Effervescent

Chapter 1

Athena

Considering I'm achingly new to this whole party scene, I seem to be blending in quite all right. Sure, I catch people staring at me every once and again when I turn my head, but it's not like I'm the cause of major outbursts of whispers or anything of the sort. It's... slightly unfamiliar but highly appreciated.

Perhaps I have my new roommate to thank for that. If she hadn't told me what to wear and forced me into it- quite literary, I would have been at a complete loss. I would have probably turned up in my usual oversized shirt paired with cargo pants. Scratch that, I wouldn't have come here at all if my tornado of a roommate hadn't insisted.

Katherine is a fellow freshman here at UCLK, but unlike me, she doesn't seem nervous about the change at all. No, she seems elated to dive head-first into the whole experience, and while I share the sentiment deep down, I can still feel the restricting bonds of my past holding me back, making me hesitate.

I spent the first three years of high school in a weird stage of being known yet being invisible. My older brother, Hermes, was the rising star of the school's football team, so everyone knew him. Everyone loved him, too, with his hearty, booming laughs and his expressive face, which could either be comical or make you feel deeply understood without him uttering a word. Yeah, my brother is fantastic. He really is.

Being his little sister is what's not always so glorious. With my being only one year below him, he took me under his wing. I was often to trail behind him and his friends whenever he momentarily forgot about me, or to spend all my afternoons on the stands while he was at practice so we could drive home together.

It should have been great. It's every teenage girl's dream, no? Hanging out with the older, cooler kids? With the main crowd of the school? I should have been the girl who could have any guy on the team with all the time I spent around them. Turns out that being the team captain's little sister really puts a buffer on getting any attention- or action- from any of the players. Not only that, but my brother naturally decided to be a freaking cliché and scare away any guy that even dared to look interested. It's safe to say that any high school sweethearts were out of the question while Hermes was still at school.

My childhood best friend, Meave, celebrated my brother's graduation, claiming our lives were finally starting now that my bodyguard was gone. Throughout the first three years, she was the only one by my side, and that's solely due to us having known each other before. I must have looked unapproachable to the other girls in my grade, and those who showed interest were always quick to reveal themselves to be using me to get close to the team. That was always a bummer.

It made me stick close to Meave, my forever darling. By sticking by my side, she basically gave up her own anticipated high school experiences. I know she was really holding out high hopes for our senior year, though. Too bad that that didn't go according to plan either. With my brother gone, I became the new favorite plaything of a few envious people. At least, that's what Meave calls them.

She always told me the only reason they were teasing me, spreading rumors, and pointing fingers was that I was in the spotlight for a long time, making them envy me, but with my brother there, they had to hide all their nasty feelings. Hence, the outlet in senior year.

If only those people had known that the spotlight wasn't all that great from my point of view.

It could have been better, but it wasn't the worst. I kept to myself and stuck close to Meave. It's all I ever needed. I'm not much of a people person, and I don't want to sound ungrateful toward my brother, but the way he always moved in big groups, thereby making me move in big groups, wasn't what I wanted. He meant well, he just sometimes doesn't really consider his actions from the different views of all the parties involved.