002

Jenna Brooks’s POV

Fox Lane, home for the wealthy, the powerful and the both. It was a town in Houston but It was like a world onto itself where the rich and powerful resided. When we were little, Auntie Laurel would gather the kids together; Conrad, Jamie, Jeanette and I and tell us stories about how Fox Lane originated. How it used to be a fox reserve for some years until a crazed local poisoned the foxes and the reserve was renovated to a residential area.

Finally, the limo zoomed into the big luxurious house. It was surrounded by green gardens and tall trees. The house looked really fancy with its special decorations made of strong stone. It had large windows that let in lots of sunlight, and these windows had beautiful designs in colorful glass that sparkled.

The roof of the house was shaped in interesting ways, like triangles pointing up to the sky. The roof had a shiny material that reflected the sunlight, and it looked like it was made of silver.

A nice path made of smooth stones led up to the front of the house. Two big statues of lions stood on either side of the front door, as if they were protecting it. The front door was big and had designs carved into the wood, showing pictures that told stories.

I pushed the door open, and Auntie Laurel was right there, as if waiting for me.

“Auntie Laurel!” I squealed as I dropped my baggage and ran into her arms. She embraced me tightly, as if I were her daughter who had left for years.

“Oh my, oh my, Jenna! You’ve grown so much!” She complimented me as she scuffled my hair.

I had grown so much but Auntie Laurel hadn’t aged at all. She was still smart and pretty with her short blonde hair. She was average height and she was probably in her early fourties. The red silhouette long sleeved gown she was wearing, complimented her shape perfectly.

Auntie Laurel ordered the maids to take my bags to the room she had specially prepared for me. Although, I couldn’t wait to check out the room, she insisted on showing me off to her book club friends. She took my hands and led me to the back of the big building which I remembered used to be a playground, except it wasn’t anymore.

It was now a big shed where rich folks dined and talked about books they don’t even like, just to show off. Four women were sitted under the shed, the affluence evident in the way they discussed.

Auntie Laurel coughed as she introduced me, “This is Jenna, she’s like family”

I could see the look on their faces, they were looking at me funny. Like, ‘where the hell did she come from?’ Was it because of the way I was dressed? I was wearing one of my favorite hoodies and jean trousers that mum had insisted I wore. My hair was parked into a messy bun and I had my glasses on. I had always had them on because I couldn’t see properly without them.

“She’s…pretty” one of the women said, as if she meant the opposite.

When Auntie Laurel noticed my uncomfortable gaze, she asked me to go check out my room.

“Go check out your room, the kids will be back any moment” she had said.

I made my way back and sighed heavily, rich people and how they judged everybody like they were much more perfect.

One of the maids showed me to my room and as I opened it, I was surprised. The walls were alive with a riot of colors, each hue capturing a piece of my personality.

A bed draped in soft, patterned sheets took center stage. Pillows of various sizes and shapes created a cozy sanctuary, and a handmade quilt, a patchwork of memories, added an extra layer of comfort.

A pair of tiny worn-out sneakers rested beside the door, the six years old me used to wear them everywhere whenever I came for summer holidays.

There was a poster of Angelica from the Rugrats hung on the wall. Angelica used to be my favorite character when I was young so Auntie Laurel probably thought I still liked her. But I was all grown up and wasn’t into the Rugrats anymore, I still appreciated the efforts though.

I laid on my bed and took a deep breath. Suddenly, someone barged into my room and jumped at me, giving me a tight hug. It was Jeanette. Yeah, without seeing her face, I was sure it was her because she smelled like peppermint. That childhood scent was still with her.

She hugged me so tightly that for a moment, I felt she was going to squeeze the life out of me.

She disengaged the hug, as she squeezed my hands tightly, “I’m so glad you’re here” she squealed amidst grin.

I stared at her in disbelief. She wasn’t the little Jeanette who ran around in her underwear. She was now tall, curvy and really pretty.

“You’ve really…ah… changed” I stammered, trying to figure out the right words.

Jeanette smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear, “I know” she replied, getting on her feets and twirling around for me to see her fully.

Damn! She was hot and pretty too. Although I was just a year older, I felt she knew more about fashion than I did. With a cascade of golden hair that danced upon her shoulders, and vibrant eyes that caught the sunlight, she exduded an effortless charm.

She had a pink crop on, that hinted at her cleavages and a pair of jeans with plain white sneakers. Her hair was parked into a ponytail and she had little makeup on. She was literally perfect.

“I’m so happy we’ll be attending the same school for a year. Mum has everything planned out for you” Jeanette explained in excitement.

I forced a smile, i felt somehow intimidated by her. She carried this confidence I so much lacked and now, I was beginning to worry about how I would fit in when i get to the new school. I was sure the school would be filled with a lot of Jeanettes.

A gigantic grin spread across Jeanette’s face as she pulled me up on my feet, “Jamie is downstairs, let’s go”

She held my hand and took me out of the room and down the stairs into the living room. As I walked towards the chair Jamie was sitted, I tapped his shoulder from behind and he slowly turned to me. My heart raced as my eyes met Jamie’s. I could never have imagined he was the little boy I once knew, now tall and attractive. My surprise was evident on my face as I quickly scanned his features.

"Jamie?" I whispered, my voice filled with awe and disbelief. My eyes traveled up and down his tall frame, appreciating the way he had grown into himself over the years.

Jamie's eyes widened in recognition. "Jenna?" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with equal surprise and excitement. A shy smile played on his lips as he stood up, tucking a strand of his unruly hair behind his ear.

"Oh, Jamie!" I exclaimed, my voice filled with surprise. "You've grown into quite the handsome young man. I can hardly believe it."

Jamie blushed, his cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink. He fidgeted with the glasses perched on his nose, a classic accessory of the nerd archetype. "Thanks, Jenna," he stammered, his soft-spoken voice betraying his shy nature. "You look amazing too."

Lost, I turned to glance at Jeanette, then back at Jamie. They weren’t identical twins anymore. Was it because they were all grown up now? When they were five, they used to be so identical that we could hardly differentiate between the two, thank God for Jeanette’s hair.

“I see you’ve met the twins,” Auntie Laurel said as she walked out of the kitchen. She was beaming with smiles.

“Yes, they’ve really grown a lot” I replied her.

She smiled and patted my back slowly, “You also grew up, didn’t you?”

I responded with a weird laugh. Had I really grown though? I still wore huge nerdy glasses like twelve years ago, I still wore childish Disney princess pajamas, I still hadn’t gotten used to sleeping with the lights off and I was still criminally terrible at dressing up. So, I didn’t really think I was growing up, in fact I felt everyone else were growing up while I remained the nerdy, not so pretty, rough and big glasses Jenna.

But I wasn’t really moved by what anyone else thought. When we were still kids, Conrad had told me he liked me more with the glasses and nerdy look and I had remained that nerd till date.

Speaking of which, I hadn’t seen him all day. My eyes scanned the room, hoping to see him. To be honest I was really eager to see him, what he would look like, what he would sound like, if he was still the same Conrad I left twelve years ago, if he was still into nerdy girls and all that.

“Dinner will be served in twenty minutes, y’all should go freshen up quickly” Auntie Laurel said, breaking into my thoughts.

I forced a smile and made my way back to my room. After taking a ten minutes long bath, I put on my Disney princess pajamas and went back downstairs. Soon the twins joined us in the living room. Jamie was wearing one of those normal male robes but Jeanette on the other hand, had gone all the way.

She was wearing the vanerta collection night wear, the colour blue which was also the most expensive. Mom and I had seen it at the mall last week. She had wanted to buy me one of those but it was so expensive and she had even claimed that the price could pay the house rent for a year. She had ended up getting me the cheap Disney princess pajamas, the one she could afford.

“I haven’t seen Conrad yet, why?” I asked Jamie as he sat beside me on the couch.

“He never eats dinner at home. I don’t know, I think it’s some kind of rebellion against mum. He’ll be back soon” Jamie explained, then he threw me a reassuring smile as if he could sense my inner worries.

As we made our way to the dinning area, I could notice Jeanette was staring intensely at me. I ignored her insistent gaze and went on to settle down while I feasted my eyes on the different delicacies on the table. It was like a feast, different meals were arranged on the table. The main meal was spaghetti and meatballs with other side dishes.

Before we began eating, Auntie Laurel asked Jeanette to pray and she was done in less than five seconds.

I watched as Jamie cocked his eyebrows, “There’s no way you said a prayer in just five seconds” he said, exchanging glances with Auntie Laurel.

Jeanette rolled her eyes as she spoke, “I pray fast, God’s busy” she countered.

I smiled at her comeback as I picked up my spoon and started digging into my meal. I knew that sooner or later, Jeanette was gonna say something to me because she kept on stealing glances at me.

“What are you? Like five?” Jeanette’s voice cut through the air as she finally spoke.