***WELL HELLO

A note on the voice reveal: The voice reveal will be a reading of this chapter :) It will be published as a separate chapter once it's fully recorded (probably tomorrow night) and will be up for 72 hours, then taken down ('CUZ I DON'T WANT MY MIDDLE SCHOOLERS FINDING IT SOMEDAY-).

And then I will die of embarrassment.

Have a great chapter! ;) Praying for you guys!***

***(Nya's POV)***

My alarm angrily chirps at me, ending my sleepless night with a reminder of how ironic my life has become.

Today is the first day Graceton is having their classes at Ridgewood.

I think back to the past week. I called my mom to pick me up from Ridgewood after my interview fail on Tuesday, and though I could tell she was curious as to why I was there, she didn't press anything.

Kai didn't get home until late that evening, and he wouldn't say anything to anyone as he trudged in the house. He didn't even look at me. He just nodded toward the dinner table and trudged up the stairs to his room.

He still hasn't spoken to me.

I've also noticed that he's been spending a lot more time at home since that first night. Usually, he spends his afternoons with his friends or hanging out with his adoptive family; now, he always heads straight to his room after school and doesn't come out until I'm at work or my journalism internship.

He's left at night a few times this week, but it's been long after our curfew.

I hated having Kai constantly at my throat before this. Now, though? I'm always jumpy, expecting him at any moment to blow a fuse and take his wrath out on me. I'm just waiting to find half the files on my computer erased or something.

He's stayed distant, though.

Today, however, the distance has to end, because we'll be attending school in the same building.

It's like reverse parasitism: though Ridgewood's the host school for Graceton, they're the ones leeching the life out of us.

Principal Misako said we'd be fine – that we'd be in separate classrooms with separate teachers. But even being in the same general place, with both of our friend groups intermingling, sounds like a horrible idea to me.

Kai will probably murder me, or one of his cronies will stuff me in a locker, or I'll find toilet paper in my bookbag instead of homework. The only person who even cares about me from his friend group is Lloyd. Jay seemed to think I was a disease the last time we spoke, and Zane treated me so cordially when we met, I thought I might die under his polite demeanor. Just because they lied about my presence at Ridgewood doesn't mean they like me. It means they're humane.

And really, I just want to be normal to them – just another girl who passes through the hallway.

I guess I'm better off than Kai is, though. None of my friend group likes him. PIX might treat him politely, like Zane did for me. Harumi will probably only like the drama he creates. Seliel certainly won't build up his ego.

And don't get me started on Skylor.

Scratch that idea about Kai murdering me. He'll never get the chance to, because Skylor will be the reason I die at Ridgewood. The girl doesn't feed on drama like Harumi does; she carries it with her everywhere. I know it's mostly because she cares about me, but I wish she'd see that life is better when she doesn't try to fix everything between Kai and me.

You can't just fix it when he's spent a third of my life hating me.

I slap the beeping alarm on my desk and resist the urge to yell into my pillow.

My life is falling apart.

I spend a few more minutes lying there, steaming over the day to come, when I hear my door crack open.

"Nya?" my dad asks. "It's time for you to get up. You and Kai need to leave for school in about twenty minutes."

Fun fact, I set my alarm way later than I should have so that maybe I could use it as an excuse to be late for school. Then I wouldn't have to ride with Kai, as he wouldn't want me to make him late, too. I know, it sounds childish.

However, I guess Kai had the same idea to sleep in. He probably hoped that dad would drive me to school so I wouldn't be late from riding with him.

The irony.

Slowly, I roll off the side of my bed. If I have to go to school and pretend like classes and life are normal, I might as well do it while looking half-decent.

I pad over to my bathroom and grab my makeup. Huge, dark circles haunt my eyes, and it looks like I didn't even sleep last night. Oh, wait, I didn't.

I hear Kai's footsteps in the hallway, slow and deliberate. It's a great and terrible consolation that Kai doesn't want us to be stuck together, either.

It's great because it means I don't have to feel bad for avoiding him.

It's terrible because it means he'll probably do something to me as payback later.

I finish applying my mascara and stare at my reflection. I look reasonably well for someone who doesn't want to attract attention. Not wearing makeup at all would make people think the decision to join the schools was killing me. Wearing too much would make me look like I was ready to date the entire Ridgewood student body on my first day.

But a little eye makeup and lip gloss make me look average enough to slip under the radar.

After throwing on a pair of mom jeans and a patterned blue top, I trudge down the stairs. I locate my mom in the kitchen, who's pulling out yogurt and fruit for Kai and me.

She glances up as I enter. "You look cute, Honey."

"Thanks." I grab one of the oranges she's set out. "What time are you leaving for work today?"

"I'm not leaving until four, so I should be able to see you when you get home from school." She smiles. "Are you excited to be able to finally enjoy school with your friends?"

I examine my orange as I peel it. "With my friends? Yes." Kai's, on the other hand, will probably become my group's rival gang before this becomes a real-life Westside Story.

I'm still trying to think of who would fall in love in our friend groups to make this an actual Westside Story when Kai walks in.

He stares at me, jerks his head toward the door, and walks out of the kitchen.

I sling my bookbag higher on my shoulder and grab Kai's breakfast as a peace offering. "Looks like it's time to go."

Mom gives me one of those "it's-all-going-to-be-okay" smiles that shows how completely ignorant she is of the drama in my life. "Have a good day, Sweetie."

I nod and head out the door.

Kai starts his car, and I open the passenger door and slip inside. I'm a little surprised that he didn't drive off without me in attempt to escape the horrible reality that we'll be spending a lot more time together.

Maybe he's having trouble formulating evil plans because he didn't get any sleep, either.

As he backs out, I clear my throat. "Um...if you want breakfast, Mom packed you some." I shake a yogurt up while I speak so maybe he won't notice the way my voice trembles.

He nods without saying anything and pulls out of our driveway.

O-kay. I guess this girl will be having a breakfast party of one.

As Kai's car rolls down our neighborhood road, I stare out the window. My mood may be stormy, but the world outside looks beautiful today. The sun pours happy beams onto the asphalt outside, the sky is bluer than I've ever seen it, and I can hear a very misguided bird outside singing its tiny heart out.

Nature has no compassion.

Kai turns off our road and down the one that'll take us to the highway. I glance in the rearview mirror to see if we're being followed by Jay's blue pickup truck, but even if we were, I don't think Kai would make me duck down in his floorboard again.

I can't figure it out. It's like he lost his will to torment me with when his friends found out I existed.

A hand suddenly snatches my wrist, and my eyes shoot downward.

"No dripping yogurt on my seats," my brother clips, turning my yogurt cup upward.

I awkwardly stare at the glob of congealed strawberry dairy on Kai's seat. "Uh...sorry." I swipe it off with a finger.

He removes his hand from my wrist swiftly, placing his back on the wheel.

And he doesn't respond to my apology.

I resist a sigh and stare back out the window.

I can't tell whether I'd rather be stuffed in a locker at Ridgewood or stuck in this car right now.

I guess that at least in the locker, the quiet would be peaceful rather than tense.

The rest of our ride to school passes in silence. I stare out the window and reminisce on the few memories of Kai I have from before our parents were imprisoned. I remember him playing outside in the yard with me, helping me build a pillow fort in our room, having snowball wars on my team against my parents...

And then our parents were arrested, we got into foster care, and he left me. I told him we had to wait for Mom and Dad to get out of prison so we could go back to live with them, but he left.

And I forgive him for leaving. I know he wanted a better life for himself, and he couldn't force me to come with him.

But I'll never, ever forgive him for pretending I never existed to his friends, his family, and himself.

The car suddenly lurches to a stop, and I blink, staring anew at my surroundings.

We're here.

I'm up and out of the car before Kai is. No way am I walking into school with my brother. That'll raise too many questions from too many people I don't even know.

I burst through the school doors. We have just a few minutes before classes start, and I'm so ready to get safely inside the four walls of first period. All my friends will be there, and they'll make sure that I'm not publicly humiliated by any of Kai's friends on my first –

"Are you Nya?" a deep voice asks.

Well, great. Too bad I look so much like Kai that everyone immediately recognizes we're related.

Time to get high on the scent of male sweat in a Ridgewood locker.

I feel my spine prickle as I look up, steeling my face against whatever trouble I'm about to encounter.

"I'm sorry?" I ask, my eyes landing on a muscular boy in front of me. With sandy blonde hair that's boyishly long, he's kind of cute.

The look in his eyes is questionable, though. He's not asking who I am as a friendly inquiry.

"I was wondering if you're Nya." He attempts a smile, but it seems too hardened for my liking. "Principal Wu asked if I would walk you to class this morning."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. He is so not telling the truth. If Wu wanted someone to walk me to class, he'd send Lloyd. Lloyd is like his right-hand man in running this school. And besides, since Principal Misako is now working with Wu, I know she'd volunteer her son for any task that came up.

I cross my arms and give him my no-nonsense stare. "Thanks for the offer, but I can walk myself to class." I begin to shoulder my way past him before he stops me with a hand on my arm – a firm, unmoving hand.

"I don't think that's the best idea," he counters, his tone unyielding.

And this is the part where I knee you where the sun doesn't shine, Princess.

Right before I can put that idea into action, though, the door opens behind us.

Darn.

The goon straightens and immediately removes his hand from my arm. "Smith," he greets.

My brother swaggers in past me, ignoring me entirely. "What's up, Ash?" He bro high-fives the dude and adjusts his one-shouldered backpack. "Ready to head to first period?"

And the two walk away toward the stairs, completely forgetting my existence.

I resist an eyeroll. Too bad Kai only took care of that guy because he's petrified someone will associate with his sister. He probably didn't care that I could've spent first period choking on the stench of gym socks.

I resist a sigh and start for the stairs as well. I have a rough idea of where all my classes are. Plus, if you follow the scent of perfume and lilt of flirty giggles, you're bound to find a few Graceton girls who are ready to enjoy life with male company.

As I make my way up the stairs, someone slides in beside me.

"Hey," Seliel greets, for lack of anything more enthusiastic.

No one in my friend group is taking the transition to Ridgewood well – besides maybe PIXAL – but Seliel and I can at least save face about it.

"Hey, yourself," I reply. "How's it going?"

She hitches a shoulder. "Auditions for the musical are on Wednesday, my dad's busier than ever working on public relations with the Graceton bombing, and Skylor's probably going to get us all in detention by the end of the day." She cocks her head. "Other than that, though, it's a beautiful day, and I'm beyond glad to finally begin our school year."

I shake my head. "Skylor won't get us in detention, Seliel. She might get herself there, but I don't know how she'd successfully get the rest of us in as well."

Seliel raises an eyebrow. "Need I remind you of last week, when she almost got you killed by a heat stroke in Kai's trunk? Seriously, why did she think that was a good idea?"

"She's got lots of ideas," I counter. "Just...some of them need a second glance before she tries them out."

"Yeah, well, whatever." Seliel shakes her head. "That girl has increasingly been getting on my nerves lately. She's so self-obsessed that she doesn't even think of the consequences others will suffer from her actions. She used to be different."

I ponder this for a moment.

Skylor did use to be different – back before about a year ago. She was less obsessed with her image and crazy ideals of justice, and more into having fun and doing stuff that actually helped others.

She also kept her voice at a normal decibel most of the time.

Seliel suddenly bumps into someone beside us, and I look up. Some guy scowls at her.

"Watch it," he grumbles, making his way down the stairs past us.

I scoff. "Is everybody at Ridgewood so anti-Graceton?"

Seliel rolls her eyes. "They're all grumpy because their lives have been upended, just like ours. Let's get to class."

As we finish making our way to first period, it suddenly strikes me that either Seliel is one of the strongest people I know, or her ability to save face as the mayor's daughter has been curated to perfect believability.

***(Cole's POV)***

"What'd your mom pack you for lunch today?" I ask Jay, walking away from the cafeteria food line.

Yeah, his mom still packs his lunches. I think he's kind of embarrassed by it, but she does make really good food.

He shrugs. "I haven't even looked, to be honest. I'm too keyed up to eat."

I scrub a hand over my face. Jay's still angry with Kai from last week, and his relationship with Lloyd hasn't fully healed, either. Zane, Jay, and I have been hanging out just the three of us, but it's not the same.

I suspect Lloyd would've tried to hang out with us over the past week, but he's been too busy helping his mom get everything ready for moving Graceton to Ridgewood. And so far, I can feel the tension between the two schools just itching to boil over into disaster.

As if thinking of the girls' school summoned one of its attendees, a brunette girl passes by us and wiggles her fingers, smiling. I smile back, but to be honest, I'm not really in a mood to flirt with the first female I see.

I have way too much on my plate right now.

Plus, Kai needs friends, and I don't think he'd be too happy if he saw me going out with Graceton girls at the moment. The guy's paranoid that we're going to all meet Nya and end up worshipping her or something.

I see Zane across the cafeteria, and I wave him in our direction.

"Where do you want to sit?" I ask Jay as Zane approaches us.

"I don't care," he sighs. "Just anywhere that Kai isn't, I guess."

"Jay," I say carefully, "today's a rough day for Kai. He thought us finding out about him having a sister was bad? Well, now he has to grapple with us going to school with her."

"Well, he should've told us!" Jay exclaims. "I mean, what did he think we were going to do, ghost him forever or something?"

"Isn't that kind of what you're doing to him right now?" I point out.

Jay shakes his head. "I'm not avoiding Kai because he didn't tell us he had a sister," he argues. "I'm mad because of how he treated her to keep us from finding out about her. I mean, dropping her off at a gas station alone with no phone and no ride? That's insanity!"

I nod. "You're completely right, Jay, but Kai's our friend. He needs help working through these issues, and we should be there for him."

He sighs. "I just can't believe I was so deceived by him."

Lloyd sidles up beside us, a tentative smile on his lips. "Hey, guys. How was your morning?"

"Terrible," Jay replies. "I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, trying to avoid both Kai and Nya."

"Why Nya?" Lloyd frowns.

"Because she probably thinks I'm exactly like Kai," he moans. "I treated her like crud the last time I saw her. I could've blown her hiding spot to her brother, so she begged me not to leave that empty classroom, but no! I just had to go and tell Cole everything that was on my mind. And in the process, I left her with absolutely no one to help her escape Ridgewood unnoticed." He rakes a hand through his hair.

I pat his shoulder. "Maybe you should apologize."

"I know," Jay relents. "I'm just...not there yet, what with the Kai situation and all. It's still a lot to take in."

Zane clears his throat as we enter the cafeteria. "It appears that Kai is already sitting with Ash and his friends. There don't seem to be seats left at his table."

I bite my lip. I know Kai's trying to avoid us to preserve his dignity, but hanging out with Ash isn't the way to go. Ash is on the football team, and I can't say the guy has the best sense of character.

"Perhaps we should eat lunch outside today," Zane suggests. "The cafeteria seems to be beyond carrying capacity."

Lloyd shakes his head. "We're not allowed to go outside. Uncle Wu and my mom have agreed that there's not enough 'supervision'."

"They're probably right," Jay replies. "I mean, did you see that Skylor girl last week? She's a she-devil!"

"That's kindly putting it," Lloyd mutters.

I scan the cafeteria. "Looks like there are some open tables near the back." I lead the charge in that direction.

Lloyd clears his throat. "Maybe we could all try to hang out with Kai after school today, guys. I think he'd appreciate it."

"I'm not interested," Jay huffs.

I elbow him. "We're all upset with Kai, but if we ever want to reconcile our friendship with him, we need to put an effort in."

"I'd be open to spending time with Kai," Zane interjects.

Jay mumbles something under his breath that passes for a begrudging agreement.

Lloyd's face breaks into a relieved smile. "Great. I'll ask him if he's free during our next period."

I spot an empty table and set my backpack down just as a tray slams down next to me.

My eyes shoot up and meet with all-too-familiar, possibly rabid green ones.

"Excuse me," Skylor Chen huffs, "but this table is taken."

I open my mouth to speak before a girl who looks unmistakably like Kai appears beside her.

"Skylor, they got here first," she points out, her tone logical. "Let's eat by the wall. There's no one over there."

I stare at the girl that must be Kai's sister. "Are you Nya?" I ask, trying to hide my shock.

I guess seeing her in person must be different than knowing that Kai has a sister.

She looks up at me, her brown eyes polite but closed-off. "I am. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Cole," I introduce myself, trying to help her understand my surprise. "I've been friends with your brother for...a while now." I choose my words carefully, hoping not to strike a Kai nerve.

Skylor snorts. "Why don't you go sit with him, then?" She plops down on the bench in front of her tray.

Nya's jaw twitches. "Skylor –,"

"It's okay," I reply quickly. "We'll find somewhere else." I look up just as the table behind us is claimed.

"Or you could just sit with us," another girl says, slowly making her way toward us. Her hair, colored pink and electric blue, seems to sit perfectly poised on her shoulders as she smoothly approaches.

I frown as I look toward Kai's table. "I'm...not sure," I reply. "I wouldn't want to interrupt your guys' lunch plans." Also, I would not want Kai to feel like we were backstabbing him by sitting with his sister's friends. He was petrified of us even knowing about Nya.

"It's your girls'," the one with the colorful hair corrects me, a hint of a smile telling me she's kidding. "And as far as I know, you wouldn't be interrupting anything." She looks to Nya beside her for input.

"But –," Skylor tries to butt in.

"Nya, is it okay with you if they sit with us?" the girl with obvious leadership prowess repeats herself.

Nya bites her lip and looks toward where her brother is sitting.

I guess she must be keeping tabs on him.

She looks back toward Seliel after a moment, her expression apologetic. "I don't mind if everyone sits together. Um, but I actually have a meeting with Ridgewood's journalism club in a few minutes, so maybe I'll head that way." She looks down at Skylor, her eyes practically boring into the girl's skull. "Wanna walk with me to the meeting?"

It sounds like more of a command than an invitation to me. Maybe Skylor responds better to commands than requests, though.

Skylor harrumphs and stands upright. "Fine."

I don't miss the relief that washes over Nya's features. She's probably trying to avoid fraternizing with us for her brother's sake.

I shake my head. "We'd be happy to move somewhere else. I'll ask Principal Wu for permission to eat in the classroom across the hallway." I step backward.

But Skylor's already stalking across the cafeteria. Nya gives us a quick wave. "Um, it was nice to meet you all." And with that, she practically jogs in her friend's direction.

I awkwardly look toward Lloyd. "Well..."

"You're still welcome to sit with us," the colorful-hair girl shrugs. "Ignore Skylor's attitude. She's just having a rough transition to this school, that's all."

I carefully set down my lunch tray. I guess if Skylor and Nya are gone, Kai probably won't mind us sitting with a few girls from Graceton. Besides, there's nowhere else in the cafeteria to go.

And with only twenty minutes for the rest of our lunch period, we don't have much to work with here.

"I'm Seliel," our host introduces herself. She nods her head toward a pert blonde who's heading toward the table. "And that's Harumi."

"I'm Cole," I offer, giving her a friendly smile. I then indicate with my hand. "And these are Jay, Zane, and Lloyd."

Jay awkwardly sits down beside me, not saying anything.

Lloyd sits down on my other side. "How long have you gone to Graceton?" he asks casually.

Seliel unwraps a sandwich. "I've attended all throughout high school, but so have most of the girls here." She turns toward the blonde she referred to as she sits down. "Harumi's an exception, since she only just started for her senior year."

Harumi smiles in a cute, flirty, somewhat-fake kind of way. "Hi! I didn't expect to have lunch buddies today. Mind introducing me to your friends?" She winks at Seliel.

The girl nods and makes introductions, but I don't miss the look of mild annoyance that flashes over her face. "Cole and his friends were looking for somewhere to sit, and since Nya has a meeting with the journalism club today, I figured we'd have plenty of room for company."

"I know a guy in the journalism club," I put in, trying to keep up the conversation. "His name is Scott. He's cool." I take a bite of pizza.

Harumi nods. "So what activities are you guys involved in here at Ridgewood?"

I shrug. "I'm in football." And my dad has signed me up for Graceton's upcoming musical, but I'm not about to mention that.

Zane smiles. "I play soccer, as does Jay, and we're both involved in the engineering club as well. Everybody at Ridgewood has to be involved in a career development club." He elbows Lloyd, who seems to be staring blatantly at Harumi.

Oh brother. We do not need to be checking out Nya's friends. We need to be reconciling relationships here.

Lloyd seems to snap out of his stupor, and I try to rescue him from embarrassment. "Lloyd here is mostly involved in student leadership here at Ridgewood, but he used to play baseball."

"Uh...yeah," he says awkwardly, staring down at his food.

Eesh. He sounds like he's never spoken to a female before.

Right as I'm about to speak up and smooth over Lloyd's unusual behavior, an enraged female shriek sounds.

I'm up and away from the bench almost as quickly as I register that Skylor is most likely the source.

"Nya's brother is the psycho, not me!" she yells from beside the cafeteria doors, confirming my suspicions.

Ash, who's standing beside her with crossed arms and a sour expression, looks to be the cause of her indignation.

Skylor advances toward him. "And if you even so much as call Nya by a nickname again, I swear I will –,"

Nya grabs her friend by the arm, halting her in her steps. "Let it go, Skye," she says loud enough for the silent cafeteria to hear. Then, as though first noticing how quiet it's become, she slaps a hand over her mouth and backs toward the doors.

Kai is on his feet and running before anyone knows what's happening.

I tear off after him, both confident that he wouldn't do something he'd regret and terrified that there's a vicious side of Kai I've yet to see. "Kai, Buddy, take it easy," I yell in warning, heading off after him.

Skylor, seeming to feed on all the dramatic energy, shoves Ash in the shoulders. "So don't get any ideas about messing with Nya," she smirks, somehow believing she's won this argument.

It's then that I realize that Kai is running straight at her and Ash, not his sister.

And I want to believe he'll stop short and just argue with words. I know Kai. He's not the kind of guy to get physical, no matter whom he's arguing with. Kai wouldn't hurt Skylor. He couldn't, could he?

I can't take that chance, not when it could ruin him for life and cause him to hurt a girl who's way too big for her britches.

I leap right at Kai in a tackle, and the moment my body collides with his, I roll to make sure I don't land on top of him. Kai's a muscular guy, but I'm sizably bulkier than he is. If I land on top of him, he'll crack a rib.

As I collide with the floor, I hear a new voice enter the argument. "Leave him alone, Skylor," someone – I think Seliel – bids her. "Calm down before you get us all in –,"

"What is going on here?" Principal Wu's sharp voice asks.

Kai snarls and wriggles away from me, slamming his body at Ash right as the guy lunges for Skylor. Ash grunts and tips back onto the floor.

I sit up and look over at Kai. "Kai, what the heck did you think you were –,"

"Clearly, none of you has done much thinking at all lately," Wu snorts. "I need all of you in my office – now!"

***CAN YOU ALL GUESS WHAT THEIR PUNISHMENT WILL BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

ALSO, WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IN THE BOOK NEXT

WE'RE, LIKE, A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH, AND WE'RE FINALLY DONE WITH MOST OF THE EXPOSITION

ENJOY ALL THE RISING ACTION***