Chapter 1

"Kids! It's time for breakfast!"

Isabella Duano woke with a start and slammed her alarm clock a second before it rang. In five minutes, she was out of her room. She had already picked out her outfit for today and her backpack had been ready for a week now. Besides, today was the day she was starting freshmen year and she wanted her high school year to get off to a good start. And being late would kill that chance.

Her older brother, Cedric, on the other hand, took a little longer even when his digital alarm clock went off. He didn't even know why he should bother. Nothing happened senior year.

"Cedric Jason Duano!" his mom called up the stairs. "You better get your butt down here! Your sister's is!"

Cedric snorted as he got out of bed and pulled on a random pair of jeans. Of course his sister was down there. Perfect little Isabella.

He decided to keep his black wife beater on and pulled a white button-up over it. Before going downstairs, he hurried into the bathroom and put in his green contacts. Screw his brown eyes. They were too soft for him.

"Cedric Jason Duano!" his mother screeched. "You're not seriously wearing your pajama shirt to the first day of school, are you? And didn't you wear those jeans yesterday?"

Cedric groaned. "Mom, nobody's gonna care. And jeans all look the same. Chill out."

"Young man, you do not talk to your mother that way," his father said sternly. "Eat your breakfast."

Cedric rolled his eyes and eyed Isabella. There she was, sitting all prim and proper, eating her cheerios calmly. Her polo shirt was new and Cedric guessed she was probably wearing the pleated skirt she had bought last week.

"Whoops," he said as he dropped his spoon. As he bent down to pick it up, he caught sight of Isabella's skirt and shoes: knee-length and solid blue flats.

What a prude.

"I'm leaving for school now," Isabella said, setting her spoon down and standing up. She placed her bowl in the sink and looked at Cedric expectantly.

It only took a few seconds for Cedric to remember...he had to drive her to school today. How could he have forgotten? The majority of his summer vacation had been spent arguing over it.

Fuck, Cedric thought bitterly as he got up from the table.

"Cedric, you have put your bowl in the sink," his mom reminded him.

Ignoring her, Cedric grabbed his car keys and ran out the door. Isabella quickly ran after him, struggling to carry his backpack along with her own.

As soon as Isabella shut the car door and threw his backpack into the backseat, she said" You welcome."

Cedric glared at her.

"Let's get one thing straight, pipsqueak," he hissed at her. "You're a freshmen and I am a senior. We don't know each other. So you just stay outta my way."

Isabella frowned and clammed her mouth shut.

Cedric started the car. He knew his sister well enough to know that it meant she understood him perfectly.

Later That Day...

"That will be $2.55."

Isabella handed the lunch lady her money and took her tray. Now came a problem...

Where to sit?

Isabella saw her brother, sitting in a gaggle of seniors, mostly girls. She wasn't surprised. Ever since he was in eighth grade, Cedric had been a god. Mr. Popular. The Ladies' Man.

And a Grade-A Jerk.

Isabella used to be close to Cedric. He used to be sensitive, protective, kind...the perfect big brother. He had always looked out for her, especially when she had gotten braces in 4th grade. She had been teased mercilessly by the boys for that and Cedric had been there to beat them up. Cedric made sure nobody messed with his little sister and nobody...nobody...did. Back then, they always ate lunch together and nobody questioned it.

But now Isabella couldn't suck up enough courage to even consider the idea. She knew what would happen. Cedric would pretend not to know her. They weren't exactly twins. And everyone would mock and jeer at her. She would be labeled as the Wannabe Freshmen.

But where else could she sit? She eyed all the tables...none of them looked welcoming. It seemed as though every chair was reserved for one person or another. To her left and right, kids would stand up and wave their arms, saying "Kelly, over here!" "Yo, Dylan!" "Grace, I saved you a seat."

Nobody stood up to announce a saved seat for Isabella.

That's when she saw it, the perfect spot: there was an empty table, near the window. Nobody was sitting there and it seemed a bit off to the side, near the trash cans. Surely, no one would care.

Isabella gaily headed over to the table and sat her tray down. She was just about take a bit of her fry, when a pair of pom-poms smacked down next to her.

Thinking it was a potential friend, Isabella looked up, smiling. What she met was an ice-cold scowl.

"Um, hi," Isabella said hesitantly. "You can sit down, if you--"

"What is that?" another girl said. Isabella noticed that this girl was also frowning.

"It doesn't look human," a third one spoke. That was when Isabella noticed that they were all wearing identical uniforms.

Cheerleader uniforms.

Aw, crap.

"God, get this thing away from me," a redhead cried. A round of laughter followed.

"Okay," the first said, sitting down. "We're gonna let this slip since its the first day."

Isabella stared at the girl, confused.

"Hello?" the redhead said, narrowing her eyes. "Do you not understand or something?"

"I think she's blind," one whispered.

"Look at her clothes," one said. "Karina, what do you think?"

The girl, who was obviously Karina, smirked as she said, "Random."

Another fit of laughter went around and this time.

"Hey, loser, just got a text message," the redhead said, checking her phone. "It's from Little Miss Sunshine. She wants her outfit back."

Isabella just stared but she could feel the tears coming to hers. She was not going to cry...she was NOT going to cry...

"Let me spell this out for you, geek," Karina said. "Get. Out. Of. My. Face."

Isabella didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed her tray and was out of her seat in a flash.

"Let us know when you get out of Loserville!" one called after her. This time, the entire cafeteria laughed.

So the entire cafeteria had seen everything. Great. By the end of the school, everyone was going to know about Isabella Duano's encounter with the Cheerleaders.

Before she left, Isabella scanned the cafeteria till she saw the one person she was looking for.

Cedric was there, watching her.

And he was laughing the hardest.