BOOM HERES ANOTHER CHAPTER!!! HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!!! Y'all the prank my friend played on me was brutal. she said she was crushing on Grayson and I looked her up and down like "bish wut?!? HES MINNEE 👹👹👹" Thank goodness it's April Fools! Have a great day y'all!
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Avery, Jameson and I all sat in the car with Parker in shotgun and Oren at the wheel. Avery and Jameson are conversing in low voices. I ignored their conversation, mostly because I was embarrassed of my first meeting with Jameson Hawthorne.
The second I stepped into the car, Jameson had stared at me like he was seeing a ghost. "Cee? Is that you..?"
I stared at him back. "Who the fuck is Cee?" Jameson blinked and sat back in his seat. He didn't give me so much as a second glance, which I was completely fine with.
I realize that this is only the second time I've met Jameson, yet my sister seems to be pretty cozy with him. Despite knowing that him and Grayson are brothers, it's so hard to picture them related.
Grayson had platinum, perfectly styled hair, while Jameson had brown, shaggy and wind blown hair. Grayson had eyes rival to silver, Jameson had eyes that shone like emeralds.
Grayson was this impeccable, perfect man, but Jameson was a boy who preferred walking around half naked.
Thinking about Grayson brought my mind back to his words. You look like her. His haunted face and tormented eyes. Who, I'd asked. Grayson didn't respond and instead walked away. I'd called his name several times but he didn't look back. Now, his words echoed tauntingly in my head.
When we'd reached the school, Jameson disappeared from the car. I was about to follow after him when Avery placed a gentle hand on my knee. She shook her head once, her face clearly showing that she was deep in thought.
After a while, Avery and I got out of the car. I numbly walked beside Avery, mulling over the four words that plagued my mind. Suddenly, I realized that something wasn't quite right.
Normally, if the two richest teenagers in the world walked past you, you would probably stare at them, or at glance their way. But that didn't happen to us. Yet somehow, it felt like they were staring without even turning around. It was obvious they'd been told not to look at us. I supposed it was part of Alisa's plan to help us feel comfortable.
If that was the case, then her plan was utterly failing.
We continued to walk down the halls silently. I kept my head up but eyes down, watching my shoes clack against the hardwood floors. That's when I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned my head around and saw a girl with dark hair strut up to us.
"I'm Thea," she introduced. I took a quick scan of her person. Dark hair tumbled down her back. She somehow made the school uniforms look sexy, which I, for some reason, was impressed by. When I looked back at her face, I saw the same thing Jameson and Grayson had on their faces when they saw me for the first time. Fear.
She did a great job of masking it though, and she placed a sly smile on her lips. It must have been convincing because Avery introduced herself and me. Amateurs.
Thea immediately latched onto Avery, chatting with her. She didn't glance back at me, who was struggling to follow their quick pace. I didn't really care that Thea was ignoring me. I understood what type of person she was. Popular, really rich (at least by rich people standards I guess) and pretty.
It was obvious Thea was going to be on my bad side.
Thea led us to the principal's office—or more like she led Avery, and I trailed behind them, trying not to get lost in the ocean of students. Thea tossed instructions Avery's way but didn't bat an eyelash at me.
I probably reminded her of the mystery girl.
I absentmindedly fingered my long dark brown hair. I never allowed my mom nor Libby to schedule a hair appointment for me. I knew it could cost too much, and I didn't want our money to be used for small things like my hair. But I also didn't want either of them to cut my hair at home, so my hair grew until it reached my waist.
When we'd reached Dr. Mac's office, Thea gave some last minute advice, then flipped her dark hair and left. But she eventually broke her not-looking-at-me streak and glanced at me. Her confident composure flickered, and her face paled. Thea's eyes widened nervously, and then she was gone.
This mystery girl must have had one hell of an impact on everyone. The reactions I'd gotten from Grayson, Jameson, and Thea gave me one clear message: my "look alike" must have either been loved or feared by everyone before something bad happened to her. But what?
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Despite the delicious coffee Dr. Mac made for us, it was really hard to not fall asleep.
Or maybe it was just me.
I had the tendency to zone out or fall asleep while being lectured or talked to for long periods of time.
"What are you passionate about, Cassiopeia?" I sighed, deciding against correcting her on my name. I thought about it for a few seconds.
"Well, for starters, I love to act. I've played several lead roles in school plays and things. And I love to read and write. I'm actually writing my own novel right now which I hope to publish soon." Avery smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, but I kept my focus on Dr. Mac's slightly astonished face.
"I'm also an archer, I've competed in several leagues and tournaments. I've also participated in the Indoor Nationals a few times before—a couple years back." I silently scolded myself. I'd almost blabbed about how my mom went into extreme debt due to the mere admission fees.
Mom had always tried her best to help me with my acting career and archery, but at one point, talent could only do so much. The better I got, and the more advanced events I went to, the fees skyrocketed. Wanting to help out, I'd quit the things that had brought me so much joy. At least that had given me the chance to start reading and writing, a hobby that costed much less.
I'd wanted to sell my writing to help pay for my mom's healthcare, but it was too late. She was already dead.
"Well, I've slotted you into the Advanced English, most of your other classes should stay pretty much the same. Now in terms of electives, I would suggest Making Meaning for both of you. The class focuses on the study of how meaning is conveyed through the arts and includes a strong component of civic engagement with local museums, artists, theater productions, the ballet company, the opera, and so on." I had to resist the urge to start jumping in my seat. The chance to interact with the production of theater? Yes please.
"Given the support the Hawthorne Foundation has traditionally provided to these endeavors, I believe you two will find the course...useful." Useful? Of course I'd find it useful. In fact, it might be the only class that could excite me this much.
"Anyways, Cassiopeia , it is clear you are into sports, specifically archery. We can get you an invitation to the best teams, and you can compete for scholarships. But there won't as many chances for archers, archery isn't a common sport for scholarships." She looked me up and down. "But if you can prove to them that you're worth it, I highly doubt they'd refuse to give you a try."
My eyes widened, and I clenched my jaw to keep from smiling. I nodded and sipped my coffee, needing something to do.
No. Way. I wasn't sure if any college would accept archers, but it was worth a shot. And even if that didn't work out, I wouldn't need a scholarship anymore, would I?
I imagined Ariel's face when I told her. Archery was how we'd first met each other, and when she found out I had to quit, she was devastated. Ariel would be delighted.
I pictured my beautiful, midnight blue bow resting in my hands, the string pulled taut against the limbs. I could feel my tense shoulders and back, the way my foot grounded me to the ground. The arrow between my fingers, waiting to fly. The satisfying thunk of the arrowhead piercing the target.
Dead center.
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a/n: guys let's just pretend the school stuff happened before the library scene between Jamie and Gray okay? I completely messed up my timeline I haven't been reading the book when I write to make it precise but ITS FINE 🥹🥹🥹 I guess y'all know what the next chapters prob going to be about.
anywayssss idk if I like how I ended the chapter but I'm tired so I'll prob edit it when I get rid of my writers block. The last three paragraphs are my fav bc I put how it feels to be shooting and let me tell y'all it is AMAZING!!! All the stuff I said about Cassie's archery experience is taken from my own life (including the bow color 😁😁😁)
also idk if u can get scholarships for archery but it's nice to dream 😊😊😊
I'm crying to myself how on earth did I forget the timeline?!? the library scene is like my favorite part wtfff😭😭😭 byeeeeee