I tiptoed into the silent house on Rosemary Street being careful not to wake up the occupants of the place. I wouldn't want to piss them off for absolutely no reason, now would I?

After escaping from the parking lot, I had taken a bus to the house but had instead ended up falling asleep on it. The conductor didn't bother waking me up so I had to wait for a return bus from a stop a few miles from here. It took a little more time than I expected but I didn't want to walk all by myself at night in a neighborhood still quite new to me.

Walking up to my room I softly closed the door behind me. I made sure to lock it tight before switching on the light. With a heavy sigh I sat down on my bed.

Today was ..... eventful.

Tomorrow would be better.

No it wouldn't.

***

23. The infective stage of Plasmodium sp. for a man is?"

Sporozoites. Definitely. That was easy enough.

24. Geometric representation of age structure is a characteristic of?

Population. Duh.

25. Which of the following is related to the newest advancements in-

"Alright kids, times up", Mrs Patterson spoke as she collected the papers of the mock test she had surprised us with, "Put your pen down guys. I already have a sore throat courtesy of the screaming match I had with my husband this morning, don't make me yell at you too."

Mrs Patterson, our biology teacher like to overshare. Not that I mind though, it wastes precious class time and I'm all for it.

Theo groaned from beside me before dramatically falling headfirst onto the desk,"Dead. I'm totally and completely dead."

I rolled my eyes at his usual dramatics before picking up my bag, packing my things.
"I think I got most of them right, though I didn't get to complete my paper. I don't get why the teachers hand us these surprise tests. They know that we don't know half the shit. How is this supposedto help us anyway?"

"Don't ask me. I'm not the one who likes to torture innocent kids," Theo pouted as we walked into the corridor.

A huge figure suddenly crashed into me and I was sure that I'd crash onto the floor if not for the tight grip of the arm around me,  "It's food time", the voice cheered.

I lashed the offending hand away, "Oh come on Alex. How many times do I have to tell you not to do this?!"

Alex had made it a habit of jumping on me at random times of the day in hopes of....actually, I don't know why he does it.

"Oh come on princess, don't be so-"

I groaned,"Princess? Really? Be more creative my friend. Be more creative."
I patted his chest once before snorting and quickly entering the cafeteria.

Just like everyday, the huge room was filled with chattering students and I beelined to our designated table. I could already spot Lexi's striking ginger hair standing out in the sea of people and I strode forward without paying much attention to my surroundings.

In retrospect, I should have paid more attention. I should have been more careful and aware of my surroundings. Then maybe I wouldn't have crashed into him. Then maybe I wouldn't be sitting like a dumb dwarf with spaghetti in my hair. Then maybe, the cafeteria wouldn't be laughing at me. Then maybe, I would have been spared of Eraldo Costa's furious eyes now staring straight at me.

Yep, fate hates me.

"What the actual hell?!", a thunderous voice broke my panicked thoughts.

I stood up and nervously shifted on my feet as a glob of spaghetti fell down from my hair and onto the floor. Gross.

"I-I am sorry. I didn't mean to. I wasn't looking where I was going and i just-"

Now normally, I surely wouldn't stutter. But Eraldo Costa was terrifying to say the least. And ever since he threatened me in the corridor, I had made sure to steer clear of him. His reputation, the rumors and thr image I had built up in my head scared me enough as it is. I definitely did not want a repeat encounter with the loose cannon of that family.

Eraldo continued to glare at me as my sentence trailed off and he was about to open his mouth again but just then a dreadful voice spoke softly next to my ear as large hands took hold of my hair and it was enough for me to considerably pale.

"What the hell did you do you bitch"

I turned to look at my older brother who was gripping my hair tight enough to turn me bald before I turned eighteen. If this were a cartoon, his eyes would be red and I would definitely see a stream of steam coming out his ears. But unfortunately this was my life.

Slowly he withdrew his hand from my hair but his eyes promised punishment later. However I maintained a straight face aware of the numerous eyes on us. To any person looking in, this would just look like an everyday standoff but to anyone right in our face, such as Eraldo, it was pretty evident. To be honest, my brother scared me more than Eraldo Costa ever could and I was honestly surprised Ryan even bothered to interact with me in public so carelessly. I thought he wanted to keep our familial connections hidden here.

"I'm sorry Costa", my brother apologized for me which made my jaw almost go slack. He never apologized, ever. I had never heard him talking to someone with so much respect either. What the hell? "She is an idiot most of the days. I promise to take care of this situation and she will be appropriately punished. I will see to it."

Eraldo's eyes narrowed considerably before looking at Ercole who had come up out of nowhere. Eraldo's face was slowly turning red but Ercole managed to string out a reply, "This is the last time. I swear if it ever happens again-"

"It won't", my brother confidently replied and I was proud of myself for not spontaneously bursting into tears thinking about the torture that would surely follow.

Ercole meanwhile pushed Ryan, hard, and my brother almost fell before stabilizing himself as the Costa brother whispered one last sentence before walking away with his twin.

"Never fucking dare interrupt me again."