Chapter One

Nina's POV

I was fifteen when I entered as a freshman at Rio International School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When I took the entrance exam, I was aiming to get a high score in order to be in the pilot or first section, where the smartest students belong.

"You have to get a 90 plus score in your entrance exam, so you will be in the first section." My sister, Claudia, kept on telling me. "I only got 87, that's why I was in the second section in my first year and got stuck in it 'til my senior year. Being valedictorian in grade school didn't help me at all."

Claudia just graduated high school at Rio International School. She had a "Type A Personality". Outgoing, ambitious, impatient, and highly status conscious. Just like Papa. She was going to study in a university in Chicago to take up Business Administration.

"Claudia, you don't have to pressure your sister. Nina is a very smart girl, she can nail it. She was also a Valedictorian in grade school." My Papa, Luiz Fernando Peres, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Brazil, defended me but it just escalated my fear.

When I took the entrance exam at Rio International School, there were almost fifty incoming freshmen in a classroom. It was seven-thirty in the morning, my hands were shaking that I could not concentrate.

A dark-haired cute teenage boy with amazing blue eyes was seated next to me. He was tapping his pencil on his desk. Although it was not so loud, it distracted my concentration.

"Hey, what's your answer in number 2?" He asked me but I ignored him.

The nerve! Asking questions during the entrance exam. He'll get me in trouble. I pretended not to hear him. I did not want to be scolded by the examiner and be humiliated in front of everyone.

"Pretty girl, what's your answer in number 13?"

What is wrong with him? He's so annoying, asking questions. He's cute and yet so dumb. I ignored him again, pretending that I didn't hear him. I was hoping that he would stop asking for the answers.

It was a two-hour exam, more of an IQ test and abstract reasoning. After an hour of answering the questionnaires, my stomach gurgled. I became so hungry. I remembered that I had not eaten my breakfast because I was almost late. Luckily, I was able to grab a chocolate milk box from the fridge and put it in my bag.

The examiner allowed us to eat in the classroom. So, I took my chocolate milk and sipped on it hungrily. I almost drank the whole thing when I realized that the taste was so sour. I looked at the expiry date at the top of the box. My gosh! Two months expired already. I tried not to throw up during the remaining time of the exam. Luckily, I was able to hold it.

The moment I submitted my answer sheet, I grabbed my bag and ran to the ladies' room. Unfortunately, I collided with someone delaying my urgent situation.

"Hey, what's the hurry, pretty girl?" The same teenage boy seated beside me during the exam asked. I could not help but stare at him. He was not only cute but also strikingly gorgeous. Tall, lean with an athletic body. Suddenly, I was stunned, and I could not move.

"Still pretending not to hear me? Such a waste, a deaf mute with a pretty face." He chuckled.

Wait. Did he just call me deaf mute then laugh at me? He was salty that I did not give him the answers to the exam. It was not my fault that he was a dumbass.

My anger escalated from zero to one hundred percent real quick. I was about to lecture him with good manners and right conduct when suddenly, my stomach gurgled, and nausea hit me. The worst thing happened. I was not able to hold on to my vomit any longer and threw up over his shirt.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed in shock.

Oh-oh what have I done?

I was so embarrassed that I immediately left him and ran towards the ladies' room. I wished the floor would open up and swallow me deep down under at that moment. And I really hoped that I would never see that teenage boy again.

***

After a month, school started. I was at the corridor, facing the bulletin board. The list of students and their respective sections was posted, and I was looking for my name.

My heart throbbed so fast. I was disappointed that my name was not in the first section's list. But I was still hoping that it was in the second section.

Peres...Peres...but still nothing. Where did they put my name? I was enrolled, and I took the entrance exam, right?

I found my name in the third section. I was very disappointed because I wanted to be in the pilot section where all the smart students were.

Room 208. That was the room number for the third section⁠—Jade. I turned around and bumped into someone, sending my notebooks flying.

"Ooops, sorry." A dark-brown haired teenage boy said. He automatically bent down and picked all my things on the floor.

"It's okay, my fault, too."

"Did I hurt you?"

"Nope. I'm fine." I looked at him and realized he was a cutie.

"Are you a freshman?" He asked.

"Yeah. Actually, I'm looking for my classroom. Do you know where Room 208 section Jade is?"

"Absolutely. I'm on my way there. By the way, I'm Leandro."

"I'm Nina. So we'll be classmates?" I smiled at him. I was so glad I found a new friend in my section.

"Yup." He smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. "In fact, we will be seatmates."

"Sure." I smiled back at Leandro.

As we walked towards the stairway to go up, I saw the guy that I accidentally threw up on during the entrance exam. He was looking at me directly. His eyes followed my every move. He recognized me!

I hurried my steps and Leandro caught up with me.

Leandro was cute but that guy was way cuter, taller, and...ugh! So annoying.

Finn's POV

"She looks so sad that she's in the third section. I thought she's so smart?" Ben Murphy, my American best friend, said.

"Of course she is. She was sick when she took the entrance exam. She threw up all over my shirt, remember?" I defended my long-time crush, Nina Peres.

"You sound like you know too much about her. You're not even friends." Ben laughed at me.

"I'm just practicing." I chuckled. "Nina and I will be more than friends, soon."

"You said you were over her when you dated Veronica." Ben snarled at me. Veronica was his cousin and my first girlfriend.

I avoided Ben's gaze guiltily. Seeing Nina Peres up close brought back my feelings for her. She was so beautiful, and everything about her was so perfect. It was so hard to take my eyes off of her.

"I can't help it. She's so beautiful. You've known all along how I feel towards her."

Ben gave up the argument and said. "Okay, I understand. Hey, here's the plan. You walk straight to her, okay. You stand behind her, so when she turns around, she'll bump into you. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Now go, hurry up."

"Are you sure this will work? What if she gets mad at me?" I started to hesitate.

"I said go, Finn, now!"

I started to walk towards Nina. I was so nervous. I told myself, 'I can do this, I can do this. It's now or never.' I was almost there. Just a few steps more when someone sidestepped me. Then Nina turned and bumped into Leandro.

Fuck! Where did Leandro come from? Why was he at her side all of a sudden? I was so stunned, I looked at Leandro, and he smirked at me. What a dickhead! I turned around and went back to Ben.

Leandro used to hang out with me and Ben when we were in grade school. We were the best of friends before. He knew about my big crush on Nina Peres and how I dreamed of having her as my girlfriend someday.

Our friendship with Leandro ended when his childhood sweetheart ex-girlfriend, Marcia, declared her undying crush for me in front of the entire grade school. She spread rumours that we were dating. I explained to Leandro that it was not true. But he refused to believe me.

Now, I have a feeling that he wants to get even with me.

Nina's POV

High school was not bad at all. Actually, I was enjoying it too much. Being in the third section did not matter anymore. My parents were understanding about the result of my entrance exam. But I promised to them that I would do my very best to get high grades so next year, I would be transferred to the first section.

I gained a lot of friends in school. I instantly had close friends. There was the sporty Patricia, who was my schoolmate before at Mary Montessori School; the shy nerdy Sandra; and the funny wannabe singer-actress Kelly, who often made us laugh.

The four of us girls were always together. I was so happy I found true friendship with them. We shared a lot of things, like our secrets and crushes. We named our group, The E Girls. E stood for EXCITING, EXCELLENT, and EXPERIENCED.

Except for Kelly who was sixteen, the rest of us were fifteen. Basically, we were just kids, but we were curious about experimenting with new things. One of them was getting more experience in dealing with boys.

Speaking of boys, I found out that the annoying guy I threw up on during the entrance exam was Kelly's first cousin. What a coincidence!

His name was Finn Martins.

Kelly was so proud of him. She informed us that he was a consistent top student during grade school. No wonder he was in the first section. He was also an athlete, a star basketball player at his previous school.

Okay, I got it. He was a total package. Smart, tall, and good-looking with a gorgeous athletic body. Every teenage girl's dream of a boyfriend. His popularity even skyrocketed in Rio International School when he was awarded as the best player during the first interschool basketball match.

What bothered me was why he was asking me for answers during the entrance exam. Was he fooling me by pretending to be dumb? Most probably.

It was impossible not to cross paths with him in school. We were both freshmen and had classes on the same wing of the campus. But as much as possible, I avoided him. Whenever I saw him approaching, I would go the other way. If he passed by our classroom, I hid or turned my back at him. I knew I was being paranoid when he does not even notice me. He never ever tried to approach me or talk to me about what happened before. Maybe it was not important for him.

I did not tell Kelly about my interaction with her cousin. She had a tricky mind. She would make a plan, for sure, of bringing both Finn and me together. That would be so awkward.

I was trying to participate in school's extracurricular activities but was not so lucky. I was nominated as a secretary in the classroom but never elected. My friends and I auditioned for the drama club, but it was only Kelly who passed. The facilitator told the rest of us that we did not have the talent to sing, dance, and act. We tried to be athletic by trying out different sports in the sports club. It was only Patricia who made it. Sandra ended up in the booklovers' club, and I joined the Science club. Both clubs did not require any special skills, just the member's attendance.

About Leandro, I was trying to avoid him as much as possible. He flirted with every girl in the classroom and became so obsessed with his good looks. He was a player.

As to my studies, I was doing a good job. Mostly, I was the highest in our quizzes and exams. I really tried to focus only on my studies. I didn't want to disappoint my parents. I was hoping to be in the first section next year.

***

Every Saturday afternoon, the E Girls would hang out at Kelly's place. Her parents were so cool and very accommodating. We would play videogames, watch Netflix movies, dress up, play with makeup, and do a lot of girly stuff in Kelly's bedroom.

"You know what, we should plan for your birthday next week, Nina." Kelly suggested.

"I'd love that. During birthdays and special occasions, our family usually celebrate it by having family dinners at home, with a few guests and relatives."

"That's boring, you will be 16 and still family dinners." Kelly said. "Let's have a party at your house."

"That's impossible. My parents don't allow me to have parties at home. My sister Claudia did that, and my Mama's expensive china ceramic broke, and the carpet was ruined." I told them about the crazy party my sister Claudia had when she turned 18, and a lot of uninvited guests arrived.

"But I already asked permission from my parents. Since my birthday falls on a Saturday, I'll spend the whole day with you guys. We could go to the mall, watch a movie, and do whatever we want."

"But we always do that. What about going to the beach?" Patricia said while playing a video game.

Sandra put down the magazine she was reading. "No way! All the beaches here are rather far. My parents wouldn't allow me, and it's August. The water is a bit cold."

"Me, too, my parents wouldn't approve, for sure. What about a slumber party? Just the four of us, the E girls?" I suggested it to my friends while watching Vampire Diaries on the television screen.

"Nina, that's a great idea. We can have it here in our house since your parents won't allow it in your place." Kelly said gleefully.

"Of course! We can do this all night." I answered.

"Absolutely not!" Kelly stood up. The other girls raised their eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Patricia asked Kelly.

"You will be sixteen, Nina, so we will make it very...very...memorable for you, girl!' Kelly said. "Hmm...We will make a plan, and everything will be a surprise!"

"I'm excited. Make sure I'd be very surprised, Kelly!" I said happily not realizing that the plan my friends made would make a big impact in my life, forever.