*picture of echo

I looked out the car window silently. My bag in my arms and my chin slightly resting on the car door.

"So what did they want you for?" Tristan broke the silence.

"Hmm?" I asked and sat up.

"What did mother and father want," Tristan repeated with a skeptical tone.

"Oh, my grades aren't high enough for their standards," I lied, trying to sound angry.

Tristan laughed, "oh no! Did you get a "extraordinary" and not a "superior"?! How dare you?!"

I laughed too, for real. Laughing for real at a fake, made up situation. I couldn't ignore the slight spots of guilt in the back of my mind but just shrugged it off.

We arrived at the huge school, Havoc Academy. Tristan and I stepped out of the car and went into the impressive building.

"Niki!" Tristan called to one of the girls walking out of her car who looked to be in her second to last year of school, making her 19, Tristan's age.

"Hey tris!" She called back and waved and my brother went to go talk to her.

"Torren!" I heard one of my best friends West call.

West and my two of my other friends, Max and Cam were sitting on the steps waiting for me. They all had blonde hair and blue eyes. In fact everyone in Havoc did. Except a few of the butlers and servants I'd seen. President Sky said they'd been wiped out in the war. Only some people had brown hair or brown eyes, but never both. I had darker blonde hair than most and Tristan had really light hair, it was odd to see siblings like that, guess we were unique.

"What's up Torren!" Cam greeted with a laugh and they stood up and we walked inside.

School was very boring. We learned math, science, history of course about the war and our savior president Sky, and how to work in business and shops.
If you misbehaved you were given detention and only about one or two school wife were given out per month. There were five grades you could be given. Poor, ordinary, proficient, advanced, extraordinary, and superior. I had a superior and so did Tristan. Anything under that in my family was considered lazy or foolish. So I worked hard to keep my grades up.

Everyone started school at age five and graduated at age 20. I had three years left including this year and Tristan had two including this year. After your graduated you could get a job or sign up to be on the government. But many parents handed their company down to their oldest child, that's why giving me the family real estate company wouldn't be so normal. The only younger sibling I know that would be getting their family company was Max, his older brother by three years had received proficient grades through his whole school years so they decided max would be a safer bet.

The day went by surprisingly quick and I eagerly awaited the car home. Tristan waited with me.

"Where's the car?" I asked.

Tristan checked his communicator, "it's gonna be twenty minutes late."

Ugh.

"You know what, I'm just gonna walk home," I decided and Tristan shrugged.

I started the short walk home and looked in every shop window I walked by and greeted every person I passed.

I got home and went through the front door and heard voices in the great room. I quietly closed the door and put down my bag and crept around the corner of the wall and saw my parents talking.

"Torren will never take over with Tristan in the way. And Tristan will never give up after we've trained a failure this long," my father said.

"If only Tristan weren't here, then we'd have an easy task," my mother groaned and rubbed her forehead with one hand.

"Maybe that's what we need. I know someone who could dispose of Tristan and no one would stop Torren from taking over. Tristan is an embarrassment to this family anyways, it's not loss of ours," my father said grimly.

I had to bite my tongue and take a deep breath.

"Very well, send the car to pick the boys up in ten minutes while we figure this out," my mother continued.

I quietly went back to the door, grabbed my bag, and sprinted back to the school. I had to save Tristan. He was my brother after all.

"Torren? I thought you went home?" Tristan said in a confused voice when i ran up to him.

"Tristan," I said, breathing heavily from sprinting all the way here, "We have to go."