Looming Secrets

Chapter 2

Ariella

Just like a scene in a movie, Jason Stone, the son of Poseidon, walked out of his luxurious sports car that screamed rich, and threw his duffel bag into the back seat. What's more cliché is the fact that he took his time taking off his shirt, making a few freshmen girls behind me sigh. I just rolled my eyes. I mean yes, Jason has a killer body with the six packs, a toned chest, strong biceps, proving that he definitely went to the gym (not to mention the golden skin that adds the cherry on top) but even though he is lean and tall, there is more than just what's on the outside. What people didn't know is that he is a true master at being a jerk. The strong jaw, straight nose, poetic lips, and the dreamy pair of vivid, bluish-green eyes did not deceive me. Even if he does have perfect teeth, flawless olive skin, and soft sandy blond hair, I know behind the pretty face and the charm, there is a devil under that mask.

I don't know what I ever did to him, but since the day I met him in sixth grade he has given me the ultimate experience of Tartarus—and as some would like to call it, hell. Maybe it was because I wasn't supposed to be at their rich private middle school, if it wasn't for my mom marrying my step dad, who owns one of New York's largest construction company. I remember everyone's spiteful looks the first day I walked down those halls, but I remember even more clearly the hateful and disgusted look Jason gave me. And since Jason was already the golden boy at that school, the rest of the student body followed his lead and started treating me like trash from the bottom of the dumpster.

But I'm thankful that Jenn and Nick started talking to me a couple of weeks later, and we became friends right away. I guess these siblings never really fitted in. Like me, we all knew we don't really belong with the other kids no matter how hard we tried, and we knew deep down that we were something else.

Either way, I'm happy that Jenn and Nick stuck with me, because without them I would have never made it through the times when Jason "accidentally" tripped me in the hallway, or when he stole my projects and assignments out of my locker (I never knew how he opened my locker with no one knowing). They were the only ones that believed me when I told them Jason—"the perfect student with outstanding grades" as our hairless sixth grade teacher once said—was the one making my life miserable. I guess the constant bullying got better in grade seven. It was like I didn't exist in Jason Stone's world, or exist in anyone's world for that matter. I was getting used to that when grade eight came rolling around. But sadly Jason started getting nastier and more aggressive. Nobody seemed to notice though, not even Jenn and Nick, so I figured that there's no use telling anyone. It was hard getting through that year, I felt alone in this world, like an outcast, like I didn't belong in this world.

Then things changed that summer after grade eight. My mom told me who I really was, and she sent me to Harrison High Academy. Not what I was expecting it to turn out to be because when I first stepped on the grounds of this high school, I saw three people.

Jenn, Nick, and Jason. To say I was surprised would be a major understatement. Every year there are two buses that transport the students to the school. Needless to say, the buses are magical, because how else can you pick up kids all over North America to a remote place beside a small town in British Columbia, Canada? The first year, I got here on the second bus while the three of them came on the first one. I don't know why I was on a separate bus. I mean, come on, the four of us come from the same city (New York), and the same area (Upper East Side), so we are practically neighbours. Still, I'm happy that I wasn't on a bus with Jason because the devil would have probably put whip cream on my face and apple juice on my pants while I was sleeping. Imagine my horror when I saw him that day.

I looked at Jason again. He sure is easy on the eyes, throwing around a football shirtless with the other popular guys. I give an inner sigh and notice how his muscles flexed as he moved, such a shame that he has to be such a prick.