3. SELF-DEFENSE

The only thing that kept her alive was her want: to be nothing like her mother. To be the complete opposite of her mother, to not be a failure. All her life, she had to work hard to make sure she was not like her mother.

Amber furrowed her brows, "What does that mean?" her voice broke.

Jayce turned away, "Telling you won't reduce the pain, won't it?"

Amber gritted her teeth and pulled her sister by her clothes, "We're sisters, Jayce," she stated, "You're supposed to tell me everything. If you aren't, you're being selfish to your max,"

"Selfish?" Jayce scoffed, "Don't you think I deserve to be selfish for once?"

"Have you ever been selfless?" Amber asked right away.

Jayce winced, unable to speak. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She bit her lip.

"I don't think so, right?" Amber said, without thinking of anything. She turned around and started unpacking her stuff, "And for goodness sake, Jayce, we haven't even started school yet," she groaned in a whisper.

~~~

Things went with boredom and constant ignoring of each other. It was the end of the week, and by Monday, September 6, they would have the first day of school.

Ashton, Jaxon and Eric were going from their dorm to Eric's house for dinner. The rest of the students had their dinner in the dining hall (with very nasty food) while most others cooked their own random food for pool parties in the dorm building's kitchen.

Ash, Jaxon and Eric's dorm was at level 5, and it was the most luxurious dorm. The other dorms only fitted 2 people, while this fitted 3. It was more like a huge apartment than a dorm. It had 3 master bedrooms, a huge kitchen, huge bathrooms, a huge walk-in closet, their own fireplace and lounge and chandeliers that hung from the matte-black walls.

Of course, the three boys were best friends, and all of them were extremely wealthy.

The three boys were walking through the kitchen of the first level and they met the two twins having a chat with some other friends. Ashton glared at the green-eyed girl and she glared back at him from the corner of her eye.

She was wearing a dark brown checkered blazer and skirt set and her wavy auburn hair was in a half-up-half-down. The brown-eyed twin was wearing a brown turtleneck and a brown-gray skirt, with her similar wavy auburn hair but in a high ponytail.

He still had not found out the name of one who beat the crap out of him that day, and as someone who was vengeful easily, he saw this as a way to lower down her popularity.

"Hey," he approached them.

Eric and Jaxon flinched behind him.

The two twins looked at him. One of them gave him a sweet smile, that meant nothing but sweet.

"I'm Ashton," he introduced himself, "We met the day you moved in, remember?"

The two twins nodded.

"So which is which?"

"I'm Amber," the brown-eyed girl said, standing up to shake his hand, formally as if it was necessary.

She was definitely the opposite of the green-eyed girl, which he had finally found out the name of.

"Jayce, pleasure," the green-eyed girl said, giving him a sly smile.

Ashton gave her an unpleasant smile in return, "We've met," he said, "She nearly broke my arm, ow," he acted it out, holding his hand in pain.

The people around them started whispering around, but it looked as if they were laughing about it. Bold, that was what the crowd said.

Jayce looked extremely calm, "He sneaked out of his dorms, I was just telling him to go back because I know it's against the rules,"

Amber furrowed at these two, "You both met? Like actually talked?"

Jayce ignored her sister, and crossed her leg over the other, "But he didn't want to listen, and he cornered me against a tree, so I had to do what I needed: self-defense," she said it so proudly.

Ashton put his hands in his pockets, he smirked, "She threatened me actually," he said and sat beside her, making her feel more irritated.

From the corner of his eye, he saw her gulp.

Ashton curled his lip, "She said she would share the video to the principal and get me punished and probably expelled of my behavior if I didn't-"

"I was highly terrified at that moment, so I just told him to go back to the dorm. Not that it was any of my business, I feel that rules should be followed," Jayce broke in, smiling at the crowd, playing as a victim.

"We love that discipline!" one cheered.

Jayce chuckled silently, while glaring at Ashton. He scoffed at her. She furrowed at why he still felt so calm.

"But no one gets Ashton in trouble," one broke in the cheering.

Jayce raised a brow, Amber as well, "Meaning?"

"Ashton is the son of Kimberly Walker, head of the foundation that's keeping this boarding school alive. He'll never get in trouble for his position," someone explained.

Jayce threw her attention to Ashton who was raising a brow to exasperate her. She scowled in the form of a smile that tricked the crowd. He lifted up one side of his lip into a grin, mouthing the words, "You're not the only great person here..." she fully understood his words, "...Jayce," he said her name in a threatening manner and stepped up.

She clenched her jaw as Ashton sneered at her. He joined in with Jaxon and Eric.

"I'm Jaxon Spencer by the way," a curly black-haired and tan boy said.

"Eric Rodriguez, pleasure," the blonde boy with green eyes smiled in a sweet manner.

Amber gave a small grin, "Pleasure,"

"We'll get going now," Ashton tucked his hands in his dark-brown pants that had his light brown sleeveless sweater tucked on top of his white shirt.

Jayce gave him an unsatisfying scowl as he walked away, proud.

~~~

"So she is Janus," Jaxon concluded.

"I wouldn't mind any of it," Ashton said as he drove the car, "She has no path on taking my place,"

"You never want to cheat, in any way," Eric said.

"Well, I kinda don't have any other choice, don't I?" he replied.

Eric, who was sitting behind, pursed his lips, "Let's live our last day before school with ease,"

~~~

The boarding school covered the whole of the part where the forest was deforested, and coming out of the front gates that was extremely far from the dorm buildings, they were out of the woods and the nature, and back to the vibes of the city.

The town was a small town, and the houses weren't that far apart. Most of them were two-floored houses.

It wasn't a town where everything was old-fashioned, it was just a quiet town with all the things these days now would need.

A lot of kids were running around the parks and adults were walking down the sidewalk, near the shops, buying things they needed or wanted.

Eric's house was in an isolated area. It was as far away as possible from the main town, some people would call it the elite area. From the town, you would have to travel around 5km or more before you enter the gates to the neighborhood.

The Elite Area, although it wasn't really called that, is where most of the boarding school's students' parents live. Rich and extravagant.

Eric's dad, Oliver Rodriguez, was an interior designer, who usually works with Jaxon's dad, Victor Spencer, a real estate agent. And all of them live in that elite area.

Ashton's mom, Kimberly, owns the largest house in the area, considering she does own the school.

They took a turn from the center fountain when they got in, to the left, and went straight ahead to the houses in the corner. Eric's house had a huge yard up in front, covered with greenery, as his beige house with a red roof covered the top.

Ashton parked his car up in front of the house, determined to not use his basement. They knocked on the door that would lead to the yard as the house was covered with a short, brick wall.

The door opened to a short girl with her hand on the door as she sat on her wheelchair.

"Hey, Jingle Bells," Eric greeted his sister as he gave her an annoying smirk.

Ella Rodriguez, the blonde, green-eyed girl, sitting on the wheelchair with a scowling face, "My literal name is Ella, freak,"

She was 12, and she was home-schooled. When born, she had a disability of not being able to walk, and she has been on a wheelchair most of her life.

"Okay, hi, Jingle Bells," Eric repeated his words as he slipped in through the door and ran as quickly as he could to the porch and get in the front door.

"Hey! You little piece of- FREAK! HEY!" Ella turned her wheelchair around (which she just needed to click on a button for) and used the ramp on the side of the porch to get up, "Eric Rodriguez, YOU COME BACK HERE YOU FREAK!"

"Is there a time when they don't fight?" Jaxon asked.

Ashton gave out a short laugh and stepped in the yard, "Not that I can think of,"

~~~

"Ella, Eric, enough with the games," their mom, Georgia Rodriguez, a housemom, called out to her two kids who were still playing Tom-and-Jerry in the living room.

"YOU FREAK!" Ella threw a blanket at Eric when he dodged away.

"Missed me," he stuck out a tongue on her.

"YOU PIECE OF-"

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way-" Eric continued singing.

"SHUT UP!" Ella yelled as he kept singing.

Ashton and Jaxon gave a small laugh as they kept throwing stuff at each other.

"Boys," Georgia called out, "Dinner's ready,"

Jaxon and Ashton turned around to the kitchen as the smell of steak ran through their nose.

"Smells delicious, Ms Rodriguez," Ashton praised.

"Please, it's my pleasure," Georgia smiled, "Sit down, I'll get the rest,"

Ashton and Jaxon both sat down as Georgia took off her apron and went to the living room. She pulled Eric's ear and brought him to the living room. Eric yelped.

"You're not a kid anymore," Georgia scolded him.

Eric frowned, "It hurts,"

Ella appeared from the living room at the kitchen, and stuck out a tongue on him, "Freak,"

Eric scowled.

"Oliver," Georgia went upstairs, "It's time for dinner,"

Oliver was in his office. The house had a confusing layout of rooms, so she literally had to go through different rooms as she went to her husband's office. He was busy laying out interior designs for new houses he was designing out of town and in town.

"It's time for dinner," Georgia softly said.

Oliver smiled and turned around, putting down his papers and walking out, "Ashton and Jaxon here already?"

"Yes, we're all waiting for you,"

"Let's go, I don't like making people wait,"

~~~

"You have no chance in competing against someone like Ashton, Jayce," Amber said as she scrolled through Instagram in her dorm. She was relaxing, her sister had been pacing around in confusion.

"I need a strategy," Jayce said.

"That's what you've been saying for the last few minutes, I mean for the last half-an-hour," Amber said, "You're making your own enemies, Jayce,"

"Did you really think I would treat my competitor as my friend?" she asked.

"School has not even started, calm your crap down," Amber groaned.

"Mind to say all I need is consecutive A+ grades and first place and extracurricular activities and high scores to get into med school, that's to say and that's the goal," she said.

"Can't you just enjoy life like me?" her sister asked, "You're gonna regret spending your teenage years studying,"

Jayce ignored her sister. Amber huffed.

"Look, if any word that our real mother isn't even Izzie Brooks comes out, I wouldn't give a damn about your reputation as I will try and save mine first," Amber said.

"You know what, whatever. Do what you want, I just need a way to shake his mentality," Jayce sat on her bed.

"Why are you so ambitious anyways?" Amber queried, "Mom was a victim of alcoholism, you're acting as if you're a child of a murderer,"

"I can't be her, I can't even think that she's my mother," Jayce said, "I can't rewrite the past so I need to run from it,"

"You weren't the only one in that house for goodness sake," Amber sighed, "You're acting as if you're the only one who suffered from her alcoholism, I did too. And plus, mom was just a victim of alcoholism, she had her problems but she never threw it out on us, so please stop acting like it traumatized you when it obviously didn't," she plugged in her Airpods and went back to her bed, scrolling through her socials.

Jayce silently rolled her eyes and took her phone, finding a way to calm herself down, she watched her TV shows.

~~~

Dave Brooks was on his walk home from the office with his new colleague and he quite loved everything about this town.

His house was near the boarding school, a simple two-story building. They weren't poor, with the money Izzie had, they had plenty of money for everything.

"So, you solved a bunch of cases when you first got into the police department?" his new colleague, Benedict Sanchez, asked.

Dave nodded, "A few I guess," he said.

"You received Country's Hero Award multiple times, you have all the right to brag," Sanchez grinned.

Dave gave a small smile, "You have any kids?"

Sanchez shook his head, "I just want to live a happy life with my boyfriend," he smiled.

Dave grinned and nodded, "I see, everyone wants to be with the person they love," his smile faded, "I sometimes feel sorry of moving here,"

"Why is that?" Sanchez asked.

"Jayce, my first daughter, had to leave her girlfriend because of that," Dave explained, "And my second daughter, Amber, had to leave most of her friends and memories of the town she grew up in,"

"It hurts but they'll adjust," Sanchez pursed his lips.

"True, I can't ignore boss's orders," Dave let out a chuckle when they finally arrived at his house, "Oh, I've arrived,"

"Oh," Sanchez thinly smiled, "I'll get going, we live just a block away,"

"I see," Dave nodded.

"Maybe one day I can invite you to my house for dinner. Mark makes delicious apple pie," Sanchez offered.

"I'll look forward to it, thanks Sanchez,"

"Anytime,"

~~~

"So he was colorblind and he didn't even bother to tell me that in the interview before he started working," Oliver chatted as they ate, "So when I asked him to paint a client's room teal green, he painted it brown," he laughed, "And he didn't even realize,"

"So what happened next?" Eric asked.

"The client loved it apparently," Oliver chuckled, "Not to offend anyone, but he should've at least told me he was colorblind, good thing the client loved it,"

Georgia gave a small smile and laugh as they continued to eat. Ashton felt his happy place with his friends, and their family was his family, more than his family was.

"The steak's wonderful, Ms Rodriguez," Ashton praised.

"Thank you," Georgia smiled, "How's everything been at school? At home?"

"Dad's been healthy," Jaxon played with his food, he gave a thin smile, "Not sure though,"

"And you, Ashton?" Georgia asked.

Jaxon and Eric pursed their lips.

Ashton stopped eating, he gave a thin smile, "Everything's fine,"

Suddenly, the sound of someone's phone ringing buzzed through their ears.

Ashton checked his phone for someone calling. He gritted his teeth and put down his fork, "I'm sorry everyone, but I have to do something. I really enjoyed the meal," he stood up and took off the napkin, "Thank you so much but I have to go,"

Jaxon and Eric both knew what was happening.

"It's fine, man," Eric said, "Just go,"

Ashton nodded and left the living room and bolted out of the yard and into his car. He took a deep breath before he answered the call, "Yes mom, it's Ashton,"

~~~

Before the phone call

"Ms Walker," the principal stood up, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually," Kimberly said, taking off her sunglasses, even though it was the start of autumn.

They went to the office and Kimberly sat down in one of the chairs.

"What may I help you with, Ms Walker?" the principal, Anthony Harrison, asked.

"I've asked for a report from all the teachers of the worksheets, subjects and topics they will be discussing for the first week," Kimberly said, "May I ask where they are?"

"Oh right," Anthony grinned, "They've given it to me this morning," he opened his drawer and gave her a brown envelope, "Math, Science, History, Geography, Computer Science, Literature and Foreign Languages: German and Spanish,"

Kimberly nodded and took the envelope, "Thank you," she placed the envelope beside her, "I heard a scholar has entered the school, scores higher than Ashton I believe?"

Anthony pursed his lips, "Yes, that is correct, Ma'am,"

"Is it really that hard to understand that you should reject students that are academically better than Ashton?" she calmly asked.

Anthony bit his lip, "Sorry, Ma'am. But the scholar has a twin, and that twin's scores are average. With saying that this boarding school is open to all students, it would be weird if we accepted the twin and not accept the scholar,"

"Then you should have rejected both!" Kimberly yelled.

Anthony felt his heart pounding in his chest.

Kimberly took a breath, "It's fine," she tucked her brunette hair behind her ear where her hoop earrings shone, "I'll assign Ashton to more clubs, it would be a healthy competition for him. And plus, this could be a view for him for his future, where nothing is easy,"

Anthony nodded slowly.

"What's the name of that scholar?"

"Jayce Brooks," he replied.

"Very well," Kimberly said, "As I said, it will be healthy competition so I don't want any dirty hands interfering with Jayce and Ashton's little battle,"

"Yes, ma'am,"

"No help will be given to Ashton unless it's critical," Kimberly stated.

"Yes, ma'am,"

"Since Ashton is already in debate, math, science, basket and the school newspaper club, assign him for band club as well. And also, put him up for student council this year, he's eligible right?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Anthony said.

"Very well, thank you Anthony, I'll get going," Kimberly stood up and took the brown envelope and went out.

She called her son.

~~~

"Ashton, come to the main building now," she said in the phone, "I'm in front of the principal's office, we have a lot of discussing to do,"

"Yes, mom," Ashton turned off the call and speeded up from Eric's house to the boarding school.

He was dead if he didn't obey his mother. He was dead if he didn't do as she asked.

~~~

"We haven't gotten our school uniform, right?" Amber asked.

The twins were in their room. One was watching TV as the other studied. It was obvious who was doing which.

"I'll go to the principal and ask about it," Jayce volunteered.

"Whatever, don't make a scene," she said.

Jayce stood up and went out of her dorm, going to the elevator and walking out of the dorm building. She took a bicycle and paddled to the main building.

As she arrived in the main building, she saw a tall woman, with branded clothes and branded accessories and beige skin with curly brunette hair standing in front of the principal's office.

The sound of a car engine buzzed in her ears and she turned around. Ashton, her face scowled as she thought about it.

She hid behind one of the walls as Ashton entered the main building and began to talk with the woman. Jayce had all ears open.

"What's wrong, mom?" he asked.

"Mom?" Jayce muttered softly, "That's Kimberly Walker?" she furrowed.

"This is all the things you will be studying this week," Kimberly took the brown envelope and lent it to her son.

Jayce furrowed and took out her phone immediately, taking a picture of the 'transaction'.

"Okay," Ashton furrowed.

"I also heard there's a new competitor, Jayce Brooks, ever met her yet?" she asked.

Jayce flustered at her name being said.

Ashton bit his lip, "No," he lied.

"Alright whatever, but anyways," Kimberly said, "I'll be signing you up for band club, so make sure to put those piano lessons into use and sign up for student council this year. With all these clubs you will master, it will be much easier to get into med school, you have all the qualifications," she slyly smiled as she patted her son's shoulder.

Ashton furrowed, "Band club?" he backed away, "Isn't all those clubs enough for you?"

"Ashton Walker, this is all for the benefit of your future. You need to beat that girl no matter what. Be elected for student council, be the best student of the year, be all the clubs' masters and become the best," Kimberly softly said.

Jayce knitted her brows together and scoffed silently, she was recording everything.

"Until when are you just going to keep pushing me this far?" Ashton said bitterly.

"You are saying nonsense right now, Ashton," Kimberly elegantly said. She was madly furious.

"I never wanted med school," he stated, "This was all your dream!" he yelled. He squeezed the brown envelope in his hand and then threw it loudly on the ground. He took a breath and started letting his anger all out, yelling as it echoed the walls, "Forget about all this crap, you will never understand the fact that your son is hardly living, he's just a doll being controlled by his own mother just because she has the highest ambitions and the only way to 'become' her son is to have best grades and be the most talented and I-"

A huge sound came in. Jayce gasped as Kimberly slapped her son.

"YOU THINK RAISING YOU WAS EASY?" she yelled in a larger tone than Ashton.

Ashton's cheek was red and stood silent.

"YOUR FATHER NEVER TOOK CARE OF YOU, I DID. THIS IS THE LEAST YOU CAN DO TO PLEASE ME, YOU UNGRATEFUL JERK. HE LEFT YOU, I WAS HERE," she scolded her son in her breath, yelling as if the glasses were going to break.

"AND UNTIL HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO LIE TO ME?" Ashton replied back, in the loudest yell that his voice was cracking.

"What do you mean by that?" Kimberly asked, certain and in fury.

Ashton closed his eyes shut and took a breath before he opened them. He sighed and spoke in a disbelieving manner, "Dad isn't dead, isn't he?"