4.

“Mom? Dad?” Mila was shocked to see her parents standing in the kitchen when she returned from school.

“Hi, honey. How was school today?” her mother asked.

“It was fine. How come I didn’t know you were coming home today?” she asked, taking a can of soda from the fridge.

“Oh, we were just here to get some documents. We decided to wait for you to close from school before leaving,” her father explained.

“Safe trip back.” Mila started toward the stairs.

“Can we at least get a hug or a kiss from you?” her mother asked.

Mila stopped and turned to look at her.

“No. All you care about is work this and work that. How about you adapt your work as your child? Then maybe you can ask me for hugs and kisses. No wonder Noel and Niel decided to stay far away from you.”

She didn't wait for a response. She continued upstairs.

“Mila Louie Bennett, apologise to your mother right now, or else—”

“Or else what, Dad? I’d be grounded? Or would my cars be taken away from me? Oh, wait. You’d send me off to a military camp?” she snapped, turning around to face him from the stairs.

“If you guys knew you wouldn’t have time for us, then why have kids? Why?” Her voice cracked slightly. “You know what? Never mind.”

She stormed into her room and slammed the door behind her.

“Hey, our flight is in an hour. We’ve got to go.” Mr. Bennett squeezed his wife’s shoulder gently.

A few moments later, the house fell silent.

“Are they gone?” Mila asked when she heard footsteps approaching her room.

“Yeah, they are,” Naya answered.

The moment Mila heard those words, she burst into tears.

She was tired. Tired of feeling like she had to beg for the love and attention that should have come naturally from her parents. She had never experienced the motherly affection she longed for. Instead, it had always been Naya and her brothers who had been there for her.

Even when she was raped, her parents had never really bothered to ask how she was doing or how she felt. All that seemed to matter was making sure the rapist was locked away in prison, far from her.

And once that was done, they moved on.

Naya, her brothers, Willow, Aaliyah, Jake, and Khalil were the ones who had stayed by her side. They were the ones who had held her together when she felt like she was falling apart.

“It’s going to be okay, Mila. They do love you. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t be here,” Naya said, trying to comfort her.

“Then why don’t they show it? How come I never see it?” Mila sobbed.

“Some people have a hard time showing love to the people they care about,” Naya explained gently.

Mila wiped her tears, but the hurt in her eyes remained.

For her, love had always been something she heard about but rarely felt from the two people she wanted it from the most.

---

Meanwhile, across town, Raine stood with her hands on her waist, clearly unimpressed.

Her long, curly hair cascaded down her back as she glared at her boyfriend. At seventeen, she stood at 5'5", an average height for a girl her age. She was medium-sized with a curvy figure, but none of that mattered at the moment. Her deep brown eyes were fixed firmly on Austin, burning with annoyance.

“Come on, Raine. It would be fun,” Natalie insisted.

“No, I’m not doing it. I know I’m dating Austin, but that doesn’t mean I have to hang out with you guys or do things I don’t want to do,” she said firmly.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, hun,” Nina added.

“No. Tomorrow is my first day at Henry M. Gunn High, and I don’t want to arrive at school in a police car. I’ll pass.”

She turned and started walking away.

“I hope you don’t sit with us tomorrow. We move with lame, scared people,” Hayes called after her.

Raine stopped for a moment before turning around with a small, unimpressed smile.

“Thank goodness I won’t. I’ll find my own crowd to hang out with. See you later, babe.”

She flagged down a cab and walked toward it without another word.

“What?” Austin said, watching her leave. “She gives good head and she’s a good girl. I like that about her.”

Eight pairs of eyes immediately turned toward him.

“Let’s go. Those buildings aren’t going to spray-paint themselves,” Mike said, breaking the awkward silence.

The group eventually followed him, leaving Raine behind.

---

The next day, the cafeteria was louder than usual as students filled the tables during lunch.

“Are you kidding me?” Willow asked her friend.

“Nope. Why didn’t they stop after they had Noel and Niel? Why add me?” Mila complained.

Willow poked her cheeks playfully.

“They had you for me. If they don’t care what I do, I mean, we all do. It’s their loss, after all.”

Mila rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling.

Their conversation was interrupted when a girl approached their table, tray in hand. She looked around uncertainly before finally speaking.

“Um, do you mind if I sit here?”

Raine stood beside the table, looking lost. She briefly glanced across the cafeteria toward Austin before looking back at them.

“No, not at all. You can sit with us,” Khalil replied.

“Thank you. I’m Raine, by the way. The new girl.”

She placed her tray on the table and took a seat.

“Nice to meet you, Raine. I’m Mila, she’s Willow, he’s Khalil, and his boyfriend is Jake,” Mila introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you guys.” Raine sighed. “It sucks being the new kid, especially when your boyfriend deserts you because his friends think you’re a loser.”

She scoffed before taking a bite of her burger.

“Who’s he?” Willow asked.

“Austin.”

“No offence, but he’s a jerk, and you’re cool,” Khalil said.

“None taken. A jerk he is when he’s with them.” Raine smiled.

“I like you.”

The words came from Jake, Khalil, Willow, and Mila at almost the exact same time.

They all looked at one another before bursting into laughter.

“Jinx! You owe me a drink,” they said together.

Their laughter drew the attention of several students around them.

“What’s so funny, losers?” Hayes asked loudly from nearby.

The laughter stopped.

Mila slowly turned toward him.

“Word of advice, Miller: MIND. YOUR. FUCKING. BUSINESS.”

A few students around them went quiet, clearly waiting to see what would happen next.

“Oh, I’m scared, Ms. Fakey-Fake. Or what?” Hayes challenged, stepping closer.

“Or nothing. I don’t argue with dumbasses like you.” Mila paused and looked toward Mike. “And Mike, you better not open your trap, or you won’t like what comes out of my mouth.”

Mike immediately shut his mouth and returned to his food.

Hayes glared at Mila, clearly furious.

He hated that he couldn't do anything to her. She was a girl, and that was the only thing stopping him from making things worse. What annoyed him even more was the fact that she wasn't afraid of him like most girls were.

“That was epic,” Raine said, unable to hide her amusement.

Before anyone could say anything else, the bell rang.

Hayes stormed out of the cafeteria, his friends quickly following behind him.

“See the bitch trying to act all high and mighty?” Trisha muttered.

Raine turned toward her.

“Na-uh, bitch. Today’s not your day. Why don’t you follow Daddy Bear and give him some sugar? He deserves it.”

The cafeteria went silent for a second.

Trisha opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water before grabbing her things and storming out.

“Did we say we love you already?” Willow asked Raine as they walked toward their class.

Raine laughed.

For the first time in a long while, she felt like she belonged somewhere.

Maybe she had finally found people she could call friends.

Not people who wanted her because of her money or what she could give them, but people who seemed to genuinely like her for who she was.

As they walked down the hallway, Raine suddenly found herself singing.

“I'm faded

I'm faded

So lost

I'm faded…”

Mila, Willow, Khalil, and Jake joined in, their voices blending together as they continued toward class.

“That was beautiful and soothing,” Jake said as they entered the classroom.

They had arrived five minutes before the teacher.

Raine smiled to herself as she took her seat.

'I finally feel like I belong somewhere,' she thought.

A moment later, the teacher entered the classroom, immediately earning a chorus of groans from the students.

Raine simply smiled.

For once, she wasn't dreading what came next.

Maybe being the new girl wasn't going to be so bad after all.