The Other Side of Envy

  I struggled, shifting my body underneath his weight, nearly pulling myself apart as I clawed at the carpet as if that would help me get some traction and I could escape.

  I squealed and giggled like the craziest person on the planet. I was about to die. At least I’d made a pretty heart on his cheek. That thought made me giggle more.

  North smirked and then brushed a palm over his face. “What the hell did you do to me?” he growled.

  “Nothing,” I squeaked out, too high pitched, the word cutting off at the end.

  He sniffed loudly. “You did not just put permanent marker on my face.”

  “Nope.” My voice cracked. Worst liar ever.

  “She drew a heart,” Luke the coward shouted. My best guess was he was hiding in the kitchen. “And a swirly thing. And a smilie face. She did it. It’s all her fault. I tried to stop her.”

  What?! “Traitor!” I called out.

  Luke’s arm appeared from the doorway of the kitchen, displaying the stuff I’d drawn on his arm. “See? She did it to me, too.”

  North grunted. He twisted on top of me, reaching for the marker I’d dropped. His dark eyebrows furrowed, making his now unibrow even more dangerously...hilarious.

  Giggles erupted from my mouth like a bomb. I knew it was the worst reaction to have and I couldn’t help it. I’d basically admitted my guilt, even if Luke was pinning me for everything, including the stuff I hadn’t done.

  North smirked. He bent over, hovering above me. He held the marker tip inches from my face. “Let’s see what Sang Sorenson looks like with a mustache.”

  My mouth popped open. When he got close with the marker, I turned my head, batting at his arm with my hands.

  He grunted, snagged my wrists up in a quick motion, holding them over my head with one hand as he pinned me to the floor with his body. “Stop moving or it’s going to turn into a penis or something worse.”

  I sucked in a breath, eyes wide with fear. I couldn’t imagine what would have been worse, and I didn’t want to find out.

  The marker touched my skin. North took his time. I felt the swirl of a curly moustache, but after that point, he started drawing on my cheeks and forehead. I couldn’t picture what he was drawing.

  I half whimpered, half giggled.

  Luke appeared and peeked over North’s shoulder, checking out his work. “Not bad, but that curse word under her left eye...make the leg of the k a little longer, it looks weird.”

  “No,” I squealed out, my voice cracking. I was giggling too hard.

  North smirked over me. He nudged my head a little with his arm, turning it to the side. He drew something on my ear. “You are going to have to learn to say no to Luke’s stupid ideas.”

  Luke’s eyes widened above him. “Hey, she did it.”

  “You think I believe for one minute that little Sang here came up with the idea to draw on my face while I was sleeping? She wouldn’t dare.”

  “But she...”

  In one swift movement, North released my wrists and swung an arm around, punching Luke low in the gut.

  Luke choked, clutched at the spot where he’d been struck, and fell sideways to the ground, gasping.

  “That’s for lying to me,” North said.

  Luke chuckled through his pained expression. “Still worth it. Did you see the look on her face when you woke up?”

  “She probably would have gotten away with it if you hadn’t pulled on my foot and nudged me awake.”

  My mouth dropped open, my eyes wild on Luke. “You! You woke him?”

  “See?” North said. “You can’t trust him at things like this. There’s always a secret motive.”

  I struggled underneath North. “Give me the marker. I want to get Luke.”

  North grinned and released me, dropping the pen on my stomach. He lurched over, landing on top of Luke in the same position he’d held me.

  Luke bucked underneath his brother, but North was bigger and easily pinned him to the ground. He held his wrists with both of his hands and waited. I scrambled up, picking up the marker and bent over Luke’s face.

  Luke smirked at me, seeming undisturbed by my being there. “Sang! Sweetie!” he pleaded. “You don’t want to draw on my face, do you? Not your favorite Academy guy, right?”

  “Yeah, I do,” I said, as blankly as if he’d asked me if I wanted a piece of candy.

  “Draw some glasses on him,” North said. “And a penis.”

  I choked on a giggle at that. I couldn’t do it, but I nodded, like that was a good idea. My cheeks heated.

  Luke shook his head, his eyes wide. “No, no, you can’t do that. I’ve got to go back to the diner in a minute. I can’t serve tables with one on my face.”

  “You’re right,” North said. “Make two, Sang.”

  I bent over Luke’s head, drawing a heart on his cheek, and then a bunch of flowers.

  “Sang,” Luke said, pleading but laughing. “Sugar cakes. Uncle’s gonna flip.”

  “What the holy shit fuck is going on in here?” Gabriel’s voice boomed at us, catching me way off guard as it sounded exactly like when North yelled at us. I glanced up and saw he was standing behind the couch, his hands on his hips and his orange and blue jacket hanging off his shoulders, in mid-removal. He stared at us, frozen.

  Kota and Nathan stood behind him, their eyes wide, like they were looking in at animals in a zoo. Kota nudged his glasses, as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing. Nathan smirked, his blue eyes lighting up.

  North grunted, releasing Luke’s arms and edging himself off his brother. “He started it.”

  Gabriel snagged at his hair as if he was going to pull out all of it, blond and brown alike. “Oh my fucking god, her face. What the hell did you do to her face?”

  “Yeah,” Luke said. He sat up quickly, catching the marker from my hands. “Bad Sang. Marking up your face like that.”

  North smacked Luke on the back of his head. “Stop lying or I’m going to punch you again.”

  “I’m just kidding!”

  I stood, unsure what to say. It was all kind of crazy. “I was studying…” I couldn’t think of any reason why. Temporary insanity still worked, didn’t it?

  Gabriel held his arms out wide as he circled the couch. He caught me around my shoulders, hugging me and half picking me up from the floor until my toes grazed the carpet. “Trouble, your face looks like the locker room wall. How the hell am I supposed to get all that off of you?”

  “She’ll be fine,” Kota said. “She can wash it off.”

  Gabriel turned with me still in his arms. “Do you see this? This is Sharpie. This doesn’t come off of skin. Unless I douse her in turpentine.”

  Nathan chuckled, shaking his head and running a palm over his red brown hair. “Sorry. I think we’re fresh out of turpentine.”

  “Go ahead and laugh but what happens when she shows up to school like this?”

  “She’s not going to school with Sharpie on her face,” Kota said.

  “She’s got tests tomorrow,” Nathan said.

  “Do something, Kota,” Gabriel pleaded. “Ground them. Ground North and Luke.”

  Kota smirked, shrugging and raising his hands up in defeat. “Oh no. If you want someone grounded, you have to do it. Personally, it looks like they’ve punished themselves pretty evenly.”

  Gabriel released me until I was standing. He collected my face in my hands and looked over me. “Oh my god, your face. Your poor face.”

  “Can you get it off her in like five minutes?” Luke asked. “I was going to take her back with me to work.”

  “What?” Gabriel gasped? “You? What? No. Are you crazy?”

  “Hurry up. We’re going to be late.”

  ABOUT C. L. STONE

  Certification

  Marvelour of Wonder

  Active Participant of Scary Situations

  Official Member of F.A.M.E.

  Experience

  Spent an extraordinary number of years with absolutely no cont
rol over the capping of imagination, fun, and curiosity. Willingly takes part in impossible problems only to come up with the most ludicrous solution. Due to unfortunate circumstances, will no longer experience feeling on a small spot on my left calf.

  Skills

  Secret Keeper | Occasion Riser | Barefoot Walker | Magic Maker | Restless Reckless | Gravity Defiant | Fairy Tale Reader | Story Maker-Upper | Amusingly Baffled | Comprehensive Curiousness | Usually Unbelievable

  While you’re waiting for the next Academy book, why not check out The Fab Life by Mercy Amare – free for download wherever you get your ebooks! Keep reading for a sample.

  Saturday, August 15

  Mountain View, California

  9:57 AM

  Once Upon a Time.

  Life often takes us by surprise. But my life just got a nuclear bomb dropped on it, with a note from my mother that simply says “good luck”.

  I’ve spent seventeen years of my life wondering who my father is. My mom always told me he was a dead-beat who didn’t want anything to do with me. Turns out, he didn’t even know that I existed until two weeks ago. And he’s definitely not a dead-beat. My dad is Mark Evers. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He is the creator and CEO of Staying Connected, the world’s largest social networking site.

  Once he found out about me, he flew to see me. Of course I had to do a DNA test… I can’t blame the guy for that. My mom is kind of crazy, though he dated her… he slept with her… (It’s really gross to think about anybody having sex with my mom). So maybe he’s crazy too? I don’t know. But we got the test results back, and it is true. I, Kihanna Foster, am Mark Evers’ daughter.

  Well, actually I am Kihanna Evers now. He insisted that I change my last name to Evers, and I wasn’t keen on it, but my mom thought it was best. I went my whole life being Kihanna Foster, so Kihanna Evers is going to take a while to get used to.

  As if finding my real dad wasn’t enough, my mom decided it was best if I go live with him. I’m about to start my senior year, and she expects me to pack up and move across the country, but do I get a say in it? No.

  So here I am, after a long flight from St. Louis to Mountain View, in the back of a limo all by myself on my way to my new home. My dad is too busy to pick me up from the airport, and I am about to start my new journey in life. Alone. Or at least that’s how I feel… very alone.

  I push my headphones into my ears, and turn up the music. Music helps calm me down. Normally, I’ve got music playing 24/7. But today the music is doing nothing for me. I don’t think anything could help my anxiety at this point.

  I pull out the goodbye note my mom wrote me, and read it once more. I already read it about twenty times on the plane.

  Kihanna,

  I can never tell you how sorry I am for not telling you the truth. Keeping you separated from your father was my worst mistake, and I will regret it every day for the rest of my life. I know that it doesn’t matter now, but I didn’t tell you so I could protect you. I didn’t want you growing up in that lifestyle. But I was very wrong.

  I hope you enjoy the time with your dad. Enjoy your senior year. Make new friends. Get into a good college. I want you to have a good life… You deserve it.

  Know that I love you, and I will miss you every day that we are apart.

  Love, Mom.

  I put the letter away and wipe the tears from under my eyes. I had a good life with my mom. Sure, she’s not a multibillionaire, but we had everything we needed and more. We lived in a nice two-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. I went to a good school, and I had lots of friends. I never asked for more.

  I just hate feeling out of control. Every decision is theirs, not mine. I need to feel in control of something. But the closer I get to my dad’s house, the more out of control I feel.

  As we get closer to our destination, I can’t help but notice how big the houses are getting. Each one is a little bigger than the previous one. After about fifteen minutes in the car, we finally turn right. As we pull into my dad’s house, I let out a surprised gasp. I guess I’m still trying to comprehend “billionaire”, because everything is way more extravagant than I pictured. There are iron gates that lead into the estates, and a security person is actually sitting in a booth. I wonder if they’re always there? The gates open and we drive down a long pathway toward the house. Along the sides of the driveway, there are tall hedges blocking any view.

  It’s about a two-minute drive from the end of the driveway to the house, but it feels like an eternity. The first thing that I see is a huge circle fountain. There is water spraying into the fountain from tiny lion statues. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

  In front of the house… No wait, not house, it’s a mansion… There are tons of colorful flowers, and palm trees. There is a concrete walkway made of stone, and there are huge columns that lead up to a huge double door. It’s glass, and has an elegant brass outline.

  The limo door opens, and it startles me. As I climb out, I am feeling very intimidated.

  This is where I live now.

  “Wow,” I hear myself say.

  “Mrs. Evers is waiting on you inside,” the limo driver tells me. It’s then that I realize I’ve just been standing there, staring at the mansion in front of me.

  “Right,” I say. “Where is my luggage?”

  Just then a couple of guys dressed in butler uniforms come out. They grab my purple luggage out of the trunk.

  “I can carry that,” I quickly tell them. They ignore me.

  Right. Because when you’re rich you don’t actually have to carry your own stuff.

  “Follow us, Miss Evers,” one of them instructs me. So, I follow them to the front doors. They open the door for me, and a blast of cold air hits me in the face.

  I am not sure what I was expecting on the inside, but this is definitely not it. There isn’t much in the entryway. The floor is white marble; there are two elegant staircases that lead upstairs. There is a balcony at the top of the stairs, and a hallway on both sides.

  The staircase is the same white marble as the floor, and the railings are brass, just like on the door. Two large white columns are underneath the balcony.

  I look up and see a huge chandelier. It looks very expensive, and it’s very clean. Do they have a chandelier cleaner? Who would want to climb up that high?

  I hear a pair of heels clacking against the marble floor, and look up to see an attractive woman in a very expensive-looking suit walking toward me. She has bleached-blonde hair, and her tan is way too dark. Her large breasts are halfway hanging out of her too-tight top.

  “You must be Kihanna.” She smiles. It’s definitely a fake smile.

  God, please do not let this be my stepmom.

  I smile back. “Yes.”

  She pulls me into a hug, and it’s then that I smell her perfume. She smells good at first, like vanilla, but then I realize it’s a bit overpowering. I hold my breath until she releases me.

  “I’m Veronica Evers, and I am very excited to meet you.” She doesn’t look that excited. But her face is so tight, I’m sure it’s hard for her to show any emotions.

  Just then, another person joins us — a tall blonde guy, with a surfer tan, and pretty blue eyes.

  “This is my son, Toby Anderson. He’s your stepbrother,” she explains.

  Yeah, because I wouldn’t have been able to figure that out on my own. I continue smiling, and my cheeks are starting to hurt from all the fake smiling. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Veronica and Toby.” It is a lie, but I’m sure I will get used to them, right? They are family.

  Toby pulls me in for a hug, and squeezes me way too tight. His hands are also way too low on my back, and he smells like pot. “The pleasure is all mine,” he whispers in my ear. I back away and try to hide the disgusted look on my face.

  “Toby, why don’t you show your new sister to her room,” Veronica suggests.

  “Stepsister,” Toby reminds her, insinuating the word step, and then he winks at me. br />
  I want to roll my eyes at him, but I don’t. I don’t want my new family to get the wrong impression of me. I will just suck it up.

  “After you, sister,” Toby says, motioning toward the staircase.

  I walk up the stairs, and he follows me. I glance back at him, and see him checking out my butt.

  Oh my God — my stepbrother is checking me out! Gross!

  As we walk toward my room, Toby points out his own bedroom. “If you ever get bored, or lonely, come see me.”

  Yeah, this has to stop. “Not going to happen. And don’t ever check me out again. You’re my brother, and it’s gross.”

  “Stepbrother,” he protests, licking his lips. “And you have a nice body.” His eyes are looking at my chest as he says this. I cross my arms in an attempt to cover my breasts.

  “Just show me my room.” I glare at him.

  My bedroom better have a lock on the door. It’s the last room on the right. I turn on the light and look around the room and am in shock. It’s huge and foreign.

  There is a king-size four-poster bed with a beautiful cream-colored bedspread — I’m guessing the thread count is like a million. I’ve never felt sheets so soft in my life. Everything matches the bed — the dresser, the nightstand, the chest, and even the love seat in the corner. Who has a love seat in their bedroom? That’s just weird. A set of double doors leads out to a balcony, which overlooks the pool.

  “Your bathroom is through that door.” Toby points. “And then your closet is there. My mom already stocked it. She couldn’t wait to go shopping for you. She’s always wanted a life-sized Barbie.”

  I turn to him. “Thanks for showing me my room. You can leave now.”

  “Come on, don’t you want me to stay?” He pulls a joint out of his pocket. “I brought party favors.”

  “I don’t smoke, but thanks for the offer. Now, seriously, leave.” I basically push him out the door and shut it. I am thankful to see that it does indeed have a lock. I decide it will definitely be locked every night before I go to bed.