𝐈𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝

Chapter One: Pilot

"Alright, see you guys in the common room!" my sister, Raine, called as she started climbing up the stairs that lead to our dorm.

"Please don't take too long in the showers doing your lady stuff or whatever," Charlie Rhode called back, while his younger brother, Sam, laughed and ran ahead.

"I didn't know you enjoyed our company so much, Charlie," I teased while grinning, "or do you just want us to smell like shit?"

"I take back my earlier comment, please smell beautiful, Nora. And as for your company, it's better than anyone else's," Charlie replied.

I rolled my eyes. "That's flattering." I waved goodbye to the two brothers and followed Raine.

We had grown particularly close to the Rhode brothers ever since we enrolled in Ace Academy: tennis training center for the ambitious and the excellent, on and off the court. Or at least that's what they said.

It made sense that we got along well. Our families were almost exactly the same. Charlie and I were both seventeen, and Connor and Bianca were the middle children, both of them top in national tennis rankings and traveling to tournaments all over the world. Lastly, Raine and Sam were the youngest. They were on the more chaotic and rebellious side which made them perfect partners in crime. Both of our families were all tennis players which was why we both stayed at Ace Academy year round.

As we made our way to our dorm, I slung my jacket over my shoulder and hurried behind Raine who was sprinting up the last flight of stairs. I could only hope that the room was somewhat picked up because dorm inspections were soon and I didn't feel like getting in trouble with one of the coaches because Raine left food wrappers everywhere.

"Hurry up, if we don't get to the common room first Sam is going to make me play Monopoly. I hate Monopoly," Raine said, waving her arm to get me to move faster. I sighed and heaved my sore legs up the last step, definitely feeling the burn from playing three hours that day and doing extra fitness with Fed.

Fortunately, as I stepped through the door to our room, I noticed that Raine had taken the trash out last night and made her bed so the only things out of place were the Chick-fil-a cups that we had forgotten to throw away last night. Otherwise, up to sanitary standards. Before I could even take my jacket or shoes off, Raine started pulling clothes out of her closet.

"I'm first!" she shouted, making a beeline to the small bathroom.

"Really?!" I whined, groaning and throwing my head back. "Fine, just don't waste all the hot water this time!"

"Should've made it to the bathroom first then, Nor! Sucks to suck!"

"Unbelievable," I muttered, tossing my jacket onto my bed.

I sat down at my desk and quickly opened my laptop. My report card was supposed to come out ten minutes ago and my phone was lighting up with relentless text messages from my mother, demanding that I send over the document immediately. I pulled up my grade book and as expected, all A's. I sighed and downloaded the file, quickly emailing it to my mother who was...still texting me. Great. I grabbed my phone and texted her back, telling her that I earned A's across all of my classes. Just as I was about to send a follow-up message letting her know that I had just sent the official report, she replied, "I'll believe it when I see it." Well, you will, once you open your email and check it. I bit back the urge to reply saying, "Well if you had more than just a second of patience, you would know that I just sent it to you," and instead responded with a simple, "Just sent it over."

I waited as the three dots on the chat glared at me through my phone screen. She can't be mad, right? All A's. That's good. That's better than good for the classes I'm taking. She can't be mad. No way she could be mad.