Summer was over. It was the first day of school. Part of me wondered why I was even going to back to school because I definitely didn't need to do it. I was going to return to The Valley this season. I didn't know if I would be getting my own show in the future, but for right now I was continuing to go to school. I knew things would be weird. I knew things would be different.
Of course, I wasn't the only one that things would be different for. It turned out that Rose hadn't taken the best to me being away and had sailed to Hawaii…without Summer. Summer didn't take too kindly to that and had broken up with her. She was currently going through her comics.
"We could not go." She suggested. I wasn't sure why she thought it would be a good idea not to go."
"Why wouldn't we go?" I inquired.
"Well we missed registration and I don't think people would really miss us." She pointed out. I didn't think that we really needed to be registered considering that we were already students there. I was pretty sure that the school wanted me there.
"Mom called the school." I reminded her.
"You're the outsider. You're supposed to be leading me to temptation, not to homeroom." She argued. Did people really think that I was still this tough girl when I had done nothing to make people believe that.
"When have I ever been like?" I challenged. "It's just the first day of school."
"Yeah and Summer will be there." She added. It seemed like she was back to being obsessed with her. It only really seemed to calm down when she was actually dating her. The only problem was that she had pushed her away.
"You know you could have just called her and told her you wanted her back." I remarked.
"I don't have time to call her back. I just got back into town and I have three months of back issues." She explained. "Now I have school on top of that."
"Don't worry. She's moved on." I declared. She had a new girlfriend now.
"Wait, what?" She asked. I then realized that I probably shouldn't have said that.
"Nothing. We should go get dressed." I declared. The school had brought back uniforms this year. I didn't really mind because I sometimes had problems figuring out what to wear to school.
"She's going to ignore me, which is worse than having me killed." Rose remarked. That was a little bit dramatic.
"Girls have been ignoring you for years." I pointed out.
"Yeah, but I spent the past year not being ignored." She stated. "Why would Summer go back to it?"
"Because you left her alone." I responded.
"You left your girlfriend alone." She pointed out.
"Yes, but I made sure to call her." I countered.
"So you're saying this is my fault?" She asked. I didn't know why she was having such trouble seeing that.
"Let me think. YES!" I shouted.
"Well what do I do?' She asked me.
"Just talk to her and tell her that you're sorry." I suggested. "Now I need to get dressed."
Once she was finally gone, I put on my uniform. It consisted of a navy vest and white blouse with a grey skirt and navy knee socks. I really liked how everything fit better after my operation. I didn't have to worry about tucking anymore.
When I got to the house, Rose was also wearing her uniform.
"So whatever happens at school, just know the Cohen sisters are back in action," Rose commented. There were workers in the kitchen because it was being remodeled.
"Morning, girls. Sleep well?" Dad asked as he held a cup of coffee.
"No." Rose answered.
"Ready for your first day of school?" Mom followed.
"No." Rose retorted. I was. "Why are we remodeling?"
"We got bored this summer." Dad explained. I couldn't help but wonder if they decided on it when Rose and I were not around.
"Your father was complaining that he didn't have a place for his surf equipment." Mom added. How much did he have? "So I called the school so you're registered. Your father is going to go with you in case there are any problems."
"I thought you were going to take them." Dad remarked. They began to argue over it.
"We can go by ourselves." I offered.
We drove to school and I was greeted by my girlfriend running into my arms and kissing me.
"I'm glad that you're happy to see me." I replied with a giggle. She looked pretty good in her uniform as well.
"You can't imagine how nice it is to see you." She remarked as she hugged me tightly.
"Well can it be a little less nice because you're crushing me." I choked out before she let me go.
"I'm gonna go find Summer." Rose announced. She might not like what she found.
"So how is Theresa?" Kaitlin asked as she held my hand.
"Well she hasn't had her baby yet." I explained. I wasn't sure if she was going to be coming here. I knew that she was currently at Hadley's house.
"She'll probably be here next semester." Hadley declared as she walked over and then she hugged each of us. "It's good to see you two again."
"Well I'm just glad to be back with you guys." I commented.
"So Rose might not want to see Summer right now." Hadley declared.
"Why not?" I questioned.
"She has a new girlfriend." Kaitlin explained.
"Well I have to go to the office to get my schedule. I'll see you later." I told Kaitlin as I gave her a kiss on the lips.
"Do I get one of those too?" Hadley joked as I rolled my eyes and walked away.
"So you have a new Theatre teacher this year." The secretary replied. I supposed that Ms. Ramos was true to her word and only stuck around for one year. I was pretty sure that she had a new role of her own coming up. "You have a really nice GPA, but you will need to tell us if you need to take some time off and will accommodate your schedule."
"I don't have any major projects in the works right now." I explained,
"So do you know if you want to go to college at all?" She questioned. I didn't know how to do anything with that and I was also only a sophomore so I didn't know if I needed to yet.
"Rhiannon, you have great test scores and grades and you have already been through so much adversity. Colleges love that." She explained. It wasn't that I didn't think that I could get in. It was more that I didn't know if I wanted to go.
I still couldn't help but think about it. Growing up, I never thought that I would ever get to go to college and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to afford to go. Maybe that was why I didn't really think about going. I would have to think more about if I wanted to go. It also left a few more questions in my mind.
At lunch, I went and met up with Rose and Kaitlin. As far as I knew, she hadn't met Summer's new girlfriend yet. I hadn't met her either.
"So what are you so lost in thought about?" Kaitlin asked. Was it that obvious?
"If you could do anything, what would it be?" I asked.
"That's easy. I'd make comics." Rose answered. Yeah that did seem like something she would do.
"What about you?" I asked Kaitlin. I was pretty curious about what she was going to say.
"I don't really know. As long as I get to be close to you, I'm really happy with anything." She answered.
"You shouldn't design your career around me." I remarked.
"Well I just don't know. I've never really thought about anything like that." She admitted.
"You know I had a life here before last year." Rose interrupted. I wasn't surprised that she was taking control of the conversation. "I used to be pretty big in the Harbor club scene."
"What clubs were you in?" I inquired curiously since I didn't think we would get back to the original conversation.
"Sailing Club, Film Club and wait for it…" She declared before pulling out a flier. "…Comic Book Club."
"Are you the only member?" Kaitlin asked. I was pretty sure that she was. People didn't really want to go to a comic book club because they thought it was for nerds.
"Yes, but I have powers. I'm a shapeshifter." Rose commented. "And you two can get involved. Everyone knows that hot girls can actress nerds to things."
Did that mean that she didn't consider herself hot or did she just want us as additional hot girls. I didn't think of her as hot but that was because she was my sister.
She then started to walk around to pass out some fliers.
"She's not going to make us wear costumes, is she?" She asked.
"If she did, I might actually be interested." I admitted. She looked at me in surprise. "Don't tell me that you never wanted to be a superhero."
I really wished that I could have a chance to play a superhero at some point. I didn't know if there really any trans heroes, but I didn't have to play a trans one.
"Okay, you have a point." She agreed. "I just don't understand why they can't wear pants."
"It's about empower. Superheroes work hard for their bodies and they want to show them off." I explained. "Summer looked awesome as Wonder Woman and let's not forget about Halloween last year."
"That was fun." She agreed and you did look really sexy." She agreed. "You know there's something that I've been thinking about. It's been almost three months, hasn't it?"
"Can we please talk about something else?" I requested with a blush. I didn't really want to think about that at the moment.
"So I notice that our new maid keeps staring at Marissa." Kaitlin told me. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of attraction going on."
"How old is this maid?" I asked.
"She's 19." Kaitlin stated. I supposed that wasn't too bad. "So I need to get to class. I love you."
"I love you too." I reciprocated.
We did have a new Theatre teacher, but surprisingly, she didn't make a big deal out of the fact that I was an actress. I was surprised but kind of relieved. Maybe it was because most of the people already. Also, most of the people in Theatre II were interested in acting.
After school, I decided to go to this Comic Book Club. I didn't have anything else to do and it didn't make a lot of sense to be at home. I met up with Kaitlin as we walked inside. You know that seemed like something Vicky would enjoy but she had gone back to England.
"Sorry we're late." I apologized.
"You're right on time." Rose remarked. "Rhiannon, can you please take the minutes?"
"It's just the three of us here." I pointed out. Also I didn't know what she expected me to do. Was I just supposed to write things down? I took out my laptop and opened something up, even though I didn't see the point of it.
"Yeah, write that down." She ordered. "I hereby call together the first meeting the of Harbor High Comic Book Club. Members include Rose Cohen, Rhiannon Cohen, and Kaitlin Cooper."
I couldn't help but wonder what we were actually going to do in this club. Were we actually going to talk about comic books? I had only read a few of them. Rose had given me a few to talk to Syracuse with me, but those were the last ones that I read.
"Hey, I'm here for the comic book club." A redhead declared. Who was she? Had Rose actually managed to convince someone to come?
"You are?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah and I'm a little bit surprised that you're here. You're Rhiannon Cohen, the actress, aren't you?"
"I am but I'm also the founder's sister." I pointed out. I was pretty sure that was the correct title. I didn't know what else she wanted to be called.
At that point, Rose gave her a quiz and comics and I was surprised how much she knew considering how attractive she was. Since we weren't in class anymore, we weren't required to wear out uniforms and she looked pretty good in her tank top.
One thing that I couldn't help but notice was that Rose and Lindsay were basically soul sisters. They really seemed to have a lot in common. I couldn't help but wonder if she had made a new best friend.
"So do we still have to be in the club now?" Kaitlin asked. However, before I could answer, I saw something.
"I have a feeling that Rose is going to like her less now." I commented as I saw that Lindsay was kissing Summer. I supposed that she really was just like Rose, down to liking the same girl. That made things awkward.
"No. No. No." Rose replied in disbelief. "She can't be dating her. She's like the WASP version of me."
From there, Kaitlin took me to her house, which was still being renovated when I had left.
"So this is it." She remarked. "My freakishly big new house."
"It looks nice." I commented. "That long distance was hard. We need to come up with a better system for next time I have to film something far away. So the guidance counselor talked to me about college, but I haven't really thought about it. I didn't think that I would even get a chance to go before last year. So do you still want to go to the kickoff carnival?"
"I was going to go to with Marissa." She explained. "Though we should probably keep you away from the Ferris Wheel this time."
"I think I can go on it with you." I replied. I wanted to be strong for her. "You're probably going to have to hold my hand, but I can go on it with you."
"You don't have to do something uncomfortable for me." She told me. At that point, I couldn't help but notice the new maid. She had blonde hair and was wearing a typical maid dress. I supposed Marissa had good taste at least. "Come on. I want to show you my room."
However, once we got to her room, I couldn't help but tense up.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I'm just really nervous about this." I admitted. "What if it doesn't feel right? Even if I'm medically able to do this, I don't know if I'm mentally able to do this."
"Do you think that maybe you're thinking about this too much?" She questioned.
"Maybe, but it's probably better for me just to go home right now." I suggested. "I'm sorry. I love you."
I then walked back home and saw that Mom was back from the store.
"Let me help you with that stuff." I volunteered.
"So your guidance counselor called me and suggested that I sit down with you and talk to you about college." She replied.
I then noticed that a fight broke out between Dad and the contractor and I realized that I wanted to be in the pool house…or the pool…or anywhere else.
I decided on the pool and noticed that Rose was in the hot tub.
"You just missed all of the drama." I told her.
"I think I've hit my quota for the day." She remarked.
"You know you come to the carnival with us tomorrow." I offered.
"Is this how it's going to go now? You and Kaitlin, Summer and Lindsay?" She questioned.
"Well maybe you should try being friends with her again." I proposed. I would suggest her and Marissa, but I was pretty sure that was a match made in hell. Hadley was also single, but I didn't know how I would feel about her dating my sister.
"Do you think that Summer would even want to be friends with me after what I did?" She questioned. "Especially now that she has Lindsay, who's basically Supergirl."
"She's not Supergirl." I explained. She needed to get her swagger back. "Are you really just going to spend the whole year being a loser or are you going to do something?"
"I don't have much of a choice." She remarked. The energy had really been sapped from her.
"You can call her. You won her over by being her friend before." I pointed out.
"I can't. It's too lame. She won't want to hear it." She responded.
I decided to just take matters into my own hands. I decided to ask Summer myself to talk to her.
"Rhiannon?" She asked in surprise when she saw me. "I thought you were the evil stepmonster."
"She let me in. She seems nice." I declared. I never did quite understand why she had hated her stepmother so much. I also wondered what happened to her mom, but that was a question for a different day.
"She just switched antidepressants. Give it a day." Summer replied. Okay… "What can I do for you?"
"I want to talk about Rose." I declared.
"What about?" She asked.
"Well I kind of want things to go back to the way that they used to be." I stated. "I'm not saying that you have to date Seth, but I miss hanging out with guys and I don't want to have to take sides."
"How can we do that?" She challenged. "You two left for a whole summer. Kaitlin may want you back in her life, but that doesn't mean that the rest of us want that. Things weren't that great before anyway. Cohen and I probably should have never hooked up in the first place. Things are different now for a reason."
"Well do you know anything about this chick that Marissa's been hooking up with?" I asked. She seemed surprised. "I overheard you two earlier. I didn't tell Kaitlin because it wasn't my secret to tell, but what do you know?"
"I know about as much as you know." She said. "She's only two years older than us. Maybe you should talk to her about it."
Before I could say anything, my phone rang. It was Kaitlin.
"I just caught Marissa making out with the maid." She explained.
"You're not going to tell your mom are you?" I questioned.
"No, as inappropriate and possibly illegal as it is, if she makes Marissa happy, I'm not going to say anything." She remarked. If it was illegal, it probably wasn't the best idea to encourage it.
In the morning, Rose was in the pool house with Kaitlin and I.
"Maybe there is hope for me and Summer after all. I just need to win her over with one big grand romantic gesture." Rose declared.
"It seems like she's back to normal." Kaitlin commented.
"You know instead of doing something stupid, you could just apologize to her." I pointed out.
"I don't need to do that." Rose remarked. It was amazing that even though she was a girl herself, she still seemed to have no idea what girls liked.
"Should we be worried about Marissa?" Kaitlin inquired. I didn't think we needed to be worried more than usual. "Should I let her know that I'm okay with her and Hannah and try to hang out with her more? Do you think that would be weird?
"It would be weird, but considering all of the things Marissa has done, dating a slightly-older woman really isn't something to be concerned about." Rose quipped before I kicked her shin. "Ow what was that for?"
"That's not something to joke about." I declared. "Now we need to get to school."
When we got to school, I found that there was something going on in Theatre.
"Class, I have a special announcement." The teacher declared. "This year we have a special guest joining on our class. She's an accomplished actress of her own."
So it looked like we were going to do this introduction a day late.
"She's just coming off co-starring in her own show." The teacher continued. Okay…so it wasn't me. "Please welcome…Olivia Rodrigo."
"Hi everyone." She declared as she walked in. I had to say that I was a little bit shocked to say the least.
"That night, Rose and I went to the carnival. We were going to meet Kaitlin and Marissa there.
"We can still not go." Rose proposed.
"We're already here." I pointed out. Did she just want to hide in the car for the rest of the night?
It was then that I saw Kaitlin, but no Marissa. I would have said that I was surprised, but I wasn't.
"Marissa ditched me." She declared. Like I said, I wasn't surprised. "I guess it's just going to be the three of us."
"I remember last year's carnival was really great." Rose declared. I didn't even think that was true for her.
"I thought I was going to die." I remarked. I supposed people didn't understand my fear of heights.
"Let's not go on the Ferris wheel." Kaitlin responded. "It turns out that Marissa doesn't know how to have a simple conversation and even knowing about her with Hannah makes her mad at me."
I saw her looking at Summer and Lindsay. I didn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell it didn't go well. She then went to chase after Summer and that didn't work either. It seemed like she had just made it worse. She needed to stop favoring big gestures over simple apologies.
Anyway, after I signed a few autographs, I went over to her.
"Let's go home." I suggested.
We walked into the house and found Mom, Dad, and Caleb eating Chinese on the floor because the kitchen wasn't done.
"How was school?" Dad asked.
"It was good. I'm never going back." Rose replied.
"That's exactly what every parent wants to hear." He quipped. I was pretty sure that he didn't believe her. At that point, the doorbell rang. I went to open it and it was the police.
"Caleb Nichol, you're under arrest." They stated before they took him away in handcuffs. Well it looked like dinner was ruined too.
So I combined Lindsay and Zach into one character. Also Rhiannon is going to be in class with Olivia Rodrigo. What's going to happen there? Please don't forget to review.