Raising The Stakes

Chapter Three: First Day at Oceanside

T.C.

It was the first day of school, and I didn't know if I even wanted to go. I f****d up any chance I had of being with Aurora. All because I met Morgan first. Whatever. I had to get up. Laura was upset with me too, and I had disappointed her and Matt, which was something I hadn't wanted but damn if I didn't do it anyway. Groaning, I sat up on the side of the bed and sighed. Getting up, I made my way to the bathroom in my room.

Standing at the sink and I stared at myself, disgusted with my actions. I knew I shouldn't have treated her like that. Shaking my head, I grabbed my toothbrush and applied toothpaste to it, and started to brush my teeth. Rinsing my mouth, I sprayed on deodorant and fixed my hair. I looked back at myself in the mirror and sighed; no matter what I did from now on, I would have to accept that she was no longer an option.

I left out of the bathroom and into my closet, pulling off hangers that held a vest, long sleeve shirt, pants, tie, and jacket. Putting them on, I made my way to the back of the room, slipping on my dress shoes. Grabbing my favorite watch and clasping it on my right wrist, I made my way out of my room. I closed my door and walked down the hall to the stairs descending them to make my way to the kitchen where I could smell bacon frying and biscuits. It made my stomach turn which also didn't help my nerves.

“So, Tom, are you ready for your first day?” I turned, and Matt was standing behind me, and he looked like he was going to the office--probably another meeting.

“Yes, sir,” I answered him, nodding and glancing away from him.

“Are you sick?” He asked me, concern spreading across his features.

“Not really. Just nerves,”

“Well, it will be ok. Why don’t you take your car today? I need Jake to go pick up your uncle for me,” Matt suggested to me.

“Yeah, I’ll just head out then. Thanks, Matt,”, Turning away from him and walking to the garage door.

“Tom,”

I turned back to him, meeting his gaze as I shuffled my feet. “Yes, Sir?”

“Be good today. A good leader knows when to fight his battles, but a great leader realizes when he needs to admit when he is wrong.” He gave me a stern gaze before he strolled into the kitchen.

I sighed, knowing good and well what he wanted from me. But I knew she would not give me the time of day to apologize. I grabbed my book bag from the peg by the door leading to the garage and the keys to my car. I strolled up to a black Bugatti Chiron. Unlocking the car, I threw in my bag and pressed the start button. The car purred to life, giving me chills. I did not think that Matt would actually give me this car since what had happened at the introduction party. I pressed the garage control on the car's screen and watched as the door slowly opened. I backed out of the spot and into the place I could turn the car around to drive forward. I sped down the driveway and out the gates, making my way to school.

I pulled into my parking spot when I arrived at school and sat there for a moment, letting people walk by and stare at the car. My nerves were getting the best of me again, and my stomach turned. That's when I saw her again. She walked right past the car without so much as a glance. She looked amazing in the school uniform and kept it classy. Her friends were excitedly talking to her. She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.

I finally decided to step out of the car; I opened the door, grabbing my bag and keys. Everyone gasped when they realized who was sitting in the car. I smirked at them and pushed my way through the crowd that had gathered around my car. Pressing the lock button on my key chain and I heard the car beep letting me and everyone else know that the vehicle was locked.

Walking into the school, I noticed that certain people were staring at me. I looked around the hall, noting that plaques and trophies were lining the lockers on top. My attention on the awards caused me to run into someone knocking them down. Glancing down and I groaned, it was Aurora, and her friends were behind her. I reached my hand down to try to help her up when she slapped it away, trying to arrange her skirt to be able to stand up. I couldn't help but notice a little show of her upper thigh.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to knock you down,” I told her while crossing my arms.

“Sure, you are. Don’t come near me again,” Aurora ordered, turning to pull out her books for her classes.

She slammed the door, giving me a disgusted look from head to toe as she slammed her shoulder into mine. I stood there trying to keep my temper in check. She was a firecracker, that was for sure; I never would have expected that from her. Strolling further down the hall to my locker, at least, I thought my locker was this way. Glancing back at the number again in my hand and I realized that it was back the way I had come. Walking back, I realized not only was my locker on the bottom, but it was right under Aurora’s. This was not my day; so far it sucked balls. I finally got the damn thing open, placed the books I did not need in the locker and closed it. Looking at my class schedule, I made my way to my first class, Calculus.

***

Aurora

I was fuming as I walked to Calculus. Not only did he embarrass me at his party, but he ran right into me at my locker! He had the nerve to try to help me up after that weak excuse of an apology. Entering the classroom, I made my way to a desk, placing my books on the top and sitting down, crossing my ankles. I was the first one in the class before other students filed into the classroom. When a high-pitched laugh reached my ears, I could tell who it was without lifting my gaze. Morgan walked in, hanging on to the arm of my other least favorite person, T.C. I rolled my eyes and thanked God that they had sat on the other side of the room. Once the teacher came in, he glanced around the class and frowned.

“Ms. Rhinehart, are you supposed to be in this class?” Mr. Jeno asked Morgan, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Sorry, professor. I totally forgot I don’t have your class.” She glanced at him with a sickly sweet smile and winked.

She got up and kissed T.C. on the cheek, and left out of the room. I spotted T.C. shaking his head as he pulled out a pen. If he hadn't treated me like he had at his party, I’m pretty sure we could have been friends. But no, he had to be precisely like Morgan and her little crew of spoiled brats.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want for anything, but I don’t act like I’m too good for certain people. Well, other than T.C, and I don’t wish to ever speak or be near him ever again.

“Mr. Churchhill, why don't you come up here and introduce yourself to the class,” Mr. Jeno suggested as he sat on the corner of his desk.

T.C. nodded and then stood, walking to the front of the class. He glanced around at the students, noticing me when he got to my side of the room. A brief moment of shock crossed his features before they became stoic; he ran his hand through hair before he chuckled. “Well, my name is T.C. I'm new here, of course; I like baseball and soccer and plan to try out for both of them. I hope to make this year better than when it started.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to reading the problems in my calculus book and writing them down. T.C. had gone back to his seat, and then Mr. Jeno came to the front of the room and began to teach the lesson. For the next hour, I took notes and answered questions. It seemed that T.C. was also answering the questions; I had not expected that he was that smart. The bell rang, letting us know that it was time to change classes. I gathered everything up and made my way out the door before anyone. Quickly making my way to my next class, I hoped that T.C. was not in it as well. When I got to the English room, I realized that all but one seat was full. Relief filled me, knowing that he would not be in this class with me at least.

The following two classes passed without T.C. being in the same classes with me, for which I was grateful. I made my way back to my locker to get rid of my books and meet back up with my best friends, Chloe and Elizabeth. They were already there talking to each other when they saw me they smiled and waved cheerily.

“O.M.G. Girl, I thought I was going to go crazy! Morgan was in all three of my classes!” Chloe complained as I opened my locker.

“Yeah, the class that I had with both of them was crazy. T.C. was in our second block class with her, and I swear every time that the teacher turned around, they were sucking face,” Elizabeth carried on from Chloe’s statement.

We walked down the hall to the cafeteria hall. We all ordered our food and strolled over to our table with our trays. Chloe was telling us about how her first block was and how Alex was flirting with her. I laughed at her as I stuffed my face with the pasta.

“Hey, girl, look who decided to come to the cafeteria,” Elizabeth nudged me with her elbow and nodded to the doors.

Glancing up to the doors, I spotted him with her. I rolled my eyes as Morgan clung to T.C. Alex was in their little group talking with T.C. as they made their way through the ordering line. When they got to the end, Morgan handed T.C. her tray as she walked in front of him and the group. His expression about made me spit out my drink. She spotted me watching her and the group and smirked, coming over to my table.

“What are you staring at, b***h?” Morgan questioned me as she stood in front of the table.

“Staring at you, slut,” I answered her with a shrug, c*****g my eyebrow. That was probably the only time I’ve felt confident enough to say something like that. So I decided to smirk back at her.

“You b***h!” Morgan exclaimed as she leaned over the table, flipping my tray in my lap.

I gasped and jumped back, trying to keep as much as the pasta sauce off of my uniform. I looked up at her to see her laughing. Chloe and Elizabeth got up from the table, bringing me with them. I was so mad that tears were running down my cheeks.

“Look, everyone, I made miss sunshine cry!” Morgan exclaimed, laughing more as she pointed and glanced around her little group of friends.

“You’ll pay for this, Morgan!” I declared, walking past her group as they all laughed. Chloe, Elizabeth, and I went to the school assistant principal, letting her know what had happened. She gave me some spot cleaner to remove as much of the red stain out of my beige skirt and white shirt.

“Well, Miss Emerson, how did this all start?” the assistant principal asked me, pulling a piece of paper from her drawer.

“I was eating in the cafeteria, and I was just watching the group walk past. When Morgan wanted to make it a big deal and come over to my table. She called me a b***h while she asked what I was staring at, and then I told her, you. She got mad and flipped my tray into my lap,” I explained to her, my friends nodding, agreeing with me.

She sat there writing down all the information before getting up and walking to her door, “ok, well, I’ll view the cameras, and I’ll bring Miss Rhinehart in to talk with her. The receptionist will give you each a pass to return back to your classes.”

We all filed out, got our passes, and made our way to class. We all had a band this period; going to our lockers, we grabbed our instruments heading into the classroom. We gave the band director our little slips of paper and sat down in our seats. We all three played the flutes, but I also played piccolo when the director needed the instrument's sound.

Band class went on without a hitch, and the rest of the afternoon classes likewise was uneventful. Grabbing my backpack and stuffing all my books in it, I said goodbye to Chloe and Elizabeth and made my way to the soccer team’s locker rooms. Today was the first day of tryouts, and I was a little nervous; the freshman girls coming up played awesomely. So I was hoping all the practice that I had done over the summer had paid off.

***

T.C.

Lunch was a disaster. When Morgan went up to Aurora’s table, I could tell something terrible was going to happen, and f**k if it didn’t. I stood there like a dumbass, watching everything unfold. When Aurora and her friends left the lunchroom, Morgan went and sat down at a table, and we all followed her. What is wrong with me? I've never been a follower, yet I have followed this girl ever since she came up to me at my party.

After lunch, I didn’t have any more classes with Aurora, but I did have them with Morgan, which drove me insane. I could not concentrate on the teachers’ teaching because she always sent me notes or tapped me on the shoulder. When the classes were over, I walked to my locker, slowing my pace when I spotted Aurora at hers. I stood by as she finished and left the locker, walking down the hall to the back fields to the soccer fields. I hurried to mine, pulling books out and placing them in my backpack. I slung it over my shoulder and hurried on my way to the fields since the boy's team was having their tryouts this evening as well.

When I got to the field, I climbed the bleachers since most of the boy’s team was there, and so was Alex. I sat down beside him, watching as the girls did tryouts. I spotted Aurora defending the goalie box; she was outstanding for a short girl.

“So, T.C., what's up with you and Morgan? Are you two a thing?” Alex asked me.

Without looking at him, I shrugged and answered him, “No, not really. She’s more of a fling.”

“Oh. Well, she's telling any person that will listen to her that you two are together,” Alex laughed.

I snorted, shaking my head; this girl was going to f**k over my chances of taking over Matt’s company. I had to figure out a way to make her leave me alone. The team and I continued watching the girls try out until the coach came to gather us. He led us all to the other side of the field to begin tryouts. I was always extraordinarily adept at running, so I knew which position I wanted to try out for.

We all had a turn to feel out the other positions, and I was quite skilled at goalie. By the time I came to try forward out, the girl's coach had come up to ours talking with him. When they were finished, he blew his whistle and shouted, “Alright, you guys, we are going to scrimmage the girls. Keep your positions as of now as this is where we are going to start the scrimmage.” We all nodded, standing in our positions, waiting for the girls to reach their positions.

We scrimmaged with them for about fifteen minutes; each time I tried to run past the defense, Aurora would be there directing them. She was like a captain commanding her troops. I passed the ball to Alex and ran through the defensive line, Alex passed the ball back to me, and I ran to the goalie box and Aurora. She came out and ran to me; I chuckled. What the f**k was she doing. She was leaving her net open for me to score. Aurora smirked at me, and that's when I realized she was coming right for me. She collided with me, knocking me down. I was dazed as she picked up the ball and threw it past her sweeper. I got to my knees just as one of the girls forwards made the goal.

***

Getting out of the showers, I dried my hair as I walked to the lockers to change back into my uniform. I had a towel wrapped around my waist. I pulled out my cell to text Laura and realized that Morgan had spam texted me. I rolled my eyes and opened the texts between Laura and me.

Hey, I’ve just got finished with practice and done with showers. I will be home in a few minutes.

I dropped the towel to my feet and pulled on my boxers, then my pants. I sprayed some deodorant on and then slipped on my shirt and vest. I grabbed my soccer bag and backpack walking out of the locker room to my car. I entered my vehicle and pressed the start button; it came to life with a purr. I will be hurting tomorrow, that’s for sure. My ribs were already bruising from her hit. Throwing the vehicle in reverse, I backed out of the parking spot.

Ok, just be careful, and no texting and driving! ?

I shook my head with a smile as I headed to the house.

Once I got to the house, I pressed the garage opener and pulled into my spot in the garage. Grabbing my bags, I got out of the car and went inside. Something delicious was cooking in the kitchen, and it made my stomach rumble. I made my way to the kitchen to find Laura, Matt, and Emi sitting at the bar with another man. I sat the bags down and stood there.

Matt glanced over his shoulder and then smiled, motioning for me to join them. I stepped forward to the bar taking a seat beside him. “James, I’d like to introduce you to Tom. Tom, this is James, your uncle; he retains his own businesses.”

James reached out his hand, and I took it firmly, shaking his hand. He chuckled as we released our hands. “Nice grip you have there, boy. You are going to make a great CEO; I just know it.”

I smirked at him, then turned to Laura; meeting her gaze, she grinned at me. “I’m going to head to my room. I have a lot of homework to do.”

“Ok, I'll call you down when dinner is finished,” Laura replied.

I nodded, placed a kiss on Emi’s head, grabbed my bags, and made my way up the stairs to my room. I put my bag beside my computer desk and then pulled out all my books to start my homework. I had never had this much homework before at public schools, but when I had to take the entrance exam to be accepted into Oceanside, I was stunned that I made topmost in my grade. So I was placed in the advanced classes. That was why I was in the Calculus class with Aurora. I wonder if I’ll be in any other classes with her. I know that there are two teams of advanced courses. So I could or could not have any more classes with her.

Oh well, I need to get this s**t done so that I don't have to worry about it in a couple of days. I will have a new set of classes tomorrow to deal with. I sighed and began getting the work done.