Until I Met You

4 | "you must be the new girl everyone's been talking about."

Staring out of the window at the large brick building before me, it's hard to believe this is all real. I'm really spending my last year of high school at some private school in New York, hundreds of miles away from home, all of the plans I'd made for this year now nothing but a distant memory.

Lost in thought, I hardly notice Kendall tossing open the limo door, sliding effortlessly out of her seat. It's as if she's acting out a scene in a movie, one sleek leg slinking out of the limo and hitting the ground before the other, the wind blowing at just the right time, causing Kendall's golden hair to flow behind her shoulders. I'm not surprised when I notice a few bystanders turning to gape at my sister, though if Kendall notices she doesn't show it. Instead she gazes down at me over her shoulder in irritation before snapping, "Are you coming, or what?"

Rolling my eyes as I step out of the limo, I realize with a sinking feeling that the moment I step onto the ground, I'll have to attend Crestwood Academy. I'm not surprised when my descend from the limo turns out to be much less graceful than Kendall's exit. The wind blows and whips my dark hair straight into my face, blowing my red and blue plaid uniform skirt up just a little too high. I swear I hear laughter at my expense.

Kendall smirks to herself, as if she expected me to embarrass myself somehow. I'm curious as to why she's bothered to stick around, having assumed my sister couldn't wait to get away from me and pretend as if I don't exist.

"Let's get something straight," Kendall says icily as the limo drives off, her blue eyes as frosty as her tone as they settle on me with a glare. "Here, at this school? We are not related. Got it? You don't talk to me, you don't look at me, and you definitely don't tell people you know me. I don't need you stunting my social growth any more than you already have, Jade."

I raise my eyebrows at my sister's outburst, though I can't say I'm shocked or even a little surprised by her words. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been expecting something like this from her.

Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I choose not to let Kendall get to me. Instead, I merely cross my arms over my chest and mirror her stance as I question, "You know we share a last name, right?"

"Maybe on paper," Kendall hisses in response, her glare hardening. Taking a step away from me, Kendall sneers as she finishes, "But you are no Montgomery."

With that, my sister walks away, turning her back on me both literally and figuratively. A chill hangs in the air, and I know that it has nothing to do with the weather.

Kendall's words shouldn't hurt me, yet they do. I've spent my entire life trying to prove to myself that I'm nothing like my family; that I'm somehow better. But maybe all I've ever really wanted, deep down, is their acceptance. I know I messed up when I decided to steal those diamonds. I thought I'd been proving a point: that money doesn't matter and whatever your social status is, you can't escape the rules. That no one is any better or worse than another.