To Sera,
For not giving up.

I, Scarlet Bridge, was straight up having a bad time. To start off with, the Auckland weather was as cold as the twilight zone. That meant getting dressed for school at 6am while trembling with goosebumps. On top of that, everything I had planned for the first day of the last term was going wrong.

"You need to stop stressing," Sawyer, the token disaster of every family called out. I stared at the papers in my hand for a moment longer, letting the plastic frames slide further down my nose. I really needed to get those adjusted.

I peered at Sawyer over the top of my glassses. "Just 'cause it works for you, doesn't mean it will work for everyone."

Sawyer didn't answer. He had received the the barely disguised message in my sentence, loud and clear. Unfortunately, the 'no stress vibe' wasn't working for him. I knew it was a bitch move, but he could deal with it the same way he was dealing with everything else. By not dealing with it at all.

Sawyer Bridge was older than me by a single year, and my once upon adored older brother was headed towards the road of success much faster than I was – and that was saying something. Until everyone found out about his dirty little secret.

By association, his downfall led to mine.

It started off with the little things. I could deal with the stares, waiting for me to screw up. But then they refused to give me head girl, and I ended up with a lame deputy badge while Poppy Carter got a handshake for doing nothing.

I bit into the slightly burned toasted. If Sawyer hadn't spent longer than necessary singing to Elvis Presley in the shower, I would've had time to slide in another bread into the toaster. Alas, I had to settle for the burnt sensation on my taste buds. I shot Sawyer a sour look, one that went ignored while he focused on the birds flying.

Sawyer did that a lot post-downfall. He would stare out of the window and fixate on the most mundane things. The creepy bit was, he would stare for so long without blinking. As if he was worried, he would miss something life shattering.  Considering his life was pretty much shattered, I didn't know why he didn't look away. Maybe if I was a better sister and had more time, I would have asked him if he was okay.

But the clock was ticking, and I had a 'back to school' assembly to set up for.  If I didn't leave now, I would end up stuck in the morning rush hour traffic. A tragedy I couldn't afford.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

It wasn't often that the student parking lot was empty.  Stepping out of my own rundown car, I could only spot two other cars. Neither looked preppy enough to belong to Poppy Carter.  But she probably didn't need a car, not when she could just use her hooves.

"You're late, Bridge," a snarky voice echoed around the assembly hall, as soon as I stepped around the corner. Levi Henare's back faced me, and I wasn't sure how he knew it was me. Though I wouldn't put it past him to have eyes on the back of his head.

"I'm not late," I huffed out, dropping my bag on a nearby chair. 

Levi stood side by side with his deputy, their black blazers pressed wrinkle-free. Jude seemed to be hunched over a laptop, most likely dealing with a technical issue. We tended to have a lot of those.  Mount Bailey College was by no means a poor school, but we didn't have the budget for 'useless upgrades' as our Principle called it.

"Well, you're not early," Levi started. "Pretty sure, in your books that means you're late."

He turned to face me with a lopsided smile that had most girls in the school gushing over him. As usual, he looked good. His dark hair sat perfectly on his head, and his dark brown eyes danced with mirth. The 'head boy' badge taunted me along with his idiotic grin. From his jawline to his cheekbones, Levi Henare looked too good to be true, and that irked me even more.

"It's not like the she-devil is here," I gritted out, trying to contain my passionate dislike for Poppy Carter and Levi Henare. If I had a hit list, Poppy would no doubt be the first target, though Levi would come a close second followed by my dearest brother.

Levi laughed a smooth sound. "That's no way to refer to your superior."

I clenched the wire tightly in my hand. Before I could strangle him with it or even begin to respond, Jude interrupted us, "Can you two stop flirting for a second, and help me with this ancient thing?"

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, not bothering to correct his absurd statement.

"The year 11 dance video isn't playing."

I watched Jude double click on the video thumbnail furiously without any result.

"Why don't we just use my laptop?" Levi offered, already pulling the slim device out of his bag. He set up the computer, and I snuck a glance at the wallpaper. It was a family portrait, with a smiling mother and his younger siblings. They stood outside the local Marae and I silently respected Levi for being involved in his culture. The thought made the smile on digital Levi's face even more infuriating. After all he wasn't smirking but smiling happily.  Post it notes littered his screen with to do lists and extracurricular reminders. Levi Henare was a busy bee and he had his hand in every jar. If anyone could ruin my chances at the Top Achiever Scholarship, it was him. Especially when the board took his Maori heritage into account. I doubted they would care that my mother was from Brazil.

That was how it had started. The start of my bitter animosity for him. I was pretty sure he thought it began with him stealing my yellow bicycle in year nine. Or even because he was the closest thing to a player that our school has seen. Truthfully, it was because Levi Henare was a genius and he was great at sports. A combination that was entirely unfair.

"How come I didn't see you this weekend?" Levi asked, pulling up the dance video successfully.

I had no idea what he was on about. It's not like Levi and I hung out in or outside of school – unless we had to. I peeked at Jude with curiosity.  He explained, "His 18th."

Ah. Levi had turned 18 on Friday, and surprisingly he had invited me to his party. The entire year group had been buzzing for it, because believe it or not, it was the first time Levi Henare was throwing a party. If the snapchat stories and Instagram photos were to be believed, the party had lived up to the hype. I was pretty sure I had seen Levi chug beer while doing a handstand. A feat I had previously deemed impossible.

"I had a lot of work to do," I answered, the lie slipping out of my mouth easily. I wasn't friends with Levi, but these past weeks were deadly to my mental stability. I had figured I had deserved a treat, but when I had told Jack about it, he had pretty much lost his mind. I grimaced, thinking about my latest fight with my boyfriend of two years.

Levi continued to stare at me, and I wondered if he knew I had lied through my teeth. If he did, he didn't say anything.  Levi shrugged the blazer off, discarding it on the nearby chair. He moved around the hall, double checking everything and I tried not to look as the white shirt stretched over his toned figure.

"What's the deal with you two?"

I looked at Jude in surprise, and then looked around to double check that the boy in question was out of earshot. I really didn't need Levi thinking that there was a deal with us.

Curiously, I shot back, "What do you mean?"

"Just fuck him and get it out of your systems," Jude suggested, with a slight shake of his head.

"Excuse me?" I spluttered out, my voice rising. Levi threw us a confused look over his shoulder. "I don't like him. I barely tolerate him."

Jude tilted his head, studying me with narrowed eyes. "Huh, could've had me fooled."

I would love to hear your thoughts! What do you think about Sawyer?