Bang! The door opens wide, and he steps forward into the room with an enormous grin on his face. His hand holding onto his markers, raising them up in anticipation of what he will do with them, but the grin falters when his eyes see the empty bed.

"Well, good morning, Diego." I say smiling all over, knowing I beat him to the race.

"You're awake?" Diego asks with surprise all over his face, his dark brown eyes glaring at me. "Why are you awake? You should be sleeping and I drawing pictures all over your face."

"Drawing all over my face? You say that's how it is. Besides, I believe I need one day when I am free from you painting my face young man. It's the first day of my last year in school. Give me a break."

"All the more reason! You're a snitch. You're meant to allow me to draw on your face to show dad that I can paint."

"You could always get a paper, Idiot."

"It's always nicer on your face." He says as a matter of fact which a straight face.

That statement makes me scoff.

"You know what, Diego, do me a favor and get out of my room right now!"

This prompts Diego to sit on my bed. "I'm not going anywhere until I draw on your face."

"Get off my bed, you moron! What part of never sit on my bed don't you understand? It's part of my boundaries I remember clearly."

"Oops, sorry. Or isn't that what you girls say when you're not sorry at all." He says this with a broad smile.

I groan inwardly as a quick thought passes through my mind. I then return his smile with a villainous one because I remember that he's also got places he doesn't want me to be. Tit for tat, they say.

I leave the room with a smirk on my face, which makes him wary and run to his playroom. I realize he's running after me, so I run faster (all for being on the race team in junior high, thanks to my dad and also having longer legs than he does) laughing. I get there, hold the door handle and wink at Diego before opening the door and entering.

"No! Don't go in there!" He screams.

"I'm sorry, Diego. I'm already here. Next time you listen to your older sister when she tells you to do something."

"You're not my older sister!"

"Really? And so the eleven years between us says what exactly?" I tilt my head to the side, allowing my straight shoulder-length jet black hair to follow my movement.

Diego gives me a scornful look and runs downstairs shouting, "Mom! Taylor crossed my limit. She's in my playroom."

The goods of having younger siblings are they can't do without involving the parents and the parents on their part blaming us for the whole thing.

"Taylor! Get down here!"

You know elder siblings out there, don't you think this is too much...

I walk down the stairs to join my mom and Diego in the kitchen. I sit on the cabinet. "You called me, mom."

Freda Perez stands there in all her glory, her hair colour like mine in a ponytail and her arm on the waist of her petite figure.

"What were you doing in your brother's playroom?" she asks with her straight mother face.

"Well, ask your son what he was doing on my bed."

"That's a lie I didn't stay on your bed!" Diego says with an innocent look making me shocked. My goodness, who taught this boy the act of deceit?

With unbelief and annoyance at where the topic was heading, I change the topic before my mom could interfere again, "Where's dad, mum?"

"Off to work. Where else would he be?" She says as she places sandwich in two plates for Diego and I. "Why don't both of you get your breakfast and run off to school."

The bell rings as I take a bite from my sandwich and Diego runs off to get it.

"Don't open it if you don't know who it is!" My mom shouts after him, but I doubt he'll listen.

Diego and Olivia walk into the kitchen together not long after.

Olivia walks in with a white flower cropped top with a blue high waist a-lined knee-length skirt. Her brown bra length hair packed up in a ponytail as she loves to wear it because even though she hasn't made the cheerleading team, it's always been her desire to be there and since they all love to pack their hairs in ponytails, Olivia does too.

"Hey, Mrs. Perez."

"Hello,  Olivia. Came to get my daughter right?" My mom asks with a bright smile on her face.

"Yep." She responds turning her attention to me, that's when she noticed I didn't have any of Diego's paintings on my face. Her cocoa brown eyes shining with mischief, "What happened, Taylor? You don't have a painting that I can laugh about on your face."

"That's because I woke up early sweetheart." I reply as she laughs.

"Now that's a first." She says still laughing, making me roll my eyes. I stand up, dusting my hands free of bread crumbs and pull her out of the kitchen to the direction of my room, "Can we move it?"

"Of course we can." Olivia says still chuckling, but just before she allows me to pull her, she whispers to Diego, "Don't let her beat you to it tomorrow."

"You bet!" Diego shouts with a smirk.

I just laugh at him, already used to his attitude and pull Olivia so I could take a shower and get ready for school.

*_*_*_*

We take Olivia's car to school because my dad hasn't exactly bought a car for me yet, so hers was what we used. Thank God her dad bought her a car even before she could drive it.

We get to school and walk in towards our lockers. The school is filled with excited old faces and new ones too. Everybody chatting about how their summer was.

"With the way everyone chats around you'd think they didn't see each other during the summer." Olivia says rolling her eyes at the multitude in school.

"Some people didn't have the privilege we had Olivia. Let them be."

Just as I open my locker I feel a hand wrap around my waist making me blush knowing who it is immediately.

Ethan Bravatti rests his head on my shoulder with a smirk, "Hey Gorgeous."

I turn around and face him with his hand still wrapped around my waist and fix my hand around his neck playing with the end of his blond hair and staring into his hazel eyes, "Hello handsome." I respond with a bright smile.

He's wearing his basketball jersey as the start of the new year with a fresh school spirit. Well, that's what coach says. And to top the whole school spirit stuff, we always have a game on the first day.

He ruffles his nose against mine with a smirk on his face, making Olivia fake gag beside.

"You could get a room, you know?" Olivia says, irritated, making us smile.

"Aw Oli, there's no need to be jealous, you know. We could always live room for you." Ethan says with a bright smile as he releases me.

"Gosh, Ethan! It's Olivia!" Olivia, I don't know why hates people calling her Oli, but Ethan loves teasing her by calling her that name.

"But I think Oli is cooler." Ethan says with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, I don't." Olivia says glaring at him.

I face my locker and take my books before turning back towards them.

"Are you girls coming for the game?"

My school team was playing against Stuyvesant High School, our neighboring school. I may not be a fan of basketball, but once your boyfriend is on the team and a captain at that, could you miss it?

"It depends on Olivia." I say then direct my next question to her, "You going?"

"She can't miss it! Someone's going to be there." Ethan says as I realize he's talking about Alistair Harwood, the captain of Stuyvesant High School's basketball team, whom both Olivia and I might have a crush on.

"Why would I care if someone's going to be there?" Olivia says rolling her eyes with a small smile playing on her lips as Ethan and I laugh knowing her attitude would crumble.

"Oh, don't be acting nonchalant on my account, Olivia." he says with a teasing smirk, "And guess what you girls are terribly late for? Class."

"Bye!" I say and peck him as Olivia and I hurry to our first class. Ethan isn't in most of my classes, but Olivia is, so we are mostly together.

When it was time for the game, Olivia and I walk towards our seats that Olivia's half-sister, Joanna kept for us. It's almost a regular thing. Joanna loves basketball and so Olivia and I, mostly me, always ask her to keep seats for us so we don't always have to run to have a nice seat.

"Hey, Joanna." I say when we spot her, her eyes the same colour as Olivia's sends us a look of disapproval.

"You guys are just in time." Joanna replied, "Someone could have taken your seats."

"Nobody dares do that." Olivia says with a smirk as she sits down, making sure she doesn't sit next to Joanna.

"Oh please, cause you're what?" Joanna scoffs, giving Olivia a hard face.

This gets Olivia's attention, and she turns to Joanna with an equally determined face, "A legitimate child no one dares to cross that's what." She says snapping her fingers to get her point across.

Joanna scoffs again and side smirk, "Oh yeah I forgot, legitimate is the only good thing about you you've got."

"Girls! The game is about to start, okay? So shut up!" I say in order to stop the upcoming fight.

They still really don't get along well. They wouldn't even be talking at all if I didn't persuade Olivia.

I try to focus on the game as I always do. I watch out for Ethan (and maybe Alistair). Ethan notices us on the bleachers before the game starts and sends us a wink to which I blush to and all other girls swoon to.

We notice Alistair immediately the game starts as his black wavy hair and muscular, handsome body gives him away. I use my elbows to hit Olivia by the side with a teasing look, to which she scowls at me in response.

The game is a tension filled game as it always is. I'm sitting at the edge of my seat when the other team has the ball.

There's a lot of screaming on this side of the bleachers when a member of our team scores. We all stand up screaming and jumping, forgetting about any form of fighting that might have occurred.

Our team won the game. I'm so proud of my boyfriend. Olivia and I walk towards the guys who are Ethan, Alistair and Ethan's best friend, Brandon Neilson.

"Hey, guys!" Joanna says, catching their attention.

The three of them turn to face us so I hug Ethan and he carries me up saying, "I won!"

"Hmm... Saw that. As awesome as always." I say as he puts me down and pecks me. I smile as I see Olivia approaching Alistair.

"Hey, Alistair."

"The famous Oli, right?" Alistair says with a smile that lights up his chisel-jawed face even further.

This pricked Olivia and her smile turned into a frown, "It is Olivia! Gosh, what so difficult in that!" She says and walks off, leaving the boys laughing. I playfully hit Ethan running after Olivia.

"Hey! It's just a name!" Alistair shouts after her, still laughing.

"Oh, come on Olivia, it was just a joke." I say once I reach her, holding on to her to slow her down.

"Oh, really, but you know I hate it." Olivia says angrily.

"Yes, I do, and that's exactly why I'm here beside my best friend whom I love deeply." I say hugging her, "Want some chocolate ice-cream? Bills on me."

"Yikes! So tempting!"

"Come on, just say yes."

"I'll say fine and not yes." Olivia says with a broad smile, making me laugh as we both head towards the ice-cream shop out of school.

Well, it seems like my first day of school this year is being dramatic. I definitely look forward to what other dramatics it has for me.

*_*_*_*

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello, guys out there. This is the first chapter of my first book. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, don't forget to click the star button and comment to let me know.  I would really appreciate it. Thanks 💕...