❝ that's all just a facade.  ❞

―

NATHALIE GROANED AS HER ALARM BLARED.

She pulled her pillow over her face and screamed into it before tossing it down on the bed. She slowly got out of bed. She took a quick shower before getting changed. When she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, she glanced towards the couch where Sebastian sat, getting an earful from Marisol about how reckless he was behaving. Between the skateboard mishap that left a cut on his cheek and sneaking out the night before for "night skating" he was giving Marisol a lot to yell at him about.

Nathalie just shook her head as she sipped her coffee. She took a seat at the dining table, listening to Marisol continue to yell while Sebastian just sat on the couch like a bump on a log.

Marisol sighed as she finished yelling, making her way towards the table. Sebastian walked towards his room, disappearing down the hallway.

Marisol placed her head in her hands and groaned as she took a seat. "This kid is going to be the death of me."

Nathalie chuckled. "It could be worse. I mean, he could start acting like me..."

Marisol started shaking her head. "You were an absolute tyrant when you were thirteen. Compared to the crap you pulled, what he's done is child's play."

Nathalie laughed as she stood up and placed her mug in the sink. "You need me to drive Seb to school?"

Marisol shook her head. "No, I can drive him on the way to work. But could you pick him up? I won't give off in time to get him."

"Of course," Nathalie responded.

Marisol thanked her with a smile. Nathalie made her way into her room to grab her backpack before knocking on Sebastian's door, announcing that she was standing in the doorway. Sebastian turned his head toward her.

"Hey, Marisol's driving you to school, but I'm gonna pick you up, okay?" Nathalie asked, receiving a nod from her brother in response. "Wait for me outside of the school. If I don't see you, then it's..." she moved her hand across her neck to resemble the cutting of her throat.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

He walked out of his room and waited by the front door for Marisol to finish getting ready. Nathalie waited for them to leave before she left the house, getting into her car.

It was a run down, beat up car that struggled to turn on ninety-nine percent of the time and squeaked whenever Nathalie braked. The paint was chipping away, and the metal was rusted. The car doors creaked every time they were opened. The car had definitely seen better days, but Nathalie just didn't have money to fix it up.

Even with Marisol working two jobs, after all the bills were paid and groceries were bought, there was barely any money from her paycheck left. So, Nathalie dealt with her car that was falling apart at the seams. It got her where she needed to go for the time being and that was all that mattered.

When she arrived at school, Nathalie parked in the student parking lot. She grabbed her backpack from the passenger seat before she stepped out of the car. As the door creaked, a group of girls stared at her, giving her a judgmental look.

Nathalie gave them the same look they were giving her. "Can I help you?"

The girls looked away, whispering to each other, and occasionally glancing back at Nathalie. She held up her middle finger at them before she walked out of the parking lot and entered the school corridor.

Nathalie was instantly met with the cheerful smile of her best friend, Flora. It was still a mystery how the two had become friends.

Flora had to be the happiest person in the entire valley, possibly even the world. There was hardly ever a time when she wasn't smiling. She wore bright colors that often clashed with each other. She treated everyone with respect and kindness no matter who they were or what they did. She didn't have a mean bone in her body.

Nathalie was the exact opposite. She rarely smiled. She always had a cold stare on her face, one that was threatening to others. She looked miserable most of the time. It was rare to see her wearing colors that weren't black, white, dark blue, gray, or white. She hated most people that she encountered at school, and she wasn't afraid to show it.

It was hard to believe that they were friends. If it hadn't of been for their sixth grade science teacher sitting them next to each other, Nathalie never would have given Flora the time of day. Nathalie hated Flora at first, but it didn't take long for Flora's bright smile and happy-go-lucky personality to win her over.

Flora pulled Nathalie into a hug. "I missed you so much!"

Nathalie furrowed her eyebrows as she pulled away from the hug. "What are you talking about? You literally saw me yesterday."

"I know, but I still missed you," Flora responded.

Nathalie shook her head at her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're strange?"

"Yes," Flora nodded her head. "You. Multiple times."

The bell rang, signaling that they had five minutes to get to class.

"Well, we better get to class," Flora said. "See you at lunch?"

Nathalie nodded her head before they split up, going their separate ways. Nathalie walked down the hallway, ignoring the whispers and stares that she got from her peers in the hallway. Half the time, she didn't even know what the latest rumor and gossip about her was, but it seemed like there was always something buzzing around the school.

Nathalie walked into her classroom, taking a seat in the very back. She tossed her backpack onto the ground before putting her head down.

"Excuse me," a soft voice said.

Nathalie lifted her head, instantly frowning when she saw who stood above her, looking down at her. Nathalie leaned half in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Oh...sorry Nathalie. I didn't know that was you I—I'm sorry."

"Was there something you needed?" Nathalie asked.

"I was just wondering if you could move your backpack," he replied. "So...so that I don't trip over it."

Nathalie reached down and pulled her backpack closer to her desk, never taking her eyes off of the boy. He stared down at the ground as he walked to his seat two desks behind her. Nathalie turned her head, staring directly at him.

"It's not nice to stare."

Nathalie scoffed. "Please, when have you ever cared about that? I can't stare at you, but you can stare at me? Give me dirty looks in the cafeteria? Or in the hallway?"

The boy's eyes shifted back and forth between his desk and Nathalie. "Why are you being so mean?"

"Why am I being mean?" Nathalie asked. "Are you seriously asking me that? After what you said to me?"

He gulped. "I—I said I was sorry."

Nathalie shook her head. "Sorry doesn't cut it, Eli."

Nathalie turned around as the bell rang. She stared up at the clock. Class had only just begun, yet she was counting down the minutes until it ended.

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Nathalie sat at her usual table in the lunchroom. Flora and their friend, Aisha sat with her. Nathalie didn't know Aisha all that well. She only knew her because she was friends with Flora. Nathalie wasn't happy at first when Flora invited Aisha to join them, but she found that she actually liked Aisha's company. Which meant a lot coming from Nathalie. She didn't like the company of anyone who wasn't her brother, sister, or Flora and her brother.

Nathalie reached for a carrot stick and brought it to her mouth, bring into it. Nathalie looked around the cafeteria, spotting Miguel. She followed him with her eyes as he wandered around the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. She clenched her jaw when she saw him sit down at the table Eli sat at.

Flora tapped her shoulder. "Are you okay? What are you looking at?" Flora followed her line of sight. "Nattie, are you serious?"

"What?" Aisha asked, confused about what Flora was talking about. "What's wrong?"

"She's looking at Eli," Flora explained. "Again."

"Why do you hate him so much anyway?" Aisha asked. "He's such a sweetheart."

Nathalie snorted. "Please, that's all just a facade. He looks sweet and innocent with that shy boy act of his, but he isn't."

"That doesn't explain why you hate him," Aisha replied.

"Trust me when I say that you don't want her to get into it," Flora told her. "She could rant for hours about it."

Nathalie glared at her before turning her attention towards Aisha. "Look, all you need to know is that he's not the sweet little nerd everyone thinks he is."

"Are we talking about the same Eli? The one sitting right over there?" Aisha pointed in his direction.

"Do you know another Eli?" Nathalie asked.

Aisha shook her head. "No..."

"Look, Nattie, I know what he did was wrong, but he's apologized a dozen times," Flora attempted to reason with her. "He didn't mean to say what he did. It was in the seventh grade. Don't you think it's time you forgave him?"

Nathalie shook her head. "You don't just say something like that even if you didn't mean it."

Flora sighed. "All right. I thought I'd try."

Nathalie huffed as she reached for another carrot stick, fiddling with it in her fingers before eating it. She stared straight ahead, her face scrunching up in confusion as she watched Miguel standing between her table and the one across from it. He was looking directly at the popular table. Nathalie turned her head, seeing Kyler waving at him.

A disappointed expression spread across his face before he turned around, walking back to his table.

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Nathalie sighed as she sat on the couch, scrolling through her phone. Flora sat next to her, her head resting on Nathalie's shoulder. Marisol stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner since she had the evening off and didn't have to go to work until later that night.

A loud crash could be heard from outside. Nathalie, Flora, and Marisol jumped at the sound. They rushed to the front door. Marisol swung it open, crossing her arms and screaming Sebastian's name when she saw what had caused the crash.

Sebastian lay on the ground in front of the metal garbage can with Oliver standing over him, looking down at his best friend. As Marisol stomped over to them, Natalie and Flora followed. Sebastian stood up, mumbling under his breath when he saw his sisters standing in front of him.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Marisol shouted at him. "What were you doing?"

"Skating," Sebastian answered as if it were obvious as he gestured towards his skateboard. "I accidentally fell and banged against the garbage can."

Marisol sighed. "Get in the house. It's time for dinner."

Sebastian nodded his head and sighed as he walked towards the apartment. Marisol followed him, mumbling under her breath in Spanish. Nathalie turned her head, looking at Flora. She had a stern look on his face as she stared at her brother.

Flora tapped her foot angrily on the pavement. "When
will you two stop getting into trouble? How many skating accidents has there been just this week?"

Oliver shrugged. "I dunno. Like...three?"

Flora grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him towards the apartment. Oliver protested in pain. Natalie crossed her arms and shook her head as she laughed to herself.

Flora acted more like Oliver's mother than their actual mom. Their parents were hardly ever around, always off on business trips so a lot of the time, it was just Flora and Oliver. More often than not, the Brooks siblings ate dinner with Nathalie and her siblings.

At this point, Flora and Oliver weren't just Nathalie and Sebastian's best friends. They were family. They relied on each other. They protected each other.

Nathalie started to walk back to the apartment, stopping at the front door when she saw Miguel getting out of his mom's car. Johnny Lawrence pulled out a few seconds later. Miguel's mom went into her apartment, but Miguel started a conversation with Johnny.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at them as they talked. Johnny entered his apartment, but Miguel lingered. He walked up to Nathalie, giving her a wave.

"Hey, Nathalie," Miguel greeted her with a smile.

"What were you going with Johnny?" Nathalie questioned him immediately.

"Oh," Miguel responded. "He's my karate sensei."

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "Your karate sensei? You're taking karate lessons?"

Miguel nodded. "Yeah."

"Let me rephrase that," Nathalie said, crossing her arms. "You're taking karate lessons from a washed up has been karate champion?"

A frown appeared on Miguel's face. "Hey, he's not a washed up has been."

Nathalie chuckled. "You're real funny, kid. The man hasn't done karate in years since he beat up a bunch of assholes outside of a mini mart. He's a drunk."

"Whatever," Miguel sighed. "I wanted to talk to about something."

"What?" Nathalie asked.

"Well..." Miguel trailed off.

"Chop, chop, karate boy," Nathalie said as she snapped in his face.

Miguel looked down at the ground. "I just wanted to say that I don't believe the rumors about you."

"You don't, huh?" Nathalie asked curiously. "And what rumors did you hear about me?"

Miguel looked up. "Well, that you stole that one girl's boyfriend. Or that you set the school on fire in the seventh grade. Or that you don't care about anyone but yourself. Or what Demetri said about—"

Nathalie held her hand up in front of him. "Let me stop you right there. I've got nothing against Demetri other than the fact that he's friends with Eli. I'm sure they both told you horrible things about me. Demetri's a nice guy. But Eli?"

Miguel blinked in confusion. "Wh—Eli? He's so nice. He barely even said a word to me."

Nathalie sighed. "Well, whatever they said about me...just know that even the nicest people can hurt you."

She didn't give Miguel the chance to speak before she turned around, placing her hand on the doorknob to her apartment. She took a seat at the dining table where everyone else was already sitting and leaned back in her chair.

"Everything okay?" Marisol asked.

Nathalie nodded and gave her a fake smile. "Everything is fine. Let's eat."

All throughout dinner, even as she smiled and laughed with her siblings and friends, Nathalie couldn't stop thinking about what Miguel said. He didn't believe the rumors about her. Besides Flora and Aisha, he was the only one.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

what did eli say to make nathalie hate him so much?? i already know because i planned it all out...you'll find out eventually.

and yes, nathalie and flora are friends with aisha. she deserves it.

anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it kept you on the edge of your seat...