POV: KATHERINA

I’m gonna be late!

Great.

So freaking great!

Slipping on a gray sweetheart top and matching it with black jeans, I started combing my tangled black hair.

I was too lazy last night to braid my hair before hitting the bed, and my beautiful silky hair has taken revenge.

I took my time combing it in sections. My hair stops right above my navel, and I’d like to grow it till it covers my ass.

After a busy ten minutes, my hair was swaying in perfect waves.

Picking up all the books from my study table, I dumped them in my small bag and rushed out of my room with a black shrug and a bag full of heavy freaking books.

I rushed to the dining table, placing my books and shrug on the table and my ass on the seat. Breakfast was already on my plate, so wasting no time, I took a forkful of pasta and shoved it in my mouth.

“No one’s going to steal your breakfast, honey,” Mom said while making a sandwich.

“I’m late, Mom! Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked, glaring at her.

“You’re a nineteen-year-old young lady who is capable of setting an alarm and waking up in the morning on time for school.

“Also, unlike you, I have better things to do in the morning than to wake you up.” She giggled like some adorable kid.

“I believe the better things are teaching my sweet little sister not to pee the bed at night. Right, Mom?”

Hearing this, my sister, sitting in her old baby chair, threw her spoon in my direction. Of course, it flew over my head.

“Mommy!” she started wailing at the top of her lungs, which I ignored and continued sipping my juice.

“Kat!” Mom hissed and started consoling her.

“Bad Kat! Bad Kat, you are,” my sister said, pointing her little finger at me.

“And you are a bad dog. Bad dog,” I mimicked her voice and rolled my eyes, which only made her wail louder.

“Katherina, stop that!” Mom said. I shrugged in response and ignored my mother’s glare.

I finished the last bite of last night’s leftover pasta and got up, lifting up my books and the shrug.

My sister was no longer wailing. She looked peaceful, and Mother was busy packing her lunch. I stood for a second, wondering how to spoil the moment.

That’s when Mom saw my reaction, and her eyes widened in fear, and she mouthed no. I smirked and let the words out of my mouth.

“You know what, Bella? Ursula loves—”

“Katherina!”

“—teddy bears, and they say she comes at night to—”

“Katherina Blackwood!”

“—collect them from cute little girls like you. You better hide yours.” I spoke in a gravelly monster voice.

I fake glared at her before running toward the main door, so Mother wouldn’t smack my head for the war I’d just started. Behind me, I heard Bella’s wail and cups and bowls shattering.

I opened the main door and closed it behind me, muffling the screams and wails as I stepped out into another cloudy day.

Arabella, my little six-year-old sister, has a weird habit of throwing things when she gets emotional. Well, maybe it’s not that weird. And upsetting her is one of the best feelings ever.

We live in an old small town famous for its tourist spots, from mountains to creeks and beautiful landscapes.

The town is surrounded by forest, which keeps the temperature moderate, attracting people from all over the globe to visit.

But since it’s a town, it also has its disadvantages. Some of the townspeople get educated and leave this town for better lives, while others stay here and live unambitiously.

There’s a gas station, a few restaurants and lodges, and a handful of shops, which are enough for the limited population.

I’ve always dreamed of city life and want to move to a city once high school is done, and the closer I get to graduation, the more I feel it since I’ll be leaving town for college.

I pedaled faster on the wet, empty road, with the clouds painted white and gray, threatening to pour rain in the afternoon. I could see my school in the distance.

Students were rushing in already, which means I was late. Again.

When I reached school grounds, I parked my bicycle hurriedly, making it crash into the others and topple over.

“Oops.”

I saw our school security guard snapping his head toward the source of noise and slitting his eyes at me when he saw who was responsible for it.

“Not again!” I heard him shout and stomp toward me with his security stick pointing at me.

“You come late every day and cause havoc before even starting your first class!”

“Sorry, Oliver!” I shouted back and rushed to my biology class before he could catch me and take me to the office.

My biology teacher is a Chinese woman in her late thirties with straight, short hair that matches her height and posture, and huge spectacles on her non-existent nose.

She’s nice but knows when to be strict with us.

I just hoped she was in a good mood today. The hallway was empty as I ran toward my first class, and when I reached the door, I opened it slowly and popped my head inside.

The whole class turned their heads toward me, as did my teacher.

“Uh…mo-morning Mrs. Chihua—I mean Chunhua.”

Mrs. Chunhua glared at me. I have addressed her as Chihuahua a couple of times by mistake and received her wrath of humongous assignments.

One day I’m going to push her too far.

“Morning, Miss Blackwood. You may come in.” Her voice was curt and steady.

I walked in quietly, my classmates giggling, and I didn’t realize why till my teacher’s voice stopped me abruptly.

“Miss Blackwood, I don’t think you need that helmet. So if you could, please leave it outside the room.”

My hand quickly went to my head. The class laughed, making me go red.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I…I’ll leave it.” I almost threw the helmet out and dashed to my seat.

The class started, and as usual, there was silence.

Mrs. Chunhua is one of the finest teachers at our school and also the kind of teacher who sticks to her work and doesn’t gossip about students to the other teachers in the staff room.

“So, if the sperm doesn’t find an egg to fertilize in the uterus, it’ll survive there for five to seven days. Any questions?” Mrs. Chunhua asked the class.

“How do the sperm survive for so many days?” the class nerd Kylie asked.

“The woman’s cervical fluid nourishes and provides proper nutrients for the sperm to survive,” was her answer, which Kylie scribbled furiously in her book.

After biology was English, one of my favorite subjects because I can sleep in that class.

Mr. Moris does nothing but stand in the front of the class with the textbook covering his face as he reads nonstop, not letting the chatter of the class interrupt him.

After that was mathematics, another brain-eating subject.

I endured all three morning classes patiently and went to the cafeteria for lunch to meet my best friends, Isabella Clearwater and Anna Hemming, who were already seated in our usual place.

We three have been attached at the hip since kids, as our parents are pretty close to each other.

Isabella is a beautiful fair blonde. Anna is the most sensitive among us, with dark brown hair matching her eyes. They were so busy talking to each other that they didn’t see me coming.

“Hey,” I said and sat in my seat.

“You were late this morning,” Bella said.

“Again,” Anna finished giving me a mean look.

“Yeah, and the most surprising part is Mrs. Chihuahua didn’t mention it.”

“Mrs. Chunhua,” they both corrected with an eye roll.

“I prefer Chihuahua,” I mumbled and took out my toast.

“Toast for lunch? You eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and you remain in shape,” Anna said, eyeing my toast.

“My favorite. And come on, you don’t have to only eat toast for breakfast and not lunch.” I shrugged at her.

“Did you see Kevin, by the way?” Bella asked me.

“Chris told me that he has started football again, so they’re training for the upcoming game,” I said with the toast in my mouth.

“He didn’t tell me, and it’s pouring out. Where the hell is he?” she complained

“Chris told me last night. We’ll see them after school, don’t worry,” I replied. “I’m only worried about the upcoming exams.”

“There’s an entire month to go,” Isabella sighed. She hated studying; fashion has always been her priority.

“And I haven’t started yet,” I said, taking a spoon to her brown rice. “Mathematics is fucking me sideways. I need to score higher in that subject.”

“As long as I pass all the subjects, I’m not grounded at home,” she said and looked at Anna, who was lost in her own thoughts. “What’s up with you? Did you finally see yourself naked in the mirror?”

Anna smacked her arm and looked at us. “Do you guys remember the house on Green Street, the one we toilet-papered at night while walking down that way?” Anna asked nervously.

“Yeah, what about it?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows at her.

“Anna Hemming, we didn’t toilet-paper a random house on that street. We toilet-papered a guy’s house who called me a fat ass,” Isabella corrected Anna.

Anna ignored her and what she told next took our breath away.

“Same thing. Now listen, that guy has moved in next to my home.”

“What?” Isabella gasped.

“When?” I asked.

“Last night,” she replied. “And I also believe he must be the new kid.”

I shuffled in my seat and gave my friends a determined look. Isabella had already gone pale, and Anna looked worried.

“Okay, here’s the thing, he doesn’t know that it was us,” I said.

“He does know, Bella. He’s almost sure that it was her. The only problem is he didn’t get to see her ever again,” Anna said, looking at Bella.

“Yeah, that’s right, Anna. He might know it’s her, but she didn’t see him after that park incident, and c’mon, he’s just a random guy who teased her. It’s not a big deal.”

I tried to believe my own words.

“It won’t affect her in any way if she doesn’t show her stupid face to him when she comes over!” Anna snapped.

“Right,” I said, looking at Bella, who was in the first stage of a panic attack.

We had a girls’ night out a month ago. We were on Greet Street when Anna and I went to buy ice cream, leaving Bella alone, which was a big mistake.

There were a bunch of guys near a local park, and one of them teased Bella and called her a fat ass. She fought back and threw a rock at him, which hit his actual fat-ass friend.

They started to chase her as she ran through the street, and we hid in the ice cream shop for what seemed like an hour.

After that scene, Anna met him again a week later when she was on the way to her gram’s. She immediately called both of us, and we followed him to his beautiful house.

We, being best friends for life, planned to pay him back by toilet-papering his house at midnight after the lights were off.

We had so much fun that night, sneaking onto private property in the middle of the night and toilet papering the home with the help of ladders we brought with us.

The security guard was fast asleep on his chair, and Isabella had the guts to shove a tiny leaf into his nose, which made him sneeze loudly and sit up alert in his chair, but we were gone by then.

After that, we never stepped onto that street, especially Bella, because he had seen only her, not me or Anna.

No longer dwelling on the situation, Anna and I tried to lift up Isabella’s mood by talking about fashion while we got ready for gym class.

The best part of Monday is all the three of us share the same afternoon classes.

On the way to class, I saw Megan Barbara and her minions leaning on a locker, probably gossiping about fake nights they spend with the football team.

Most of the words that slip through her rich, matte lips are fake and shitty. The popularity she has here is because of her father, who is the mayor of the town.

That’s why she lost me as a friend when we were young. The four of us were close, but pride got the best of her as we grew up, and she drifted far apart from us.

The worst part is she became an enemy. We don’t understand what made her so cold and selfish.

“Little Blackwood wore the same shorts today. Don’t they stink?” Megan said in a disgusted tone.

Her so-called best friend Veronica Davis made a disgusted face as if she was trying not to puke. I ignored her like I always do.

“I’m glad you like her stinking shorts. She’ll be very happy to give them to you.” Anna sent a flying kiss toward her.

“Puke on Barbara’s wig, Veronica,” Isabella snapped back.

Megan looked like a fuming dragon, angry smoke rising from her ears, and Veronica looked pretty troubled.

We chuckled softly and walked faster to the basketball court where Mr. Peterson, a buff-looking South American around six feet tall in his late forties, was already waiting for the students to arrive.

He’s the kind of man who aims for discipline and obedience from his students.

We all lined up, girls and boys, in separate lines. His voice boomed loud and clear in the silent court, hitting the roof and walls.

“As we all know that this year, we have an inter-school sports competition and I expect us to win the basketball tournament.

“Training will start from tomorrow morning at six am and in the evening after school—two hours of practice every day, excluding Sundays.

“We have not won the trophy for the past two years in a row. I hope you students won’t disappoint me and the school!” he shouted.

He paused for a second and glanced at all the boys in the line, hoping to catch someone scowling, but the students knew better than to give him the satisfaction and face his wrath.

“Ladies.” He looked at us. “No gym class. Boys, line up!”

With that, all the girls scattered. Some went out while the others sat in the seats, watching them play.

“We won’t be having gym classes until Sports Day is over!” Anna squealed with happiness. She hates gym classes. They are her worst nightmares, with dodgeball being at the top of the list.

We sat and gossiped a whole hour because we couldn’t leave the grounds due to the rain.

The rest of the afternoon’s classes went by swiftly. When the last bell rang, I informed Isabella and Anna that I’d meet them on the football field and ran outside.

The air was cool when I stepped out onto the drenched football field. I saw that the coach had left, and the boys were worn out, sitting on a concrete bench.

I quickly spotted Chris with Kevin and made my way toward them.

“Chris,” I called out, running toward him and bumping into his tired body. He almost lost his balance but chuckled over my shoulder and wrapped his arms around me.

“Missed me, I guess?” He smirked, looking into my eyes.

“You have no idea,” I mumbled and placed my lips on his. He kissed me back tenderly, pulling me closer to his body.

“I needed that,” he said softly after we parted and slumped his head on my shoulder.

I ran my fingers through his sweaty brown tendrils. Anna and Isabella arrived, and Isabella was immediately in Kevin’s arms, her back pressed against his front as she started talking about her day.

Anna sat next to them, joining their conversation.

“You need to rest,” I said, softly running my fingers up and down his arms.

“Hmm,” was his only reply. He lifted his head from my shoulder to look at me.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole lately. Practice takes so much of my time that I’m unable to spend my days with you.” He spoke tiredly, his heavy eyelids trying to remain open.

“Take your time. I know how important football is to you, and how important this game is too. I’ll wait,” I said softly, looking into his deep blue eyes that never fail to fascinate me.

I smiled softly and placed a kiss on his forehead. He grinned cheekily and squeezed my ass, making my eyes pop wide open.

“Chris, we’re in the field!” I snapped. He grinned and buried his head in my neck.

“You guys need a bed?” Anna growled, making all of us chuckle.

“You know, you should date that camera guy—”

“Henry Stuart?” Anna finished Chris’s statement as a question.

“Yeah, that guy. He really seems into you.”

“Shut up, Christopher! He’s such a skinny guy, not my type at all,” Anna snapped back.

“Oh, c’mon, I’m sure he’s built where it counts,” Kevin said.

Anna turned as red as a tomato, gripping the bottle in her hand.

Knowing what was coming next, Bella moved forward, and within a second, the bottle in Anna’s hand was emptied on Kevin.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me! You better run for your life before I catch you,” Kevin sputtered.

That was all Anna needed to hear. She ran at the speed of a Royal Enfield 350 while Kevin chased her with the speed of a 5 Suzuki Hayabusa.

The three of us sat and watched them with amusement, Anna running like a madwoman on the court as Kevin laughed at her and finally caught her by the waist.

He lifted her high up in the air, came toward us, and, without warning, threw her right on Bella.

“Ouch,” I exclaimed with a pained expression, watching them.

“You asshole! What did I do?” Bella shouted at him while Anna felt relieved as she was thrown on her and not on the hard ground.

“You did know she was going to do that, didn’t you?” Kevin asked.

“Yes! So what?”

“That’s what you get,” he said coolly.

“This isn’t going to end well,” I mumbled softly to Chris. He chuckled.

“No sex for seven days!” Bella said.

Kevin froze on the spot after hearing that.

“I told you!” I said loudly this time, and we started laughing hysterically, looking at poor Kevin.

After what seemed like hours, we left the school grounds. Anna and Bella left together as Kevin needed to buy some pills for his mother.

Chris insisted on dropping me off as he hardly gets any time with me.

He put my bicycle in the trunk of his old black 1970 Dodge Charger R/T after getting a long lecture from Mr. Oliver before we took off.

We reached my home in no time. I stretched my arms and yawned like an uncivilized woman, but Chris looked at me with pure amusement and love.

Removing my seat belt, I got up and moved toward him, settling on his lap.

“Guess you did miss me,” he said, chuckling, holding my waist.

“Yes, but I know you don’t miss me,” I replied softly and enclosed my arms around his torso, and placed my ear on his chest, listening to his rhythmic heartbeats.

He chuckled above me. “That’s not true, but you know how important these matches are to me and how much I love football.”

I hummed in reply, and we held each other, listening to “Give Me Love” playing on his stereo softly. It was peaceful in his arms. God, how much I had missed him.

He started singing along, his lips brushing my ear.

I chuckled softly and rested my head on his. “What a charmer,” I said.

He laughed before smashing his lips on mine. Our tongues fought playfully for dominance, and finally, I gave in. He explored my mouth before kissing my jawline.

His head came lower and lower, kissing the spot between my neck and shoulder.

I could hear a second voice singing the lyrics now, but I didn’t think too much about it.

“You sing so childishly,” he chuckled in my neck and sucked my favorite spot.

“I wasn’t singing,” I moaned, drowning in my own pleasure.

“You just—wait.” His body stiffened all of a sudden.

I froze, and the singing continued.

Our heads turned toward the voice, and there stood my little bundle of mischief dumping all the contents out of my bag.

“Arabella!” I squeaked. She snapped her head up, her wide eyes looking at me.

“You didn’t get chocolate today, Kat?” she asked, looking at my empty bag.

Chris chuckled and opened the glove compartment. Arabella shrieked, looking at the compartment filled with chocolates, and took as many as her tiny hands could accommodate.

“Thank you, Chrissy!” she beamed with happiness.

“You’re welcome, munchkin,” Chris smiled at her with adoration.

“Okay, you got what you wanted, Ara. Now leave,” I said sternly. My cheeks were burning.

“Okay!” she said and was about to close the door when Chris stopped her.

“No kissy for Chrissy?” he asked with a fake frown on his face.

“I’m not kissing you like my sister!” She made a disgusted face. I buried my face in Chris’s neck in embarrassment.

“Here, munchkin, on my cheek,” he said. Ara quickly climbed up on the seat and pecked his cheek.

“Good night,” she screamed out and ran away home.

I remained still when Chris kissed my neck.

“She’s gone,” he said.

“I know,” I said and looked into his ocean blue eyes.

“I love you so fucking much, baby,” he said, looking deep into my brown ones. I rubbed my thumb on his cheek, smiling affectionately at my love.

“I love you too,” I said softly.