Wintercrest Academy

What doesn't kill you today . . .

Bren feels a little less hot and bothered. Kaia was quiet all day yesterday. Guess he did a good thing by recording her and sending the video to his trusted best bud. Let’s see how much brain she has left to show off. He meets briefly with Coach before AP Bio to re-schedule race practice and afterwards, he goes to class, kicks his right leg onto his left knee and reclines in his seat. Kaia isn’t there yet. Shocking, she’s always early. The left corner of his lips tug into a smirk, looks like they really made her come undone.

           When she enters, her braids framing her small face and spilling over her shoulders and back, he stares at her. Look at me, you little rat. Look. And she’s either telepathic or can feel his eyes on her, because she actually looks at him. He makes sure to keep his expression cold and confident, setting his jaw tight as his lips become a straight line. He has that look, the one his Mum says make him look “brazen and brutal” at the same time.

           Kaia holds his stare for a moment, and when someone brushes her shoulder so hard, she almost falls over, he smirks. She breaks eye contact first and his smirk deepens.

           “Gotcha,” he mutters, his voice heavy and low. Mr Ariel comes in and class starts. Kaia remains quiet and Bren does a full choreography of glee in his head. His reign is returning again. All hail King Brennon! Even though Mr Ariel prompted Kaia to contribute a few times, freaking weird, class goes in his favour till the end.

           “Bren, Kaia, wait behind please,” Mr Ariel says and Bren internally hugs Mr Ariel for calling his name first. No, it’s not irrelevant. It matters very much, thank you!

           “Mr Ariel,” Principal Jan’s secretaryeceptionist hollers from the doorway. “The staff from MIT is at the Principal’s office. She wants to meet you.”

           “Already? I’d be right there, Carla. Thank you.” She leaves and he turns on his heels to address Bren and Kaia. “Sorry, guys. I have to run but I’d be back as soon as I can. If you have something urgent to do, you can go. There’s an important article I need to show you two and I’d do my best to be back soon.” He pats Kaia’s shoulder casually, like they’re friends and Bren grunts. That was their thing. Mr Ariel only patted his shoulder. Why was he doing that to freaking Kaia?! Am I being petty? No way!

           “Stop staring,” Kaia’s voice yanks him out of his head. He hadn’t realized he was actually staring at the spot on her shoulders Mr Ariel had touched. Embarrassment floods his body, causing a faint red flush on his high cheekbones.

           He snorts, shaking away his flush feelings and putting on his cold confidence. “Why would I stare at you?”

           He sees Kaia grimace a little at his words and it makes him pleased. “Because you like what you see. A beautiful, brilliant, delivery girl. Awesome, aren’t I?”

           Is that, is that a smirk on her face? That knocks him off his high horses. She’s not supposed to be snarky. She’s supposed to be silent, defeated, like a wounded pup! Who the heck told her she’s beautiful? Who lied to the poor girl? No way she’s beautiful, with her small face, and her big puppy eyes, and her thick, cloud of hair he actually imagined touching once (just once!) before she put it in braids. And those freaking dimples! Dimples are an abnormality of the zygomaticus major. Did she even know that? Of course, she will. Freaking big brain.

           She breezes past him and takes a seat. He notices her hips and thighs then. Visibly broad and well-rounded through her skirt for such a small body. He feels heat in his cheeks and wills his eyes to look away from her lower body. What the heck did I just do? He leans on the desk opposite her and folds his arms, an addition to his ‘coolness and composure.’

           “You think highly of yourself. Have you considered delivering food and drinks for Homecoming? I’d give you a huge tip to make your work count.” Not something he’d usually say, this is totally Shira’s way of speech, but she’s too bold right now and he hates it.

           She smiles, so freaking big and bright and—nope, not beautiful. Not beautiful at all. Heck, he gets sucked into that dimple on her left cheek. What the heck is going on with me?!

           “That statement is so yesterday. If you’re trying to hurt me, you’d have to do better. Plus, the way you’re staring at me is a little different than you always do. Do you want to ask me to go to Homecoming with you?”

           All the air in Bren’s lungs rush out of his nose at once and he wheezes. “Heaven forbid.” His grandmother’s catchphrase spills out of his mouth.

           “Amen,” Kaia says and throws on her headphones. She’s shutting me out? Bren snorts as she reads through some book, totally ignoring him. He texts Shira. Mission failed. They didn’t subdue Kaia. They only made her stronger.

                                                           ****

           Imogen has to be the most annoying person EVER. Not only did she caption the headline of the school paper, “Scholarship Kid delivers food to support herself,” but she ambushed Kaia in the girl’s bathroom, asking her to give a statement on the difficulties she faces everyday juggling food delivery and academics. Kaia—already pissed at the #deliverygirlatWA posters she found on her locker—shoved her aside and threw her paper into the trashcan.

           The yearly Metleys Junior Science Competition is a huge deal. The Metleys Junior Science Competition is a huger deal. And Mr Ariel wants Bren and Kaia to represent Wintercrest this year. Kaia is floored, amazed, elated, every other adjective that describes excitement is the exact way Kaia feels right now. She is so giddy; she could as well be a helium balloon ready to float in the air.

           “Congratulations, little K,” Adan high fives her as they walk to the bus station. He didn’t drive to school today and insisted on taking the bus with Kaia till she gets to Big K’s.

           “Thank you. Arggghhhhhh! I’m so happy. Oh my goodness. I have to study hard for this. We have to win this. The Metleys must come to Wintercrest this year!” she practically hops, walking be damned.

           Adan chuckles, stuffing his hands back into his pocket. “It’d come to Wintercrest this year. You and Bren are like, crazy smart.”

           Kaia sighs at the mention of Bren. “You should have seen his face when Mr Ariel told us about it. He looked excited at first, but then he said he wanted to enter the competition alone. That we don’t need to do it together. Can you imagine?”

           Adan hums. “I think Love’s right. He feels threatened by you. And he’s been looking forward to doing this since his freshman year. I think though, that you two have to enter the competition together. You’re definitely going to kill it.”

           Kaia gives him a small smile. “Thanks, Adan.” The competition is in three weeks, immediately after Homecoming which means marathon studying, but she’s so ready for it! “It’d look so great on my college app. ‘Participant and Awardee of The Metleys Junior Science Competition.’ Harvard would love that!”

           “Harvard. They’d love you, Dr Mahoe.” Adan looks down at her and they smile. They trade unplanned information about themselves sometimes. Adan knows that Kaia wants to go to Harvard and study a pre-med course, then continue at Harvard’s medical school. He knows that Keanu is her only sibling and she doesn’t like to speak about her mum. She tenses whenever her mother comes up in conversations. Kaia knows that Adan’s father is a marketing manager and his mother has a clothing line. He has a little sister Ava and wants to study Robotics at MIT. He’s a member of the Robotics club at school.

           “I hope I get in. It’d really be a dream come true. That’s the only reason I was so excited about Wintercrest in the first place. My chances of getting in to Harvard have quadrupled because I go here. Despite the load of crap they’re throwing at me, I’d survive.”

           They walk in comfortable silence till they get to the bus station and into the bus. “Hey, do you have free time? I know you’re preparing for your SAT next month and you’re Kaia, you study even though you don’t need to,” Kaia rolls her eyes at that. “but do you want to . . .maybe see outside school? We could go for ice-cream, or see a movie or something like that.”

           Kaia giggles, mostly because Adan looks all hesitant and nervous, which is a completely different version of the President Adan she’s used to. “Sure, student leader. I’d be honoured to have ice-cream with you.” She ruffles his hair and he looks away like a shy child. “Oh my goodness.” She sits straight and leans into him. “Adan, are you blushing because we’re going to get ice-cream?”

           He makes a humph sound. “No. I’m not blushing.”

           Kaia, revelling in this moment of teasing grabs his face with her two hands and turns him forcefully to face her. “Look! Council President is blushing.”

           “You’re embarrassing me!” Adan says through his teeth, scanning the bus from the corners of his eyes to make sure no one is watching.

           “I’m so telling Charlie and Love. They’d tease you forever.” Kaia laughs.

           “Don’t you dare!”

           They laugh and tease each other like that till they get to Big K’s. Kaia is awfully bright for the rest of the day and Diane and Cliché tease her about Adan. “He has to be the reason you’re smiling like a sheep,” they say. Far from it. Well, of course, Adan makes her happy, but The Metleys, it’s the best thing she’s heard all week. And she already knows, that she’d go to bed smiling tonight.