Sarena,
I'm proud to be your
birthday twin <3

Imagine, you're having the best day of your life. Sunshine, rainbows and everything pretty. There is a halo over your head and the weather is absolutely perfect – not too hot, nor too cold. And then, out of nowhere, a bird shits on you. That's how Scarlet Bridge looked at me.

With a sour look on her face, she strode towards me. Considering she's the one choosing to approach me, in my territory, I figured she should've been expecting the bird shit.

Scarlet stopped in front of me. Her glare had me wondering what I had done now.

"There's a kid in my peer mentoring class who wants to get into sports but he's too scared about being bad." As the words fell out of her mouth, she looked away from me. Her eyes roamed over everything but me. And I looked at only her.

When I didn't respond, she continued, "Do you think you could give him a few training sessions to boost his confidence?"

I studied her curiously. "Why me?"

Her nose flared before she answered, "You're good at what you do. Insufferable? Yes. But people seem to like you."

"And you're not people," I stated, matter-of-factly.

Her gaze finally snapped towards me. Mission accomplished. Scarlet's eyes were the kind of captivating, that it was almost art.

"No, Henare, I am definitely not people."

"What's his name?"

For a moment she didn't respond. I wondered if that meant she had forgotten the point of the conversation.

"Neil Mitchell."

I nodded. As an afterthought, I asked, "Doesn't your boyfriend go to that preppy private school on Serville?"

Scarlet took a step forward, her eyes narrowing.

I wondered what she would do if I took a step forward. Would she move back?

"What's it to you?"

I smirked. "Tell him I'll see him at the game."

Scarlet stepped back. She swiveled with such force that her ponytail swung, slapping my neck.

"Hey Scarlet!" I yelled as she stalked through the field.

She turned to face me with the same intensity as before.

"You look great today."

She screeched, her hands moving in a gesture that could've rivalled any of Tori's tantrums. Her walk sped up almost into a jog as she left me alone on the field.

I turned, throwing the rugby ball from one palm to the other.

Malachi's voice chimed, "I need to copy your maths homework."

"Can a guy not practise in peace?" I answered with a groan.

"Oh, so when Scarlet interrupts you, it's all good. But when we do it? We're the worst," Malachi threw back, nudging Lachlan with his elbow.

Lachlan took a step back, his hands in the air. "Leave me out of this."

"How do you know she came to see me?"

"Saw her coming this way, and Lachlan doesn't like the sight of blood so we figured we would wait until the bloodshed was dealt with," Malachi replied, nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "My homework's in my bag."

Malachi practically lunged for the discarded bag on the grass.

Lachlan knelt, moving so he was lounging on the grass next to Malachi. "Didn't think I'd see the day where Scarlet sought you out."

"Yeah," Malachi scoffed, his eyes skimming the math equations. "She usually runs in the opposite direction."

"Shut up," I grunted.

My Pa used to always say to dress like you were going to a job interview. He believed a man's tie selection made the man. Which is why I fiddled with the dark blue tie knotted around my neck.  In a nervous habit, I toyed with the white collar of my dress shirt. I pulled the collar away from my neck with a finger.

The cemetery was a lot quieter today, but I wasn't surprised, not many people rushed home from school and then visited a cemetery. Not many people dolled up in their finest clothing for it either.

But it seemed wrong to visit Pa in anything else. The tomb stone neared and like I did every time, I choked, my eyes grazing over the words.  I knelt on the grass, not caring about the leftover rain clinging to the green.

"Hey Pa." My eyes closed, holding back the welling emotion. "Ma really missed you today," I said, remembering the morning.

School bag on my back, and a half-eaten apple held between my teeth, I had stumbled into the living room to find my mother rooted to her spot. She didn't move as she stared at a photo frame of Pa and Tori at an uncle's wedding.

"Tori's been thinking about boys more lately." I recalled a conversation with her about her latest crush: some Travis guy in the year above her.

Using the back of my hand, I roughly rubbed my eye. "But don't worry, I'm making sure all the boys stay away." I sniffled a little. "I know you wouldn't have wanted her dating until she finished high school.

"Ma's doing really well. She thinks she'll be getting a promotion soon."

I fiddled with the tie again. "I'm doing good in school like you always wanted. I've been applying for scholarships. I even did better than Scarlet in physics couple of days ago." My thoughts drifted to the brunette in question. "You remember Scarlet right? She was the one that gave a speech on behalf of the year nines. You wouldn't stop talking about how brilliantly written it was."

I sucked in a deep breath. "I think Isaiah's going through stuff." My eyes lowered, as if Pa was staring back at me, his gaze disappointed. "I don't know what to do."

I shook my head. "He won't talk to me."

I lifted my eyelids, fixating on the name etched into the stone. "What would you do, Pa?"

"I don't think I can ever fill your shoes." My breath shook. "I wish you were here."

Would love to hear your thoughts.
What do you think about Levi?

I posted the foreword to my new WIP, Where the Light Ends,
check it out if you get the time <3