Chapter 1

My older brother, Cody Ferrer, took my dad's last name, whereas I, Rachel Sparks, took my mom's. Nobody at school knew this. It wasn't because our family situation was complicated, but simply because on my very first day of school, Cody had cornered me at the front gates and laid down the law.

"You're not allowed to tell anyone I'm your brother."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's bad for my image."

"You have an image?"

We promptly got into a fight right then and there. And from that day on, we've acted like complete strangers at school.

As for bringing him food, getting him water, and copying notes for him… Mom had forced me to do every single one of them. She said high school seniors had it rough, and I, as his little sister, should take good care of him.

And every time I "took care" of him, I'd get paid three dollars. There was even a perfect-attendance bonus if I didn't skip a day. So, for the cash, I sucked it up and put up with it.

But now Amber Belknap wanted me to take a leave of absence for free. Could life get any better?

I grabbed a pen and signed my name without the slightest hesitation.

Amber froze, clearly not expecting me to give up Cody faster than a cafeteria worker dropped a scoop of food.

She eyed me suspiciously. "You're not going to go back on this, are you?"

"Relax," I said, handing over the agreement with both hands. "Whoever backs out is a wuss."

Only then did Amber finally smile in triumph. She had her lackey, Matt Truitt, pin the agreement to the bulletin board, then took a picture and uploaded it to the campus forum.

The caption read, "Some people have finally learned their place. Even a lapdog needs to respect boundaries."

I liked the post and dropped a comment.

"Congrats, you two are locked in for life. I swallowed the key. Have a long and happy life together."

Ten minutes later, my comment had racked up more than 300 laughing emojis.

Amber apparently thought I was just putting on a brave face, because she came over and patted me on the shoulder.

"If you're sad, just cry. Nobody will make fun of you."

I shook my head, dead serious. "I'm not sad."

Mom had given me 100 dollars this month to cover Cody's meals, and I'd only been doing it for five days so far. Now that a third party had forced me out of the job, I shouldn't have to refund the remaining cash, right?

I was hunched over and studying our household labor contract when our homeroom teacher, Ms. Wayland, walked in.

Spotting the milk splattered across the floor, she frowned.

Amber immediately got teary-eyed.

"Ms. Wayland, Rachel deliberately dumped her breakfast on herself to frame me just because she knows I like Cody."

My head snapped up.

"Seriously, girl? You sure can turn the tables faster than my brother snatches the last chicken drumstick," I thought inwardly.

Ms. Wayland looked straight at me. "Rachel, you've been clinging to Cody for long enough. It's time to stop. Tomorrow is the school's anniversary celebration, and Amber is co-hosting it with him. You're not allowed backstage, and you are not to interfere with their rehearsals."

Amber bit her lip and added softly, "Ms. Wayland, I'm worried she'll steal Cody's clothes again."

Ms. Wayland's expression darkened even further. She confiscated my backstage pass and told me to hurry up and clean myself up instead of deliberately trying to make myself look pitiful.

I looked down at the back of my hand, still red from the burn. Apparently, even an apology came with a rewind button. Once the words "I'm sorry" were said, the milk could magically flow back into the cup, and the burn could disappear on its own.

I pulled out my phone and texted Mom.

"Mom, I signed an agreement, so I can't bring Cody his meals anymore. Violating it will hurt the school's reputation. This is a serious matter, so I suggest letting him fend for himself starting tomorrow night."

Just as "typing…" showed up on the screen, the bell rang. Ms. Wayland reached over, grabbed my phone, and locked it in her desk.

"Your phone is confiscated for two days. You can get it after the morning study session the day after tomorrow."

Before the screen went dark, I managed to catch the first word of Mom's reply.

"Okay."

I quietly sat back down in my seat.

Perfect. Mom had already given her seal of approval, but Cody didn't know yet. When he got back from his competition tomorrow night, not only would there be no dinner waiting for him, but he'd also find an absurd "breakup agreement" signed by his own little sister.

Hopefully, he'd stay strong. After all, getting "dumped" by your own little sister was the kind of blow most people couldn't handle.