Through the Gate

Chapter Five - Fratricide

Marisol found herself wishing that fratricide were legal. This was the third school she'd been transferred to in the last two years because of her stupid twin brother Marco. She knew, without a doubt, that he'd ruin things at this school too. It was bad enough that her parents made them move to this country to begin with but every time she was settling in, making friends and getting involved, Marco would do something to get himself expelled and according to their mother, her babies needed to go to the same school. So, every time, without fail, they would pack up and move to another city and another private school. Why couldn't he just go to a boarding school or to live with their aunt back in Spain? At least that way she could finish off her senior year in peace. Or better yet, she could go back to Spain in his stead, where things still made sense.

"How long are you going to be mad at me Mari?" Marco pouted as they pulled up to the school's parking lot.

"¡Déjame quieta! ¡Te odio!" She snapped at him in Spanish, exited his car with her bag steadied on her shoulder, and walked quickly away from him.

"You don't mean it!" Marco called after her, "You don't really hate me!"

Marisol made her way to the administration office. She remembered the way from the online orientation she'd gotten over the weekend. The bell rang and she cursed under her breath. Her first day and she was late. Mierda.

A beautiful woman greeted her as she entered the office. "Good morning, I'm Miss Silva the senior class English teacher you must be one of our transfers. Is your brother-"

Before she could finish, Marco waltzed in, pushing a stylish pair of sunglasses up and out of his eyes. Marisol gave him the cold shoulder. "Si, Miss Silva. I am Marisol and this is my brother Marco. I apologize for our tardiness."

"Welcome to St. George Preparatory Academy. I have your class schedules here. This is a free period for me, so I'll give you two a quick tour. Then, I'll see you after lunch for class, how does that sound."

Lunch couldn't come quick enough for Marisol. She had spent the morning ducking and dodging her idiot brother. They had, of course, been in every class together. Heaven forbid, Marisol be allowed to do anything on her own. She sighed to herself. Perhaps she was being too hard on Marco. The move from Spain had been as hard on him as it was on her.

Marisol found the cafeteria, after some searching and got in line. She grabbed a cheeseburger and a salad and looked for an empty seat. She remembered seeing some benches outside and made her way towards the door. Without warning, she tripped but somehow managed to not face plant and only lost a cherry tomato off her plate. Marisol looked around but saw no one and heard only a few chuckles. One particularly loud laugh came from under one of the tables and she saw a little boy dressed in white grin wickedly at her.

She heard her name being called and whipped around, expecting it to be Marco. Instead she saw a girl with long black hair rushing up to her. "Marisol, I'm so happy to have found you!"

The girl leaned in close and whispered. "Please play along."

"Um, hi-" Marisol answered tentatively.

A loud strawberry blonde girl was nipping at the other girl's heels. "Wait up Serena!"

"Sorry Gweneth, I have to show Marisol around. You know what it's like being the new girl, excuse me." Serena, maneuvered Marisol through the cafeteria. Gweneth seemed to give up and didn't follow. "Thank you for that. I'm Serena Tottori and I'm pleased to meet you."

"I'm Marisol Reyes, but I guess you already knew that." Marisol paused, "What was that all about?"

"I was looking for an easy escape from that girl and you look like you need a friend." Serena smiled. "Would you like to meet some people?"

"Yes, I think that would be nice." Serena led Marisol to a sunny section of the hall. There was a large bay window and a group of over a dozen guys. "You're friends with all boys?"

"Mostly, yes, I find their company preferable to that of girls like Gweneth."

"Serena-hime!" A boy said gathering her up in a hug.

"Shuji-kun!" Serena laughed and then swatted him playfully. "Stop calling me that."

Marisol had heard that term "hime" before, in those anime that Marco liked to watch. The wheels of her memory ticked over, Japanese for-"Princess?"

Serena waved the comment off, "Gentlemen, this is Marisol Reyes."

There was a round of introductions and one of the boys winked at her. "About time we added a hot Latina chick to the group. Where are you from?"

The comment sent a blush straight to her cheeks and she looked away as she replied. "Madrid, originally, my brother and I have been in America for some time though."

Conversation came easily and Marisol could see her becoming friends with most of them. It was obvious that this girl Serena had some sort of elevated position and commanded a level of respect within the group. Marisol was not really one for making friends easily and this girl had gone out of her way to include her. Perhaps, this wasn't such a bad move after all.

The bell rang and Serena asked to compare schedules. They had English together and she asked if she wanted to walk with her. Marisol agreed and they made their way through the school. Serena would reply to the occasional greetings from various students and Marisol found herself wondering if she had somehow lucked into instant popularity. A tall, beautiful girl came up to Serena.

"Serena! I've been looking everywhere for you. I asked Gwennie to find you at lunch, but she never did."

"Oh, hi Alison." Serena answered and it was apparent that this was not a conversation her new friend was looking forward to. "I was just showing Marisol around."

"Wonderful, as they say, the more the merrier!" Alison seemed so happy, "You will be at try-outs after-school, won't you?"

"Sorry Alison, I won't be trying out. I simply don't have the time in my schedule for cheerleading. It would interfere too much with my other responsibilities."

"Oh please at least come. We lost eight girls and there aren't enough quality athletes to fill the positions."

"Athletes? You can't mean that." Marisol raised an eyebrow. "Rafael Nadal is a true athlete. I don't see how waving your arms around is a sport."

Alison was taken aback by the statement, but she was obviously trying to keep her cool. "Marisol was it? Listen, we do tough stunts and our routines require grace, stamina, agility and perfect timing. It is a serious sport, even if everyone doesn't treat it that way. It's a well-known fact that-"

Serena interrupted her, "If I come to try-outs will you and the other girls promise to leave me alone?"

"Sure," Alison laughed. "Unless you make the team of course... Because if you do, and all the girls are in agreement that you will, we'll be spending quite a lot of time together. Oh and bring Marisol along as well."

Marisol watched as Alison strode off down the hallway, a bounce apparent in her steps. "How did I get roped into becoming a cheerleader?"

"I am so sorry about that." Serena frowned, "They're mostly nice girls, but they really are relentless. Now I've dragged you into it as well. Please don't feel obligated to come after school."

"It can't be that bad." Marisol smiled, "Maybe it'll even be fun."

-

Author's Note - In this chapter, the gorgeous Victoria Justice as Marisol Reyes. Also a big shout out to @babyamy15 for being an amazing reader! Be sure to check out her stories, they're pretty amazing.

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