When Fiction Meets Reality

Chapter One

"What's the hurry, Olive?" Lindsay called out. I kept my head down as I quickly walked to my car. I knew it had been a risk parking here this morning. This was the section where Ryder parked his car and I knew that because I had stepped out of his car every school day for twelve months. Vanessa was quick to figure out this was where the soccer team parked when she moved here. Her car was always within a few spots of Ryder's. But today it wasn't. Ryder's BMW sat alone, with Lindsay's pink convertible a few spaces to the left. It happened too fast to prevent it, but I felt a kick to my shin that sent me plunging towards the ground. When I hit the gravel I landed on all fours. My knees copped the impact and my palms were a close second. I pushed back onto my knees and began wiping the gravel from the cuts on my hands. "Sorry, Olive. I didn't see you there," Vanessa ridiculed. Towering over me, she glared as I reached for my bag. The contents had spilled out across the floor. When I went to clutch Van Colton the Third she swiped it out of my reach. "What do we have here?" she sneered, flicking through the pages. I quickly stuffed the rest of the contents in my bag. Standing, I met Vanessa's gaze. She was flipping through the pages. "Prince Joseph Van Colton, he sounds fancy," she teased. She tore a page from the book, scrunched it up and threw it in my direction. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. Stay above them. That's what my mother would have told me to do. Lindsay peeked over Vanessa's shoulder. "And then Prince Joseph handed a rose to Rose with the promise that he would return," she mocked. Her and Vanessa tilted their heads back in laughter. I risked a glance at Monique. She stood silently. When our eyes connected she quickly looked away. Vanessa passed the book to Lindsay and I could hear Lindsay as she continued to tear pages from the book. "You missed something," Vanessa said. She picked my car keys up from the ground and began playing with the remote. I heard the sound of my car unlocking. I was ashamed to say that I still knew Vanessa well. She was about to go in for the kill. Scoffing, she held the keys out to me. "It's a shame your parents didn't leave you a better car when they died." Around us the car park fell silent. She had delivered the final blow, and it was brutal. A lump formed in my throat and I could tell that the tears weren't that far away. But I refused to cry in front of her. Ever. "Jesus, Vanessa!" I recognised that voice. Ryder moved towards us. I wondered how long he had been listening. Instantly Vanessa's attitude completely changed. "Ryder," she grinned. "Ready to go?"

"Give Olivia her keys back," he instructed.

"I was just about to," she smiled. She held them out to me again. I reluctantly reached for them. Once I was within reach she dropped them to the floor. "Oops," she whispered.  Ryder looked at me but he was too much of a stranger now to know what his look meant. I could once read whatever he was thinking, but not anymore. He turned back to Vanessa. "Get in the car." He opened his car door and threw his bag in the back. "Of course, babe," Vanessa perked. "Bye girls," she called out to Lindsay and Monique, "and catch ya, Olive." Ryder revved his car so I stepped out the way. The second his path was clear he sped from the car park, with Vanessa fasted in his passenger seat with a smirk on her face. I could see the irony. That used to be my seat. When his car turned onto the street I headed towards my car. "Olivia," Monique called out. She passed me my destroyed book and then bent down and picked up my keys. "Are you . . ." She paused when she handed me my keys. "Just don't park near here again, okay?" The onlookers began to filter away. I stared at my dated minivan for a few seconds before getting inside and driving away from school. I knew the car was old, and that the paint was rusting, and that there were staples in the roof to stop the upholstery from falling down completely. But it had been their car. And now it was mine. And I would happily drive this piece of shit over a BMW or a Ferrari or an Audi any day.

***

"Livy, what are you doing here again?" Ned asked. I dropped a new and un-ripped version of Van Colton the Third on the counter. He cocked an eyebrow at me. "I thought you bought this yesterday?"