The Beginning (The Life 1)

She looked around, noticing that they were gone, but her shoulders still slumped. “I’ll be fine, thank you again. Bye Lance, it was nice seeing you again.” She got up and bolted with my eyes following her. I hadn’t noticed before, too mesmerized by her eyes, I guess, but she has a tight ass. She’s also very short. Somehow that works for me.

“How do you know her?” I watched until she was out of sight, heading in the opposite direction from her tormentors.

“We used to go to nursery together when we were younger; then her mom died when we were like five or six, I think. After that, we kinda lost touch.”

“You know the sister?” He frowned as if in thought.

“Sister? She doesn’t… oh, you mean Victoria, that’s her stepsister, her mom married Gia’s dad not long after Gia’s mom died. I was too young to remember it all, but I’m pretty sure there was a lot of buzz about it in the town back then.”

“About what?” I turned back around to face him.

“Really? I was five; how would I know?”

“How come I’ve never seen her before?” He gave me a look like I’d asked a stupid question.

“Bruh, you don’t even know the names of half the people in your grade; why would you know someone in the grade under us? I’m surprised you even know the names of our teachers.

“Are you trying to say I’m antisocial?”

“Pretty much. Forget that; what were you two doing together? I thought something was wrong when I saw you leaving your hidey-hole before the bell rang; I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that before.”

“You spying on me again?”

“Not since the first time you caught me, no. I’m just making sure you’re good. Besides, keeping up with you helps hone my detective skills.”

“You’re gonna make a piss poor cop then because you’re not doing a very good job of it.” I was talking about this shit because I didn’t want him to see too much. The last thing I need is his shit on top of my own. I need time and space to think about the last half an hour and why I feel like I shouldn’t have let her go.

I pumped him for information while playing down my interest. Gianna Fontane lived about five minutes away from me in an upper-middle-class suburb with homes that cost a few zeros less than mine. Something was off, though, because she didn’t look or act like the others of her ilk.

Her clothes had been fine, but growing up with Rosa and Anna, I know a little about teenage girls and the lengths they go to to be seen. Gianna seemed more like she was hiding or trying to disappear. I haven’t been around her long enough, but that’s the feeling I get, plus the threadbare jeans and no-name tee she wore didn’t fit with the rest of fashionista wannabes running around here.

“Is the stepmother the one with money or something?”

“No. As far as I know, Gianna’s dad has some top-level job, and the stepmother is a stay-at-home mom. Why do you ask?” Some shit was tugging at me, but I can’t for the life of me put my finger on it. I changed the subject to keep him off the scent but barely registered anything he was saying.

She stayed on my mind for the remainder of the school day, and by the time school let out, I was regretting not asking her more questions. I admit to being out of my element when it comes to this shit. I’m no incel; I know how to talk to women and have no problem drawing their attention. I also have Pop and my uncle Garrett not to mention gramps, as role models on how to treat women, but I’m fucked if I have any firsthand experience with this shit.

I started to ask my sisters if they knew her even though she was a grade ahead of them but thought better of it. Of course, they’d know her; these two run this shit like it’s their personal playground. They’re not mean girls by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a known fact that they set the trends among their peers since Kindergarten.

Add the fact that they’re my sisters, and everyone pretty much gives them the same respect they give me. But if I ask them about this shit, my life won’t be worth a damn; nosy asses. I thought of a different track and went with that. “You two know Victoria Fontane?” Lance had mentioned in his gossip hour that the two girls shared a name.

“Heard of her; why?” Rosa hung over the backseat between Anna and I.

“Just asking.”

“You like her?”

“No, Anna, I’m just asking.”

“We can find out.” She exchanged a look with her sister, and I decided to drop it before they got any ideas.