1. SELF-ISH

Sometimes, when the wind blows, she would think about the kites that fly in the sky way up high, or how it helped the windmill keep turning round and round, endlessly. She would think how it would help seeds disperse across the land and how it helped the boats at sea to sail, she would think how such a simple thing would help the entire world in many ways. But in her life, there was no wind, there was nothing keeping her up high and there nothing pushing her boat to sail. There was just a hurricane, a typhoon, that kept her down.

"And we have to move out like the day after tomorrow?"

Family dinners weren't always peaceful in their household, if there was a family dinner, they would either talk about a bittersweet thing or a sudden news that would stagger their hearts away.

"I've been moved to the town's department, I can't do anything about that," Dave said. He was casual, normal Dave. Dave Brooks, the detective who's won tens of awards.

"I couldn't care less, the only reason you would assemble us for a family dinner with a bunch of junk food, is to tell us news we wouldn't want to hear," Amber said. She was the younger twin, a few minutes born after Jayce, the older twin.

"She has a point," Jayce said.

Three brunettes, two with hazel eyes, one with green eyes. Dave and Amber shared the

same eye color, Jayce got it from her mother. At least, she was her mother.

"I wouldn't care," Amber stood up, a pizza slice in her hand, "I'll just have to leave my friends and my memories here, but that would be easy, right, dad?" she sneered sarcastically, "They're just people," she turned around and walked upstairs to her room.

"What's the name of the town?" Jayce asked, stuffing mac and cheese into her mouth. "Syville, it's up North,"

"And school?" she asked.

"All you ever think about is school, isn't it?" Dave asked.

"In this world, it's impossible for people with low grades to get their dream jobs, and coincidentally, mine is to become a doctor," Jayce said emotionlessly, "Is the school there good?"

"It's not in the top 100 list of schools," Dave said.

Jayce put down her spoon, "You're kidding?"

Dave shook his head.

Jayce's tone increased, "All my life, I've been studying hard to get into med-school, to be successful, to save lives and not ruin them, to be completely different from my-"

"Jayce!" Dave yelled, preventing her from saying any more, "That's enough. It's the top boarding school in all lists," he said finally.

"Boarding school?" she asked, "That's a tight space to study,"

"Tight space which also means a better sense of focus and independence," he explained, "You will be alright,"

Jayce smiled thinly, "Thanks dad,"

Dave nodded, "Welcome, now ask your sister to start packing up stuff, we need to at least pack 50% by tomorrow,"

Jayce nodded and stood up, walking up to the second floor and knocking on her twin sister's room.

Amber opened the door with a scowling face, "I wanna go to mom in Italy," she said immediately.

"And you and I both know you can't do that," Jayce said, "Pack up your stuff,"

"Please, you're not going to be sad at all?" Amber asked, "We're leaving the town we've been living in for our past life,"

Jayce pursed her lips, "I suggest you pack your stuff now-"

"Sure, it had some bad memories but-"

"Amber!" Jayce yelled, then took a breath, "I don't want to be reminded,"

Amber froze and curled her lip. As Jayce left for her room, Amber crossed her arms and scowled, "Why the hell is she so sensitive everytime I bring that up? It's as if that really bothered her. Crybaby," she muttered.

~~~

"Where are you going?" It was midnight, Dave was in the living room.

Jayce was dressed in jammies and her hair in a headband, "I have to say goodbye to someone," she said.

"You're meeting a friend on summer break?" he asked, "Late at night?" "I'm saying goodbye to Jasmine," she said finally, "She needs to know," Dave mouthed an 'O' and let her go.

Jayce went outside and found Jasmine in the yard. She was also still in jammies, she lived not quite far from them. Her black hair was braided into a fluffy ponytail that sat on her tan shoulder.

Jasmine was the daughter of the café owner downtown, and they've been dating for the past 6 months.

Jasmine opened her arms wide and Jayce threw herself into a hug, "I'm gonna miss you so badly,"

Jasmine kissed her girlfriend's forehead, "But hey, what can I do about it?" she laughed it off, knowing damn well that it hurt.

"You need to visit, I swear," Jayce said.

"I wouldn't be sure, mom's quite strict," Jasmine said, "Where are you leaving?"

"A town named Syville, I'm not sure," she replied.

"Syville?" Jasmine furrowed her brows, thinking of something, "I've heard that from somewhere,"

"I've never heard of it," Jayce said, "Can we have one last movie night together?"

Jasmine grinned, "Why not?"

~~~

"This is the 7th time this month you've been caught sneaking out," the principal said.

The brunette boy groaned and slumped on his seat, "It's summer break, give us a break,"

"And everyone in here should follow school rules to not go out of the school even during break," the principal said.

"Mr Harrison," a black-haired boy broke in, "Do you want to lose your job? Do you want to lose your money?" he asked.

The principal furrowed, "Mr Spencer, are you threatening me?"

"Should I call my mom to take all of her company's money that's keeping this school alive?" the brunette boy interrupted again, this time he was threatening.

The principal froze and sighed, "Fine," he said emotionlessly, "Mr Walker, Mr Spencer and Mr Rodriguez you may go," he said.

"Thanks, man," the brunette boy, Ashton Walker, greeted the principal back and left the room with the two others.

"I swear I wanna go to the cliff everyday, clears my head," the black-haired boy, Jaxon Spencer, wrapped his hand around Ashton's back.

"Let's do that," Eric Rodriguez, a blonde-haired, calm boy, said.

Ashton gave a smirk as the three walked across the hall.

~~~

"So, first of all, how long is the drive to Syville?" Jayce asked.

The moving truck was following them from behind, and some of their luggage was above their car.

"A 4-hour drive," Dave replied. It was true, it's been more than two hours since they've been on the road.

"When's mom coming home?" Amber asked.

Dave swallowed, he didn't know what to answer.

"She's asking about Italy," Jayce said.

"Oh," Dave immediately said, "Not anytime soon, but she's having the time of her life there,"

Amber nodded, "And in Syville, are there any cool, hot boys-?" "Hey," Jayce elbowed her sister.

"Come on," Amber whined, "You're 16 and you've got a girlfriend, I haven't got any, not a boyfriend, not a girlfriend. It sucks,"

"Only time will tell," Jayce breathed out. ~~~

"My mom's inviting everyone to have dinner at my place by the end of this week," Eric said. The three boys were sitting on top of a block, near the open areas of the dorm buildings.

"Damn that's nice to have a mother who can cook," Ashton said teasingly. His mother was the richest in the town of Syville. Kimberly Walker owned a foundation that kept this school and a few others running, without her, the boarding school would have been closed by now.

"Damn that's nice to actually have a mother," Jaxon sighed. His parents were divorced since he was a kid, it's been years since he saw his mother and his sister. Apparently, in the group of three, sooner or later in that year, Jaxon was a year younger than them, he was 15, and the two were 16.

"Yo man," Eric said, "Is there actually a place where we can have peace without having to be stared at?" he glared at the crowd of people whispering on the doorways and the paths, both boys and girls.

"Live with the popularity," Ashton opened his arms wide and arched his head back, enjoying the sun.

~~~

"You've gotten great scores in all your core subjects and your extracurricular activities," Mr Harrison, the principal, praised Jayce's scores, "And for Amber, your scores in your extracurricular activities are great as well and we will help you to level up your scores in the core subjects," he said to Amber.

"Thank you, Mr Harrison," the twins said.

"How will I be able to tell you both apart?" he asked.

"Jayce has green eyes, I have hazel eyes, and she usually has her hair in a half-up-half- down and I usually have a ponytail up," Amber replied.

"I see," Mr Harrison nodded, "Inform this to your teachers as well in class, you can start tidying up your dorms. It's in another building, just take the path in front of the gates and you'll have directions to the dorm building,"

"Thank you Mr Harrison," Jayce stood up and walked out of the room with her twin.

The two sisters met their father in front of the school gates and they walked on the path as he helped them with their luggage.

The three walked down the path to the dorm building, and it was a wooden-brick building, filled with lights and a garden that circulated it. The local river was beside the 5-story building, and the first thing they saw when they stepped in was a random relaxing-socializing room, with couches, TV, chairs and a few other electronics.

It was heard that most of the students were in the outdoor areas, and some were also in the gym on the other end of the building. The rest was probably in their dorms sleeping or playing with their phones.

It was a huge platform, a few statues of angels at the top of the walls, and paintings hung everywhere. The fireplace which was not burning in the flames stood at the entrance of the door, near some armchairs. A chandelier lit the room as an elevator stood on the end of the room with the sign beside it saying:

First Floor - Recreational Floor (Pool, Lounge, Kitchen, Gym) Second-Third Floor - Girls' Dorms

Fourth-Fifth Floor - Boys' Dorms

Rooftop - BBQ & Jacuzzi

"Damn this has a bunch of facilities," Amber said, "I think I'm starting to like it here," "Our dorm is at 367," Jayce said, "Let's just drop our stuff and then take a tour around," Amber nodded and they entered the elevator, up to the dormitories.

As they stepped to the floor, the first thing they saw was something they wouldn't have seen. Jayce didn't understand the fact if this was a boarding school with tight rules or not, but from what Mr Harrison had said, it definitely was a tight and rule-based school.

Two people kissing in the middle of the hallway made her not think of that as true.

The brunette haired boy backed away from the curly-haired girl and stared at the people who had just entered.

"Oops," the brunette boy smirked towards the twins and their dad. The three furrowed their brows, "Sorry for the displeasing scenery," he said, walking towards them, "Enjoy your stay in this boarding school," he sneered and shoved past Jayce, making her bags fall, "Moodwreckers,"

Jayce scoffed silently when he left in the elevator to the ground floor, "Such an entertaining boy," she muttered, sneering. Her dad was looking awkwardly at what he just saw.

She picked up her bags and walked towards her dorm when the curly-haired girl with bronze skin broke in between their walk, "I'm Brenda, are you guys new students?"

Jayce didn't know if she would smile to her after the unpleasant scene, but she did anyway, "I'm Jayce, and this is my twin, Amber, pleasure," she said.

Amber waved at Brenda.

Brenda gave a smile, "If you're wondering who that was, that was Ashton Walker," she went straight to the point.

"I didn't really ask who that was," Jayce gave a timid smile.

"Heads up that he's the king of the school, he can do anything and he will do anything to get what he wants, both mentally, physically and academically," Brenda said, "He's the smartest in the school, no one ever beats him, and not mention the richest,"

"Is that so?" Jayce muttered. Selfish, it was, nothing would steal a top place from her. First was her place and hers only.

"And you're his girlfriend?" Amber asked.

"He doesn't date," Brenda says, "He never dates,"

"And you kissed?" Jayce furrowed.

"I'm not the only one," Brenda curled her lip and walked to the elevator, going down.

"Heads up," Dave broke in, "You just need to get your studies done for high school here,"

"And that's damn true," Jayce said.

~~~

"New girl?" Jaxon asked.

The three boys were in the swimming pool area, where everyone was having a pool party. This boarding school wasn't that tight after all.

"New girls," Ashton corrected, "Twins," "Woah," Eric commented, "Identical?"

"No," Ashton immediately said, "One had green eyes and the other had hazel, and the green-eyed one was slightly taller than the hazel-eyed one. And the green-eyed one had freckles and the hazel-eyed one didn't have any,"

"That detailed huh?" Jaxon scoffed.

"They interrupted my kiss with Brenda, moodwreckers," Ashton said, scowling.

"Whatever," Eric said, "Wanna go to the cliff today?"

"Sure,"

"Yo," Jaxon interrupted, "Are those the twins you were talking about?" he jerked his head to the two brunette girls.

~~~

The dorm was located at the end of the right hallway, and it started with a wooden tall door with the room number in front of it.

They unlocked the room with the key the principal had given before and entered the L- shaped dorm.

When they entered, their left was a door to a simple bathroom with a shower and a toilet, and as they walked forwards through the short corridor, there was a huge window covered by curtains and two queen-sized beds covered in white bed covers.

On the side of each bed was a small bookshelf and a study table with a lamp. It was simple yet cozy.

In front of their beds was a TV and in the coffee table there were some books and shelves on both sides.

Beside the TV was a small door leading to a small walk-in closet. The wall lights shone brightly and the curtains covering the window lead to a balcony with a sliding-door.

"This is probably one of the best dorms I've seen," Amber exclaimed and thumped on the bed, "I take the right, you take the left,"

Jayce nodded and put her bag on the bed.

"Well then," Dave said, as he put down his daughters' stuff, "I have to go to the station and tidy up the house, if you want, you can go home first before school starts around next week,"

"Right," Amber said, "I think I wanna tour around the school first," "I'll think about it," Jayce said.

"Okay," Dave said, putting two thumbs up, "Good luck and bye," he smiled and left the room.

The two twins put their stuff on top of the bed first, "Pool?" They both grinned at the same time.

They nodded at the same time and bolted out of the room and went for the elevator, going down at that minute.

They went through the door on the side of the couch and got to the pool where everyone assembled.

"This is gold," Amber stated.

~~~

The three flustered at the sight of the two twins.

"From me, they look completely the same," Eric said, "Probably gonna take a hard time for me to differ," he took his soda and gulped it down.

"That girl," Ashton pointed at Jayce, "Is a lot taller than Amber, like you can literally see that,"

"Can't see anything different," Jaxon replied, "What are you? A perfectionist?" Ashton scowled at him.

Jayce caught the eye of the brunette boy she saw earlier, she huffed and went to the platform to get some cold drinks. Amber blended in easily and immediately chatted with the boys and girls under the shade.

"Let's get going," Ashton said to his friends and stood up. He took out a car key from his pocket.

Jayce noticed the three boys, "What are they up to?"

For a student who didn't know anything about this entire school, she definitely knew that none of the students were allowed to go outside of school territory unless given permission to do so.

And as a girl who was left by her mother, she knew her curiosity was sometimes correct.

~~~

Jayce hid behind a tree as the three boys entered a jeep and Ashton drove out of the lanes of the boarding school. She had not seen the town at all since her father dropped her at the boarding school immediately after they arrived. But she wanted this to treat him back to his disrespect and manners.

She used one of the bicycles provided by the school and followed the car by the sidewalk.

Sure, this was a weird acquaintance, but sure, she also had her own cases where she nearly lost someone when she wasn't curious. It was built-in to her since that happening.

~~~

The boys arrived at the cliff and jumped off the jeep. They opened their arms out wide to enjoy the cold wind.

"This feels so good I swear," Eric said.

"That's what you said for the last 7 times you've come here," Ashton scoffed. "I would literally not get bored of this," Eric said.

"Same to be honest," Jaxon grinned.

Jayce took out her phone and recorded them from behind a tree, hoping to show it to the principal. She needed to get a heads on her soon-to-be academic rival. She didn't care if she had gotten the so-called king of the school her enemy, but her own want was larger than anyone else's. First was her place and hers only.

"Let's see if you're gonna get in trouble for this," Jayce snorted at the recorded video and was about to put her phone in her pocket when a voice broke in.

"Mind sharing the video?" Ashton asked, lending his hand, hoping for her to give him the phone.

Jayce inserted her phone into her pocket, "Why would I?"

"You're hoping to get me in trouble," Ashton clicked his tongue and approached her, blocking her against a tree with his two hands, "I can fight if you want, for the phone,"

"Don't try me, Ashton," she smiled sweetly as she grabbed his left hand that was on the tree and twisted it so that now he was against the tree bark with his arm on the back.

"Hey!" he yelled, in pain, "How do you know my name?" his two friends looked at him while giggling in pleasure.

Jayce released his arm, "I heard you're the smartest in the school, always getting top scores and all, no one beats you," she changed the topic.

Ashton picked himself up from the tree bark and scowled, "So?"

"It wouldn't be a pain if you just gave up for the next two years and gave your first place to me, right? Just for two years," she smiled, hoping he would take the offer.

"And you're crazy enough to think I would? First is my place and mine only," he replied, stating it.

"Well then," Jayce started, pouting her lips, "Do you mind if I show this video to the principal?" she sarcastically frowned, "First has always been my place after all,"

Ashton looked down then looked up in a frowning way, then immediately scoffed in disbelief, "Do it. Let's see who wins,"