“I can’t help it. I’m so excited to get the year started. As outgoing valedictorian, I have responsibilities that have already started. You may think it’s early, but I’m late!”
I was not a morning person. At my house around my family, I did okay, but I was often a grump all through early school mornings until around lunch. Colette, on the other hand, was the opposite. When she offered to pick Avery and me up for the first day of school so that we could all arrive together, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but I rapidly remembered why I often tried my best to avoid Colette in the mornings.
“Well, I’m finishing my hair and makeup, so I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I said.
Colette scoffed, but said, “Fine,” and then the line went dead.
In more of a rush than I was hoping for, I fixed my makeup, grabbed my backpack, and left the room. I swung through the kitchen and offered an apology for dining and dashing on my mom, who’d made a huge breakfast for our first day. I snagged a few pieces of bacon, gave Gus a kiss on the forehead, and wished him a good day, and then I was out the door.
I opened the front passenger side door of Colette’s cliche white BMW and hopped in. Along with her pixie cut, Colette was wearing a white blouse with a beige bow tie, a ruffled black skirt, and black stilettos on her feet. She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then reached out and ruffled my hair, which I’d decided to wear down for the day.
“Wow. Volume achieved! It looks great.”
“Yeah?” I responded. “I started using this new shampoo that really fluffs it up.”
“It looks really good. Nathan’s gonna love it.”
I forced out a chuckle. “I hope so.”
The bracelet that Nathan had given me was a heavy weight on my wrist. So much of who I was had somehow become associated with Nathan. It wasn’t as if I didn’t understand that he was the crux of The Royal Court, but part of me had still hoped in the past four years that I would come to be known on my own. Avery and Alistair saw me for who I really was, but a majority of the court still saw me as a subset of Nathan, nothing more.
Colette started her car. “Okay. Let’s go get Avery.”
Avery was only a five-minute drive from my house. None of us lived very far from each other since the upper-class all lived in South Postings. I’d barely gotten settled in my seat when we were already pulling up in front of her house. Unlike me, Avery was sitting outside, waiting. Her hair was also down in a wild, beautiful, curled mane around her head, and she wore a simple, understated tan tank top and black leggings with tan booties. I would forever be jealous of how stunning she was.
She skipped her way over to the car and climbed into the back seat, scratching at the top of my head lovingly as she slid in. She moved over to settle into the middle seat. “Senior year!” she cheered.
Colette clapped her hands, and I gave her a tepid fist bump. I flipped around to look at Avery, planning to compliment her on her look, but my eyes landed instantly on a darkened spot around the lower left side of her neck. I pointed with a gasp. “What is that?”
Her hand immediately flew to the spot in question. “Nothing.” Colette turned to try to look, but Avery pushed her face. “You drive. You,” she said, pointing at me, “eyes up front!”
With a half-lidded stare, I slowly turned my head back around, but I couldn’t stop a smile from rising to my face. Avery and Alistair were obviously meant to be together. It was just another good reason to stay involved in The Royal Court. Seeing their relationship grow was going to bring me more than a little joy. They were both such great people and deserved happiness.
The rest of the car ride to school was filled with Colette talking nonstop about her responsibilities as class president and valedictorian and how she has to pick a successor. Even though those roles were meant to be decided by school vote, thanks to The Royal Court’s influence, it was the expectation that someone hand-picked by Colette would run and eventually be voted in.
“And I can’t make the decision all alone, so I need you guys to keep an eye out for me, okay?” Colette said. “I trust both of your judgment, so if anyone piques your interest, let me know.”
“I can do that,” I replied.
Avery nodded. “Me too. Although it’s gonna be difficult finding someone as good as you.”
Colette sighed. “It is.” She seemed truly troubled, and it made me laugh.
We pulled into the school parking lot, parking in the spots that the school inherently left open for the members of The Royal Court, and climbed out. People greeted us from every angle as we walked toward the school, and we all took turns smiling, waving, and occasionally hugging people as we passed.
“Yo!”
I looked over my shoulder, and Kyle was jogging to catch up with us. His first-day outfit was simple, as well, black jeans, black, low-top converses, and an army green shirt. Nathan had specifically picked all beautiful people to be part of The Royal Court, and when we all gathered in a group, that was obvious. With rings on all of his fingers and a collection of bracelets and rubber bands on both wrists, Kyle was just a good old-fashioned attractive man. He had short cut black hair and glasses that were a light color to complement his darker skin tone framed his eyes.
“What’s going on, ladies?” he greeted us before turning to look at Avery. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Avery responded.
Kyle and Avery had been involved in a mostly political relationship for almost a year. They were the prince and princess in line, respectively, meaning if anything ever happened to myself or Nathan, they would step into the king or queen role. Nathan single-handedly strong-armed the relationship, but no matter how much he forced it, Kyle just wasn’t Avery’s type, and she ended up naturally drifting toward Alistair.
“Where’s Nathan?” I asked as we made our way toward the front doors of the school. He and Kyle typically rode together.
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Brayden damn near started crying, begging Nathan to let him pick him up this morning.” His irritated expression blended into an amused one. “I think I passed them going twenty on the ninety-five.”
We all started to laugh, and I couldn’t help but be amused by the thought of Nathan stuck in Brayden’s car, going way too slow down the interstate. Colette and Kyle went in one direction when we got inside the school, and Avery and I went the other, based on where our lockers were located. We sifted through the sea of students until we got to the two lockers with our names on the front in the glittered letters that Avery and I had decorated together during our freshman year.
“Aw,” Avery said, petting the letters. “We’re gonna have to take them down this year.”
“They’d look good on a dorm door,” I responded before turning and flicking Avery on the forehead. “So, are you gonna tell me about that hickey?”
Avery’s stoic expression grew into a bright, wide smile. “We may or may not have made out last night.”
I did a happy dance in place. “Yes! And is it official?”
Avery tilted her head to the side before turning her attention away from me and opening her locker. I mimicked the action, but I kept my eyes on Avery for the answer. “You know damn well it can’t be official,” she said. “Nathan would throw a hissy fit. It’s just not worth it.”