After the Drift

Chapter Three: Back to the Beginning

2023- Los Angeles

"Whyyyy are Jaeger pilots such tools?!", my sister whined from her bed, her cell phone in hand.

She was always like this, even though she was the older one. She was dramatic, impulsive and wild.

Lucie Blackwell looked so much like our mother. Silver blonde hair to her shoulders, beautiful blue green eyes and legs for days. She was stunning, even I could admit that. For years in school, boys always ended up sidling up to me asking about her. Was she single? Was she seeing anyone? Did she like anyone?

It was all very typical high school. I wasn't thrilled by all the attention she got, especially once the Kaiju came and our parents really became famous. I was more or less the forgotten Blackwell.

I studied hard, planned on following my dreams then everything got shaken up. Joining the academy was just like any other schooling I'd gone to, Lucie was like a movie star walking around the dorms.

Boys threw themselves at her feet and she ran through them like water through your fingers.

"Who's a tool? You've dated like everyone...", I shrugged and turned the page on the journal I was looking through.

A weird k-science nerd had written extended journals on all prior attacks, gootlieb or something like that was his name. Somehow it made me feel better to know as much as possible about what we were getting into. What our parents were into.

I heard a snotty scoff from across the room, "I have not. This one guy... he's so dreamy. Rough and tumble type. Goddddd why won't he notice meeee?!" She threw herself onto her bed, across from me.

I looked up and over at her, shaking my head. "Rare that you get torn up about someone. What's his name?"

"Chuck ... Hansen."

I sucked in a breath, my fists tightened around the edges of my book.

Chuck Hansen. Of course that's who she'd obsess over. The one and only guy I have ever really had a crush on. Boy bands and movie stars didn't count.

I had seen him plenty of times around different shatterdomes, even the academy. His always messy hair, those mischievous eyes, that chest...those arms... ugh, made a girl weak. This girl, more precisely.

I had spent more than one afternoon dreaming about them holding me, caressing me...Lordy, I was in pretty deep.

One thing though, I didn't let anyone know. Lucie had long since given up asking me who I was crushing on. She basically thought of me as a plant that just hung out in the corner.

"Chuck Hansen, huh? That's a pretty lofty goal... mom and dad see him all the time. Wouldn't they get pissy if they found out you and he were...uh, together."

I tried to loosen up, no use getting upset when it was now inevitable that the one guy I thought was gorgeous would soon be my sisters new toy. They always picked her.

Where my sister was light and airy, beautiful and blonde, I wasn't. I had dark brown curly hair and lighter brown eyes. She was tall and lean whereas I was short and curvy. She had a laugh like little bells and I guffawed like a donkey. I wasn't delicate or elegant. I blended in and for what I was trying to do, it worked.

I didn't have time for relationships. I needed to be the best Jaeger pilot and worrying about if someone was going to text me back all day long didn't work for me. At least that's what I told myself.

"He's at the dome for the next week until they head back to Hong Kong for drills. I've got a week to make him mine!" She laughed wickedly, pretending to be a witch and started tickling me, continuously cackling.