Derek and Goldie were cousins, but they had nothing in common. As long as he could remember, Derek hadn't much time spent with his family when he was younger. His parents were often at work until late at night so they can earn a living and provide a better future for their son. They hired a nanny to take care of him. Though he was reluctant at first, Derek eventually warmed up to the nanny. Her name was Darcy, she was a sweet lady who had three children of her own. She sometimes brings her children over to keep Derek company and he liked it.
He considers them his honorary family members.
Goldie on the other hand, was living the life of a perfect family. Her parents always gave her everything she asked for. There was no difference in how much time her parents spent working compared to her cousin's, but she didn't feel sad not seeing her parents. Before they had Goldie, the two hired a servant to help around the house. The house they lived in wasn't necessarily as big as a mansion, it was the same size as the house Goldie's aunt could afford. They just claimed they needed time to spend with their daughter and play with her.
That didn't seem weird for the servant to hear, but when she saw them spoiling Goldie, she had a bad feeling deep down in her guts. She never voiced it out in fear of losing her job, but she did try to encourage Goldie's parents not to spoil her too much.
The first time they celebrated their birthdays together was when they were 12.
Both their parents were taking a day off from work to have a momentous occasion together. It was also the first time the two cousins met face-to-face. It wasn't that their parents didn't want them to see each other, they were just too busy to bring them over to the other's house. Derek and Goldie have been voice-calling several times to chat ever since they turned 9.
Darcy did limit the time Derek was allowed to spend talking on the phone so he wouldn't get too caught up until the battery died. Though Goldie was having a slightly different treatment. She was allowed to be on the phone for as long as she could provided she charge it back up when the battery gets too low.
They both lived similar, yet very different lives. The two of them thought they were going to get along well enough they would always be there for each other. Unfortunately, that wasn't very true.
They were in high school and they were starting to drift apart when Goldie decided to join the cheer squad. She had urged Derek to join with her but he declined, stating he was thinking of joining the football club instead.
Upon hearing this, Goldie was livid. She knows that the cheer squad gets a lot of attention, but she had seen how people reacted when the football players came along. Everyone thinks the cheer squad was just support for the football team and nothing else. But she had missed the part where students claimed that it was the cheer squad's high spirit and the football team's plays that makes the entire game work.
"You are so not joining the football club!" Goldie wagged her finger in front of her cousin.
"Why not? I always wanted to see if I can make it as a football player." it wasn't exactly a secret that Derek had liked football.
His parents once surprised him with a ticket to watch a football match when he turned 14, he was supremely delighted as he had always wanted to watch a live game.
"Because I said so!" Goldie then turned around, flipped her hair and walked off.
Derek didn't know what came over his cousin but he decided not to join the football club in the end. Mainly because Goldie had pulled him out of a lot of situations and he thought this was one of it.
Instead of joining football, he joined the ping pong club. It was there he met the most dedicated ping pong player the seniors were telling the juniors about.
His name was Skye. He had sky blue hair and ebony black eyes, all natural black and it seemed to capture a lot of girls' attention.
Derek wasn't that good at ping pong but the club members decided he should be able to learn how.
"A lot of people join just for the fun of it, no one is going to be mad at you if you do the same." Derek had smiled at one of the senior's comment.
They kept on practicing for hours until it came to the end of the day.
"Catch you next week!" Cherry, one of the senior members said to the juniors as they pack up and leave.
Everyone had a great time, it was pretty easy to make friends in the club. All you had to do was ask if they wanted to play a little game. Derek was very relieved at how easy it was to talk to the other members. He was always an introvert, he never liked big crowds, he also finds himself to be one of those who was socially awkward.
"Derek!" hearing his name being called, he turned around only for his cousin to pounce onto him.
"Goldie, how was the cheering?" Goldie put on a sad face.
"You didn't make the squad?" seeing his cousin shake her head made Derek hug her.
It was a comforting kind of hug they shared whenever one of them was sad.
Goldie then placed her hands onto Derek's shoulders.
"SIKE!" she yelled out as she pushed him away.
Derek was looking at his cousin as if she had gone loony.
"Did you really think I wasn't going to make the squad? I mean, I'm the best dancer our family ever has." Goldie boasted as she laughed at her cousin's state of shock.
Derek was a little offended when she said she was the best dancer their family ever had. He decided to just shrug it off and think of it as nothing since people tend to brag about themselves being the best when they get accepted into what they like to do, right?
The two of them walked home together. It wasn't a long way to go, but they didn't want to trouble their parents into coming out from work to pick them up just to go back to work again. They had started walking home from school when they were officially 12 and they never stopped since.
"Hey, we'll always be the best of friends, right?" Derek asked, a little insecure since their clubs don't exactly mix together, according to an event their coach told them about.
"Of course!" Goldie exclaimed.
Derek smiled as he heard his cousin's answer.
Too bad this happy moment wasn't going to last long, they were going to head into different directions. In both their clubs and their friendship.
They just didn't know it yet.