Wildcards| Ongoing

Deep trouble

Highschool sucks.

It is the most draining and soul sucking part of your teenage years. Of course, anyone with half a brain would know that. Except I believe my school tops the cake on complete hell-hole type schooling.

Jackson-Avery Preparatory school fits into the mould of perfect, pristine and rich. Only the smartest (or richest in most cases) get in. Its like university for high schoolers. But don't let the fancy name fool you. The kids are just as wild and unpredictable as any public-school kid, just with more money.

I'd like to say that I'm the exception. The one who doesn't fit in with the pack, like a lone wolf; but then I would be lying to myself. Truth be told, I just blend in with everyone. If our school was a movie, I would be one of the people in the background, minding their business while the action happens around them. That's fine with me, the main character is overrated, I'd rather be the narrator.

I already know exactly who the stars of the movie would be: The Deck of Cards. They're a group of extremely rich and beautiful students. That's not what made them special, it's the fact that nobody knows anything about them. Not anything they don't want us to know anyways. It's the mystery around them that has everybody intrigued and crawling on their hands and knees for them. Which is exactly why I decided to base my creative writing project off them.

"You know staring at people without blinking is kinda creepy Ro." Arden said from behind me.

I turned to look at my best friend who was leaning against the wall, binders in her arms. She's the only person I know who refuses to use a bag like the rest of us and insists on carrying everything herself. I think it was excuse for her to hunch over, she always hated attention and kept to herself as much as possible.

"I'm doing my research, studying their faces so that I know exactly how to describe them" I explained to her. I suppose I could be a little more subtle, but I'm pretty sure The Deck is used to being stared at.

"Careful, I hear they can sense overconfidence and will use their evil stares to disintegrate you on the spot." I roll my eyes, though Arden keeps to herself, even she can't help but indulge in the rumours floating around about The Deck.

That rumour in particular came from seven months ago when Kari Lewis dared to look at Zara in the eyes and claimed to be hotter than her. Two weeks later she was in a freak car accident and was transferred out of Jackson-Avery faster than you could say 'yikes'. People who witnessed the interaction say that Zara had this wicked gleam in her eyes as Kari spoke and never said a word back. Every time someone mentions the incident all she does is flip her curly brown hair over her shoulders and gives the smallest of shrugs, as if she couldn't care less.

The bell rang and I said my goodbyes to Arden and went to my next class. It was the only class in my schedule that made me excited to get there and not make me want to throw up just to get out of it. Creative writing was all about free expression and it encouraged me to become a writer. It's also the class that I'm using to write about the Deck of Cards.

"Okay class, today we'll be working on our Free Writing projects, I want to see actual work being done, anyone doing otherwise gets to spend time with me organizing cabinets after classes. Got it?" The teacher, Mrs. Demetra explained. She took our silence as a 'yes' and sat down at her desk.

Although she may seem strict, once you got to know Mrs. Demetra she was actually a nice person. I've confided in her plenty of times, especially about my writing.

I joyfully opened up my notebook at my desk and started writing.

The Deck of Cards

Everybody knows of them, but no one truly knows them. Renown for their secrecy and mysterious backgrounds, all four members who are a part of the elite title quickly became the talk of the town in less than two years.

It was the first day of junior year, everyone was gathered at the outside of Jackson-Avery with their luggage at their feet. People were mindlessly chatting with friends, awaiting for the doors to open for another dreadful year until they say them

Four kids stood at the top of the steps to the entrance. They didn't say a word to anyone as one-by-one a new pair of eyes landed on them. They simply looked down at everyone, and that's how its been the last year and a half.

It was the student body that gave them their name. According to eyewitnesses, they saw tattoos on the inner wrists of each member: a spade, a club, a heart and a diamond, respectively. Soon enough, people nicknamed them The Deck of Cards. None of them protested to the idea, so it stuck. Though the four were almost always seen together, they managed to subdivide the student body. What was even weirder was the fact that they seemed to have no last name. It was never said and no one dared attempted to peek at their school files.

Now, half-way through senior year, its time to uncover the truth about the feared four, starting by dissecting each one of them.

Starting with Ace, the leader of the Spades. His group of followers consisted of the rebels, the troublemakers, all those who hated authority and did as much as possible to undermine it. Its assumed that these types of people were attracted to him because of the energy he gave off. He was a tall fellow, with raven black hair like mine. He always wore dark clothing and slouched like his life depended on it. Another thing to note was that he never smiled. No one has seen it, some say his face muscles don't know how to. He's easily the most intimidating of the Deck.

Next is Clara, she led the Hearts. Though she had fiery red hair and icy blue eyes, she was the least intimidating of the four. She smiles the most among them and her followers were all about kindness and peacemaking. This stemmed from one time where Clara was seen helping a freshman get to class with a smile on her face. Though she seems nice, there's still an uneasiness surrounding her.

Zara held the Clubs in the palm of her hand. The analyticals who thought with logic praised her. She wore her dark hair freely and wore her black frame glasses with pride. Don't be fooled by her looks however, people say she has a manipulative streak. She was known for getting her way no matter the cost. She did things in a subtle manner, not as in your face as the Spades. She's considered as calculative and always three steps ahead of her opponents. This made her probably the most dangerous of the four. She could ruin you without you even realizing it.

Finally, there was Conrad, the leader of the diamonds. Otherwise known as the group of narcissists, people obsessed with themselves. They also happened to be the richest of the rich kids, the ones who parents were business moguls or celebrities. Which made sense, he was considered the most attractive of the Deck. He had golden blonde hair and was well built, like a model from the magazines. He was known to be a huge flirt around school, charming his way into the rooms with anyone with two legs and could breath. That's what made him scary, its been said that no one could ever say no to him, one look into his eyes and you were a goner.

Anyone who didn't fit into the categories were deemed as outcasts. Jokers. Wildcards. Believe it or not, there were a lot of wildcards at school, but it didn't stop them from fantasizing about the Deck of Cards.

I stared at the last sentence I wrote. It was true, even I fantasized about the elusive group. Even their lackies didn't know more about them than the rest of the wildcards. I was one, and so was Arden. If anything, I thought she'd fit in with the Hearts, but I guess that went against her whole 'keeping to myself'.

"Why are you writing about us?"

I jumped in my seat and kept myself from letting out a gasp. I turned around slowly to see Ace standing directly behind me, and he looked pissed.

Hey everyone! This is my entry for the #shawrocketcontest! I won't be updating until the contest is over obviously but I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

-ReadTheNorth