___
He throws me the most charming (uh, not) grin as he leans on the table I am currently sitting at. "So, can I have your number?"
I play dumb. "What number?"
His grin falters a little, but he still manages to keep his façade of ooh-I-don't-even-know-you-but-I'm-kind-of-interested-in-you. "Your phone number, obviously."
"Sorry, but I don't own a phone." Then I proceed to whip out my phone from my pocket and start playing Candy Crush.
I'm not even sorry.
___
Sienna Andrews is just your average genius, who is currently in her second last year at Riverswood Academy, one of the most prestigious private high schools of Massachusetts. America, even.
On the outside, she is distant, a little intimidating, brutally honest and rather evil with a side dash of crazy. Underneath, she hides insecurities, troubles, and scarring memories from her childhood. When your dad was the stereotypical star quarterback and playboy, and your mum the head cheerleader and girly girl, life has got to be pretty interesting, right?
Well, yeah... kind of.
Although Sienna doesn't know it yet, junior year for her means lots of drama, and many unexpected happenings.
What happenings, you ask?
Tears, laughter, new friendships, revenge, injuries, the uncovering of family secrets, unfamiliar feelings, and lots of character development.
This is a story behind the seemingly perfect girl's façade, a story of broken glass, of loneliness, of love, and of shattering silence.
This is a story of how a woman and a man change each other for the worse, and a girl and a boy change each other for the better.
This is a story of how a girl came to be everything she is, and how she comes to be everything she will become.
This is Sienna's story.
*EDITORS' CHOICE 2021*After falling for her senior year teacher, Louise learns a harsh lesson on what adulthood isn't.
Louise has some trauma to unpack. Heartbreak's a bitch, and her first relationship had been anything but normal. Thinking herself mature for her age, her affair with Mr. Cain started swooningly well. Except things ended quite abruptly. It's a lot for a seventeen year old to handle. But who's really at fault for what happened? Who even is Mr. Cain, and what is he hiding? From the wreckage of her naivety and self-esteem, can Louise save her friendships and rebuild herself? Our love songs aren't telling the whole truth. How can this be? In this tale of vulnerability, adolescence and painful reckoning, the arrogance of youth demands a price.
*
"'You're what, Louise?' he asked. 'You're sorry? What am I supposed to do here? How can I turn this around? How can I tell you that everything you want and feel is reciprocated, when I have to go back to work and pretend none of it happened?'
'I don't know the answer!' I cried. 'Neither of us do.' I threw my hands up in defeat. He caught them before they could fall.
'But how do I go back to living without your words?' His voice became a whisper. He squeezed my fingers tightly, closing his eyes and bringing them to his chest. 'I need how you make me feel, Luiza. I need it to feel alive. I won't stay away. No one's made me feel this good before. And I can't stand myself for wanting what I want. What do I do?'
I was a violin bow on the verge of splintering. Every inch of me pulsed with an ache that began from the marrow of my bones. Fate had brought us here. At this crossroads of ours, there were a hundred different choices to make. A thousand different lifetimes to choose from, stemming from and decided entirely by my next choice.
And in the end, I chose incorrectly.
I held his face between my hands, feeling the echoing pulse of his skin. I brought his face to mine.
I kissed him."