*Present day Earth*
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sudden noise of an alarm woke Jeena Sikor out of a sound sleep and she let out an annoyed groan. Fumbling until she managed to turn off the infernal alarm, Jeena sleepily checked the time, 6:30 am. Slowly, and with a huge yawn, she pushed back her blanket and climbed out of bed.
Since she had been sleeping in during the summer, she was not used to waking up so early. Today, however, was the first day of school and the first day of being a senior at Green Valley high school. Since it was something that she had been looking forward to for a while, she did not mind that it was a Monday.
Grabbing her bathrobe, Jeena headed towards the bathroom. Along the way, she ran into her brother, Jerry, coming out of his room.
Jeena and Jerry were twins with Jerry being the older twin by two minutes. They were identical with only a few obvious differences in height and gender. Both were eighteen with the same thick brown hair, golden eyes, and nicely formed features. Like all siblings, they had their differences. For one thing, Jerry was taller than Jeena and also more muscular. He was also more outgoing and had a tendency to act before thinking, while Jeena was a little more reserved and thought things out. Both twins could be stubborn which made arguments between them a hassle since neither one wanted to be the first to give in.
Despite this, they were extremely close and spend most of their time together.
"Hey Jeena Star!" Jerry grinned, "Are you ready for an awesome senior year?" "Oh, I'm ready," Jeena replied with another yawn. "And when I take my shower and actually wake up, I'll be even more ready." "Okay, I can take a hint when I'm in the way," said Jerry in a mock-hurt voice. He gave his sister another smile before heading downstairs.
Entering the bathroom, Jeena stripped out of her pajamas and took a nice shower. The warm water succeeded in washing away her sleepiness and cleared up her mind. After her shower, clad in her soft purple bathrobe, Jeena returned to her room and put on the outfit that she had laid out the night before.
The said outfit was a skirt made of a dark gray cloth and stopped a couple of inches above her knees, a blue blouse with a lacy, white camisole underneath, and a pair of silver high heels. She like these shoes because the heels were small so there was no chance that she would fall on her face. Lastly, she put on her favorite star earrings with a matching star bracelet.
She quickly examined her reflection in the mirror. Jeena was pleased by how nicely the outfit showed off her figure. She was around 5'7 with smooth, graceful limbs. Her breasts were full and her hips curved enough to show that she was female. Everyone told her that she was very pretty but she didn't think much of it.
Truth be told, she was a bit self-conscious and had plenty of days where she didn't feel the slightest bit beautiful. After applying her makeup, she grabbed her backpack and walked out of her room.
Walking into the kitchen, Jeena was greeted by the savory smell of pancakes. Jerry was already at the table and their mother, Clarice, was pouring herself some coffee. "Good morning, Jeena," she said. "I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast in honor of the first day of senior year." "Wow! Thanks mom," said Jeena.
Clarice smiled as she placed a plateful of pancakes in front of Jerry who immediately pounced right on them. Clarice Sikor was in her forties but looked like she was twenty five. She had the same brown hair as her children but her eyes were a deep blue. She told them that they had the same eyes as their father who left a long time ago.
Jeena greatly admired her mother not only because she was patient and kind-hearted, but she was also strong and determined. When Jeena and Jerry were young, shortly after their father had gone away, Clarice had managed to go back to school, take her bar exam, and become a lawyer. She currently worked at the law firm located near the center of town. Since it was not very large or overly busy, Clarice managed to get home to her children at the end of the day even if she did have to bring some paperwork along with her.
The twins agreed that they were blessed to have such a wonderful mom. Jeena was especially thankful that she could talk to her mom about everything and didn't have to worry about being judged. As she ate her pancakes, Jeena allowed her mind to wander. What she liked about the new school year was that it was a chance to start over, a time to make changes and fix the things that she didn't like from the year before.
Since this was her senior year and last year of high school, she had high hopes that everything would be right for once.
Once breakfast was over and after the dutifully taken back to school photos, Jeena and Jerry were ready to leave for school.
The small family had two cars, one for Clarice and one for the twins to share. They used it primarily for school and both had a set of keys in case they needed it for individual purposes.
After a brief "discussion" which involved a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, Jerry drove while Jeena sat next to him in the passenger's seat. The radio was on and Jerry tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in time to the music. Jeena looked out the window, watching the passing trees and houses.
It was a beautiful September day. The sky was a crisp blue with soft white clouds scattered here and there. The sun shone brightly and there was still the warm touch of summer in the air.
The sudden sound of Jerry's voice caught her attention. "Hey, check it out," said Jerry. "Someone moved into the house that was for sale." "Really?" asked Jeena, turning her head to look at the house. It was two stories tall and painted green with a black trim. The previous owners had moved out two years ago and the house sat empty despite the number of people who came to look at it. Now, a small pile of moving boxes sat near the sidewalk and the yard looked like it had just been trimmed.
"I wonder who moved in," said Jeena and Jerry shrugged in reply. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find out later"
Finally, they arrived at Green Valley High School and Jerry was able to snag a parking spot in the rapidly filling lot. Jeena felt a flutter of nervous excitement and unconsciously smoothed down her skirt. As they walked to the front doors, Jerry started chuckling.
"You do realize that we're going to be ambushed very soon?" he asked his sister. Jeena smiled and also laughed. "You know Benny. He runs on puppy time. He'll act like he hasn't seen us all summer despite the fact that we saw him two days ago."
The words were barely spoken when their friend, Benny Mitchell, hurtled towards them. "Jeena! Jerry! It's about damn time you got here!" he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. "I've been waiting for ages!" "You had to wait for fifteen minutes, you goof," said Jerry, rolling his eyes. Benny gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder and hugged Jeena.
Benny was also eighteen but two months younger than the twins. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a bright yellow and green striped T-shirt. As usual, he had his camera slung around his neck and a bag of Skittles, his favorite candy, in his pocket. Messy light brown hair fell into his eyes, which were bright green and always containing a mischievous glint.
Benny was quite energetic, sometimes to the point of being hyperactive. He had times when he annoyed his friends, but despite his quirky personality, Benny was very fun to have as a friend.
"Hey everybody!" Jeena turned and saw her two other friends, Ashley Peterson and Eli O'Connor, walking towards her. Well, Ashley was walking and Eli was being pulled by his arm, a rather miffed expression on his face. Once they were close, she released his hand and Eli let out a small sigh of relief. "I can walk without being dragged, you know," he said in a dry tone. "I'm not a dog."
Ashley rolled her eyes but didn't comment. She had long blonde hair, brown eyes, a straight nose, and fine cheekbones. She wore a pair of white shorts that showed of her long legs with a pink shirt, which had a picture of a red heart outline by small red sequins. She was taller than Jeena, but not as curvy. Ashley had dreams about becoming a fashion designer and was always giving Jeena great advice for her clothes.
Eli was wearing his usual black jeans with a dark green T-shirt. He had black hair, blue eyes, and a small gold hoop in his right ear. He always looked serious and had a tendency to not show his emotions. However, Eli was their unspoken leader, mainly due to the fact that he was the oldest one of the group, but also because he was the one who held the group together.
"Eli," shouted Benny with exuberance, "I am so happy to see you!" He threw his arms around a rather disgruntled Eli while their friend looked on in his amusement. It was a long time ago when Eli could barely tolerate Benny's presence, but over time, the two boys came to an understanding and were now very good friends. There were still a few clashes between them every now and then, since Eli's stoic personality often clashed with the more outgoing Benny.
After everyone had exchanged greetings, the small group made their way into the large brick building that was Green Valley High School.
The five friends made their way through the crowded hall and into their homeroom. This year they were lucky enough to have the same homeroom, even though they did not all share the same classes.
"Can you believe that we are finally seniors?" Ashley asked as she sat down. "I've been waiting for this since freshman year." "Yeah! This year is going to be so much fun," replied Benny excitedly. "It's also going to be the most important year of our lives," Eli reminded them. "This is the year when we apply for college and see where our futures lead us."
"We have plenty of time for that, Eli," said Jerry. "Yeah and then you'll be panicking when spring arrives and you haven't filled out any applications," Eli replied in slight exasperation. "Don't worry so much," said Ashley soothingly. "We all know how important it is to apply for college early, and we'll all have our applications filled out with time to spare."
Eli made a noise in his throat as she ruffled his hair. Jeena watched them surreptitiously; glad to have a distraction from the sudden talk of college.
Ashley was Eli's self-proclaimed girlfriend, a fact that puzzled everyone to no end. No one knew how it had morning last year, the two of them had arrived together, holding hands. Ashly had announced that they were a couple, and Eli didn't confirm nor deny it.
Jeena wasn't exactly sure how their relationship worked. They didn't display a lot of affection towards each other and Eli did not always act like he was Ashley's boyfriend. Public displays of affection were rare except for a few cases during school dances. However, there were times when their true feelings were expressed and everyone could see how much they cared for each other.
Jeena felt a sudden small twinge of envy as she watched Ashley and Eli. It was a feeling that she had felt before and it made her uncomfortable. It reminded her that there was something she did not have. Fortunately, Benny's constant chattering took up her focus and she was able to forget about her unwanted feelings.
For the rest of homeroom, the five friends talked and joked until the bell rang and it was time for first period class.
