In the vibrant city of Los Angeles, Kiara Reed, a passionate reader of romance novels and a talented dancer, embarks on a new chapter of her life after her family's recent move. Adjusting to her new surroundings, Kiara unexpectedly encounters a grou...
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Jayden stood by the car, one arm propped on the hood, watching me fumble my way out the front door. “Can you walk any slower?” he called out.
“Chill. I'm coming,” I replied, shutting the door behind me. I tripped over my foot and fell, colliding painfully with the ground. “Shit,” I muttered as pain shot through my body.
I looked up to see Jayden grinning down at me. Rolling my eyes, I got back on my feet. “Who knows, Kie, maybe if you didn’t decide to come this late, you wouldn’t be in this situation,” he teased, a smile plastered on his face.
I flipped him the bird as I opened the passenger door and sat down.
♡
“Fuck the person who decided to make Maths,” Jordyn grumbled, plopping down under the tree.
I looked at her, puzzled. “Who on earth decides to wake up one morning and think, ‘Hey, let's create maths,’ or ‘I wonder what I'd get if I decided to add numbers together,’” she continued, mostly arguing with herself.
“I wish I knew, but I don't have the strength to look up who decided to make it,” I sighed.
“Yeah, just like I don’t have the strength or patience to cooperate with this stupid subject we’re forced to learn,” she said.
“What did the subject ever do to you?” Logan asked, amused.
“Everything. Like what the hell does ax + by equal?” she asked.
“Cz,” we replied in unison, and she rolled her eyes at us.
“Kie!” Jayden’s voice called out. I turned to see him with his friends.
“What the hell do you want from me, Jayden?” I asked, waving a hand at his friends, who waved back.
He reached out and quickly grabbed my lunch bag, running off. “Okay. No one steals my food,” I declared, standing up and chasing after him.
“Give my food back, you asshole of a brother,” I shouted, trying to catch him as he dodged left and right.
Growing frustrated, I decided to go psycho mode and jumped on his back, making him fall forward. I smiled in triumph. “Karma’s a bitch,” I whispered in his ear, grabbing my food and walking away.
“Hey, Kie, guess what?” he called out, holding up the mini jar of Nutella I always kept in my bag.
“Jayden, have everything, just not that,” I pleaded, giving up.
“You know what, I’ll be nice and give it to you. Keep your food, sis. I just wanted to come annoy you,” he smirked, tossing the jar to me.
I started walking back to my friends, flipping him the bird. “Stealing my signature move, I see,” he remarked.
“Yeah. It’s actually kinda fun doing it to you,” I replied playfully, smiling.
He turned and walked away with his friends, flipping me the bird behind his back. I laughed softly. “I love you too, Jayden,” I yelled.
“Yeah, yeah,” he responded, a smile evident on his face.
I sat back on the grass between Kayla and Logan. “Your sibling relationship never ceases to surprise me,” Nathan said.
“Thank you,” I replied simply.
“So we were just talking about going to the beach again with the boys,” Mila announced.
“Oh, count me in,” I said happily.
♡
Lunch was over, and we were walking back to our classes. Still outside, Kayla suddenly tripped and fell into a bush fence. We immediately lost it.
Mila, Nathan, and I ended up on the ground, laughing. Jordyn, Grayson, and Logan were bent over, hands on their knees, silently laughing. No sounds came out of our mouths; we were in hysterics.
“Oh shit,” Nathan managed between laughs.
“How’d that happen?” Grayson asked.
We were still gasping for air, but whenever one of us took a breath, we wheezed back into laughter.
“Jesus Christ, woman,” Mila said, trying to calm down.
I finally gasped for air, but when I looked back at Kayla lying in the bush, it set me off again. “Could you guys stop laughing and get me out of here?” Kayla yelled, extending a hand, which only made us laugh harder.
Logan eventually pulled her out. “You okay?” I asked, smiling.
“Yeah, except for a couple of scratches, I think everything else is good,” she replied.
“You sure? You fell pretty painfully,” Jordyn asked.
“Yeah. All good.”
♡
The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Kayla and I walked to the changing rooms, leaving Mila and Jordyn behind. We had our first dance class and were excited.
♡
I changed into black leggings and a matching sports bra, tying my hair into a high ponytail. Entering the studio, I saw many familiar faces.
Kayla and I set our things down and joined everyone else. “Hello, everyone. If you’ve forgotten, I’m Mrs. Collins, your dance teacher, and this is Clara, my assistant. I hope we work well together. If you don’t understand something, please ask. I see a lot of potential in you all,” she ended with a smile.
“Let’s get you girls and boys stretched and ready before we start,” she said, clapping her hands.
We lined up, and Clara led us in stretches. “You ready to slay this year?” Kayla asked, holding up her hand for a high-five.
