Jagged Edges

Dad is waiting at the airport when we get there dressed in his Navy blues for some reason or another. I decide against asking and follow him out to the car, breathing in the perfect autumn air. 

We flew in to the Baltimore Washington International airport which means that we're forty-five minutes from our new home. 

To say that I'm excited would be an understatement. Dad had told us about the house and if it's anything like what he said it would be, I don't think I'll ever want to leave. 

As we get closer I start taking mental notes of the surrounding area. Street names and shops and the cute little park on the corner across the street from the elementary school. We reach Arundel Avenue and I immediately perk up, recognizing the street name as our own. 

Dad pulls into a long brick driveway and I smile at the neat little letters on the mailbox that spell out 'Vercillian' before eagerly turning to examine the house. I stare wide-eyed at the sene in front of me, glancing at L'von in a silent question: 'Are they serious?'

This place is breathtaking.

The lawn is full of the greenest of grass which will undoubtably be forbidden to walk on. There's a miniature garden guarding each side of the house and I can almost see the daffodils and tulips that'll be there in the spring. 

There's a loud knock on my window and I look up to see dad smiling at me amusedly before opening my door. "The inside is even more amazing, Gee."

At that I jump from my seat and race L'von to the front door and freeze when it swings open. We look over to our patents who nod in permission. As soon as we get that nod we venture into the first room together. L'von gets excited about the new flatscreen but I'm distracted by the collection of new books on the shelves.

Dad walks in and commands our attention. "Gian got to pick rooms last time so, L'von, it's your turn." 

My brother pumps his fist in the air and charges up the stairs two at a time. I follow close behind. We have an agreement when it comes to rooms.

If a room has a balcony or a window seat then it's mine. If a room has it's own bathroom or a nice view of any body of water, it's his.

As soon as he pushes open the door to the first room we are promptly faced with a dilemma. The room has a balcony which overlooks the Annapolis river. There's a large bay window with a seat expertly fixed onto the sill on the right side and a door that leads to a bathroom on the left.

I groan and venture into the room. It's absolutely perfect. 

"Problem solved!" L'von screams from somewhere in the bathroom. He runs in, grabs my wrist and pulls me in, or rather through, the bathroom which appears to be joined to another room. When I look around I notice that this room is an exact mirror of the one we were previously in. 

Did I mention that this house is perfect?

We step out onto one of the balconies and look down into the backyard where there's not only a fairly large pool/ hot tub combination but our trampoline is back there too, along with dads grill and moms favorite patio set. 

L'von hooks an arm around my neck and laughs. "Why the hell didn't we move here sooner?"



The very next day is the day we start our new school. Dad values nothing if not education and punctuality so he'll be damned if we miss a single day of school unnecessarily. I have seven perfect attendance awards that will vouch for that.

Dad makes sure that we're up, dressed, fed and in the car on the way to register by nine o'clock. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that he let us sleep this late but I suppose that it's because we're all still jet lagged.

As dad pulls into the nearly full parking lot I look over the almost too plain building critically. If this place is as boring as it looks then we certainly made the wrong choice. 

Dad leads the way inside a good four feet in front of L'von and I who fall into perfect step beside one another. We go to the main office first and receive visitors passes before being directed to the guidance office. 

The hallways are eerily silent though I suppose that can be blamed on the fact that everyones in second block. Once we reach the appropriate office dad speaks to a secretary for a good half an hour, presenting all of the necessary documents for enrollment. After a while the secretary beacons us over to discuss schedules as dad leaves, promising pick us up at two oh-five sharp. 

L'von and I are both juniors. I'm a year ahead of him in math though because of my excessive studying so I'm placed in AP Calc while he's stuck in Trig. However, while I'm ahead in math, he's ahead in history so while in stuck in AP government, he's taking a senior AP European History class.

I can't say that I'm particularly jealous. I absolutely despise history classes. They never seem to cover the interesting things but I digress.

Ms. Pruitt hands us our schedules and tells us to wait as she gets a few students to come escort us to our classes. I scan over my schedule quickly before switching with L'von to see if we match up anywhere. We have the same advanced chemistry class during block three which is also when lunch is and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I think I would have had a mental breakdown if we didn't have lunch together. 

The office door opens and my gaze snaps up to see an unbearably good looking guy walking confidently to the front desk.

"Excuse me, I was sent for Mr. Syfret." He says politely in a deep voice that sends shivers down my spine. The secretary smiles and points in our direction. 

"Please escort Mr. Vercillian to class." She replies.

The guys eyes rest on me before flickering over to L'von. He glances at the secretary uncertainly before coming to stand in front of us. 

He's at least a bead taller than me but that's not weirs. I'm short for my age, only reaching 5'6" on a measuring tape. If I had to guess I'd say he's 6'2".

He brushes his sexy dark hair from his sexy dark eyes and allows a smile to settle on his undoubtably soft lips. "I'm....Uh, I'm not sure who I'm supposed to take." Th guy glances back at the secretary before rolling his eyes. "Who's got Mr, Syfret for second block, I guess."

I look over the schedule and my heart skips when I see Syfret printed in the second block spot but then I realize that I'm still holding onto L'von's schedule. We switch back quickly and L'von steps forward, offering a hand. "I'm L'von. This is my brother, Gian." 

The guy takes L'von's hand and shakes it quickly, looking between us with a confused glint in his eye. "I'm Treason."

"Wait. Like, your name is Treason?" L'von asks, eyes slightly large. I elbow him hard because if this incredibly sexy guy had an awesome name like that, who are we to question it?

He shrugs and nods. "Yeah. So, Uh, we should get going."

L'von slings his bag over his shoulder and follows Treason to the door which swings open almost smacking the gorgeous boy in the face.

A petite girl walks through and smiles sweetly in an apology. "Sorry, Treason. I didn't see you there." 

He smiles slowly and shakes his head. "Slow down, Rina. He's not going anywhere."

She sticks her tongue out at him and practically floats over to me. "Hi, I'm Sabrina. I'm here to escort you to class." 

"I'm Gian." I reply, politely. She takes my hand softly and wastes no time pulling me out of the door. She leads me down several hallways and up a flight of stairs before finally breaking the silence. 

"So, where are you from?" She asks. 

I smile. I love answering this question. "I'm originally from France but I was adopted in Haiti and then moved to America around the time I was three. My dad's a Naval officer so we move around a lot."

She stops for a second, a grin stretching across her face. "Where'd you just move from?"

"Nevada." I shiver. "Not my favorite place in the world."

Sabrina raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? What is?"

I pause and think for a second. "I liked South Carolina. I think it might have been against some law for hot guys to wear shirts because none of them ever did. Not that I'm complaining."

Her entire face lights up and she hooks her arm through mine. "Gian, I can tell that we're going to be good friends."

She opens a door that's clearly marked 'French ll' and allows me to enter first. As long as the classes are as easy as French, the girls are as sweet as Sabrina and the boys are as attractive as Treason, I think Annapolis will replace South Carolina as my favorite.