I walk to the teachers' lounge with sweaty hands. I was told to go there to take my report card and to be honest, I feel like I am pissing my pants as I walk there.

You won't fail. You won't fail. I keep chanting to myself.

I made myself walk slower than usual so I don't have to get my report card faster and die on the spot. I think that I did okay in the tests but that doesn't mean that I can get really good grades.

I'm no Einstein.

But of course, some people think of me as that. It was stupid for them to think of me like that because obviously Cara is more smarter than me.

I sigh when I see the door of the teachers' lounge. No matter how slow I walk, I'm going to arrive at the teachers' lounge eventually.

"Ah, Paradice! There you are!" I give Mr. Charlie a small smile. "Here I am." He gestures me to follow him to his workplace. "You did very well, Par but I can't say that I'm surprise because you are the smartest kid I know." He says it like it's a fact and hands me the holy paper.

The holy paper? Seriously?

Good God, I'm going bananas here.

"Thanks, I guess." I accept the paper with shaky hands. Why am I like this every single time I get my report card? I thought in my head. "Don't worry, Par. You did great." He assures me and goes off to teach the other class.

I walk out the teachers' lounge and slowly walk to class. Shit, I swear if I don't get 5 As over 9, I am going to slap myself silly. I open the card with trembling hands and gasp.

I count again and again to check whether it was mistake or something but apparently it isn't.

Fucking hell.

Suddenly, I accidentally bump into someone. My report card falls onto the ground. "Fucking hell." I swear under my breath and take my paper from the ground. I look up to see who I bumped into.

He smiles down at me. "Hello Par." I give him a weary smile and stand back up. "Hey Austin." I greet him and brush away imaginary dust from my skirt. "What's that in your hand?" He asks and points at the report card.

"Oh you know..." I did a bored wave with my hand. "Just a one-way ticket to hell." He didn't look convinced. "You are already in hell. Is that your report card?" He asks while prying it from my hand. "No." I scowl, swatting his hand away. "What makes you think that?" I grit my teeth as I continue to hit his hands.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you don't want to let me see it for just a second." He sasses and in a flash, I stop hitting him and he take the chance to take the report card from my hands.

I mentally slap myself with a brick.

"Par, these are great results!" He declare and hands me back my report card. "Really?" I ask with a timid voice. He furrows his eyebrows at me. "You got 6 As out of 9." He points out. "To me, that's amazing!" Austin says as a matter of fact.

I shrug. "I guess." Then, he continue walking. "I gotta go pee now. My bladder is about to burst." I couldn't help but laugh. "Go then." I giggle, pushing him to the direction of the toilets.

~~~

"Par! Par! Par!" Katie calls out for me as I walk into the classroom. "So... How did it go? How much As did you get?" She asks while jumping like a kangaroo.

God, she's more excited than me.

"See for yourself." I tell her and give her my report card. She scans through and smiles. "6 As. That's cool! I only got - let's just say less than 4." I pat her shoulder. "You'll do better next time." She give me to thumbs-up. "Thanks, Par." I grin and walk towards my table.

"Yo, Par." Zach greets me as he sits down beside me. "Hey, Z." I say and plop down into the seats. "6 As, huh?" He questions and takes out his books. I shrug. "Yeah. Hey, how much As did Cara get?" I ask him.

Probably going to be more than me.

"She got like 7 or 8. I didn't hear clearly." He states.

Told you so.

"Oh, well thanks then." I tell him and walk towards Ray's place. She was resting her head on the table, probably sleeping. I fake spit on my palms and rub them together. Then, I hit her table as hard as I can.

She immediately raised her head and look around. "Who? What? Huh? Am I still at Choco Land?" She asks cluelessly. I laugh at her stupid face.

"No you are not in Choco Land, Ray. You are in reality." I announce and take a seat beside her. "Aww but Choco Land is way better than reality though." She rubs her eyes. "Relatable." I state.

She nudges her head, trying to ask 'what do you want?'. I roll my eyes. "You know how I told you that Cara is smarter than me but then you'll say 'no Par, you are way smarter'?" I mention.

She raises an eyebrow. "Are you trying to fish for comments?" She questions. I face-palm. "No. I'm trying to say is I told you so." I say. She continues to give me a I-don't-know-what-the-fuck-are-you-talking-about look. I roll my eyes again.

"Long story short, Cara got way more As than me." I affirms, cross my arms and give her a smug look. This time, she rolls her eyes. "So what? I thought that I've already established that day that she summons demons to help her during the exams. That girl can't do shit." She exclaims.

I raise an eyebrow."Wow, you really don't like her, do you?" She shakes her head. "This isn't about liking or hating someone, Par. This is about justice, facts. You need to realise that someday, the spotlight is going to be on you. Wait, you know what? Fuck that; the spotlight is already on you. Deal with it." She does a motion like she just dropped a mic and then stands up.

"I'm going to powder my nose. Coming?" She asks and gives me a hand. "Powder my nose? What are you? A girl living in the 19th centuries?" I snort. "What tickles you fancy, milady?" I fake a British accent.

We both howl. "I guess it seemed kinda silly. Okay, let me change that." She clears her throat.

"I'm going to the toilet. Coming?" She asks once more. "Yeah." I stand up and we link our arms together.

"For the record, people in this centuries uses the phrase 'powder my nose' too, you know?" She clarifies. I nod. "I know. The phrase just doesn't suit you." I state as a matter-of-fact.

She hits my arm as we walk out the door together. "Hey, what does that suppose to mean?" She pouts. I giggle at her expression. "It means that you are a kind of girl who says 'I want to go and piss myself; literally' rather than 'I'm going to powder my nose'. Get me?" I tease.

She shrugs. "I get you, alright. And of course, can't deny the facts now, can we?" I laugh and smile at my crazy bestie.

~~~

I was humming the melody of 'Love You Goodbye' while opening my cupboard to take out my printer when suddenly, my phone rang. I didn't look at who was calling and just pick it up.

"Hello?" I ask as I put my phone between my ear and shoulder. I take my printer out and close the cupboard with my foot.

"Hey Par." Austin's voice sounds through the phone. I innerly gasp because I thought that him calling me is just a one-time thing.

I put down my printer next to my desk and take my phone in my hands. "What's up?" I ask and plug my printer with my other hand. Let's just say that I have skills of a God.

Or maybe it's just that you've done this many times now, my subconscious said.

Let my ego spread like wildfire, please.

I hear him sigh at the end of the line. "I hate people." He says, sadness lacing through his voice.

I frown. Not the sad voice again. I swear if this is about Miss Cox giving too much homework to him again, I will personally kill her with my own bare hands.

"What's the matter?" I ask and shift my phone to my other hand. "I hate my brother. He is such a dick."

Miss Cox got lucky this time.

"Hate is a very strong word, especially when you use it on your own brother." I state and lean against my chair. "He's not even my fucking brother. By blood, we just share the same father." I gasp softly.

He does have siblings from another mother like me.

Talk about shocker of the century.

"Well, tell me what happened." I say and spin my chair. I was about to push my glasses higher but then I realise I wasn't wearing them. I hate this habit of mine.

"He is just so irritating. I mean, he is considered as a grown-ass man yet he still can't do shit on his own." He huff. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What did he do?" I asked.

He scoffs. "My mum cooked me lunch and left it on the table -with a note saying that it was for me, if I may add- so when I reached home I can eat it but guess what? That hell of a dick ate everything and now, I'm cooking instant noddles for myself." I can hear him breathing heavily at the end of the line. I imagine him being a dragon breathing out fire right now.

"I know there's more, Austin. Just take it all out." I mumble without a thought. He didn't respond for a few seconds but then he says a soft 'thank you'.

"I mean, the least that he can do is leave me some crumbs or something but no! He left none and then he threatened me saying that he will punch me in the fucking stomach if I tell my parents about it." He continues.

I gasp and stand up. "He will what?!" I yell into the phone.

"He is like that. He always threatens me and punch or beat me afterwards. Its stupid. I'm his half-brother, not his damn maid. I don't work for him.

Par, let me tell you this; he has a dog and we can't touch or pet it because he claimed that it is his and only his. I mean, what kind of bullshit is that? But when it's bath time or walk time, that dog magically becomes the whole family's. He always wants me and my real brother to do it for him." He sneers.

I shake my head in disappointment and sit back down. "Why the hell would he do that? Wow, he is such an asshole. He shouldn't do that to you and your brother." I frown. No wonder sometimes I notice bruises on his arm and face.

"Have you ever told your parents about this?" I question. "Yes but that little shit doesn't seem to care. He always disrespects my father and I swear every time he does that, I want to punch his face. My father is old and yet that 25-year-old of a shithead still wants to sass my father. Paradice," He sighs without finishing his last sentence.

"Yeah?" I ask, low-key urging him to go on.

"Do you have a gun that I can use? I feel like killing someone tonight." He states. I couldn't help but chuckle. "No but I can sponsor you a knife. It's not as fast as a gun but it can sure kill someone." I offer with a hint of seriousness.

He laugh and I pat myself in the back for making it happen. "Will you help me hide the body?" He enquires. I roll my eyes even though he can't see it. "Please Austin, I can even help you kill him." I suggest.

I smile when I hear a faint chuckle on the other side of the line. "Of course. Join me milady, on a quest to kill a son of a bitch." He announces seriously. "I accept the invite, my knight in shining amour." I say with the same tone as his.

We both laugh. "But seriously Par, thank you." He says, honesty lacing through his voice. "No thanking needed, Austin." I answer with a smile.

"You know what, Par?" He asks.

"What?" I answer back.

"We seriously need to go to France together after ten years. Are you in?" He questions.

Fuck yeah, I say in my mind.

"Of course I'm in. I need to get away from all the bullshits in here anyway." I agree. "Same." He answers through the phone. "I wish we can go now though." He claims.

I shrug. "Hey, we'll take whatever chance we get. If we win tickets to go now, then we'll go now." I state with a smile.

"I like that idea." I can feel him smiling too. Of course you would.

Then, a sudden thought popped into my mind. "Austin," I say. He hums, telling me to go on. "What happened to the shithead's mum? I mean, I don't mean to pry but I'm just curious. If you don't want to say, I understand." I tell him.

"His mum ran away." He say. I immediately grimace. Seeing your own mum running away from home is the worst. "That's so sad." I state.

It's not that I'm choosing sides; I'm just saying what's right.

"It is. Sometimes I feel bad for him but then he turns out like that. Maybe that's the reason his mum left him and his sister with my father." He explains.

"How many siblings do you even have?" I ask. "Four. Two from another mother, one from the same mother." He says in detail. I nod even though he can't see me. "No one knows about the other mother thing so please keep it secret." I smile because my crush shared something that he never shared to anyone else before.

I pretend to zip my mouth even though he can't see it. "Sealed." I say simply.