Unintended Side Effects

Chapter One

The classroom is filled with chatter, arguments, and flying paper balls.

Zola, still waiting for Adri and Asahi, was sitting at her table for Physics. She impatiently tapped her dark-skinned fingers to her phone, which was resting on the table. Her tightly curled dark hair seemed to move with the air as she dodged paper balls flying from the back of the room and eventually bounced off her thick-rimmed glasses. 

Just when the bell rang, two teenagers ran into the room, only to trip on each other. Zola didn't even need to look up to see who they were. Adri and Asahi seemed to have found each other on the floor. Asahi's midnight black hair with creamy skin mixed with Adri's blonde hair and tanned skin. While the other students laughed at Asahi, Zola laughed at the both of them. 

As Zola helped Adri, her boyfriend finally walked through the door, her own amber eyes meeting chestnut. With thick-rimmed glasses like hers, Cristiano seemed like the average high school student. Tanned skin from living in Spain for a few years plus the wavy dark red hair he never brushed added to the hint of normalcy to her. 

As Asahi and Adri were helped up, Zola couldn't help but notice another person just outside the classroom door.

She had the same colored skin as Cristiano, but that was it. She was noticeably shorter than him and her hair was much darker and curlier than his, pulled back into a short ponytail. Her eye colors were more intense with fiery hues, but overall she was much softer. Her clothes seemed too big for her, but she didn't seem to be bothered by it.  A dark tan messenger bag rested on her right hip. 

The girl noticed Zola and waved a bit, in which she noticed her calloused fingers.

"Zola", Cristiano began, his smooth voice filling the atmosphere of chaos. She felt his lips against her cheek as he leans into her. "I see you've met my cousin, Ayita. She moved here from the United States and is going to be staying here."

The girl, Ayita, offered her hand for a handshake. It wasn't until after her hand retreated that Zola realized what Cristiano said.

"Wait, American? How is that possible?" Before Cristiano could answer, the teacher walked into the classroom. Everyone took their seats while Ayita took the seat behind Cristiano. 

...

Asahi knew he was screwed the second he landed on his face.

His crush, Adrienne, the daughter of the most famous model and the most beautiful girl in his class, was the same one he tripped over this morning. Normally, he would be rejoicing, but one thing stood in the way; Kieran.

Kieran, the bleach-blond son of the mayor and Asahi's rival, was sitting in the front when the scene unfolded. Asahi and Kieran were at each other's throats since they were younger, adding Adri into the mix only made it worse. Plus, the fact that his parents worked for the mayor as cooks meant he had to see Kieran more often than he would like. 

Out of nowhere, Asahi felt himself being lifted up from the ground. Once he was back on his feet, he turned to see Cristiano, one of his only friends. 

"Hey, how are you?" Asahi wanted this to be less awkward than it already is. 

"Nothing much. I was just picking up someone." He gestured to Zola, who was talking to a new girl at the door. Short and thin, the girl reminded him of Cristiano if he would stop dying his hair a dark red. 

Before he could say hi, the teacher walked in the door and began class.

...

Ayita wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived at Cris's school, but it sure wasn't seeing a pile of people scrambling on the floor to get up. It almost made her laugh; if school is like this in France, she never wanted to leave. 

During her first class, Physics, she felt eyes on her. She discreetly turned to find a bleach-blond boy in the front with ice blue eyes. He was obviously rich due to his designer clothes and slick-back hair. HIs eyes weren't as prideful as she expected from snobby rich boys; they were softer, almost curious about her.

She turned her attention back to the lesson, which seemed like a joke to her. Growing up a mechanic in Manhattan, she mastered math and science by the time she was eight. During class, equations swarmed around her brain like water as she wrote them down quickly. At the end of class, everyone had time to work on homework. Ayita finished with an extra ten minutes, so she decided to read the book Cristiano got her. 

While Cristiano moved to sit with that girl, Zola, she felt another take his place. She looked up to find the boy from earlier. Midnight black hair and sky blue eyes met with her own fiery eyes. It looked like his clothes were handmade and quality. Like Cristiano, this boy was also taller than her; damn giants. 

"I don't believe we've properly met. I'm Ayita." She waved slightly, in which he returned the gesture.

"Name's Asahi. Can I ask why you moved to France if it doesn't bother you explaining?" How could she answer this without crying? She took a deep breath and calmly answered.

"Cristiano and his family are the only family I have left." Asahi nodded slowly, but then changed the topic.

"How did you do this?!" She followed his line of sight to find her own homework. She had forgotten about it until now. 

"Well-"

"Are all Americans this smart? Why aren't you in the advanced classes?" Questions from Asahi's mouth spilled faster than a waterfall. She nearly laughed out loud at the first question but stopped herself. Was she the only American he's ever met? She shook her head in reply.

"No, I was just raised with a lot of math. Many of my old American friends would get confused over things like this. I didn't know the classes were here, so I went with the classes Cristiano had." Her explanation seemed to answer Asahi's questions. 

After a while, they began to talk about their interests. Ayita found that Asahi likes to make his own clothes and wishes to be a fashion designer. She relayed her own dreams of starting her own mechanic shop one day and how her art class might help with a possible patent in the future. 

As they were finishing their conversation, the bell rang for the second class. As she was packing her things, Ayita noticed the blond boy again. This time, she waved towards him. He turned away scowling. Confused, she followed Cristiano to their next class. So far, her first day was great, except for the fact that the blond boy won't stop staring at her, giving her an unsettling feeling.

She only hoped that it would go away soon.

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