COVER BLOWN ALREADY?

PHOENIX’S POV

What’s the worst that can happen, I asked? Well, I’ll tell you what the worst that can happen is: my brother not answering his phone for two days straight like he was supposed to and today, which is the day that we are to go back to school, he’s unavailable!

My heart was pounding rapidly against my ribcage as I dialed his number for the fiftieth time that day and again, I was answered by an automated voice telling me he was unavailable and to leave a message.

I ran my fingers through my now shorter-than-usual hair and willed myself to not bite my lips or my nails. I had tasted blood earlier when I did that and my bottom lip was still swollen from it.

“Francis! Francis!” I called out frantically when I saw him pass the living room. He stopped and looked at me, his face breaking out into a lazy smile.

“Have you spoken to Jackson today?”

“Look at you! The uniform suits you. You look just like Jackson now.”

“Focus, Francis!” God, I wanted to smack him. “Have you spoken to him?”

“Nah.” I expected him to say more after that, but he just kept grinning like a fool and ogling me.

If I wasn’t supposed to be in London by now, I would have gone home and beaten the daylights out of him for ghosting me like this!

I had left home two days ago with the pretext that I was headed for London, back to Elmbourne where I was supposed to be answering roll call by now. Jackson said that Francis already knew about everything and that he was going to take care of me for the two days that we would be apart. Showing up to my dad’s house right now would raise questions that I would rather not answer.

“PJ, you ready to go? We have to move now cause I have to get to Vegas by nightfall.”

I stared at my phone and then at my cousin who was spinning the key fob to his chevvy Silverado on his index finger.

Jackson was leaving me like this. I had no idea what time he was going to show up and where I was even going to meet him. He was supposed to tell me all that information today because, apparently, he could spend all summer plotting ways to get his twin sister into an all-boys’ boarding school, but he could not decide the time he wanted to go back to school and where we would meet up.

“Don’t worry. He’ll be there. He’s probably just experiencing a really nasty hangover now and doesn’t want to turn on his phone. There’s no way he’ll abandon you like this.”

My luggage was loaded at the back of his truck and we started our journey to the most prestigious boarding school in the west coast. My stomach churned and I felt uneasy the entire ride there.

“Man, I wish I didn’t drop out of high school,” Francis said as he took in the building in front of us. It really was magnificent.

Elmbourne looked like something out of a Harry Potter movie, more refined though and filled with snobby Brits. But HPA was a completely different vibe!

Palms lined the walkways, from the sleek iron gates right to the main courtyard. Everything thing shimmered in the late afternoon sunlight. The glass buildings sparkled like cut diamonds. I can’t believe Jackson got to spend the most part of the year here after pulling that stunt he did while I suffered in that godforsaken Co-ed academy back in London. This was unfair! He didn’t deserve this much luxury and sunlight after almost setting half the student body on fire!

“You need help finding the admissions office?” Francis used to attend HPA. It was where my dad got the idea to send Jackson after he got expelled. I don’t know why he thought sending him here was a good idea especially since, unlike what he said about dropping out, Francis was expelled as well.

The flooring inside the main atrium was a polished blend of white marble and jet-black terrazzo subtly inlaid with the school crest – two laurel wreaths wrapped around a golden H. It took me a while to realize that it was not, in fact, white marble and jet-black terrazzo but was a digital floor that changed description and image every minute.

“You know where the dorms are, right?”

Forget the admissions office. Jackson mentioned that he had a room all to himself here. I was certain if I could find it, I’d just wait for him in there until he came. He said we were going to do this together. There was no way I was going to the admissions office looking like this all by myself.

“It’s on the other side of this building, PJ. You need an access card to get in though.”

Oh, shit! I didn’t have an access card. I’m a new student so I had to go to the admissions office to get it. It was supposed to be sent over along side my uniforms, but they forgot to add it to my package and brought only my uniforms instead. Damn it!

I noticed the students milling in then. All looked so handsome and sleek in their uniforms and their shinny hair. No one carried their luggage in the atrium and I was glad we were both mesmerized by the building that we completely forgot I had some in the trunk.

There was a dramatic digital wall display right by the entrance that rose up the three floors of the atrium. Holograms of famous alumni and sports victories appeared from time to time.

“Your dad and your brother are on that wall.” I looked at Francis and then back at the wall. “When I was here, the wall wasn’t this huge. And they had only pictures of them up. The digital wall only showcased the school history. Now I guess they’ve added their number one sponsor and best students to the wall.”

Just then, Jackson’s face appeared, big, bold and handsome. His golden hair was gleaming in the sun, his smile brighter then mine could ever be. He had a mischievous look in his eyes as he held the trophy he had won up in the air for all to see.

“He just started last year and he already has his face up on a wall,” I muttered to myself. “Impressive.”

My eyes landed on a security camera up ahead and my insides filled with dread. I bent my head quickly and willed the quaking in my stomach to stop. I wanted to throw up. I felt dizzy and my eyes were beginning to get blurry.

“Relax, no one knows you’re a girl.” I didn’t know how to tell Francis that I wasn’t reacting that way because I thought someone would see me and guess I was a girl. “You look like a really pretty boy. A cross between young Justin Bieber and Felix from Stray Kids. It was a good idea to make your hair lighter.”

“Can we get out of here?” I asked, my voice a little hoarse, and started walking away before he could respond. “Where can we stay and wait for him?”

He pointed up to the first floor where a bunch of students could be seen through the slightly opaque floors. “Chill bubbles. The student lounge pods. You don’t need an access card to get in.”

As we got in the elevator, my phone started to shriek.

“Where the hell have you been, Jackson?” I yelled as soon as I answered the phone. “I have been waiting and I am…” The words I wanted to utter next died down in my throat when I heard the news.

“Wh-what?” I stammered. My hands started to shake and my nails itched to be bitten into. Tears pooled in my eyes and I felt nauseous.

“Is-is he okay?” The elevator chimed open and I stepped out subconsciously. I could feel the eyes of the students there on me but I didn’t do anything to extract myself from being the center of their gaze. They were probably wondering why this strange face they had never seen before was covered in tears when it was just the first day back.

“I-I-I have to go back. I can’t…dad! I have to be with him right now!”

Jackson told me my voice was too girly and that I needed to deepen it when I got here. I had forgotten about that and was full on crying and having a fighting match with my dad with my super high-pitched girl voice.

“Daddy, you can’t stop me from going back home. I want to be with him!”

“Hey, PJ, is everything okay?” I didn’t answer my cousin. He sounded worried and looked it too and I was worried too and I just wanted to be with Jackson!

My dad ended the call while I was still protesting my return. It felt like my heart had been ripped into in million pieces and handed back to me to try and fix with a jagged needle and uneven thread.

Apparently, Jackson was testing my motorcycle to see if it still had the problem I complained to him about before. He thought of bringing it here so that we could ride our motorcycles together during the weekends. He got into an accident when the brakes failed and he was on the highway. He was in coma at the general hospital at the moment.

The thought of losing my twin brother made a cloud that was darker than sin itself settle upon me. I wanted to scream my lungs out. The fact that my dad said I shouldn’t go home made it even more difficult to bear.

“We gotta go now, Francis,” I said frantically pressing the button on the elevator and tuning out the whispering voices of the students behind me.

“What the hell is going on, Phoenix? Where’s Jackson?” Francis only ever called me by my name when his brain was in overdrive and he was freaking out. I didn’t answer him and focused instead on the way I was going to come clean once I met my dad at the hospital later tonight.

The elevator didn’t open and I turned around in frustration. I was about to go and find a staircase or another elevator when my eyes landed on one of the boys in the chill bubble. My breath caught in my throat when he looked at me and his green eyes sparkled. My brother was lying unconscious at the hospital, now wasn’t the time to be awestruck by a handsome guy.

I blinked and looked away and was about to move on when a thought struck me. He looked oddly familiar.

Slowly, I turned my gaze back in his direction. He was still staring at me, intently this time around, and his eyes looked like he recognized me.

That jaw. The lips. The birthmark near his nose! And, oh my God! The fricking hair!

A gasp escaped my lips as I realized I knew him. I spun around so fast, I nearly tripped on Francis. Someone recognized me. He fricking recognized me!

“Francis push the damn button!” I screeched. I needed to get out of there fast. If someone recognized that I was a girl, the whole thing was ruined.

The elevator dinged open and I pushed Francis inside. I was about to push the button to close it when I felt a hand wrap around my wrist. My heart felt like it was about to explode. The person didn’t let go of my hand even though I tugged at it a little. The jig was up. I had been caught and I hadn’t even gotten my access card yet. I knew it was too good to be true. I better start packing my things to go back to Elmbourne.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted my head up. My long blond hair was covering my eyes, but I could still see his outline through the strands. His eyes widened as he confirmed that he did know me.

“Phoenix? Phoenix Jameson?”

Oh, shit!