Secrets of the Summer - New Beginnings

Ch. 1

POV: Kori

I wake up to the covers being ripped off.

"Upsy daisy," a voice sings. "Rise and freaking shine."

I groan, rolling over and pushing my face into my pillow. "It's too early."

"Said every highschooler ever. Now, get up."

I turn my head and open one eye to face my brother, Kansas. "It's. Too. Early."

Kansas rolls his eyes. My brother wears his hair cut short on the back and sides, but the top is a mess of thick dark brown curls. He's got green eyes like me, and large shoulders and arms. He's kind of built like a refrigerator box, if refrigerator boxes wore glasses.

I watch as he moves towards my window. He thrusts the curtains open, and sunlight streams into my room. I groan louder.

"Oh, come on," Kansas says, turning to face me again. His eyes are sparkling, and it's hard to be mad at him when he's so upbeat. "I made us breakfast."

I blink. "Really?"

"Really really."

"Are there...are there pancakes?"

"With whipped cream and strawberries."

"I'll be down in 10."

Once Kansas is gone, I sit up and yawn. Swinging my feet off the bed, I stand and start making my way towards my bathroom. Looking at myself in the mirror, I frown slightly. Whoever said highschoolers need 8-10 hours of sleep to function is a liar. It doesn't matter how much sleep I get. I always wake up feeling like I've been run over by a soccer team in cleats.

I smile to myself anyways as I start getting dressed. I've finally made it to my senior year of high school. Honestly, it feels the same as every other year has felt. Maybe it'll hit once I actually get to school. If I'm being honest, I'm excited to see everyone today. The last few weeks I've kept to myself, so I haven't seen most of my friends in a while. I'll have to ask Kansas if we can leave a little early so I can get to school before first block and have enough time to see everyone.

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My friend Nevaeh is waiting in our usual spot in front of the gym when I walk into school. She throws her arms around me, exclaiming, "You're finally here! Can you believe it's senior season already?"

I hug her back. Her hair smells like peaches. "It's insane, girl. I think I'm still in shock."

Nevaeh leans back, grinning wildly. She's beautiful, with golden brown skin, curly black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and intense brown eyes. Nevaeh's always been shorter than me, but now we're the same height.

She looks past me, and her grin gets even wider. "Zack!"

I turn as a boy basically materializes beside me at the sound of his name. His usually curly hair is stiff and slicked back with gel, and his eyes land on Nevaeh instantly. He may not even know I'm next to him.

Zack plants a kiss on Nevaeh's forehead. "How's my favorite girl?"

"Mmmm." She leans into him. "Better now that you're here."

I roll my eyes, and Zack grins. "Hey, have you seen Archer yet?" He looks over at me, his face nuzzled in Nevaeh's hair. "I tried calling him earlier, but he didn't respond."

I shake my head. "Honestly, I haven't seen him in a few weeks."

Zack sighs. "Makes sense. I'm surprised he kept up with me all summer."

"Why? Is he okay?" Nevaeh asks, frowning.

"Define okay. You know he's got a brother, right? Ryland?"

Nevaeh frowns deeper. "Yeah, I think I knew that," she says. "His twin, right?"

Sometimes I forget that Nevaeh didn't grow up in this town. She and her family moved here right after freshman year. "Yeah, Archer's younger," I say with a sigh. "Right before high school started, their parents sent Ryland to some boarding school out of state. If you ask me, they should've sent him to the loony bin before he hit double digits."

Nevaeh whacks my arm. "Don't be rude," she remarks, though she's grinning.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, shaking my head. Honestly, my head aches at just the thought of Ryland Park. He was a total dick to everything and everyone, and he used to torture me growing up.

Zack lets out a nervous chuckle. "Well, that's the thing. Word is that Ryland came back a few weeks ago."

If I was in a sitcom, this would be the moment where I spewed my coffee out. But I'm coffee-less, so all I can do is half-yell, "What?"

Nevaeh raises an eyebrow. "Seriously? Think he's gonna come to school here?"

"No idea." Zack is avoiding eye contact with me. "Maybe Archer knows. He’s probably around here somewhere.”

I can barely hear him. This is bad. Like, seat-belt-malfunctioning-in-the-middle-of-a-rollercoaster bad. Every awful encounter between me and Ryland from first grade to eighth grade starts flooding back. I think I'm hyperventilating.

"I was planning on trying to find him before first block started," Zack continues. His voice sounds like he’s underwater. "Try and find out some stuff about the Ryland rumors. Y'all come with."

Taking Nevaeh's hand, Zack begins moving through the crowd. I follow behind them in a daze. I just might collapse.

It doesn't take long to find Archer, thankfully. He's crouching down, rummaging through his backpack. Zack walks right up to him and slaps him on the back. "Arch, my man!"

Archer jumps up instantly. "Zack, dude!" Then he sees me and Nevaeh. "Hey, guys! It feels like forever since I last saw you guys. Sorry, I've been...busy all summer."

Zack spreads his arms. "With Ryland?"

Archer's face falls. "Ah...you guys heard? Yeah, uh, he's back in town. And he doesn't seem to understand the concept of 'stay out of trouble.' It's been a pretty rough summer. My dad talked with the board, and they agreed that letting him back into public school will help teach him social skills, or some bullshit like that. He'll be back at school in a few weeks."

Zack makes a surprised grunt. "So, where is he now?"

"He's-"

It suddenly seems like the hallway has quieted, and Archer stops mid-sentence. My gaze shifts as I search for the source of everyone’s silence.

The crowd to my left is parting like the Red Sea, and walking along the cleared path is a tall and athletically built boy. I feel my mouth go dry.

He's wearing black jeans, a gray shirt, and a black jacket over that; a basic Ryland Park outfit. As he gets closer, I can see just how much muscle he's put on over the last four years. He's built nothing like Archer anymore; now he's got large biceps, with legs and shoulders that look like they should belong to a linebacker, not a 17-year-old. His hair's longer now too, reaching a little past his ears in black wavy curls.

Another dude pops up next to him, dressed similarly. He's got long chestnut brown hair pulled back into a bun, and he's flashing grins at everyone as he walks. I blink in surprise. I haven't seen Eddie all summer, so I'm a little shocked to see him walking next to Ryland. Though, they were pretty close in middle school.

Every student in the hall is staring now, and a few start to whisper. I watch recognition and shock flash across the faces of the student body as he approaches. Everyone remembers Ryland. Wavemeet is a small town, and most of us have all gone to the same elementary, middle school, and now high school. But even the kids who haven’t been here since the dawn of time still look a little intimidated.

Ryland slides right up to Archer and wraps an arm around his neck. In disgust, I realize he's at least five inches taller.

He laughs loudly and pulls Archer towards him. His laugh echoes through the almost completely quiet hall, and it's dripping of sarcasm and annoyance. “Aw, you talking about me, baby brother?”

I don't think he's seen me, Nevaeh, or Zack yet. Nevaeh's staring at him with wide eyes. She's never seen him before, after all. Zack looks completely speechless.

Archer's in shock. “Y-You’re supposed to be at home,” he hisses. He says it in a low voice, but it still echoes.

Ryland smirks. “Why limit my presence to just home?

“You can’t-”

Ryland's no longer listening. His eyes finally dart up to look over at the three of us standing a few feet away. He locks eyes with Zack, who quickly looks down at his feet. Then he looks at Nevaeh, who holds his gaze without backing down. He raises an eyebrow at her. Then, his eyes slide over to me.

He stares.

I want to run.

His eyebrow raises higher.

I want to crawl out of my skin.

And then Ryland shouts, "No way. Is that...KIWI?"

I flinch hard. Nevaeh leans closer to me, whispering, "What's kiwi?"

"Me," I say through clenched teeth. I'm still holding Ryland's gaze. His eyes are just as I remembered, a stunning gray and sparkling with mischief, and I don't break eye contact. At least one thing hasn't changed.

"You?" Nevaeh turns to me, confused, and then back to Ryland.

Ryland wiggles his eyebrows at me, his lips curling into a smirk. I grit my teeth harder, my fists tightening. What a way to start senior year.

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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Welcome to Secrets of the Summer! If you've read The Angel and the Girl, then you're familiar with me and my little notes at the end of each chapter. If you're new, then welcome and thanks for reading! I'm excited to start this new story.

-Zuffy <3

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