In The Shadows

Until that day, she had been invisible. 

She had been the girl who walks quickly down the hall in hopes of not being called out by someone whose only wish was to tease her. The girl that wears sensible clothing because she just didn't care. The girl that no one really talks to.

We all know that girl.

At my school, that girl was me. 

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Clutching my binder and my pencil to my chest I rushed down to my first class: Language Arts.

It was one of the only classes I actually liked.  I loved to write. To create new worlds better than mine and have a happy ending for my characters.

A better ending than mine, anyway. An ending where people actually cared about what the main character has accomplished and finished. An ending where the guy gets the girl and the girl gets her Prince Charming. An ending where a Happily-Ever-After is a plausible event.

Unlike in my life.

My sister Arika got all the attention for everything. As captain of the Water Brooke Cheerleaders, (even though she wasn't even in the graduating class, she was just that amazing), the captain of the soccer, badminton, and volleyball teams, President of the Water Brooke School Council and many other things, she was praised and adored by all.

Which also meant that once everyone figured out I was her little sister I was fawned over and asked all kinds of questions about her. What's her favourite food? Her favourite colour? Where is she? Can I meet her?

Like, why the heck do you care what her favourite food is? Or her favourite colour? It's not like you would have a chance at talking to her anyway.

After all, Arika Sparks was like the celebrity of the eleventh grade. Every guy wanted to date her and every girl wanted to be her.

Except for me, that is. I was never to speak to her, look at her, or even walk in the same hallway as her. 

I never minded, really. Well, until Jordan showed up.

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One Monday morning in November, Mrs. Bailey, my homeroom teacher introduced a new boy to the class. "Everyone, I want you to give Jordan McGrady a warm welcome. He just transferred from England." She smiled. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

The boy at the front of the room was the best-looking boy I had ever seen. Dark brown hair in a mess on top of his head, startling gray eyes and light skin made him stand out form the other boys in class. Dark blue jeans and a gray sweater made his eyes pop. He was clearly muscular and almost all of the girls in class were practically drooling.

I nearly dropped my pencil. Staring down at the desk, I knew that this boy would be Arika's next conquest despite his age. All the good-looking ones were...

"Well, I'm Jordan McGrady, obviously. I transferred from London, England with my dad. Um..." Jordan had such an intriguing vibe to him. Something that screamed mysterious. Maybe it was the accent. He glanced over at Mrs. Bailey. "What else?"

She shrugged, her red hair bouncing against her shoulders. "What do you like to do?"

"Well, I like football..." said Jordan slowly.

Luke Fisher, the captain of the football team grinned. "It's too bad you missed the season, then."

"Yeah," Jordan said wistfully.