The Story of us

Chapter Two: "Some people are just born lucky"

"1D? Aren't they the sons of some of the richest families there are?" my mother said in a tone of interest, stirring a pot on the stove.

I looked up from the chopping board, "You've heard of them?"

"Of course!" My mother, Mandy, had an admiring gleam in her eyes that I didn't like the look of at all; she had no business to be so radiant when talking about those boys. "They crop up in conversation here and there. Quite well known in the social circles."

"Hmm."

"Good-looking, too, I've heard," Mum added mischievously and my little sister giggled while I ducked my head, hoping my faint blush would go unnoticed.

It was almost dinner time and we were cooking together, our usual evening custom. Mum was boiling the sauce, I was chopping up vegetables, and Ellie,my sister, was arranging them neatly with her little fingers. My dad and brother were sitting at the table; James doing his homework and Dad watching TV and listening to our conversation. Evening was always my favourite part of the day.

My dad, Edward, glanced over at us with a frown, "You be careful around them, Layls. Students at Kensington they might be... they're still teenagers."

"Hey, doesn't one of them own a football team?" asked James excitedly, twirling his pen, "One of 1D?"

"Probably," I muttered, chopping up mushrooms with more vim than necessary, "They seem to own everything. The school exists for their entertainment."

"Wow," my brother whistled, having not listened to the rest of my vent. "A football team. Whoa."

"Ah, some people are just born lucky," said Mum whimsically, dumping the vegetables in the pot. "But what else, honey? Did you make any friends? Did you get to see the school music room?"

"You didn't even take your violin today, Layla," Ellie ratted me out, prodding me with her finger. I caught her hand and made her poke herself in the forehead, making her giggle.

"I know, I know," I said, sighing, "I wouldn't have had time to play, anyway. I'll take it tomorrow and look at their music room."

"And friends?" Mum pressed on, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

"I made one," I said, a little doubtful, "Maybe two."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her smile in relief. Mum was always worried about my interaction with people my age. She once said that I had been born middle-aged and was a complete mystery even to her at times. Only Dad really understood me - every tiny, little bit of me. We were both quiet people who were comfortable with silence and weren't the best at expressing our emotions out loud, like the rest of our family were, and that meant we read each other better than anyone else.

"WHOA - THEY SCORED! DAD, DID YOU SEE THAT?" James yelled, jumping up and down in euphoria and pointing at the TV.

Dad grinned, "Yeah. It was great."

I hid a smile.

After dinner, I went to my room to start on some homework. I knew it would only start piling up otherwise, and that was my motivation as I sat on my bed, my laptop in front of me and one hand absently ruffling Ellie's locks as she slept curled up beside me.

A notification for an email popped up in my new school account. I opened it.

The email loaded a very badly taken photo of a boy with blonde spikes. His identity didn't remain a mystery for long, since the name KEVIN GREY were the first words to appear beneath the picture, followed by numerous profanities and a list of outrageous accusations.

I closed the window, disgusted. 1D were behind this, no doubt. Saying these terrible things about a boy and spreading it to the entire school - were they completely ruthless?

I groaned. I had a feeling things were only just beginning.