Chapter One

Kalyn Roberts was still dreaming soundly when her alarm clock rang off in a very cheery manner. Half-awake and yawning slightly, she reached for her alarm clock, turned it off, and slid back under the covers. “Go away, you stupid alarm clock, I was just about to be asked out by Josh Parker,” she said sleepily.

“You do realize that I resent being called an alarm clock, Kaye,” A voice suddenly said, jerking her awake. She sat up in bed and found her older sister, Lacey, staring at her with an amused smile curving her lips.

“Lacey, what are you doing in my room? Don’t you have to apply make-up or something?” Kalyn said sleepily as she finally walked out of her bed.

“Nope,” Lacey said cheerfully, almost too cheerfully for Kalyn’s taste. “I’m almost ready. But sister dear,” A sickly sweet smile graced her sister’s face. “You might want to hurry.”

“Oh yeah, and why is that? Who wants to hurry in getting to school, anyway?” Kalyn grumbled as she made her bed.

“Let’s just say that mom and dad want to talk to you. You see, they’ve received some very interesting mail from your school principal…..”

“What?” Kalyn hissed in alarm. “Oh crap.” And with that, she bolted straight out the door and ran down to the dining room, not caring that she was still in her nightclothes. From the upstairs, she could hear her sister’s laughter.

She skid to a stop when she reached the dining room. Composing herself, she slowly met the eyes of her parents, who were staring at her with an unreadable expression on their faces.

“Good morning, mom, dad,” she said, forcing a smile. They didn’t smile back. Uh-oh, I’m in trouble now, she thought, and gulped.

“Good morning, Kalyn Michelle,” Her father said, slowly sliding into view a white envelope. This could not be good; he only called her by her full name when he was mad.

“We received some very interesting mail today, from your principal, Mrs. Lambert,” her mother said.

“A-about what, mom?” Kalyn said, trying to play the innocent.

Then the explosion started.

“You know very well what we’re talking about, Kalyn!” Her father roared, standing up. She gulped. “Or do we have to enlighten you?”

She tried to play for time. “I- I believe you do, dad,” she said in a strong voice, holding her head high.

Her dad exploded all over again. “Alright then! Tell me, Kalyn, does it give you personal pleasure to embarrass the family? How could you pull a stunt like that?!”
Despite her nervousness, she smirked. “Dad, you still haven’t told me what I’ve done.”

It was her mother’s turn to explode. “Kalyn Michelle, do not display that kind of audacity in front of me and your father. Honestly, Kalyn, climbing on top of the roof and playing music with your band during school hours? Haven’t you learned anything? It’s going to take us a hell of a lot of begging and bribing in order for you not to be suspended from school, young lady!”

Kalyn winced at her mother’s voice. “Mom,” She began patiently. “You don’t understand. I’m a musician. It’s in my soul. Last time I checked, musicians didn’t need to learn World History.”

Her father was turning purple with rage. “Didn’t—didn’t---Oh for goodness sake!” he yelled. “Kalyn, when will you learn? We sent you to one of the most prestigious academies in Fall River not to gallivant with those rambunctious boys you call friends and band mates, but we sent you there to get a good education!”

“You mean, dad, to find a good match for marriage,” Kalyn shot back.

Her mother rubbed her temples tiredly. “Kalyn, you are impossible. What on earth did we do wrong? Why couldn’t you have been more like your sister?”

“What? Like Lacey?” Kalyn snorted in a very un-ladylike fashion. “Sorry mom, but a stuck-up, convention-following, make-up obsessed airhead is really not what I would like to become.”

“Don’t insult your sister, Kalyn, it’s not nice,” her father warned.

“So is yelling at me first thing in the morning,” she shot back.

That was the final straw. “Kalyn, you had better get your act together. If we receive another letter from your principal, then you had better start saving your allowance, young lady. As of now, you are grounded for the rest of the month,” Her father decided.

Kalyn had enough. “I don’t need this right now. I am so out of here,” she said and not minding the calls of her parents, she stalked out of the dining hall in the direction of the door.

Moments later she reappeared, grabbed an apple, and left for her bedroom. “Better get changed first,” she said quietly to herself.

The moment she reached her room, she fell back on her bed. This was going to be a long day.

..------..

“Why so glum today, Kaye?” her best friend, Ysabelle, asked as they entered the doors of Kentworth Academy together. “You look more pissed off than usual.”

“Got into trouble with the parental units, again,” Kalyn sighed in annoyance. “Because of that stunt me and my band pulled yesterday.”

“I told you it wasn’t a good idea,” Ysabelle chided. “But would you listen? No…….”

“Ysa, please, shut up. Don’t make me madder than I already am,” she said.

“Okay, backing off,” Ysabelle said, throwing her hands up in defeat. Suddenly she squealed when she saw a lanky, light-brown haired boy coming towards them.

“Hey Brian,” she said to her boyfriend, smiling. He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. Kalyn looked away, disgusted.

“Okay, guys, please, keep the PDA on the down-low. Some people would actually like to keep their breakfast and their eyesight, thank you very much,” she told them, an eyebrow raised.

“Now, Kaye, you don’t have to be jealous just because I have a boyfriend and you don’t,” Ysabelle said, smiling. Brian laughed.

“Need I remind you, Ysabelle, that you wouldn’t even have said boyfriend if I didn’t bring the both of you together in the first place,” Kalyn shot back.

“Could you please stop talking about me as if I’m not here?” Brian said, rolling his eyes.

“Aww, Brian feels left out,” Kalyn smiled teasingly. “Don’t worry Bri, we still love you,” And she teasingly took his hand.

“Hey, Kalyn, hand off my man,” Ysabelle said, pretending to look angry, mockingly narrowing her eyes.

“Sorry Ysa,” Kalyn gave her best friend a wicked grin. “But in order for that to happen, Brian would actually have to become a man first.”

“Hey!” Brian protested. The girls laughed.

The bell rang suddenly. “Catch you later guys,” Kalyn said. And without another word to the couple, she sped off in the direction of her first class.

..------..

“Good morning, students!” The overly-cheery voice of their homeroom teacher, Mr. Parish, rang through the moment he entered the room for Kalyn’s second class. “And how are all of you today?”

A blank silence met his statement.

He sighed and faced his students, deciding to try another tactic. “What’s up, man?” He said in his best I’m-an-angst-ridden-teen-with-a-lot-of-issues voice.

Even more blank silence. (You could practically hear the crickets chirping.)

Suddenly, Mark Hoffman, aka the badass of the Senior Year, raised his hand.

“Yes, Hoffman?” Mr. Parish said warily.

“Sir,” Mark said, smirking. “No offense, but next time, please, don’t try greeting us like some problematic teenager, cuz, newsflash? You ain’t young anymore.”

Mr. Parish glanced sharply at the student who was smirking amidst his laughing classmates. “You know Hoffman, that is exactly the kind of attitude that landed you in detention yesterday.”

“Yeah and the amount of money my parents are paying this school should be enough to keep me out of it,” Mark retorted, folding his arms.

Two seats away from Mark, Kalyn rolled her eyes. In her opinion, she couldn’t understand why this overgrown, pampered pretty boy had nothing better to do than to annoy the hell out of the Kentworth faculty and torture defenseless First Years. Before she could spot herself, she called out lazily, “Mark, why don’t you do us all a favor and shut that big mouth of yours, or do you lack the necessary brain cells to accomplish such a simple task?”

Mark turned and glared at her. “Nobody asked your opinion, Ms. I-Skip-Classes-To-Play-With-My-Band-On-The-Roof-Of-The-School-Building.”

“Wow, Mark, such a long sentence. Didn’t know you were capable of producing more than one-syllable words,” Kalyn remarked. Before Mark could reply, another male voice interrupted, this one making Kalyn’s already pissed off mood escalate even more.

“Roberts, why don’t you take your own advice and shut up? Maybe then we can actually do something productive besides hearing you two overgrown brats bicker like two girls cat fighting,” The cool, somewhat cold and arrogant voice said.

Kalyn turned around, and found her classmate-and one of the people she disliked the most- Alex Donovan, looking back at her, arms folded.

She had enough. Couldn’t he see that she wasn’t in the mood today? “Donovan, what the hell is your problem?” she snapped, looking straight at him. He didn’t even flinch. “Can’t you see that I’m getting seriously pissed off here?”

“No,” he said simply, smirking. “Besides, if I did, why the hell should I care? It’s your problem, not mine.” By then, Mr. Parish was glaring at the prospect of losing yet another lesson due to this arguing couple.

If looks could kill, Alex would probably be six feet under by now. “Donovan, has it ever gotten through your over-large head that you’re just too much of an arrogant jerk for your own good?”
“Yeah, and thanks by the way,” He said, a hint of a smile on his face, not skipping a beat. “I do what I can. You know that I just love pleasing you, and I know you get a sense of pleasure when you call me an arrogant jerk, so yeah…..” He gave a triumphant grin (not minding the sighs of the other girls who were, sadly, not immune to his charms and looks), knowing full well that he had spiked her temper again. “Tell me, Roberts, do you call me an arrogant jerk to make you feel good about yourself because you know that you, unlike other normal girls, don’t get any attention from the opposite gender?”

Kalyn’s anger had now reached boiling point. She was fully prepared to give him an earful of all the possible curse words she could aim at him, but before that could happen, a very angry looking Mr. Parish interrupted.

“Alright, that is enough!” He yelled. “I do not want to see another lesson wasted because of three rich society brats who think that just because their parents pay the school exorbitant amounts gives them enough right to interrupt class by fighting! Hoffman, Roberts, and Donovan! Detention at 3 pm and no protesting unless you want to have detention for the rest of the month! Now does anyone else want to speak up?”

Once again, the class was deadly silent, but tension was thick in the air as Kalyn and Alex shot each other secret glares.

“Okay, let’s begin then!” Mr. Parish’s voice had suddenly returned chirpy and cheerful again, any indication that he was mad completely erased. “Now…..”

As the teacher began, Kalyn glared once more at Alex before burying her head in her hands. Thanks to her big mouth and uncontrollable temper, she was in so much trouble.

Again.