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Friday, August 16th
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There's a knock on my door and Varushka's voice is loud and clear. "Ms. Evangeline, it's time to get up. Waffles are ready for you downstairs!" Before the sound of the vacuum blared outside my door. I sat up on my bed and stretched before grabbing my phone and checking the time, it was only 9:21 a.m.
I get out of bed and choose my clothes for the day, but as I am walking towards my closet, I notice a moving truck parked outside the front of my house, giving me a clear view of the movers taking out furniture and taking them to the house next to me. The house next to us belonged to an old couple that retired and moved to Florida, so it had been vacated for a year up until now I guess.
I walk closer to my window and open the double doors to get a closer view. I walk onto the balcony and try to see who the new owners of the house are. Another knock on my door makes me look away and Varushka enters the room. "Oh, you saw that we have new neighbors?" She says, her Russian accent still slightly noticeable.
"Yeah," I say, "Did you happen to see who it is?"
"I think it was a small family. Parents and a boy."
"A boy?"
"Yes! I think he was your age?" She says scratching her chin.
I look back outside and I finally catch a glimpse of the family that Varushka was talking about. She comes and stands outside with me and we watch a couple around their late thirties and their teenage son. His hair seems long and it loosely covers his eyes, barely making out his facial features. He was wearing a shirt with messy words, clearly belonging to a logo of some kind of death metal band, black pants with a chain and patches, and some thick bracelets on his wrists.
"He looks troubled," Varushka says next to me.
Although we were on the second floor of the house and they were on the street, the boy turns his head upwards and stares at the both of us like he heard us talking about him. Even though his eyes were covered by his long strands of hair, he was definitely looking right at me. I slowly turn around and Varushka follows right behind, closing the balcony door.
"How about you get ready and I make you protein berry smoothie, yeah?" Varushka asks with a smile. I nod.
Varushka came to the United States from Russia when she was sixteen and started working for my parents when she was twenty. Now she's twenty six and has been helping me ever since I started high school. She was like an older sister to me even though I have a sibling, Josh. He was my younger brother of two years and also went to the same school as me. He was in between the middle and top tier of the social hierarchy, but wasn't athletically gifted. He preferred to just play his guitar and make noise in his room with all sorts of instruments.
It wasn't rare for people to constantly move in and out of Hollow Grove. The town was about an hour drive from Los Angeles and nestled between the neighboring towns of Cherryville and Florence. It was also home to the gated neighborhood that housed all of the rich influencers, architects, designers, doctors, and lawyers that thought Los Angeles was too crowded and lost its star appeal.
It was home to Hollow Grove Academy, a private school for the children who can afford to pay 50,000 dollars every year for the same education you would get at Cherryville High. Most of these kids showed up to school in their brand new Mercedes, BMWs, Range Rovers, and Corvettes. It was also home to Hollow Grove Institute (School for the Delinquents). But we don't like to talk about them or the crimes they've committed.
At the end of the day if you didn't have a new car of the year, a surplus amount of followers on your social media, or even something to put yourself out there and stand out from the crowd, you were at the bottom tier of the pyramid. There were three tiers; the top, the middle and the bottom.
The bottom was self explanatory, it was saved for the 'bottom feeders', those who wished they could be as popular as the top tier and worth something at the school. Truth is, they're one of the smartest kids in school, but they have no personality or aesthetic appeal to them to make them stand out and they're socially awkward.
The middle tier is for the average student. Those who are in between having no friends, to making friends. They're the ones who are always watching things unfold and have average looks, grades, and personality. They like to keep up with the drama, but not get into it. They don't want to be a part of the group that 'peaks' in high school and has nothing to offer in the real world, unless you're rich, then you really have nothing to worry about.
The top tier was exactly what the label stood for. The in-crowd, the athletes, the students that were made to go into Ivy Leagues or whose parents could afford to donate to the school. They either had no personality at all and went off based on their looks, or their personality made them likable. You were always in the spotlight for every thing that went on in your life, it didn't matter if it was good or bad. You best pray if something bad happened and that the entire school doesn't make it the talk of the day.
The school's cliques made it 'hard' to climb up the social ladder and the only way to do that is to get invited to the parties that the Seniors throw. If they invite you, you're most likely invited to other parties and other people will know that you're becoming a part of the in-crowd. That's your ticket to having the greatest school year.
Speaking of the school year, this was our last weekend of summer and Senior year would officially start this Monday. The first week of school was crucial if you wanted to have a good year and build up your social presence. I, on the other hand, would dive straight into the class presidential campaigns and run against my nemesis, Jane Sloane. She was always trying to one up me in everything and always had to run against me in every campaign. She was my current Vice President, but that wasn't stopping her from running against me.
I was successfully the class president for 3 consecutive years and this one would be my final run, making it look good for my college applications. I successfully joined the debate team, photography club, yearbook club, book club, and played in the softball team for two years during my Sophomore and Junior year. All because my parents were ambitious adults and wanted me to do the same. I can't say I liked all of those things, it was a lot on my plate and I was always stressing out.
Today I was planning on going to the mall with Tiffany and Maya, two of my closest friends. Tiffany was your average cheer captain and Maya was the captain of the girl's Volleyball team. I've known Maya since we were young and Tiffany moved into Hollow Grove when we were in ninth grade.
I pick out my clothes for the day which consist of some light wash jeans and a pink blouse. I head to the bathroom and take a quick shower, apply my skincare routine, and do some light makeup at my vanity. Once I'm done, I go downstairs to the kitchen and take a seat at the island where Varushka places a plate of waffles in front of me, topped with fresh berries and drowned in syrup. She also puts a glass cup with the smoothie on a coaster.
I hear my parents coming down the stairs with their luggages in hand. "So we will have all of the numbers to the hotel and assistants in case you need anything." My mom says putting down her matching Gucci luggage set. My dad followed right behind her with more of her luggage.
"Gosh, honey, do you really need all of these bags?" My dad grumbles as he puts down more luggages, including his.
"Anyways," mom says ignoring my dad's pleas, "where are you going today?"
"Tiff invited Maya and I to go shopping with her for new school clothes," I say after sipping on my smoothie.
"Oh, how fun!" She says as she's texting away on her phone.
"We won't be back until Monday morning, so make sure everything is always locked at night, okay?" My dad says as he tries to push my mom out the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I got the whole routine down."
My dad chuckles and says his goodbyes along with my mom who's distracted on the phone. Dad is an accountant for a lot of celebrities, mostly for nepo-kids, while my mom is an interior designer for celebrities as well. My dad often works from home, but my mom travels all around the country and sometimes outside, and brings my dad along here and there.
After three months of non-stop work, they both decided to head to the Caribbean to vacation for a bit. Leaving me and Josh alone with Varushka and the butler, Walter, for the weekend. I was used to it, it was something they did pretty often, especially in my early childhood. Josh liked it when they would go away, it meant that he could do whatever he wanted without their disapproval looks.
After I finish my waffles and the smoothie, my phone buzzes and Tiffany's face pops up on the screen.
I'M HERE!!
I run up the stairs to put my shoes on and grab my purse. I run back down the stairs and I quickly tell Varushka that I'm leaving and will be home later. I see Tiffany's white BMW at the end of the driveway. Maya is in the passenger seat so I slide right in the back. Tiffany's long, blonde, straight hair is pinned back with two strands of hair framing her face. She's got on some heavy makeup and her skin is tanner than usual. It was rare for me to ever see her without an ounce of makeup.
"I have so much to tell you about my trip to Cancun!" She says as her blue eyes meet mine through the rearview mirror.
"Spoiler alert, she's had way more fun than us," Maya says, turning her head to face me. Her dark brown hair was now dyed a balayage that she was excited to do right before school started. Her mom was pretty strict about her virgin hair, and forbade her to do anything too crazy with it. I sensed that it was an ethnic family thing.
"Alright what happened?" I ask, already knowing what was coming. It wasn't a surprise that Tiffany was confident in her sexuality and experimentation, therefore, not afraid to hook up with anyone that she had just met.
"I hooked up with this guy over the summer and I swear he's like my soulmate or something." Tiffany says dramatically as she puts a hand on her chest to sell the dramatics.
We drove down to Hollow Grove Mall where it was one of the biggest malls in the city. It had all high end name brands that you could think of along with the fast fashion staples.
"Soulmate? I thought you only liked hooking up?" I ask.
"Yeah, but he's just the greatest," she sighs.
"And what does this mystery man look like?" I ask. Like I said, Tiffany was never the type to get into relationships unless it was a friends-with-benefits relationship.
"He has soft brown hair and the bluest eyes! I swear it was like looking into the ocean every time I looked into them," she says with a squeal.
"Are you settling down with him?" Maya asks as we walk into the mall. It was a very busy Friday since everyone was still on summer vacation. The food court was filled with teenagers and kids running around as their parents tried to get them to sit.
"I wish," she says with a scoff, " but he has a girlfriend."
"A girlfriend? So you willingly helped him cheat?" I ask, giving her a disapproving look. Another thing about Tiffany was that she didn't care if the guy had a girlfriend, if she had her eyes on him, she would get him no matter what.
"I mean he said he was planning on breaking up with her," she says with a shrug of her shoulders.
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I was finally back at home after spending a couple hundred on some new clothes that I wouldn't be able to wear at school. Unfortunately, we had uniforms instead. As I was putting my new clothes away, there was another knock on my door and a familiar face came through the door.
"Ethan," I greet my boyfriend of a year. I walk over to him and throw my arms around him. He plants a kiss on my lips and gives me a smile.
Ethan also went to Hollow Grove Prep Academy and he was your typical quarterback football captain. I can't say that I'm surprised he gets attention from every girl, including Tiffany at some points, but I trust him. It's hard not to keep your eyes off of him, I mean his chocolate brown hair was tousled and made you want to run your hands through them, while his blue eyes were like the brightest blue I had ever seen.
His skin was obviously tanned from football and his body was chiseled to the gods. I was proud to say that he was my man. The uniform did him justice and I could tell that he worked hard to be at where he is. I know football was his passion and loved everything about it. He was a very good captain as well. Ever since Ethan joined the team when we started our first year there, he's been proving everyone that he's a good player and on his way to make it professionally.
"How's my favorite girl doing?" He asks.
"I just got back from a shopping trip with Tiffany and Maya," I say.
He looks past me, "I saw you had new neighbors."
"Yeah, they just moved in this morning," I say, "I think their son is starting at our school. He looks our age."
"A potential football recruit?" He asks, peeking through the curtains of the balcony doors.
I shake my head, remembering what the new kid looked like. He looked like he would rather be anywhere than near a football field with jocks. "He doesn't really look like the athletic type."
"So do you want to get something to eat? We could always check that new place that opened up a block away? You could bring Josh if you want," he says. I smile and nod.
"I'll go find him. Meet you downstairs?" I ask.
He nods and leaves my room to go downstairs. I turn to the right further down the hall where Josh's room was at. I knocked on the door, but the loud guitar riffs were drowning out my knocks. I huff and open the door.
Josh was like my long lost twin, according to my family members. He shared the same black hair as me and the dark brown eyes. Even though he was taller and everyone automatically thought he was my older brother, he was an immature little brat.
He stops playing his guitar and glares at me. "Ethan is asking if you want to come with us to eat at this new place. You could invite whatever-her-name-is."
"We're not talking anymore," he simply says as he puts his expensive electric guitar down.
"Oh, why not?" I ask. Josh was really into this girl from school, I was surprised he even liked the girl. Seemed like he was always stuck in his room.
"She was moving too fast," he mumbles as he looks for his shoes from under the bed.
As I was about to open my mouth to say something, the loudest heavy metal song began playing next door. I furrow my brows and walk over to my brother's open balcony which faces the backyard and overlooks into the new neighbor's pool.
I was able to get a good look into the neighbor's window that wasn't blocked off by the giant tree in our backyard. Their window was open and I realized that's where the angry music was coming from. I could see some of the same bands that my brother listens to hung up on the walls of the new boy's room. It had to be his room, not that I was judging his appearance, but I kind of was.
"I think you might get along with the new neighbor," I say.
"Yeah, that would be cool. I'm tired of being surrounded by chicks all the time," Josh says with annoyance in his voice.
"Whatever, hurry up, Ethan's waiting."
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A/N: Here's the first chapter of the new series that I am working on. It does not intertwine with the Twin City series but some names might be thrown in every once in a while since some of them do have relations to other characters in this story!
I hope you guys liked the new chapter and aesthetic going on! There will be a slow build up at the beginning since I do want to focus on the setting everything up before diving into the drama.
I will be doing some slow updates since I have like three books that I am currently writing and two more that are on the way to getting published ._.
I have a busy summer ahead of me so please bear with me :)