Mornings were always a hectic time for the Macdonald-Venturi family, but today more than usual

Chapter 2

Twenty minutes later, after a super-quick shower and a breakfast to go, Casey caught the

bus, just as it was pulling away from the bus stop. She let out a huge sigh of relief as the doors closed behind her with a rattling hiss.

"Finally," Casey breathed as she slid into the seat next to her best friend, Emily Davis.

Emily scrutinized Casey's face with a worried look in her eyes.

"What's up, Casey? You look awful!"

Casey rolled her eyes just as Derek's face peered around her headrest.

"Yeah, Case. You look like crap." He smirked.

"DER-EK" Casey slapped his arm indignantly.

Derek shrugged and ruffled his stepsister's hair.

"Still upset over the shampoo, are we?"

Casey huffed and crossed her arms sulkily. Derek slid back into his slid back into his seat with a chuckle as he resumed his 'conversation' with the new girl.

Casey then caught Emily starting out the bus window with a dreamy expression on her face. "He is so hot," she sighed.

"Emm!" Casey wined. She was tired of her friends' ongoing crush on her stepbrother.

At this point, the bus had just pulled up in front of Sir John Sparrow High. Their shuttle to the Getty Museum was scheduled to leave in ten minutes.

Casey pulled at the strap of her school bag, which had managed to hook itself around her seat. She tugged at it as the students were leaving the bus.

"Seriously, Case, I don't know how you can live with that guy!" Emily chattered as she waited for her friend.

Casey crouched to get a better look at her bag. She didn't know what was holding it so tightly!

"I mean," Emily continued, "How do you not think Derek is hot?" She asked earnestly.

Casey, still struggling with her stubborn bag, answered without thinking.

"I do, Em. I do."

Emily's mouth dropped open and her eyes bugged out in shock.

"Y-you th-think he's h-hot?"

As soon as Casey realized what she had just said, her face turned a deep magenta color as she finally pulled her bag loose.

"No!" She screeched. That's not what I said."

"Yes it was." Emily argued back reasonably.

"Well it's not what I meant." Casey admitted as the two girls hurried off the bus.

Emily shook her head. "I don't know what's up with you today, Case. You're so highly strung."

Casey wasn't sure what was up with herself today either. Derek's prank was one thing, but that was normal for the two of them. Nothing unusual there. But for some strange reason that she would never admit even to herself in a million years, was that just then, the mere mention of her stepbrother's name and 'hot' in the same sentence, had triggered something deep within her brain, and her heart started beating erratically and her stomach had filled with a flurry of butterflies.