Sun Kisses - Miami Heat

Chapter One

PINK BUNNY EARS

I enter the schoolyard of Taylor Hill High School with a broad grin and can already see our friend from a distance. Hannah, my cousin, walks beside me, jumping for joy.
Today is a good day, I can feel it.
Levin is also grinning ear to ear as we get closer and closer. He has the latest issue of the school magazine tucked under his arm.
He's been with the school newspaper for two years and is now even on the editorial team.
Of course, Hannah and I have read last week's issue, his most successful ever, in which he wrote about overworked students and heat holidays.
It didn't go down so well with the teachers, but all the more so with the pupils.
"Good morning, sunshine!" he greets me when we reach him and cheerfully presses his elbow into my side.
"It's not often I see you in such a good mood. What's the occasion?" I ask, but look demonstratively at the newspaper under his arm. Hannah and I look at him expectantly, but Levin just shakes his head with a grin and presses the newspaper so close to him that we can't read anything. "Sorry, guys, but you'll have to wait until it comes out."
"No spoilers this time?" asks Hannah.
Levin shrugs his shoulders. "Nope."
"Not even a little one?" I try.
"No, not a single one."
He moves away from us a little to get a better look at us, then runs his free hand through his hair. "Drop it. Just have a little patience."
Hannah shoulders her backpack again and looks over her shoulder at her friends before giving us a slight wave.
"Right, I'll see you later then," she says and disappears in the other direction.
Levin and I are walking towards the school entrance when he holds the newspaper under my nose - upside down so I can't see.
Whenever Levin has written a new issue for the school magazine, I pack it up and take it to the secretary's office, as my locker is closest to it and Levin is unfortunately quite lazy.
I promised him I wouldn't sneak a peek at the issues, even though Levin trusts me less. He drew up his own contract for me to sign.
I mean, that's complete nonsense.
But Levin holds that letter sacred and even though we're best friends, not even I get the privilege of reading it before anyone else.
That's okay.
If only I didn't carry it in my pocket all the time, with the allure of just pulling it out and reading it in secret. He has every reason not to trust me. I'm far too curious and my self-control is almost non-existent.
But so far I've kept my promise. The only thing I may have read once is the headline and subtitle of his "Why isn't yawning rude, but a good sign for teachers?" issue.
Through this article, I learned that yawning is not only a sign of tiredness, but also of alertness.
By yawning, we take in more oxygen, which stimulates our brain and we can remember things better. Even with this article, the teachers were more annoyed than enthusiastic, but they don't begrudge Levin his success.
"Why are you in such a good mood?" he asks me as I push open the door and we slip through.
I pick up the newspaper and put it in my brown bag, which is dangling from my right side. I shrug with a grin and lean against the lockers as he turns the dial with the numbers, like an old cable phone, and then opens his locker. "No particular reason," I say calmly.
"No, absolutely not. Don't think you can stall me like I can you." I grin, but say nothing.
"Tell me." He takes out the books for the next few hours and puts them in his backpack, then turns to me.
I decide not to keep him in suspense any longer and cross my arms in front of my chest.
"My mom got the job offer. She can start next week." His eyes widen so much that he reminds me of a glubschi in a ridiculous way. Levin knows how long my mother has been struggling with her job. She is constantly being made redundant or she leaves voluntarily because she doesn't get on with her work colleagues.
She was even unemployed for a while.
"I told you Henry would hire her - a good guy. Has his heart in the right place. That's great news," he cheers, putting an arm over my shoulder as he slams the locker door and we walk off together.
"Yes," I agree and sigh, "It wasn't easy to persuade her to talk to him, but she gave in in the end. The job at the café is better than being unemployed."
Mom studied law.
She was a respected lawyer.
But things changed overnight and her career took a bit of a - well, nosedive. Without the support of my grandparents and my uncle, we would have had a huge problem.
I see Autumn and Malena turn the corner and when they see us, they quickly run to us.
"It'll be fine, Lia. Don't worry about it. No one blames your mom. You've been through a lot." Yeah.
"A lawyer shouldn't be working behind a counter or in a bookstore, Aurelia," her words echo through my head, but I push her away. It's damn unusual, but she has to swallow her pride and seize the opportunities that come her way.
"Did your Abuela buy you something new to wear?" I turn to the bright voice of my best friend and give her a hug in greeting.
I nod and stroke my tight Levi's jeans and look down at my black top with the thin spaghetti straps. My shoes aren't new, they're the black Converse I always wear.
"Damn, you look good," Autumn says, giving me a hug as well.
"I stand corrected. She doesn't just look good, she looks hot."
Malena-Beth Weiner, Mal for short, is the epitome of absolute hotness and confidence. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkle at any time of day, no matter how dark or light it is. In addition to her brown hair, she has freckles and a slim figure.
And she also has a good heart.
Her ex-girlfriend was the shittiest girl I've ever met. Even though I can never understand how Mal fell in love with her in the first place, I tried to make friends with her. No chance.
Mal is too clever and too valuable to be told what to do, which is why the relationship didn't last very long.
Not to my displeasure, but I was still there for her.
Even if she didn't really need to be comforted.
"Thanks, Mal," I laugh and she winks at me.
When we were younger and Mal confessed to me with ice cream, trembling and sweaty hands, with Dirty Dancing in the background, that she not only liked men but also women, I was unsure how to deal with it at first. Not because I thought it was stupid.
I was afraid.
I was worried that she would confess to me that she likes me and I didn't want to hurt her by having to tell her that I couldn't reciprocate these feelings. I love her - but as my best friend.
But Mal has reassured me that it's not like that. She loves me in the same way that I love her. I can still remember her laughing out loud and almost not being able to stop herself. "You're hot as shit, Aurelia Collister, but trust me, you're not my type. Hell, we sat naked in the sandbox together, do you really think I could do anything with my soul sister?"
Yes, that was the end of it.
Levin and Autumn took it with a high-five and a remember-photo for our friend album. The picture of the four of us on the beach with the caption "Mal not only likes dogs, but cats too" has a very special place in the album and we decorated the page with colorful stickers and flowers.

Even though Autumn and Levin are twins, they couldn't be more different. In addition to Autumn's light brown hair, Levin has dark brown almost black hair. In addition to her brown Bambi eyes and snub nose, he has dark green eyes and a straight nose. Levin is outgoing and extroverted, Autumn is rather quiet and reserved.
Levin always jokes that her older sister April could be Autumn's twin sister. He himself was just pushed into it.
Which isn't true, because we've all seen childhood photos of him and Autumn in the bathtub. Or pictures of them sitting together on the changing table and not being able to tell them apart. As long as you don't look down.
The four of us have been best friends for as long as I can remember and we spend every spare minute together.
Life without the three of them is unimaginable. It would be heartbreaking.
"Oh no, I can't do this this morning," Autumn groans, annoyed, and demonstratively turns her back to the corridor where two girls are opening their lockers.
"What did she do this time?" I ask and Levin leans against the lockers with me as Autumn and Mal open theirs.
"Aside from the fact that she just exists? She blocked the bathroom for about three quarters of an hour and I couldn't get into Levin's bathroom. So I did a quick cat wash at the sink in the kitchen before we left" she replies annoyed, giving her brother looks that should stab him. "Why didn't you let her in?"
A mischievous grin comes to his lips and he tilts his head.
"I had the shit of my life - couldn't do it, I'm sorry." I roll my eyes and Mal sighs as my gaze falls on April and Emily, who are still standing at their lockers.
April is, as I said, the twins' older sister and, contrary to her outward resemblance to Autumn, completely different.
In short, she's a bitch - the kind of girl who is friends with Emily Smith, is controlled by brutal mood swings and jealousy, and has no sense of humor.
But Emily is even worse. She looks like she's come straight out of Mean Girls herself, with dyed pink hair and a closet that's all pink and white.
We like to call her Pinki.
So far we haven't had much to do with each other and I hope it stays that way.
As they both walk past us, Levin and Autumn turn their backs to them and look everywhere but at their sister and her best friend.
"That much pink can't be healthy." Mal sighs and I nod in agreement.
"Certainly not. But unfortunately she doesn't care. I'm just glad she's not at home tonight," Autumn says, kissing her right hand at the end before pointing her index finger to the sky, or rather the ceiling, and looking up.
"Why?"
"She's spending the night at Emily's. It's Friday, her weekly sleepover party gets her out of the house for at least one night and gives me the rest my soul needs."
Me and Mal laugh at her words and we slowly make our way towards the classrooms. I have my books with me and don't have to swap them again until the lunch break. Then I also take Levin's letter to the secretary's office.
"At least she's with her. The last time Emily slept over, Autumn had a breakdown." Levin still has to grin at his words. He likes to ride his sister's nose and provoke her.
It's kind of his job.
But Autumn takes it with humor because she knows it's Levin's way of showing her that he loves her.
Smiling, she pushes him away.
"You were about to lose it too, don't pretend. At least when Emily tried to put pink bunny ears on you and use you as her model." Emily has a public blog where she posts basically everything in her life. Everything that's pink.
Whether she then has to falsify things, such as putting pink bunny ears on Levin, doesn't matter to her.
"I still have a screenshot of it," I tease him and promise myself to use this photo as an Easter card at some point.
"You guys are shit. Real beasts. Every time I ask myself why I only spend time with you female, annoying creatures."
"Stop whining and think of a movie for tonight instead. Mom and Dad are out to dinner - we have the house to ourselves. Candy, popcorn and horror movie!" Autumn orders her brother and he nods in defeat. "All right."
We push open the doors to the middle section of the school and stuffy air envelops us. Mal tugs at the waistband of her dark jeans and then pulls her phone out to check something. When she lifts her gaze again, I give her a waiting look.
"If you want, we can move this to my place. I've got the mini chocolate fountain. Malin is probably out with Damian, so that shouldn't be a problem."
We all agree and Levin suggests a few movies until we agree on one.
Malin and Malena live alone in a small house. As Malin is already of age and works alongside school, just like Malena, it's not a problem for them. Her parents have moved to New York, come by every few months and leave money so that they have enough to survive. It was hard for Mal and Malin at first, but now they are used to living on their own.
"What lessons do you have now?" I ask and shortly afterwards I receive a blow to the back of my head.
Before I get a chance to hit Levin back or insult him, the three of them shout at me. "Politics?!"
Oh, right.
I can enjoy the first two hours of Friday with my best friends.
I shrug my shoulders sheepishly and we enter the politics room together.