Crossing the Line

Chapter One

'Wake up, sleepyhead!! -_-'

Miki glanced up at the second storey window as she hit the 'Send' button on her phone, willing the text to get there faster. She could tell that her friend was still asleep, as she could see, from Nikolai's front yard, that he still hadn't opened the curtains in his room. The first thing he did in the mornings (after getting dressed, of course), was open the heavy curtains, to let in the natural light. She leaned against the side of the house, mentally cursing him. They were in Year Eleven now, he should be getting more responsible...

The front door opened, and she looked over at it, hopeful. However, when Nikolai's older sister walked out instead, she let out an annoyed sigh.

Elena heard the noise, and looked to her right in surprise. "Good morning, Miki. My god, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, sorry," the younger girl apologised. "Good morning. You're late too?"

"How did you guess?" she joked - an unusual occurrence, especially this early in the morning. Her bleach-blonde hair was still slightly damp, and the black that usually lined her eyes was not yet there. "I guess it runs in the family, huh? Can you go and wake him up, please, before Mum and Dad get another call from the school? I would've, but I slept in too." She left the front door open, and hurried over to her car. "Oh, and feel free to take one of the cupcakes that Mum made! They're on the bench," she shouted, before getting in the silver vehicle.

"Thank you!" Miki called, even though she knew the other couldn't hear her. She ran inside the large house, closing the front door behind her. She dropped her bag by the breakfast table in the kitchen, spotting the cupcakes on the bench as she dashed into the next room and up the stairs. Down the corridor, the last room on the left was Nikolai's room, and that's where she was headed.

If you didn't know that the room belonged to a boy of the age of sixteen, you would probably be led to believe that a young child lived there. Posters for video games and films lined the walls, and the heavy curtains that covered the window were a navy blue, with a cartoonised space theme. Figurines sat haphazardly across the desk, along with his schoolbooks. Almost matching the curtains were the blankets that the sleeping Nikolai was laying underneath.

He screamed when Miki ripped the blankets off of him, and he was exposed to the cold winter air. It was a rather rude awakening, but in Miki's defence, they were running late.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" he shrieked, curling up into a ball. "Freaking hell, it's freezing!"

"Yeah, I know. I was waiting outside for ages-" (really it was only five minutes) "-for you to get up."

"Why couldn't Elena just wake me up?" he asked, sitting up finally. Miki explained that Elena was running late for university as well, before she noticed the PlayStation controller on his bedside table.

"You were up all night again, weren't you?" she asked, hands on her hips. She'd taken up the habit of imitating their friend Asiyah when scolding him.

"Yes... but my friends were depending on me! I couldn't just leave. That is not what I do!"

"We have an exam today."

"And I have coffee." He thought for a second. In all honesty, he had completely forgotten about their Modern History exam. "P-plus Bonbon probably hasn't studied either." He glanced around the room, looking for a distraction before she could continue to scold him. His eyes fell upon his reflection in the sliding wardrobe mirror. His light brown hair was messy, and there were slight bags under his eyes. He was also still in his pyjamas. Perfect. "Now, get out! I need to change!"