Back to School

The first day of classes for the coming week brought a small surprise as tests in a few subjects were announced for the end of the week. To Jasmine, this meant there would be less time for her to work on her art project for the contest the following week.

It was in English class that she would be pounced upon by a petite, blonde-headed girl that excitedly asked, "Hey! Has your brother been by home recently? What are you going to do for the art contest? Did you finish your math homework? Can I borrow it?"

This overly energetic and inquisitive classmate was her longtime friend, Liliana Kane.

They had first met in primary school and weren't friends initially Jasmine's first impression of Liliana was that she was a spoilt brat. Which although was true and rather off putting, was also the reason Liliana wasn't immediately popular. It was after some conflict with a cliché of popular kids and Jasmine standing up for her that they had become friends, but that was ancient history.

Liliana would stick to Jasmine's side and share all the latest gossip, which was beneficial to Jasmine in navigating the hormone driven tide that was school life. Afterall, knowledge is power and knowing your enemy can lead to success in future battles.

Although they had just entered their teenage years, people mature at different rates and it was obvious that Liliana was destined to be a late bloomer. She was short and still very child-like in appearance, but she was cute and looked like a doll. Fair skin, loose curly blonde hair, and vibrant blue eyes that were as dark as the depths of the ocean, you just knew that she would mature into a real beauty like her mother.

Liliana's mother had worked as a model for a period of time before becoming a fashion designer and it was because of her mother's identity that she would later become popular. As others learned about her mom's work, they would ask about fashion trends and share in the gossip.

What Jasmine appreciated about Liliana more than anything though was her character. Because her mom was in the fashion design industry, Liliana didn't judge her for not being a top student at school. Nor did she look down on Jasmine for her passion in art.

If anything, Liliana was in awe of Jasmine's artistic talent. Phrases like, "If I could draw like you..." often left her mouth as Liliana didn't seem to have any boons other than her looks.

She was too scatter-brained to get far in her studies and lacked motivation to get involved in any sports. Hence why the question of borrowing Jasmine's homework was a normal request from her.

"Mm, yeah, I finished it," Jasmine answered as she fished about her book bag for her homework.

Releasing Jasmine, Liliana followed Jasmine to her desk while she asked again, "Have you started on your submission for the art contest? You must have. If only I could draw like you, I would totally blow the judges away! With a theme like 'What dreams become', you can literally enter anything!"

"I started a sketch last week and started inking some of it this weekend. As for my brother..."

"You're joining the contest too? And what, did you draw a dragon, again? Ha! So, unoriginal and predictable of you," a dark-haired youth sneered as he interrupted the conversation between the friends.

Meeting the eyes of the interloper, Jasmine's gaze grew cold as she didn't immediately fire back in response, because the youth was Alan Johnson and the history between their families wasn't so simple.

Alan had an older brother that had been in the same grade as her brother, Ethaniel. His brother could be called remarkable if he wasn't being compared to the genius that was her brother. They often competed during grade school with her brother outshining Alan's older sibling, and this wouldn't be a problem except that Mr. Johnson, Alan's father, was also the chief of police, her father's superior.

Being a proud person, how could Alan not hold some resentment for her and her family on account for his older brother? Hence, he took every chance he could get to suppress and play down any success or achievements that Jasmine made in school.

His cold, black eyes met Jasmine's with a silent challenge, daring her to retort. Yet Jasmine didn't rise to the challenge before Liliana did in her place.

"What? Jealous, Alan?" Liliana fired back and then continued with a sneer, "Your grades may be good, but everyone in school knows you are nothing more than second place to Jasmine when it comes to art. Just like how your brother is always second place to Jasmine's!"

Liliana knew that the subject of his brother's inferiority was Alan's reverse scale and went for maximum effect. She only was stating the truth, which made it even more painful for Alan.

Furious, Alan's face reddened as it was true. He wasn't exactly the top of the class in grades, but he wasn't too far off either. However, he had entered art competitions before and although he was praised, he couldn't beat Jasmine if she was in the same contest.

"You should mind your own business, Liliana Kane!" he darkly replied.

"Hi, pot, I'm kettle and I am black," Liliana retorted. **

[[**Reference to the idiom, "The pot calling the kettle black." Which is used when a person is accusing another of something that they are guilty of doing themselves.]]

Becoming that more frustrated with being drawn into a verbal fight with the queen of gossip, Alan flicked a hand, turned and left in anger. Liliana's gaze followed him moodily as he went before returning to her friend and softly scolding her.

"I know that you worry about inviting trouble onto your family for defending yourself against that jerk, but seriously? Can you really not say anything back?"

Jasmine sighed, "You know I want to, but you know that doing so is a little.... complicated."

It wasn't that she was unwilling, but the only thing she was better than Alan in was art. That just wasn't enough to be able to mount a real counterattack.

It was a clever trap that Jasmine had fallen into before. What happened back then was that while she was defending herself, a teacher appeared and berated her for bullying Alan.

The teacher could have investigated a bit more but didn't bother as Alan's academic performance made him an instant favorite of their instructors. So, Jasmine caught all the flack, and, in the end, both her parents and Alan's had been called. With her mother being an ER nurse, she couldn't come to the school, so naturally it was her father that attended.

Her father meeting his superior in such a situation was ugly in the least, and that incident served as a permanent reminder of how powerful one's background was to Jasmine.

At least she could count on her friend to have her back. Liliana didn't disappoint in this regard and Jasmine was thankful for her being there as she didn't have to completely suffer in silence.