The Other Side

Everything Has Changed

Chapter 4

The pictures on my bedside table seemed to mock me as I tucked myself into bed, the night before we set off back to Rendover. Some of them were from red-carpet occasions, like the Oscars, and the VMA’s, but most of them were of people I love. Or loved.

 The ones I had had for the longest was the ones I had taken with me when I left Rendover. One was of Tyde and I at the roller-coaster when I was thirteen. The other was of the three of us, Tyde, Tristan and I. We were fifteen then, and had just spent the day at the stables. My horse, Leo, a bay stallion, had stuck his head out of the stall, and the picture had caught him in motion of shaking his black mane. Tristan was holding an apple in his hand, and Tyde just wore a huge grin on his face. I was perched on Leo’s back, hand on his neck, and caught mid-laugh.

 I missed those times. Nowadays, I didn’t much have time to ride Leo, but since he was coming with me back to Rendover, I could ride him along those country roads I used to love so much. I missed the times when Tyde was still sinfully oblivious to my feelings, and I could spend time with him whenever and wherever.

 Hopefully Tristan was still friends with me. I couldn’t imagine having no one who actually knew me as Eri, small town girl at heart, and not Erika, the teen sensation, but Aiden and Ayden to talk to for the rest of senior year.

 Tyde… now I wasn’t so sure about that. Would we still be friends? My earlier feelings had all been smashed to dust, and all I felt when I thought of him was a pang of homesickness. Shaking my head and clearing my mind, I turned out the lights.

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 Paparazzi were so annoying.

 I had just spent half an hour talking about where I was going and why I would be there for the rest of senior year.

 Most of it went like this: “Erika, what do you think about your high school? Are you excited?”

 And me being totally plastic, with a fake smile plastered on my face: “I’m really excited to go back to the place where I spent most of my childhood. All of my friends from before will be there, and I really want to see them again!”

Growl. I hate them.

 After enduring that ordeal, I spent most of the flight dozing before we landed.

 Let me explain about Rendover first—it was located near the outskirts of San Francisco, which meant it was a lot colder than LA. Which pissed me off, because I needed to wear an extra jacket all the time. But, I guess beggars can’t be choosers. I’ll be stuck here for the rest of the year till hiatus ends. Fudgecakes.

 I stepped off the jet, Aiden and Ayden by my side.

 “Back in this hick town,” I sighed. “You two put me up to this,”

 “Like, seriously, Erika. Get over it! We’re here, ready to start charming the people!” Ayden grinned.

 “We aren’t here to charm people, Ay,” Aiden chastised. “We’re here for Erika. That’s all that matters.”

 “Thank you, Aiden.” I smiled. “Let’s get this over with. Never been so excited to get back to filming.”

 “Dude, think of it as an adventure!”

 I grumbled at Ayden’s tone, but stayed silent.

 The familiar sight of the San Francisco airport passed in a blur as we were ushered into a limo, which would take us to Rendover.

 I switched on the television in the limo, and the sound of Entertainment Tonight filling the air.

 “Today, our teenage pop sensation, Erika Silversand, flew back to her small town for her final year of high school. According to a source, she’s very excited to go back and meet all of her old friends. Word also has it that her co-stars Aiden and Ayden Thorne of the hit TV series My Boyfriend’s Ghost have also gone with her. Wonder if we’ll—,”