Title: The Best Homework Excuse Ever
Rating: PG-13, I guess. Not much language.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the Matrix trilogy, the canon characters, story or anything related. I can only wish that I did. I make no profit from this ¡V I am merely exercising my writing skills for the reading pleasure of readers. However, I own this story. I own the character Chase, and Lady Delerith owns Ari.
Author's notes: Be nice if you review, and please do! This is my first fanfiction, so I am new to this, but I'm kind of sensitive to heavy criticism. I wrote this with much influence from my good friend Lady Delerith, so I thank her for helping this to become the first story I have ever finished. I also thank Alina for being the first to read it. ˆº Solia
Lady Delerith's Author Note: Hey all. This is Lady Delerith and although all the master mind of the writing was all Solia's doing, good job, I helped with the plot. Please review because it would mean a lot to us. Also updates will be coming very, very soon so keep looking. It can only get better
THE BEST HOMEWORK EXCUSE EVER: Chapter one
The girl stared at her reflection in the antique mirror that hung on her wall. She still wasn't sure whom it was staring back at her. That girl, herself, with the chest-length dark brown hair and black eyes; who was she? Did that face belong to Sophie Evans, fourteen-year-old mathematics extraordinaire, well-behaved student, dutiful daughter and bickering sister of three? Or was that Chase, illegal hacker, quiet individual, bewildered member of this somehow disbelieved society?
With a sigh, she gave up. She still wasn't sure, but she'd have to decide sooner or later. More than likely sooner than later, though. The longer she remained both Chase and Sophie the further she risked legal trouble and danger to her family. She grabbed her brush and dragged it through her hair roughly. Noticing that this caused crackly friction, she ran it through again, softer. She had to look at least a little presentable if she was going to fit in at Saint Michael's Christian Academy for Girls. She glanced down at her uniform, short, pleated black skirt, white blouse, short black tie, high white socks, polished black shoes. She looked like a complete snob. But that was the school uniform. Besides that, they were her favourite colours.
Chase, that was what she was calling herself today, although she should probably be Sophie, stood back and admired her dead straight hair in the full-length mirror. She looked good now that her hair wasn't a tangled mess. She carefully placed her black headband on top, fitting it behind her ears.
She had only gotten into SMCAG because of her mathematics and technology skills. Her twin sister, Carrie, was a true scientist, historian, mathematician, and she was a top English student. Chase was smart in all of those areas; she just chose to focus entirely on her computing and hacking. Sometimes it seemed like the only way to learn anything was to break the law.
"Sophie, are you done? Mum said we're going in five minutes,¨ Carrie said, hurrying into the room, collecting books. Her dark hair was up in a strict but fashionable ponytail because she knew that her sister would have her hair out. They hated being too similar.
Today was the first day of grade ten for the twins. They'd attended the snotty private school for two years now, and Carrie loved it. Chase only liked the maths and technology clubs, even though nobody else at the entire school thought along the same lines as her.
"Nearly, ¨ Chase answered serenely, collecting her school things and packing them into her bag at a much more leisurely pace. To most, she seemed like a dreamer, floating around only half-paying attention to what was happening around her. Truthfully, Chase knew exactly what was happening in her world, she just tried to ignore it, because it annoyed her. It annoyed her that she didn't know exactly what it was that annoyed her. Something wasn't quite right about the world, she just couldn't quite put her finger on what that small error was. Nobody else seemed to notice the little flaws that Chase could see everyday.
"Move it! ¨ Carrie snapped, slinging her stylish black bag over her shoulder. Chase shot her a nasty look and copied her action. She wasn't slow, she was much more quick-witted than any of her three sisters.
"Girls! I'm going now! ¨ Marilyn Evans, better known in this household as Mum, called down the hall. Chase followed her sister out of their bedroom, half-amusedly listening to the frantic searching of Keira, their sister in grade twelve.
" Mum! I can't find my copy of Sporting Events of the Twentieth Century,¨ she screeched, rushing out of her room, brushing her hair hurriedly and straightening her tie. Mum was always well dressed. She worked in a boutique.
"Well, I haven't got it! ¨ Mum snapped, collecting the car keys. "Maybe your sisters borrowed it?¨
"Carrie? Sophie?¨ Keira demanded. Carrie gave her a sour look as she elegantly tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"What would I want with your stupid sport book? ¨ she asked snootily. Chase shook her head. She usually would have come up with a bickering, tarty comment to throw at her older sister, but not this time. She felt kind of sorry for Keira, in a completely academic family, she had to be born with a great love of sport and exercise. She was sort of left out because of that, particularly by Carrie, Mum and their other sister, Sadie. But Chase was the real outcast, the 'weird' child with all the funny ideals and strange comments and questions about the world.
"Which one of you two little bitches took it? ¨ Keira growled. Chase glared at her, all sympathy gone.
"We said we don't have it,¨ she retorted, following Carrie down the hall to the front door. "Besides, they never make you do text book work on the first day back.¨
"Mum!¨ Keira howled. "I can't find it!¨
"Go without it,¨ Carrie said, stepping out the front door. Chase followed, getting into the red car beside her.
"Keira, get in here now!¨ Mum shouted, starting the engine. The door opened, and Sadie, the thirteen-year-old daughter, came running out, securing her piggy-tails.
'You forgot about me,¨ she complained, sounding hurt. "Mum, you said you' d curl my hair for my first day. ¨ She tried to twist a limp, inexpertly curled ringlet around her finger, but it didn't work. Sighing, she tightened the hair ties holding her two bottom-of-ribs-length sandy brown pigtails.
"Poor Sadie, first day at high school,¨ Carrie said scathingly, leaning over Chase to sneer at her younger sister. The young girl rolled her eyes in a most pronounced way.
"Yeah, what a pity, now you'll have to put up with me telling all your school friends about your most embarrassing moments,¨ she shot back.
"I still can't understand how you even got a place at SMCAG,¨ Carrie said nastily as Keira grudgingly got into the front passenger seat and slammed the door. She said it as Smacag.
"Because I'm smart,¨ Sadie said smugly.
"No, you' re a little dumb ass,¨ Keira snapped, glaring at her in the mirror. You only got in because you have three sisters there who get good marks, so they hope that you'll live up to my reputation.¨
"Yours? ¨ Chase asked, getting annoyed. "Yeah, I'm sure the principal was really hoping for another sports freak when she sent the enrolment forms for Sade.¨
"The headmistress was probably hoping for another Carrie Evans,¨ Chase's twin said brightly.
"Sure.¨
"Doubt it,¨ Chase said just loud enough for Carrie to hear.
"Or maybe, just maybe, the all-wonderful, all-Carrie-loving principal wanted Sadie for Sadie,¨ the youngest girl grumbled. Mum ignored her daughters' bickering for the entire fifteen-minute trip to the school. She was well practised.
"Here we are,¨ she announced loudly as she pulled up beside the school gate. She fished into her purse, pulling a few notes out. "Keira, here you go, honey, have fun. Your last year!¨ She gave her oldest daughter a quick kiss on the cheek as Keira got out of the car, a five- dollar note in her hand to spend at the expensive cafeteria. "Carrie, Sophie, five each for you, darlings.¨ She smiled lovingly at Carrie. Chase was slightly disappointed, as usual, that the close-mother- daughter smile didn't quite carry over to her. "Remember, girls, if you see Sadie wandering around, lost, help her find her way, would you?¨ Mum continued, handing another five dollars to Sadie.
"Yep, sure,¨ Chase said in unison with Carrie as she got out of the car, thinking privately that if she did see Sadie wanting to find room 20, she would innocently direct her to room 72.
"Don't go yet, girls! ¨ Mum said quickly. With a sigh, Chase and Carrie stopped in their getaway-from-Mum-and-showing-Sadie-around.
"Hurry, up, Sade,¨ Carrie said grumpily.
" Sophie and Carrie will take care of you, okay, darling? If you get lost, just ask them. They'll look after you. ¨ Sadie slowly got out of the car, dragging her bag, identical to Chase, Carrie and Keira's. She looked like she didn't honestly believe what their mother had just told her, but she didn't say anything. She just smiled vaguely and nodded agreeably.
"Okay, sure, Mum, see you at three-thirty!¨ she called, shutting the door, still smiling brightly. She waved, turning around to walk towards the school building with her sisters. As soon as their mother couldn't see her face, she dropped the false smile and rolled her eyes. "Man, she can talk.¨
"You're telling us,¨ Chase said, slinging her bag over shoulder more comfortably. "And don't you even think about coming up to us while we're talking to our friends to whine about being lost. You won't be welcome.¨
"I wouldn't bother hanging out with you guys would just ruin my fresh reputation.¨ Sadie looked around as they walked up the front walk. "I wonder if Alyssa's here yet? ¨ she pondered aloud. Alyssa Larson was the only girl from her primary school that had been accepted into SMCAG.
"Oh, look, there's Sarah-Jane! ¨ Carrie said with delight upon spotting her best friend. Leaving Chase's side, she bolted over to Sarah and embraced her in a friendly hug, demanding, "How was Switzerland? Tell me everything! ¨
"Where're your fabled friends?¨ Sadie asked evilly to Chase. Her older sister nodded at a group of girls standing beside the doors of the building, waving cheerily.
"Over there. Do you have any friends yet, Sade?¨ she asked innocently. The younger girl narrowed her eyes. Chase ignored her as she walked up to her friends.
"Sophie!¨ Jasmine Green screamed, bolting down the ornamental stairs. Her long red ringlets flew out behind her, as usual. "Sophie! Sofe! How was your holiday?¨ Jasmine stopped in front of Chase, beaming. The girl was one of her best friends, along with Rayleigh and, yes, Carrie, but she could be a little over-the-top.
"Hi, Jazz,¨ she said with a quick smile. Jasmine shot a kind smile at Sadie.
"First day?¨ she asked nicely. Sadie nodded, "Come and meet everyone.¨
"Nah, leave her to survive on her own. We all had to,¨ Chase insisted. But she followed overly nice Jasmine to the group, walking beside her as-of-yet- not-ditched little sister.
"Morning, Sophie. Nice holiday?¨ Rayleigh Ether said casually, weaving her black plaits together with expert skill. Chase nodded with a warmer smile than she would give most others.
All of these girls were her good friends, Jasmine and Rayleigh in particular. But they were all the same as everyone else in the world; happy. Happy with a mistaken world, unable to see the little faults Chase spent her life noticing. Not that that was bad; they were the greatest people to hang around. Of course, it would be nice to meet someone else in this crazy world that at least had the same ability to think outside the square.
"Hey, guys, this is Sadie, Sophie's little sister! ¨ Jasmine said bouncily. Rayleigh, Anne, Linda, Caroline and Jennifer smiled or waved at Sadie.
"Do you know the way to the year eight's meeting room?¨ Jasmine asked Sadie in a motherly, kind voice. Sadie shook her head. "Cool. I'll show you. Bye, guys." With a wave, she was gone, leading Sadie off into the building.
"Do you think she'll lose her for me?¨ Chase asked.
"Jasmine? No way, ¨ Linda said, slapping Anne's hand, "Stop it! ¨
"What? ¨ Anne asked guiltily. She had been miserably poking at her plump stomach, not that she was fat. She just worried a lot, and ate to quench her nerves, and so on. She was losing weight now that she had joined a sport team, but she didn't seem to realise that.
"Don't, ¨ Linda said, flicking her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. She, Caroline and a girl called Tina were the three girls who were friends with both Evans twins, and held the two groups together. At that moment, Carrie followed Sarah-Jane and some other girl over and seated herself on the stone steps beside Linda, annoyed that she didn't have her friend's undivided attention.
"Hey,¨ Sarah said. She indicated the other girl. "This is Kye Saunders. She's new this year. ¨
Everyone smiled and/or waved at the mahogany-haired girl. Chase gave Kye a quick glance. She found her eyes dart back. Kye studied her with her lavender eyes, and Chase felt stunned. Unlike everybody else in this world, this girl's eyes held the same bewildered lost expression as her own.
She can see the flaws, Chase realised. She had finally met another person who could see the mistakes of this world. Another person who didn't quite believe the world around her. The first person Chase had ever met like herself. The first of so many.
"Hi,¨ she managed. She didn't want to be staring at Kye like a queer, and she didn't want to let on to the others that they were alike. They wouldn't understand.
"I'm Kye,¨ the new girl said, not looking at anyone else. Like Chase, she understood the instant kinship between them.
"My name's Sophie,¨ Chase said finally. Kye at last turned her intense lavender gaze to the others. She smiled casually at them, introducing herself.
"That's Rayleigh, Linda, Sarah, and Jenny,¨ Caroline said immediately, taking charge, pointing at each girl as she said their names. "This is Anne, and this is Carrie.¨
"Twins,¨ Kye remarked, studying Carrie quickly. She seemed surprised and disappointed to see that she wasn't the same as Chase.
"Yep, unfortunately,¨ Carrie said brightly.
"Oh, and that's Jasmine,¨ Caroline added, pointing at the redhead practically bouncing towards them, Sadie in tow. They were both laughing.
"Good morning!¨ Jasmine said cheerfully, beaming at Kye.
"Kye's new,¨ Carrie said. Jasmine beamed again.
"I'm Jasmine!¨ she said, dropping down onto the steps beside Anne. "Sade, sit next to me,¨ she added, shuffling over to make room for Chase and Carrie' s little sister. Both twins groaned loudly.
"You brought her back!¨ Carrie complained, "Why didn't you leave her wherever you took her?¨
"Her friend isn't here yet,¨ Jasmine said indignantly, sounding offended. Sadie didn't bother sitting down, the bell rang inside the building and out, signaling the start of the school year. The majority of the group groaned.
"Great. A whole year ahead of me in a snobby school, ¨ Kye said moodily, following Sarah inside.
"Where did she transfer from?¨ Chase asked her sister as they shuffled inside through the mass of girls trying to all get inside the huge building through the front doors.
"Who knows?¨ Carrie shrugged. "She didn't even look at me until she realised that I was your identical twin.¨ Being the outgoing twin, she wasn't used to coming second.
" Gee, sorry about that,¨ Chase said, rolling her eyes. She silently watched Sadie jogging to keep up with Jasmine, then turned back to her twin. "I guess it must be my fault that we're twins, then, since I was born after you.¨
"Exactly,¨ Carrie said vaguely, listening more to Linda laughing lightly about something Jennifer's brother did over the holidays.
" I swear, I thought Aunt Lulu was going to kill Jordan when she' d seen what he had done!¨ Jenny said. "I mean, she even chased him all over the lawn!"
Chase glanced back at the girls behind her when she heard the word chased. She always seemed to respond to it now.
"I can't wait to start my new Geography class,¨ Anne gushed. "I so hope I got Mr. Dane¨
"Did you get into that extra-curricular art class?¨ Caroline asked Rayleigh, leaning over her shoulder so that her strawberry waves fell over her friend's book. "Oh, that's not your new timetable, is it, Ray?¨
"No. I got it here,¨ Rayleigh said, fishing it out of her bag. "You have to go to admin this year to get it. I got mine this morning when I got here.¨ The entire group of year ten girls crowded around her to try and see her new classes.
"You got Mr Dane, lucky cow,¡¨ Anne said enviously. Kye didn't bother looking; it wouldn't have made much sense to her anyway. Chase heard Jenny call out to Adriana, a girl in year nine who also happened to be her cousin. Kye glanced up in response and dropped the book she had in her hand.
"Oops,¨ she murmured, stooping down to get it but missing. Chase instantly grabbed it for her, but, by accident, one of the pages flopped open. The lined page was littered with scribbles of strange yet curiously familiar symbols.
Kye reached out a hand, and Chase closed the book before she got a good look and handed it her.
"Here,¨ she said quickly.
"Thanks,¨ the other said. She stuffed the exercise book into her bag and followed the group, who had decided spontaneously to retrieve their timetables. The lot of them went to admin and got into the lines. Carrie was the first to get to the desks, so she just collected all of the schedules.
"Linda,¨ she said, reading the names at the top of each page in the pile. She handed the top one to the blonde girl, jumping up and down on her toes in excitement. As soon as she grasped it in her hands, Anne and Caroline attacked her, trying to see, too.
"Caroline, here's yours,¨ Carrie continued, and Caroline left Linda to the mercy of Anne as she snatched her own school timetable. "Jasmine, Sarah, mine.¨ she shoved hers into her bag. "I've got Jenny's here, Sadie, and here's Anne's.¨
"I did get Mr. Dane for Geography!¨ Anne squealed.
"And Sophie.¨ Carrie was about to hold the final sheet above her head, but Chase was too quick for her, snatching it away first.
"See you all later, I have to see the school counselor or something,¨ Kye said, giving them all a quick wave as she wandered away, meeting Chase's eyes for just a moment. The she turned and left them to study their timetables and start for their classes.
Chase read through her timetable quickly. She spotted one of those infamous flaws, a mismatched shadow that only she, possibly the most perceptive person in the school, would ever notice. She had been the kind of child who obsessed over strange occurrences. Like the time she had laid awake in her bed for hours, staring at the shadow of the ceiling fan in her room. She had noticed that the shadow wasn't quite at the right angle, judging from the placement of the jarred door, the only light source. She had even woken her sister up so that she could stand on her bed and actually measure the distance between the fan and the door, and then use her protractor to measure the degrees of the incoming light. And it was true, the shadow had been five degrees too far right. But no one else had cared that there was a shadow in her room that was defying the laws of physics. Carrie had gone to their parents and complained about being woken, and they could see no reason why anyone should care about weird shadows.
Now the shadow of Jenny's pigtails was wrong. The light entering the glass window near the roof cast a silhouette of Jenny's hairstyle onto Chase's timetable, but the impression on the paper was that Jennifer had perfectly even pigtails. She didn't. It was a pathetically small oddity that people shouldn't notice, but Chase, with nothing better to do, did.
"Thank God I'm in your form!¨ Rayleigh said, skipping to keep up with Chase, Carrie and Jasmine. Sadie never left Jasmine's side until she spotted Alyssa. With a wave, she ran away to her friend. Thank God for Alyssa, now they would be left alone.
"Bye!¨ Anne said vaguely, shoving her form class room door open and going inside alone. Sarah-Jane, Caroline and Jennifer turned left for their own rooms' one at a time. Linda, her surname being Beattie, had to go to the first room in the hall, right down the hall. The rolls were done in alphabetical order. Rayleigh, Jasmine and obviously Carrie were in Chase' s form.
"Welcome back to school, students!¨ Ms Klein began warmly. She was an old, highly religious teacher, but she was pretty nice. "I trust that you all have your timetables?¨
A shy, clumsy, very much teased girl called Geraldine realised then that she hadn't gotten hers, and, to the sniggers of the class, she left. Kids could be so cruel.
"Well, I assume that the rest of you did, anyway,¨ Ms Klein added to quieten the others. She fussily pulled out her roll and began taking attendance.
Everyone present answered dully to her name. For them, this boredom was reality. It was the way the world was meant to work, no matter how much they wished otherwise. For Chase, this was some weird cage. She sighed, nobody else, other than perhaps Kye, could understand.
Why had those symbols Kye had drawn seem so familiar? Where had she seen them?
Lady Delerith's A/N; Dum, dum, Daaaaaaa. Please review!
Rating: PG-13, I guess. Not much language.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the Matrix trilogy, the canon characters, story or anything related. I can only wish that I did. I make no profit from this ¡V I am merely exercising my writing skills for the reading pleasure of readers. However, I own this story. I own the character Chase, and Lady Delerith owns Ari.
Author's notes: Be nice if you review, and please do! This is my first fanfiction, so I am new to this, but I'm kind of sensitive to heavy criticism. I wrote this with much influence from my good friend Lady Delerith, so I thank her for helping this to become the first story I have ever finished. I also thank Alina for being the first to read it. ˆº Solia
Lady Delerith's Author Note: Hey all. This is Lady Delerith and although all the master mind of the writing was all Solia's doing, good job, I helped with the plot. Please review because it would mean a lot to us. Also updates will be coming very, very soon so keep looking. It can only get better
THE BEST HOMEWORK EXCUSE EVER: Chapter one
The girl stared at her reflection in the antique mirror that hung on her wall. She still wasn't sure whom it was staring back at her. That girl, herself, with the chest-length dark brown hair and black eyes; who was she? Did that face belong to Sophie Evans, fourteen-year-old mathematics extraordinaire, well-behaved student, dutiful daughter and bickering sister of three? Or was that Chase, illegal hacker, quiet individual, bewildered member of this somehow disbelieved society?
With a sigh, she gave up. She still wasn't sure, but she'd have to decide sooner or later. More than likely sooner than later, though. The longer she remained both Chase and Sophie the further she risked legal trouble and danger to her family. She grabbed her brush and dragged it through her hair roughly. Noticing that this caused crackly friction, she ran it through again, softer. She had to look at least a little presentable if she was going to fit in at Saint Michael's Christian Academy for Girls. She glanced down at her uniform, short, pleated black skirt, white blouse, short black tie, high white socks, polished black shoes. She looked like a complete snob. But that was the school uniform. Besides that, they were her favourite colours.
Chase, that was what she was calling herself today, although she should probably be Sophie, stood back and admired her dead straight hair in the full-length mirror. She looked good now that her hair wasn't a tangled mess. She carefully placed her black headband on top, fitting it behind her ears.
She had only gotten into SMCAG because of her mathematics and technology skills. Her twin sister, Carrie, was a true scientist, historian, mathematician, and she was a top English student. Chase was smart in all of those areas; she just chose to focus entirely on her computing and hacking. Sometimes it seemed like the only way to learn anything was to break the law.
"Sophie, are you done? Mum said we're going in five minutes,¨ Carrie said, hurrying into the room, collecting books. Her dark hair was up in a strict but fashionable ponytail because she knew that her sister would have her hair out. They hated being too similar.
Today was the first day of grade ten for the twins. They'd attended the snotty private school for two years now, and Carrie loved it. Chase only liked the maths and technology clubs, even though nobody else at the entire school thought along the same lines as her.
"Nearly, ¨ Chase answered serenely, collecting her school things and packing them into her bag at a much more leisurely pace. To most, she seemed like a dreamer, floating around only half-paying attention to what was happening around her. Truthfully, Chase knew exactly what was happening in her world, she just tried to ignore it, because it annoyed her. It annoyed her that she didn't know exactly what it was that annoyed her. Something wasn't quite right about the world, she just couldn't quite put her finger on what that small error was. Nobody else seemed to notice the little flaws that Chase could see everyday.
"Move it! ¨ Carrie snapped, slinging her stylish black bag over her shoulder. Chase shot her a nasty look and copied her action. She wasn't slow, she was much more quick-witted than any of her three sisters.
"Girls! I'm going now! ¨ Marilyn Evans, better known in this household as Mum, called down the hall. Chase followed her sister out of their bedroom, half-amusedly listening to the frantic searching of Keira, their sister in grade twelve.
" Mum! I can't find my copy of Sporting Events of the Twentieth Century,¨ she screeched, rushing out of her room, brushing her hair hurriedly and straightening her tie. Mum was always well dressed. She worked in a boutique.
"Well, I haven't got it! ¨ Mum snapped, collecting the car keys. "Maybe your sisters borrowed it?¨
"Carrie? Sophie?¨ Keira demanded. Carrie gave her a sour look as she elegantly tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"What would I want with your stupid sport book? ¨ she asked snootily. Chase shook her head. She usually would have come up with a bickering, tarty comment to throw at her older sister, but not this time. She felt kind of sorry for Keira, in a completely academic family, she had to be born with a great love of sport and exercise. She was sort of left out because of that, particularly by Carrie, Mum and their other sister, Sadie. But Chase was the real outcast, the 'weird' child with all the funny ideals and strange comments and questions about the world.
"Which one of you two little bitches took it? ¨ Keira growled. Chase glared at her, all sympathy gone.
"We said we don't have it,¨ she retorted, following Carrie down the hall to the front door. "Besides, they never make you do text book work on the first day back.¨
"Mum!¨ Keira howled. "I can't find it!¨
"Go without it,¨ Carrie said, stepping out the front door. Chase followed, getting into the red car beside her.
"Keira, get in here now!¨ Mum shouted, starting the engine. The door opened, and Sadie, the thirteen-year-old daughter, came running out, securing her piggy-tails.
'You forgot about me,¨ she complained, sounding hurt. "Mum, you said you' d curl my hair for my first day. ¨ She tried to twist a limp, inexpertly curled ringlet around her finger, but it didn't work. Sighing, she tightened the hair ties holding her two bottom-of-ribs-length sandy brown pigtails.
"Poor Sadie, first day at high school,¨ Carrie said scathingly, leaning over Chase to sneer at her younger sister. The young girl rolled her eyes in a most pronounced way.
"Yeah, what a pity, now you'll have to put up with me telling all your school friends about your most embarrassing moments,¨ she shot back.
"I still can't understand how you even got a place at SMCAG,¨ Carrie said nastily as Keira grudgingly got into the front passenger seat and slammed the door. She said it as Smacag.
"Because I'm smart,¨ Sadie said smugly.
"No, you' re a little dumb ass,¨ Keira snapped, glaring at her in the mirror. You only got in because you have three sisters there who get good marks, so they hope that you'll live up to my reputation.¨
"Yours? ¨ Chase asked, getting annoyed. "Yeah, I'm sure the principal was really hoping for another sports freak when she sent the enrolment forms for Sade.¨
"The headmistress was probably hoping for another Carrie Evans,¨ Chase's twin said brightly.
"Sure.¨
"Doubt it,¨ Chase said just loud enough for Carrie to hear.
"Or maybe, just maybe, the all-wonderful, all-Carrie-loving principal wanted Sadie for Sadie,¨ the youngest girl grumbled. Mum ignored her daughters' bickering for the entire fifteen-minute trip to the school. She was well practised.
"Here we are,¨ she announced loudly as she pulled up beside the school gate. She fished into her purse, pulling a few notes out. "Keira, here you go, honey, have fun. Your last year!¨ She gave her oldest daughter a quick kiss on the cheek as Keira got out of the car, a five- dollar note in her hand to spend at the expensive cafeteria. "Carrie, Sophie, five each for you, darlings.¨ She smiled lovingly at Carrie. Chase was slightly disappointed, as usual, that the close-mother- daughter smile didn't quite carry over to her. "Remember, girls, if you see Sadie wandering around, lost, help her find her way, would you?¨ Mum continued, handing another five dollars to Sadie.
"Yep, sure,¨ Chase said in unison with Carrie as she got out of the car, thinking privately that if she did see Sadie wanting to find room 20, she would innocently direct her to room 72.
"Don't go yet, girls! ¨ Mum said quickly. With a sigh, Chase and Carrie stopped in their getaway-from-Mum-and-showing-Sadie-around.
"Hurry, up, Sade,¨ Carrie said grumpily.
" Sophie and Carrie will take care of you, okay, darling? If you get lost, just ask them. They'll look after you. ¨ Sadie slowly got out of the car, dragging her bag, identical to Chase, Carrie and Keira's. She looked like she didn't honestly believe what their mother had just told her, but she didn't say anything. She just smiled vaguely and nodded agreeably.
"Okay, sure, Mum, see you at three-thirty!¨ she called, shutting the door, still smiling brightly. She waved, turning around to walk towards the school building with her sisters. As soon as their mother couldn't see her face, she dropped the false smile and rolled her eyes. "Man, she can talk.¨
"You're telling us,¨ Chase said, slinging her bag over shoulder more comfortably. "And don't you even think about coming up to us while we're talking to our friends to whine about being lost. You won't be welcome.¨
"I wouldn't bother hanging out with you guys would just ruin my fresh reputation.¨ Sadie looked around as they walked up the front walk. "I wonder if Alyssa's here yet? ¨ she pondered aloud. Alyssa Larson was the only girl from her primary school that had been accepted into SMCAG.
"Oh, look, there's Sarah-Jane! ¨ Carrie said with delight upon spotting her best friend. Leaving Chase's side, she bolted over to Sarah and embraced her in a friendly hug, demanding, "How was Switzerland? Tell me everything! ¨
"Where're your fabled friends?¨ Sadie asked evilly to Chase. Her older sister nodded at a group of girls standing beside the doors of the building, waving cheerily.
"Over there. Do you have any friends yet, Sade?¨ she asked innocently. The younger girl narrowed her eyes. Chase ignored her as she walked up to her friends.
"Sophie!¨ Jasmine Green screamed, bolting down the ornamental stairs. Her long red ringlets flew out behind her, as usual. "Sophie! Sofe! How was your holiday?¨ Jasmine stopped in front of Chase, beaming. The girl was one of her best friends, along with Rayleigh and, yes, Carrie, but she could be a little over-the-top.
"Hi, Jazz,¨ she said with a quick smile. Jasmine shot a kind smile at Sadie.
"First day?¨ she asked nicely. Sadie nodded, "Come and meet everyone.¨
"Nah, leave her to survive on her own. We all had to,¨ Chase insisted. But she followed overly nice Jasmine to the group, walking beside her as-of-yet- not-ditched little sister.
"Morning, Sophie. Nice holiday?¨ Rayleigh Ether said casually, weaving her black plaits together with expert skill. Chase nodded with a warmer smile than she would give most others.
All of these girls were her good friends, Jasmine and Rayleigh in particular. But they were all the same as everyone else in the world; happy. Happy with a mistaken world, unable to see the little faults Chase spent her life noticing. Not that that was bad; they were the greatest people to hang around. Of course, it would be nice to meet someone else in this crazy world that at least had the same ability to think outside the square.
"Hey, guys, this is Sadie, Sophie's little sister! ¨ Jasmine said bouncily. Rayleigh, Anne, Linda, Caroline and Jennifer smiled or waved at Sadie.
"Do you know the way to the year eight's meeting room?¨ Jasmine asked Sadie in a motherly, kind voice. Sadie shook her head. "Cool. I'll show you. Bye, guys." With a wave, she was gone, leading Sadie off into the building.
"Do you think she'll lose her for me?¨ Chase asked.
"Jasmine? No way, ¨ Linda said, slapping Anne's hand, "Stop it! ¨
"What? ¨ Anne asked guiltily. She had been miserably poking at her plump stomach, not that she was fat. She just worried a lot, and ate to quench her nerves, and so on. She was losing weight now that she had joined a sport team, but she didn't seem to realise that.
"Don't, ¨ Linda said, flicking her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. She, Caroline and a girl called Tina were the three girls who were friends with both Evans twins, and held the two groups together. At that moment, Carrie followed Sarah-Jane and some other girl over and seated herself on the stone steps beside Linda, annoyed that she didn't have her friend's undivided attention.
"Hey,¨ Sarah said. She indicated the other girl. "This is Kye Saunders. She's new this year. ¨
Everyone smiled and/or waved at the mahogany-haired girl. Chase gave Kye a quick glance. She found her eyes dart back. Kye studied her with her lavender eyes, and Chase felt stunned. Unlike everybody else in this world, this girl's eyes held the same bewildered lost expression as her own.
She can see the flaws, Chase realised. She had finally met another person who could see the mistakes of this world. Another person who didn't quite believe the world around her. The first person Chase had ever met like herself. The first of so many.
"Hi,¨ she managed. She didn't want to be staring at Kye like a queer, and she didn't want to let on to the others that they were alike. They wouldn't understand.
"I'm Kye,¨ the new girl said, not looking at anyone else. Like Chase, she understood the instant kinship between them.
"My name's Sophie,¨ Chase said finally. Kye at last turned her intense lavender gaze to the others. She smiled casually at them, introducing herself.
"That's Rayleigh, Linda, Sarah, and Jenny,¨ Caroline said immediately, taking charge, pointing at each girl as she said their names. "This is Anne, and this is Carrie.¨
"Twins,¨ Kye remarked, studying Carrie quickly. She seemed surprised and disappointed to see that she wasn't the same as Chase.
"Yep, unfortunately,¨ Carrie said brightly.
"Oh, and that's Jasmine,¨ Caroline added, pointing at the redhead practically bouncing towards them, Sadie in tow. They were both laughing.
"Good morning!¨ Jasmine said cheerfully, beaming at Kye.
"Kye's new,¨ Carrie said. Jasmine beamed again.
"I'm Jasmine!¨ she said, dropping down onto the steps beside Anne. "Sade, sit next to me,¨ she added, shuffling over to make room for Chase and Carrie' s little sister. Both twins groaned loudly.
"You brought her back!¨ Carrie complained, "Why didn't you leave her wherever you took her?¨
"Her friend isn't here yet,¨ Jasmine said indignantly, sounding offended. Sadie didn't bother sitting down, the bell rang inside the building and out, signaling the start of the school year. The majority of the group groaned.
"Great. A whole year ahead of me in a snobby school, ¨ Kye said moodily, following Sarah inside.
"Where did she transfer from?¨ Chase asked her sister as they shuffled inside through the mass of girls trying to all get inside the huge building through the front doors.
"Who knows?¨ Carrie shrugged. "She didn't even look at me until she realised that I was your identical twin.¨ Being the outgoing twin, she wasn't used to coming second.
" Gee, sorry about that,¨ Chase said, rolling her eyes. She silently watched Sadie jogging to keep up with Jasmine, then turned back to her twin. "I guess it must be my fault that we're twins, then, since I was born after you.¨
"Exactly,¨ Carrie said vaguely, listening more to Linda laughing lightly about something Jennifer's brother did over the holidays.
" I swear, I thought Aunt Lulu was going to kill Jordan when she' d seen what he had done!¨ Jenny said. "I mean, she even chased him all over the lawn!"
Chase glanced back at the girls behind her when she heard the word chased. She always seemed to respond to it now.
"I can't wait to start my new Geography class,¨ Anne gushed. "I so hope I got Mr. Dane¨
"Did you get into that extra-curricular art class?¨ Caroline asked Rayleigh, leaning over her shoulder so that her strawberry waves fell over her friend's book. "Oh, that's not your new timetable, is it, Ray?¨
"No. I got it here,¨ Rayleigh said, fishing it out of her bag. "You have to go to admin this year to get it. I got mine this morning when I got here.¨ The entire group of year ten girls crowded around her to try and see her new classes.
"You got Mr Dane, lucky cow,¡¨ Anne said enviously. Kye didn't bother looking; it wouldn't have made much sense to her anyway. Chase heard Jenny call out to Adriana, a girl in year nine who also happened to be her cousin. Kye glanced up in response and dropped the book she had in her hand.
"Oops,¨ she murmured, stooping down to get it but missing. Chase instantly grabbed it for her, but, by accident, one of the pages flopped open. The lined page was littered with scribbles of strange yet curiously familiar symbols.
Kye reached out a hand, and Chase closed the book before she got a good look and handed it her.
"Here,¨ she said quickly.
"Thanks,¨ the other said. She stuffed the exercise book into her bag and followed the group, who had decided spontaneously to retrieve their timetables. The lot of them went to admin and got into the lines. Carrie was the first to get to the desks, so she just collected all of the schedules.
"Linda,¨ she said, reading the names at the top of each page in the pile. She handed the top one to the blonde girl, jumping up and down on her toes in excitement. As soon as she grasped it in her hands, Anne and Caroline attacked her, trying to see, too.
"Caroline, here's yours,¨ Carrie continued, and Caroline left Linda to the mercy of Anne as she snatched her own school timetable. "Jasmine, Sarah, mine.¨ she shoved hers into her bag. "I've got Jenny's here, Sadie, and here's Anne's.¨
"I did get Mr. Dane for Geography!¨ Anne squealed.
"And Sophie.¨ Carrie was about to hold the final sheet above her head, but Chase was too quick for her, snatching it away first.
"See you all later, I have to see the school counselor or something,¨ Kye said, giving them all a quick wave as she wandered away, meeting Chase's eyes for just a moment. The she turned and left them to study their timetables and start for their classes.
Chase read through her timetable quickly. She spotted one of those infamous flaws, a mismatched shadow that only she, possibly the most perceptive person in the school, would ever notice. She had been the kind of child who obsessed over strange occurrences. Like the time she had laid awake in her bed for hours, staring at the shadow of the ceiling fan in her room. She had noticed that the shadow wasn't quite at the right angle, judging from the placement of the jarred door, the only light source. She had even woken her sister up so that she could stand on her bed and actually measure the distance between the fan and the door, and then use her protractor to measure the degrees of the incoming light. And it was true, the shadow had been five degrees too far right. But no one else had cared that there was a shadow in her room that was defying the laws of physics. Carrie had gone to their parents and complained about being woken, and they could see no reason why anyone should care about weird shadows.
Now the shadow of Jenny's pigtails was wrong. The light entering the glass window near the roof cast a silhouette of Jenny's hairstyle onto Chase's timetable, but the impression on the paper was that Jennifer had perfectly even pigtails. She didn't. It was a pathetically small oddity that people shouldn't notice, but Chase, with nothing better to do, did.
"Thank God I'm in your form!¨ Rayleigh said, skipping to keep up with Chase, Carrie and Jasmine. Sadie never left Jasmine's side until she spotted Alyssa. With a wave, she ran away to her friend. Thank God for Alyssa, now they would be left alone.
"Bye!¨ Anne said vaguely, shoving her form class room door open and going inside alone. Sarah-Jane, Caroline and Jennifer turned left for their own rooms' one at a time. Linda, her surname being Beattie, had to go to the first room in the hall, right down the hall. The rolls were done in alphabetical order. Rayleigh, Jasmine and obviously Carrie were in Chase' s form.
"Welcome back to school, students!¨ Ms Klein began warmly. She was an old, highly religious teacher, but she was pretty nice. "I trust that you all have your timetables?¨
A shy, clumsy, very much teased girl called Geraldine realised then that she hadn't gotten hers, and, to the sniggers of the class, she left. Kids could be so cruel.
"Well, I assume that the rest of you did, anyway,¨ Ms Klein added to quieten the others. She fussily pulled out her roll and began taking attendance.
Everyone present answered dully to her name. For them, this boredom was reality. It was the way the world was meant to work, no matter how much they wished otherwise. For Chase, this was some weird cage. She sighed, nobody else, other than perhaps Kye, could understand.
Why had those symbols Kye had drawn seem so familiar? Where had she seen them?
Lady Delerith's A/N; Dum, dum, Daaaaaaa. Please review!