My time in the city will soon end. Why? Because in a week my dad is moving our whole family to a small town located in the middle of no-freaking-where. About two days ago my dad came home in a good mood. The big surprise was that he bought two buckets of ice cream! My dad was...is...whatever, he was a dentist and as all dentist dads do, he doesn't hesitate to tell us that "eating sweet things will wreck your teeth faster than the Titanic at the age of thirty"

Sometimes I always wondered if he meant that the Titanic was thirty years old or us.

Later that evening my twin sister, Sue, and I were curled up in a pile of blankets in the living room in front of the television. And by our side was a bowl of caramel popcorn with extra sugar, which Dad for some reason didn't nag us about, and several scoops of Dad's surprise ice cream. I already had my turn for a fantasy show yesterday so we were watching one of Sue's favourite horror shows. As yet another female character was slowly and dramatically murdered amidst screams. The telly suddenly went off

Sue swiftly turned and threw her ice cream spoon in the direction of the telly's plug. Dad sidestepped and the spoon harmlessly bounced off the wall.

Sue pouted "sorry Dad I thought you were a ra...someone else"

Dad glared at her. I picked up Sue's abandoned bowl of ice cream and dug in. The telly might be off but a live performance was about to start. Okay so Sue was often impulsive and dad rarely had the patience for her dramatics. He dropped the plug and walked upstairs yelling for our brother to come down for a family meeting. My hands paused. Dad didn't yell. Or even make a mean face. What the heck was going on?

Our baby bro, Jerry, by a year and a half came down the stairs. Messy-haired, pale-skinned and coughing pitifully into a blue handkerchief. He had dark circles around his eyes. But I could tell he'd just been messing with my eyeshadow. Thanks to mum's indulgence, a little cough and bam Sue and I had to do all his house chores while he 'recovered'. If not for the rule the three of us set about not ratting each other out I would have used a baby wipe to expose him. 

He plopped down on the couch behind us.

"Is...is that ice cream?" His voice was deliberately low and quivering. I almost thought he was actually sick. Almost

"No, it's frozen baby powder in a bowl" Sue rolled her eyes, she was still glaring at the dark telly.

Jerry yelled, "Dad the DTs are eating ice cream!" 

DT meaning double trouble is the nickname Jerry gave Sue and me on the first Halloween we decided that he was old enough to be pranked. It wasn't funny...for him anyway. I sighed in my mind 'so much for not tattling.

Sue threw the remote in her hand at him "Dummy, dad bought it for us"

Jerry looked momentarily surprised then he said: "okay first...rude and second..." he lunged for our bowl "gimme some of that"

I raised my leg and kicked him back unto the couch. "No ice cream for you young man you're sick and delirious with a fever you should have some scalding hot broccoli soup instead" I tried to imitate mum's doctor's voice.

"Okay first eww second double eww"

Sue placed her feet on the t.v screen "will you stop with the lists already"

Jerry didn't reply. While we were talking he had somehow snuck the ice cream bowl into his lap and was stuffing himself silly.

Dad returned and sat on the single settee

 "Let's start," he said

Sue interrupted "aren't we waiting for mom?"

Dad shook his head his ponytail swished along "no she already knows and she agrees with my decision"

I stared at him suspiciously "what decision?"

He smiled at us "I just got a new job as the head of a clinic, and I'm gonna take it"

The three of us cheered

Me: "Fantastic"

Jerry: " Cool"

Sue: "more moneeeeyy"

Dad chuckled nervously "I'm glad you're happy, but that's only one part of the good news"

"What else?"

"Well...we...are moving!...yay" he grinned sheepishly 

Sue said a bad word.

***

Despite our protests, we still found ourselves in a moving truck on our way to the new town. Sue and I stayed with the moving truck while Jerry and dad followed in dad's car.

"Maybe it's a good thing we're moving"

Sue didn't reply she continued looking out the window. Trees flashed past in a green blur. The driver turned down the radio.

"We're still a long way out" he began "you can lower the chair and catch a little nap"

I nodded "Oh thank you"

But I didn't want to sleep. I looked at the road. Although I was upset we were moving I am still happy somewhat. For a fresh start.

I turned my phone on for a quick Google search. Then I paused. I still didn't know the name of our new town. So I looked at the driver.

"Where are we going, sir?"

"Huh?" He frowned in confusion but didn't take his eyes off the road.

"I said where are we going?"

"Clearwater ridge" he finally replied "it's a nice small town"

"Thanks" I murmured.

I typed in Clearwater ridge and pressed the search icon. It loaded for a bit and stopped.

"Eh?"

Sue finally turned and leaned over to glance at my phone.

I questioned the driver.

"There are wolves around Clearwater?"

"Ah, well I ain't never seen one but people say there are" he shrugged.

What the hell?

Sue and I stood under a tree a few feet away from the car, watching as dad tried to drag Jerry out. After several failed attempts to skip the first day of school, Jerry decided that he was going to stick to the car even if it kills him...or if dad kills him, whichever one comes first. I moved further back and whistled while studying my nails.

Note to all passers-by, I do not know these people.

After failing to drag him out of the car dad resorted to threats.

"Jerry" he began calmly "get your lazy ass out of that car or so help me you will be grounded for a month!"

Jerry was unfazed and tilted his head at dad "does that mean I'm not allowed to go to school?"

Dad lost his calm "Get Down Now" he roared.

Jerry puffed his cheeks in a pout. This trick could have softened mum's heart but to dad, he probably looked like a gassy blowfish.

Sue walked towards them with a hiss "Time to end this shit"

I grinned 

Uh oh, Jerry's in verbal trouble.

Dad sighed and sidestepped when she approached

She said "Jerry love"

I choked on my gum and got a tiny heart attack.

Then she continued "get down from that car at the count of five before I show you what pain and suffering truly mean"

Jerry swallowed and I sighed in relief.

Good, my sister hasn't been kidnapped by aliens.

Sue raised a glossy black manicured finger "one, two, four..."

Jerry scrambled out of the car "What the hell happened to three?"

Sue said "It died...just like you would have if you didn't get down"

Dad started the car "Have a great day at school kids" he pulled away "and Jerry"

"Yup?"

"You are grounded for a month"

"What the..."

The car disappeared out of sight.

A few early-bird students already passed by us. Dad was resuming his new job today so he had to go extra early. In such a situation mom would have dropped us off but she was yet to move in with us. She still stayed in our apartment in the city. She was a fully booked surgeon. I don't think she will be moving down here until at least two months.

The three of us walked into the school building. As much as I wanted to hate this town I had to admit that it was artistic. And I have a soft spot for good art. I couldn't paint but I could carve wooden blocks. Sue thinks it's special but Jerry sees my animal sculptures as lame, it's a good thing that I don't give a hoot about what he thinks. The building was twice the size of our former school and our former school was huge. Despite the size, it gave a warm fuzzy feeling. It was the only school in town and was combined, so you could see kids both old and young in its halls. A wooden sign upfront proclaimed it as Lupus Academy.

At exactly seven o'clock on the dot, everyone was gathered in the main hall. Sue and I sat together at the front while Jerry sat two rows behind us. He said something about not wanting people to know that we're related. 

I fiddled with the charm bracelet on my hand. I made one for me and Sue. My tiny carvings on a string.

Suddenly, a shadow fell on us. Sue and I looked up to see a girl about our age with three other girls behind her, sneering at us.

She had shoulder-length blonde hair—I couldn't tell if that was dyed or the natural colour—and green eyes. She was dressed like your typical bitch. She glared at us

"Get up newbies"

Sue eyed her "why?"

One of the girls behind her answered "cuz that's our seat"

Sue turned back to look at her chair "Hmm, I don't see a name here, is there any name on yours?"

I checked mine "nope...so how is this your seat?"

The bimbo in front, obviously the leader, hissed "Don't try to play smart with me"

I grinned "Of course not, one can only play smart with smart people"

Sue snorted "good one"

"Thanks, sis, I learn from the best"

Another girl said, "How dare you insult her she's the next..."

The bimbo raised her hand to silence her and looked down at us. Her nose was so high up that I was sure she must be breathing hydrogen. "You smell weak and pathetic"

I raised my hand to sniff my sleeve "How did you know? The name of my perfume is 'Weak'"

Sue nodded "yup and mine's called 'Pathetic'"

It was obvious that we were making fun of them.

One of the girls behind her, the quieter of the three tugged on her jacket.

"Leave em Sue let's go"

I guffawed "Hey sis your namesake is a bitch hehe"

The two Sues looked like they ate something bad.

"Copy the note and be quick about it"

I looked at the empty whiteboard, then at the teacher before slowly raising my hand "err what note...sir?"

He frowned and glanced down at me, through his iron-rimmed glasses like a king on his throne looking at a dirty peasant.

"Are you deaf?"

Okay, that hurt. What a nasty goat. I was even trying to be respectful. You know what forget that shit

"I wasn't the last time I checked" I retorted.

Veins bulged on his head, and then the girl seating behind me abruptly stood up "Sir! She didn't understand what you meant, ignore her sir we all make mistakes, after all, we're only human"

Ignore me?

I rolled my eyes. Although I liked the town's artistic nature we haven't really been able to interact with its locals since we moved here. Today was my first proper interaction and...everyone we've met has been a different kind of stupid.

Sue had a different class so I was stuck here, alone and without a backup.

The teacher used a finger to push the glasses further up his nose. "Oh, I see..." He picked up a heavy textbook from his table and dropped it on mine. "Chapter 10 pages 90-93, copy"

I'm pretty sure my desk vibrated when the book landed. I picked it up...or at least I tried to pick it up. It was so heavy. I looked at the teacher's arm. Although his clothes were slightly baggy I could still tell that there were zero muscles in his arm. But he carried the book with one hand. And I could barely lift it. As if it's not bad enough that everyone was quietly giggling as I tried to haul the textbook onto my lap, I opened the page he had called only to realise that the text was so tiny that I had to squint to see it. And to think I had to copy three pages of it!

I picked up my pen and started. Besides if I skipped some parts and words in the note he might not notice. A few minutes later when it felt like my head will fall off my neck I raised it to see that I was the only one still coping. Mr Teacher was reading a book while everyone else was talking or chatting on their phones. I was also the only one with a textbook on my desk. I frowned.

About half an hour later I walked out of the class. I was so annoyed. For the rest of the class, all I could do was copy the stupid note as fast as I could when I was finally done the bell rang and I couldn't even be bothered to return the textbook to his table, I picked up my things and stormed out. My hands were shaking like a very old lady's leg.

When I got to my locker Sue was already there. She was leaning on the wall. And nodding her head to the song playing in her headset. Her glossy black hair, the same as mine, was no longer in a ponytail. Instead, it was scattered around her head. It looked like she was listening to rock and she only does that when she's mad. She opened her eyes just then and stared at me. 

"I hope your first class was as shitty as mine," she said.

I shrugged and stuffed my books into my locker "I don't know if we compare later, mine might be shittier"

P.E class. It'd be stupid for anyone in a new school to think that their first PE class will be safe. Especially with the existence of...Dodgeball. We changed into our sportswear in the locker room with a bunch of other girls. The sportswear was not flattering in any way. At least ours wasn't. The other girls already had a chance to alter theirs. While ours was still two sizes too big. I picked a pair of shoelaces from my bag. I always carried extra in case I lost mine or I needed to tie something, like my hair. Sue took the one I gave her and we used it to hold up our pants. We tied the balloon-like top into a crop top. We were the only ones left. At the door, Sue shook my shoulder

She said "remember do not cry"

I grinned "even if the ball hits your eye"

We pushed open the doors and slowly walked in like warriors on a battlefield. Everyone was separated into two dodgeball teams. The teacher who was about to blow the whistle saw us and smiled. Not in the 'I'm nice way' but the 'you're so dead' kinda way. She pointed at Sue

"You there what's your name?"

"Sue Andrews Miss"

"I ain't your Miss"

She pointed at the team on the left that had an awfully familiar face "Your name is Sue I'm sure you won't mind joining your namesake," she turned to me "go to the other team girl number two"

There was a collective guffaw

I smiled coldly at her "name's Aria nice to meet you too"

"I wish I could say the same" she returned

Ouch. The teacher's got spunk.

The game started. The game ended.

What happened in between is too painful to remember. All I can say is give me a gun and Bitchy Sue and I will paint the school red.

At four in the evening, the three of us met under a tree some distance from school. Jerry had a small bruise on his cheek.

Sue looked him up and down "you're a mess"

Jerry huffed "it's just a bruise...at least I wasn't bullied"

I cut in "hey let's set this straight" I pointed at Sue and me "we weren't bullied...we just played dodgeball"

Jerry scanned the several bruises on our faces and arms "right, don't you know that dodgeball is the game of bullies"

"Hey guys" Sue waved at us to stop talking "dad just sent me a message it says 'I won't be home tonight I have to work late take care sweetie pies'"

I frowned, on its own, the message wasn't odd...It would be a normal thing if mom sent it...but dad?

Sue frowned "that's weird"

Jerry nodded "yeah dad hates anything pie"

I mumbled "and he definitely doesn't think we're sweet"