not going to happen."
"No, Kiara, you are .."
"Going to be a billionaire. Oh, why, thank you. I never knew you had such faith in me."
"God, I am going t.."
"To buy me a car. Yes, please. I want one so bad."
"KIARAAAAA...."
"I LOVE YOU. Why yes, I love me too."
I see Divya laughing with tears streaming down her face. I couldn't control it anymore either. I start laughing, holding my stomach. Suddenly we hear a loud thud. I stop to look, and Divya is nowhere to be seen.
Divya pokes her head from the edge of the bed.
"Hehe, I fell off the bed," Divya tells us with a huge grin on her face.
That was the last straw. We all laugh, holding out stomachs and with tears down our faces.
"Stop ... I can't... st..stop laugh.. laughing my stomach.. hurts so bad." Anna tells us with her hand holding her stomach. We all laugh some more.
Five minutes later, we are all calm, and suddenly Anna starts sobbing loudly.
"I miss you so much, Kiara. It is no fun without you." Anna tells me, silently sobbing.
This makes Divya start crying too. Soon we are all sobbing, missing each other. Well, looks like what they say is true. Don't laugh too hard, or you will cry.
"Guys, go to bed. It's getting pretty late." I tell them.
"I love you, Kiara." they say in unison, which brings a smile to my face.
"I love you guys too." I tell them and cut the call.
God, I miss my friends and the pranks I pull with them. Oh, if you guys didn't know. I love pranking people, and I am the prankster of my family. Well, maybe after Keith, no one can prank as good as him.
Last April fool's, I woke Keith by putting a real live snake on his bed which belonged to one of my classmates and is totally harmless. But he didn't know, and he woke up screaming and running to the bathroom, which was filled with fake cockroaches and that, earned another girly scream from him. He opened the door to run out of the room just to be filled with green slime. Well, let's just say I had to cook for myself for one whole month after that prank. Ah, that was bliss. I miss those times and Keith too.
I go out of my room to meet Ryder coming out of his room. He looks at me and frowns.
"Were you crying, Kiara?" he asks me, worried.
"Yeah, I just miss my friends and my brother, that's all." I tell him everyone in this family knows about my parent's death.
"Yeah, I miss my friend too.. although I don't have many friends."
"Wait. You don't?" I ask him with confusion, clear in my voice since he is one of the sweetest kids I know.
"Yeah, I just have one friend. My classmates call me a nerd because I get good grades. And they don't like me because I don't join them to tease girls and make fun of them in my class."
"You wanna know a secret?" I whisper.
He nods his head with a smile.
"They are jealous of you." I lean down and whisper in his ear.
"Why?" He whispers back.
"Because you are a good boy who has the brains that they don't. You are smart, you are handsome, and you respect girls. They are just jealous because they know they can never be like you. And just know that your family is proud of you and that I am very proud of you. Don't change who you are so people will like you. Be friends with people who like you as you are." I tell him with a smile.
"Are there anybody in class who is just like you?" I ask him.
"Yeah, there are some boys and girls, and my classmates hate them too." He answers after some thought.
"Go talk to them and be their friends. They would love to be friends with you." I tell him with a smile.
"Thanks, Kiara." he hugs me. I hug him back and place a small kiss on his forehead.
I look up to see Blake and Raven looking at us with a smile. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks. I see them all dressed up.
"Hey, guys. What are you doing here?" I ask awkwardly, playing with my mom's ring. I tend to do that whenever I am nervous or embarrassed.
"I came here to tell you that we will be going on our date now and that you guys should be careful and not burn down the house." Raven informs me.
Oh, the cruise date. I completely forgot about it.
"You are in charge, Kiara. Make sure that the boys don't go out of control. We don't want to come to a burned down house like last time." Blake tells me and looks at Ryder, who is whistling and looking down at the floor like it is the most mesmerizing thing in the world. I wonder why?
"Sure, guys. Go enjoy your date. I will take care of everything." I reassure them.
"Thank you, Kiara." Raven thanks me. I nod with a smile. Out of nowhere, Reed comes all dressed up.
"Mom, can i .." Reed starts.
"No, Reed. You are not going to the New Year's party at your friend's house." Raven cuts him off.
"Wait. How did you know?"
"I am your mother, Reed. If you didn't know." Raven counters sarcastically.
"But mom," Reed whines like a girl. He actually whines.
"I don't want to hear anything. This year you are spending New Year's eve with Kiara and your brother." The tone she used stated the end of the discussion.
"Guys, we will be home before midnight so, wait for us. We will go to the rooftop to look at the fireworks." Blake reminds us.
Soon they both leave, and we all sit down to watch the Fast and Furious.
"I am sorry if I am the reason you cannot go to the party." I tell Reed. He shrugs.
"Other than making out with girls, it gets boring anyway." he tells me. I scrunch my nose in disgust.
"He is the biggest player in the school." Ryder tells me.
How does he know that?
"I have heard people talking about him."
Oh, I talked out loud, didn't I?
"Yep, you did." this time, Reed answers with a chuckle.
Blake and Raven reach home at half-past 11, and we all go to the rooftop to watch the fireworks.
It's pretty cold although I am wearing two sweaters, I can't stop my clattering teeth.
Soon, I feel a jacket put on me, and I look at Reed.
"Aren't you feeling cold?" He shakes his head and puts an arm around my shoulder, and I snuggle more into his warmth.
The countdown begins, and Reeds looks at me, and I look at him. People kiss during the new year, right? I felt warm all of a sudden.
5.. he comes closer.
4... I go closer to him.
3... out nose touches.
2... I remembered what Ryder said.
1... HAPPY NEW YEAR...
I turn my face so he can catch my cheek and, Reed pecks my cheek. He looks taken back but, he just smiles and hugs me. This is the first time a boy has kissed my cheek.
"Happy new year sparkle." he whispers in my ear.
"Happy new year Reed." I wish him.
I break the hug to go greet everyone else.
We all go to bed, and I think about my near kiss with Reed. "Happy new year Keith, mom, and dad." I whisper before darkness overtakes me.
There is only the weekend left before I start school. The near kiss that happened between Reed and I was never spoken. It was just a spur of the movement thing Reed will never go for a girl like me. I really don't know why he tried to kiss me. I am really thankful that things didn't get awkward between Reed and me. I pet aerial for a while and go downstairs to find only Blake and Raven having breakfast. I greet them morning and make myself cereal."I really wish the boys would wake up early as you do and not wake up at noon to eat breakfast as lunch," Raven complains. On that note, Reed comes down looking hot with his bed hair. Wow, I have gotta get these thoughts out of my head. After the near kiss, I can't stop but find Reed beautiful and handsome."Mom, can you please stop comparing us with Kiara. She wakes up early because she has all those makeup stuff to do before breakfast," Reed grumbles."Honey, if you know Kiara at all, you will know that she doesn't l
Today is my first day of school. I am excited, but I am also very nervous. I take a long shower and wear my outfit for the day. It consists of a white sleeveless shirt and a black skirt that reaches my knee and pair it with a jean jacket and a pair of black sandals and French braid my hair. I take a look at myself in the mirror and feel satisfied. I go downstairs and greet Raven, who is making breakfast. "You look amazing, Kiara. You will have boys at your feet." Raven tells me with a grin. I can't help but blush at her words. "Thanks, Raven." I answer her, and then I see Reed come down the stairs. Calling him hot right now would be an understatement. He is dressed in a tight white t-shirt with skinny black jeans and a black jean jacket. He has that whole bad boy look. He sees me, and his eyes take in my outfit, and he gives me a smirk. I realize that I am openly checking him out. Reed sits beside me, and Raven places a plate full of pancakes in front of him.
Oh no, why do I have such a big mouth? The whole room stares at me like I have grown two heads. I don't really think people in this school talk bad about the bad boy. Well looks like I am screwed. The girl previously sitting on Reed's lap approaches me along with two other girls. She comes to our table and stares right at me. "You know, for being the new girl, you have got some guts to blurt out stuff like that to my baby." She smirks, gesturing to Reed, who looks pretty amused at this situation. I mentally gag at that part. "I like you. Would you like to join my group and become popular? Because you are the only girl who had some guts to talk out loud like that." she offers. Can someone explain what is happening right now? Because this is not at all what I expected. I slowly get up
So you are an exchange student right, who are you living with?" Kate questions me. It's lunch now, and we are all sitting at our usual table. Shoot, not the question I was expecting. What do I do, what do I do? "Um.. uh.. so the thing is...you see.." "Hey, guys, whatcha doing?" Noah interrupts. I have never been more happier for the interruption. I could kiss you right now, Noah. "Oh, we were just simply asking Kiara who she is living with." Ava tells Noah. "Well, forget that. Do you know what happened in English class today?" Noah asks them. I roll my eyes at him. Let's just say that our class was interesting due to the class clown that is Noah. "Don't tell me you did one of your famous pranks on the teacher, and you cancelled English class." Ava says with fake enthusiasm while waving her hands. "Uh, how did you know? Are you stalking me? ohhhh don't tell me that Kiara is actually a spy working for you. Do you
It is another day in school. Noah and I are sitting in English class, we are waiting for Mr William to come. Sir comes inside after a few minutes, places a cup of coffee on the table and leaves, telling us that he will be back in five minutes.I turn to Noah and see him looking at the coffee cup with a grin that screams PRANK. Oh no, not again.“Noah, no, whatever you are thinking, don’t do it. You don’t want to add another detention to your record, do you?” I try to persuade him.He looks at me, the grin on his face never leaving. He simply gets up, goes to the table and does a 360-degree check to make sure no one is watching him. He lifts the coffee cup and takes a chewing gum out of his pocket, chews on it for a few seconds, and sticks the chewed gum on the table and places the cup on top of it and presses it firmly. He tries to move the cup, and it doesn’t even budge. I can actually see the steam from the coffee. Mr Willia
It is finally the weekend. I am so happy that the weekend has arrived. I don’t have much homework since it is only the first week of school. I would love to invite my friends over. But they don't know that I live with Reed.“Youngblood say you want itSay you want meSay you want meOut of your lifeAnd I am just a dead man walking tonight.”I was singing youngblood by 5 seconds of summer and dancing in my room with my hairbrush. Then I suddenly see a flash go off. I immediately stop my dancing and look towards my door to see Reed running away.I chase him, my concert forgot, and I hear him laugh while running down the stairs. I am going to kill him. I run down the stairs, and I see him running behind the counter. I thank God because I can run fast. I climb over the counter, and before he escapes, I jump on him to stop his running.Reed
I am on my way to church with Reed driving me. I hope I see Andrew again today.“Text me when it’s over, and I will pick you up,” Reed informs.“Sure, bye,” I say with a smile and head inside. I see Andrew sitting in his usual place at the last bench. I smile.I take my place beside him and say a small word of prayer before smiling at him. He smiles back. Soon the service comes to an end, and I send Reed a text informing him to pick me. I turn to Andrew to talk to him and find him already looking at me.“Umm, I just... um you know want to say thank you for what you did back there.” he thanks me with a shy smile. I raise my eyebrow, clueless on why he is thanking me. Suddenly, everything becomes clear... The backpack. I wonder why it looked familiar. It is the same backpack I got Andrew, for Christmas. So, these people have been bullying Andrew all this time. I feel terrible that I didn’t even recognize Andre
Now Reed, Noah, Kate, Luke and I are sitting in history class. Ms Brown is teaching us about, I have no idea since I am not even listening. What is the point of studying the past if the information is not even useful in the future? What? While we are guessing how many tomatoes we have to add for soup, we will be thinking about Hitler?Noah was trying to float the feather before him with a stick while muttering, ‘wingardium leviosa.’ I roll my eyes.“Mr Anderson.” Ms Brown calls Noah. But Noah did not hear her and, she tries two more times.“Mr ANDERSON.” she finally snaps. Noah gets startled and falls off the chair, and the class erupts into laughter. Noah clumsily stands up and straightens his shirt.“Wingardium leviosa?" he asks, and I chuckle but disguise it as a cough.“Pardon,” Ms Brown asks. Noah clears his throat and answers“Um, sorry. Yes, Ms Brown?”“I w