"Where is it? Where is it?" my aunt frantically muttered, running around the kitchen.

"It's on—"

"I've checked my bedroom, the kitchen cabinets, the coffee table—"

In her haste to find her glasses, my aunt tossed an apron onto my head. I wrinkled my freckled nose in distaste and plucked it off my curls.

"Crap! I don't know where else to—"

"They're on your head, Jo," I said loudly, watching as she came to an abrupt spot.

My aunt Jo turned to face me and slowly plucked her eyeglasses off of her brown box braids.

"You could've just led with that, Rose!" she flailed her hands incredulously.

I gaped at her. "I did... you weren't listening."

"Whatever. Put on your shoes, missy. You know, I'm gonna be late on my first day at work because of you," she hurriedly buttoned her suit and left the kitchen.

"And I'm gonna be late on my first day of junior year because of you," I retorted with a sigh.

I dragged myself away from the granite kitchen island, walking through the plain hallway of our new house. Maneuvering my way past the cardboard boxes that needed unpacking, I came to a stop in front of Jo at the main door.

"How do I look?" She puckered her red lips. Her long braids framed her perfect, dark-skinned face.

"Pretty," I smiled.

"Thought so," she winked, handing me my backpack and opening the front door.

I smiled at her predictable response and followed her out the door. My aunt felt more like a sister than a parental figure. She was only about ten years older than me. When she took me in she'd been forced to grow up pretty quickly. I guess it was the reason she was still so immature.

We hopped into her white, old-fashioned Honda, and my aunt instantly sped off.

"My gosh, I love this town," she gushed. "Burnsley. It sounds perfect."

I glanced out of the window to see what she was talking about. Kids running around chasing each other, moms flowering their front gardens, adults walking their pets... I could see the allure to it. Nothing I hadn't seen before though.

"This place is gonna be different. I can feel it."

I said nothing and leant back. Never heard that one.

Yawning, I fluttered my eyes shut. "Wake me up when we get to school."

"Nuh uh missy," she lightly slapped my arm. "It was your choice to stay out late. I told you to be back before sunset. And what do you do? Come home at nearly midnight! You're lucky I love you, otherwise—"

"Alright, I get it," I rolled my hazel eyes.

"You better," Jo confirmed in a heartbeat.

"You're evil."

"Thank you."

Leave it to Jo to take that as a compliment. I almost said something, but was interrupted when she pulled to a screeching halt.

"Get out," she said. I almost frowned, thinking she was kicking me out of her car. Though, she quickly added, "we're here."

I glanced out of the window and towards the giant building that I would now call my school. Probably not for long.

"Burnsley High," I read the giant letters aloud. "Shocker."

A normal person would probably be a little more nervous about something like this, but I've been transferring schools my whole life. This wasn't my first rodeo. Hopping out of Jo's car, I smoothed out my plain, fitted sweater and turned to say goodbye. However, she suspiciously stared me up and down.

"Are those my pants?"

I glanced down at the pair of jeans I wore and sheepishly smiled. "Maybe?"

"You little thief!" she gasped. "Take them off."

"And walk around school bottomless?" I shook my head. "You are out of your mind."

"Jokes on you, I borrowed your deodorant today," Jo retorted.

My hazel eyes bulged. "I hate it when you do tha–"

"Bye, love you!" Jo blew me a kiss and sped off. She nearly crashed into a car on her way out of the parking lot, and a series honks followed after her.

"Love you too," I muttered, shaking my head at my crazy aunt.

I walked closer to the school and squinted at the blinding sun. From the lack of people around, I quick realized I was late. Everyone was probably already in class.

Once I got closer, I realized that there was a small herd of boys hanging in front of the grand doors. I sighed and walked in their direction, though I paused when I caught a whiff of the putrid smell emitting from their group. Smoke.

"Just mind your business and look straight ahead," I muttered to myself, resuming my hurried walk.

I wondered why they were smoking on school grounds in broad daylight. Couldn't they at least be subtle? What if they got caught? Nonetheless, I didn't dare ask. When I approached the group of upperclassmen, they didn't notice me at first.

"Excuse me," I said. Their conversation haltered and they instantly began to snicker, looking at one another. One of them, the tallest one, stepped forward and handed his cigarette to one of the guys. He blocked my path. My breath hitched at the sight of his unforgettable face. It was the same guy I'd bumped into last night. Though, he sported an enormous purple bruise around his eye. At least there wasn't any blood on his shirt like yesterday.

Surprise flickered across the guy's face, but it was so quick that I wasn't sure if I saw it. Nonetheless, it was clear he recognized me when he coyly asked, "back for more, Rose?"

After a moment, his group of friends began to make animalistic noises of approval. One howled in laughter, another patted his shoulder in admiration.

What a jerk. I scowled at his dirty insinuation and pushed past the group, as I was already late and running on thin patience. I could tell they were surprised by the strength of my push because I was a rather short girl, and they were, well, giants. One of them even stumbled backwards. I shamelessly grinned and walked into the school.

"Collect your girl, Antonio," I could hear one of them faintly jeer.

A scowl quickly decorated my face and I turned around to give them a piece of my mind. I wasn't even able to take a step before the stranger from last night grasped onto my upper arm and pulled me through the front foyer. Catcalls and cheers followed after us from his friends. He didn't stop leading me away until we were in a secluded hallway, where nothing could be heard except our footsteps and breaths.

"I'm not your girl, Antonio," I sneered his name, ripping my arm away from his hold.

"I know that," he snapped exasperatedly, turning around to face me. I got a brief smell of his enthralling, musky scent and had to refrain from deeply inhaling.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" I mocked.

He ignored that and warily surveyed me with hooded eyes. "What are you even doing here? Did you follow me or something?"

"Follow you?" I repeated with a laugh of disbelief. "You're insane. I go to school here."

"Not true," Antonio shook his head. "I would've recognized a girl like you."

My lips twitched at the indirect compliment.

"I'm new. Just moved to this town a few days ago," I replied honestly. "And thanks to you, I've already gained a reputation as a skank."

He slightly smiled, causing me to cross my arms in irritation.

"Not funny," I snapped.

"Alright, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It came out wrong. I'll clear it up with the guys. They're probably too stoned to remember anyways."

"Stoned at 8 in the morning. How nice," I flashed him a smile before turning on my heel.

"Is that sarcasm I detect, Flower?" He called out after me.

Flower? What a strange nickname...

I looked back at him only to roll my eyes, but the lazy grin on his face only widened.

I barely knew anything about Antonio. From the brief glimpses, I already gathered that he smokes at school, gets in fights, and is overall conceited. Thus, I was able to draw my assumptions pretty quickly. Though, there was always more to things than what reached the eye. I, of all people, understood that more than anyone.

• • •