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Chapter Text

It was Saturday and Kara and her best friends, Alex and Lucy, were competing in a women’s, ages 15-18, 3v3 beach soccer tournament. They made it all the way to the championship match where the winners would receive a hundred-dollar gift card to Noonan’s, the sponsor of the tournament.

Kara kicked the ball right between her opponent’s legs to Lucy, who kicked it right to Alex at first touch. Alex was challenged, but she was able to keep control of the ball and kick it to Kara, who went for the winning goal. It went in with a satisfying swish of the net.

“We are sooo going to annihilate Larchmont Academy this year.” Lucy told Kara. She wore a large grin on her face, still high from their win. 

“I have to worry about making the team first.” Kara reminded her friend.

Lucy scoffed. “Coach Townsend would be crazy not to bring you on. You’re a freaking prodigy or something. You’ve only been seriously playing for two years, yet you’ve picked up a lot. Enough to join the team this year.”

“I sure hope so.” Kara said.

While both of her best friends have played soccer since their little league days, Kara herself did not start until just two years previously. At first, she had only done it to gather the attention of her crush, now boyfriend, Mike Matthews, who played as the goalie for their school’s team. However, Kara had quickly fallen in love with the sport.

“Don’t worry about that, Kar.” Her other friend, Alex, said as she swung her arm around her shoulder. “You just scored the winning goal today! You’ll do fine. Just relax.” Taking her friend’s advice, Kara nodded and forced herself to calm some of the anxiety she allowed to build over the last few weeks.

“Was it just me or did I see Mike on the sidelines at some point?” Lucy questioned. 

“No, I saw him too.” Kara confirmed. She had seen him just before she went to throw the ball back into play. After that, much to her disappointment, she hadn’t seen him again.

“I thought you said he didn’t want to come?” Alex asked.

“That’s what he told me. Maybe he changed his mind. I’m glad that he was able to in the end. He’s been gone all summer. I haven’t seen him since he came back two weeks ago. I’ve been wanting some alone time with him.” Kara said with a small smile.

“Yeah. Alone time so you two can fuck.” Lucy said with a dirty smirk on her face.

“I mean, should things turn to that, then yeah.” Kara shrugged.

Alex made a gagging noise. “Where the hell is the guy anyway? You just won a tournament and he’s nowhere to be seen.”

As soon as Alex said this, Mike suddenly made his presence known by surprising Kara with a hug from behind. Kara jumped at the unexpectedness of it. She whirled around, ready to beat the shit out of whoever dared to violate her personal space, only to relax when she saw that it was her boyfriend.

Lucy and Alex shared a look with each other before silently moving away to give the couple their privacy.

“Did I scare you?” Mike asked with a laugh.

“Yes, asshole. You came this close to having to breathe through a straw.” Kara told him. Mike laughed. “What are you even doing here. I thought you said you couldn’t make it.”

“I wasn’t going to at first, but Ricky’s wanted to watch this girl he’s been talking with compete in the beach volleyball tournament.” Mike explained.

Kara tried not to frown. Mike’s best friend, Rick, was willing to go out of his way and watch the game of some girl he was only in the talking stages with, but Mike couldn’t even do it for his girlfriend of a little over a year?

“I caught a few minutes of your last game. You’ve gotten better since I last saw you play.”

“I’ve been practicing. I wanted to make sure that I was good enough to make this year’s team.”

“Coach Townsend would be stupid not to put you on the team. From what I saw, you’re probably better than half the guys on my squad right now.”

Kara smiles at her boyfriend in appreciation.

Kara was bisexual, but on top of that, she was intersex. For a while, besides her family, no one really knew about the latter besides her best friends.

Before, the idea of dating was something she could not fathom as she’d thought no one would want to date her with her body being the way that it was. If it weren’t for her best friend Lucy offering to take her v-card, she was sure that she would still be a virgin right now. Otherwise, she never would have found the confidence to start putting herself out there.

After a few failed attempts, she found Mike. He had been surprisingly okay with the whole, ‘her having a dick’, thing. He just made sure she didn’t go around telling any more people that she was intersex, which was fine with her. It was nobody’s business what she had between her legs. And it was especially nobody’s business (especially the business of his teammates) that Mike preferred to be bottomed by Kara whenever they have sex.

“Do you want to come back to my place later?” Kara asked the goalie, moving closer and encircling her arms around his waist. He returned her embrace by wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Mike gave her an apologetic smile that didn’t quite feel sincere. “Sorry, babe. The boys and I are all going to Rick’s uncle’s lake house to chill before training, Monday.”

Kara gives the older teen a weak smile, trying to keep the disappointment she felt from showing. 

Her boyfriend has been gone all summer visiting different colleges before going on vacation with his family. She had hoped that with him finally being back, they could spend some much-needed time together, but after two weeks of him being home, that has yet to be the case.

“Oh, okay.” Kara said. Even though Kara did well to keep the disappointment from her voice, Mike still noticed the slight downturn of her lips.

“What’s with that face?” Mike accused her with a frown of his own.

“What face?”

“The one you’re wearing — like you’re all ‘boo hoo’ and shit. Like you don’t want me to go hang with my friends, or something.”

“I don’t mind that you want to hang out with your friends, Mike. I just thought that once you came back from your trips, we would spend some time together.”

Mike shook his head in exasperation as he removed himself from his girlfriend. “I see you all the time, Kara.”

“Yeah, on Face2Face. That’s not any real time with you, though. I can’t kiss or hold you through your phone’s screen, Mike.” She said, arms crossed and jaw set in annoyance.

Mike rolled his eyes with a dismissive flick of his hand. “We don’t have to spend every waking moment with each other, Kara. And besides, Face2Face is how we’ll be with each other anyways when I leave for college next year. This is basically getting you ready for when I leave.”

Kara’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t need preparation. And I’m not trying to spend every second with you either. All I want is to feel as if I haven’t been forgotten by my boyfriend.” She told him before releasing a heavy sigh. “Can’t you just tell them you’ll hang out later? I’d really like it if you spent the rest of the day with me.”

Kara moved closer to the older boy once more, hooking her finger into his belt loop. “My mom won’t be home. We could watch a movie…or not watch a movie.” She said with a suggestive look, her tone low and husky, reeling Mike in with thoughts of Kara bending him over the basement’s pool table.

However, even though the thought was enticing, his mind would not be changed. “I’ve already said I’m hanging with the boys tonight, Kara. You’ll have me all to yourself once school starts. I’m spending the last days of summer with my boys. Don’t make this a big deal.” He told her, his voice firm.

At that moment, his friend Rick called out his name from where he stood next to a girl.

Mike looks over and at them and then back at her. “Look. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later.” He left her where she stood to jog over to his friend.

Kara watched him go for a moment, upset. Her own friends rejoined her side.

“Where’s Mike going? I thought you were bringing him back to yours so you could clap his cheeks?” Lucy asked her best friend.

Alex, who was in the middle of devouring a hotdog she’d just gotten from a food truck, choked at her friend’s words. Kara, being the good friend that she was, and absolutely not like Lucy, who preferred to laugh at her friend’s near-death experience, firmly slapped at the girl’s back.

“I’m trying to fucking eat here, bitch!” Alex said to Lucy with a glare, once her throat had been cleared of any obstructions. She tried her best not to think about Mike getting bent over.

Lucy smirked at Alex. “That’s what I said to your dad when he caught me and your mom last night.” Alex’s glare deepened.

“Oh god, please stop.” Kara glared, though she held back an amused smile. “Mike decided that he had better things to do, so I’ll just be going home alone.” She said, looking like a dejected puppy.

“Definitely not.” Alex told Kara with another bite of her hotdog when she felt it was safe to do so again. “Lucy and I will be crashing at yours. Besides, this is the first bit of greasy food I’ve eaten all summer, and your house has the better toilets.” 

Both Kara and Lucy’s face grimaced in disgust while Alex continued to eat the hotdog that was soon to be excrement.

“You’re not fucking invited.” Kara deadpanned.

“Tough shit.” Alex replied with a cocky smirk.

“Oh, so your hemorrhoids are back, then?” Kara inquired with false concern for her friend, earning a laugh from Lucy.

“Fuck off!” Alex couldn’t help but laugh herself.

Kara was in the locker room with all the other girls who were looking to join the girls’ soccer team. With Kara being intersex, Kara had made it a point to dress before entering the locker room. She wore a simple white tee and athletic shorts with trainers. She was sitting on one of the benches that was in between the row of lockers. Alex was in front of her in a sports bra, athletic shorts, tube socks, and trainers. She was putting on deodorant while talking away about something Kara was not particularly listening to.

“…and then she accidentally fingered my asshole. ‘Surprised the shit out of me, but low-key, it kind of felt good.” Alex said before turning around to see that her friend had not been listening to her at all because she was looking at the other girls in the room. She snorted. “Damn, Zorel. Check your shit. You’re pointing north after all that eyeballing.” Kara started at the sound of her name. After a quick check that verified that she was not actually hard, she glared at Alex.

“Will you lower your voice?” Kara scowled. “And I wasn’t staring,” though she had been just a little. She was not blind. These girls here were hot. “I was just thinking…shouldn’t there be more girls trying out than this?” Besides her and Alex, there were only five other girls — certainly not enough to take the pitch on game days.

Alex looked around after pulling on her shirt, a small frown on her face. “Yeah, it is pretty light. Though, I’m sure more will turn up.” She said with a small shrug.

“Hopefully…” Kara said, sounding a little uncertain. “Where’s Lucy?”

“Early meeting with coach. She should be back soon. We should probably head out to the pitch if we don’t want to be late. You do not want to be on Coach Townsends shit list before you’ve even made the team.” Alex said once the other girls start to leave.

Like a herd, all the girls made their way to the soccer pitch they were scheduled to use, only to be confused when they see the girl’s lacrosse team already on it.

“Um, is the lacrosse team supposed to be on the pitch? I thought we were scheduled to use it?” Gail, one of the girls on the team asked, her face scrunched in confusion.

“We were,” A pissed off Lucy said as she came from behind them.

Lucy aggressively shoved a piece of paper into Alex’s hands. It was filled from top to bottom with text. At the bottom of the paper was the obnoxiously sized signature of Midvale Prep’s principal, Samuel Bernard.

“Yeah, I’m not reading all that. What does it say?” Alex asked her captain.

“They’re cutting the girls’ soccer team!” Lucy seethed with an angry gesture towards the piece of paper that stated as such.

“The fuck?” Alex blinked, hoping that she heard incorrectly. Kara snatched the paper from her hands and began to furiously scan through the finely printed words.

“No lie. Principal Bernard’s cutting the program. For one, not enough girls signed up. And two, he said that they needed the extra funding to remodel the boy’s locker rooms.” Lucy continued.

“What the hell? Didn’t they just do that last year?” Francis, the team’s midfielder, exclaimed in outrage.

“Yes, but now they’ll get ‘therapeutic showers and a sauna room’.” Lucy said, her voice high in pitch as she imitated their principal.

The boys’ teams were always being invested in, meanwhile, the girl’s locker room showers had suspicious mold and freezing waters at the lowest possible pressures. With all the money their parents spent to send them all there, you’d think they’d have more money to spare for them.

It goes to show just where their priorities lay.

“This is bullshit. They can’t do this! A lot of us are seniors this year! If we can’t play, then how are we going to get scouted?” Hilary, the team’s goalie, cried out. Her eyes watered in frustration.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Hilary. Principal Bernard said things were final. Coach Townsend didn’t seem all that bothered by it either. Probably because she’ll get to coach the girls’ basketball team now, like she’s always wanted.” Lucy said with a defeated throw of her hands.

“I know I started playing this sport a lot later than you guys, but it has become a part of me now. I didn’t work my ass off all last year just to not be able to play. And you seniors didn’t spend your entire high school career playing, just to be an un-scouted graduate. No, there has to be another way.” Kara spoke up with a determined shake of her head.

“There isn’t. I spent all morning trying to convince the principal to change his mind. He just wouldn’t budge. He really wants that stupid locker room remolded.” Lucy finished with a growl.

Kara, never one to just let things defeat her so easily, churned her brain for ideas until her eyes trailed over to the second practice pitch where the boys’ soccer team currently ran drills.

“Oh, this is so not over.” Kara said in determination before storming over to pitch number two. The other girls all looked at each other before quickly following after.

“Coach Collins!” Kara shouted once she got close enough to the middle-aged balding man who was observing his team go through running drills.

The head coach gave them a small, almost uncaring, glance over his shoulder. “Oh, hey girls. I heard about the bad news.” He said before going back to watching his boys.

“I’d say it’s more than bad. I’m a junior, so I’m not too worried yet, but most of the girls here are seniors. If they can’t play this season, then their chances of ever being recruited by a scout are practically nonexistent.”

“Ricky! Pick up your damn knees!” Coach Collins shouted to said boy before saying, “Yes, that wouldn’t be good,” sounding as if he weren’t all that bothered by the possibility.

“Can’t you do something, coach? Principal Bernard respects you. He’d listen to you if you spoke to him.” Kara asked.

“Sorry, girls. Even if I did talk to him, I wouldn’t be able to change his mind. He’s set on getting the boys locker rooms remolded this year.”

Hell, he was too. Which was why he had suggested cutting the program to make room in the budget. He tried to fight off the anticipatory grin that threatened to form on his face at the thought of lounging in the sauna room. Instead, he yelled at another one of his players.

Kara, still not one to be defeated so easily, continued to push the man on the matter, not at all disheartened by the hopeless looks the girls were wearing, nor by how uninterested Coach Collins seemed to be with the idea of helping them.

“Fine, if you won’t talk to the principal, then we’ll just have to try out for the boys’ team.”

It took Coach Collins a total of five seconds to fully register what Kara had just said before his head snapped back in laughter. Kara’s face turned red from annoyance as she watched the man swipe tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Now that was a good one. Never knew you were so damn funny, Zorel.” Coach Collins said to Kara with a wag of his finger.

“That wasn’t a joke, coach.” She clipped with a pointed stare.

With a waning smile and puzzled eyes, he stared at her for a few beats before saying, “My god, you’re actually serious right now.” He said, sounding astonished.

“Dead serious.” Kara said firmly, “So…should we try out now? Or do you want us to come back later?”

“Absolutely not!” Coach Collins exclaimed with an incredulous laugh and a vigorous shake of his head.

“Why not?” Alex demanded, arms crossed.

“Y-you just can’t! No, not going to happen.” Coach Collins tripped up, trying to keep himself from saying something incriminating.

“Hey, coach. What’s going on?” A sweaty Mike said as he and the rest of the boys’ soccer team, who certainly weren’t hurting for numbers like the girls were, came to join their conversation.

“The girls want to try out for the team.” The coach explained, immediately earning laughter from the group of boys, Mike included, much to Kara’s chagrin.

“What?” Mike guffawed. “You can’t try out for the team.” He told Kara and the others.

“And why can’t we?” Kara asked him with a hard voice and air quotes.

“You just can’t.” Mike said, repeating the same words as his coach.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Why is it that ‘we just can’t’ tryout now when just the other day you were telling me that I was better than half your squad?”

“Nahhh.”
“Half of who?”
“Bro, really?”
“That’s cap,”
“You must be talking about, Rick.”

All of the boys surrounding Mike exclaimed at once to their captain, who flushed with embarrassment.

“I only said that to get into your pants.” Mike lied, trying to appear smug while surrounded by his teammates. However, to Kara and the other girls, he only succeeded in looking like a douche. He looked like Coach Collins, who wore the same expression as he stood back and let his players do all the talking.

“Do you really want to go there, Michael?” Kara said with a raised brow, reveling in the slight panic she saw behind his eyes. She’d never expose him like that, but he was talking too boldly for her liking.

“Yeah, Matthews. I’ve heard some things.” Alex said with a waggle of her brow. Lucy elbowed her friend’s side in admonishment, but that did not stop the amusement she felt when seeing how pale Mike got.

Kara sighed. “Coach, c’mon. You know we’re good. If you just give us a chance, we—“

“I’m sorry girls, but it’s still a no. We all know that you all are excellent players—” Coach Collins began, very much exasperated.

“Then what’s the problem? If—” Lucy interrupted with a frustrated scowl.

“But–” Coach Collins stressed with a hand raised as if to say, ‘I’m not finished.’ “I don’t want you girls to get hurt.”

Alex scoffed. “All I see is a bunch of string beans with chicken legs. You should be more worried about a strong breeze taking out half your team than us getting hurt.”

“Yeah, and we play on artificial turf while you princesses get actual grass. I once had a turf burn that looked like Imra Ardeen.” Lucy added.

“Never wanted to hump a leg so bad,” Alex quipped in reminiscence of the turf burn that resembled the famous actress.

Kara rolled her eyes at her best friend’s antics.

“Though it was not said in the best way…points were made. We’re tough and we can handle whatever. All you have to do is give us the chance to prove it.”

“Listen girls, I didn’t want to outright say it, but it seems I’ll have to if it’s the only way you’ll understand it… Girl’s aren’t as fast as boys. Or as strong. Or as athletic.” Coach Collins listed off to the girls, sounding as if they should already know these things.

“And that’s on science,” one of the boys said, earning laughter from his friends.

“Shut the fuck up, Rick. You can’t talk shit when you still piss the bed!” Kara snapped at the soccer player, who gaped at her.

“W-where’d you hear that?” Rick stammered, his face red with mortification as he tried to ignore how his peers looked at him in shocked amusement.

“Zorel! There’s no need for such hostility. We’re just trying to get you to see reason here. Girls can’t beat boys. It’s a simple fact.” Coach Collins said with a dismissive shrug.

“The only thing I see here is bullshit, coach.” Kara turned to her boyfriend with beseeching eyes. “Are you really being serious right now?” Kara asked him. When the older boy looked around and at his teammates before he answered her, Kara knew that he would be of no help to her.

“Tell her man,” One of his teammates egged him on.

Mike puffed up his chest and crossed his arms. “It’s for your own good, Kara. Girls just can’t keep up or play on the same level as us boys — stop wasting your breath on this. You’re not going to win.”

Kara’s raised an affronted brow. “Fine, if I’m wasting my breath, then you’re wasting my time. You’re blocked.” Kara told him, making sure to pull out her phone and block Mike’s number right in front of his stunned face.

His teammates and the girls around her provided the perfect soundtrack of astonished laughter.

Once the deed was done, she gave him a hard look before scoffing and turning away.

She left the pitch. The girls followed, but not before Alex made sure to flip everyone off.

“Kara! Come back here! There’s no need to be so sensitive!” Mike called after her. “Kara! Baby?”

Kara ignored him while making sure to walk harder towards the girl’s shitty locker room.

“I’m sorry, guys. I tried.” Kara told the girls once they were inside. The mood was somber as they dressed. Kara felt partly responsible for it.

“Hey,” Lucy said softly as she came over and placed a comforting hand on the back of Kara’s head, massaging her friend’s scalp. “You did more for us out there than Coach Townsend did in the office. Some things are just out of our hands, especially when a bunch of dickheads are involved.”

“Speaking of dickheads” Alex segued with a smirk on her face, “Did you see the look on Mike’s face when you dumped his ass? He looked like Lucy when she found out Blaze left True Direction.” Both Kara and Alex laughed.

“Fuck off, okay. I was eleven.” Lucy snapped at her friend.

“So, you didn’t light candles on True Direction’s break up anniversary last year?” Kara added with upturned lips.

—

“By the way, it’s about damn time you broke up with that dick. ‘Never trusted the guy since I found out he bites his toenails off.” 

The three of them shudder in disgust.

Kara was walking up her driveway, hoody up and music blasting in her ears when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Kara started, yanking out the ear bud to stare at the person who freaked her out.

“Ew,” Maxine Almerac said with a frown. “You and your brother look too much alike from the back.”

“Well, we should, seeing as we’re twins…though, my ass is fatter than his, so there’s that.”

Maxine rolled her eyes. “Where is your brother? He’s not answering his phone.”

“Didn’t you guys break up or something.” Kara sighed with a scratch of her nose, already done with the conversation. All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and sulk for the rest of the day.

“We did not break up.” Maxine snapped, her voice forceful and full of delusion. “We were just on a little break, is all. But now that’s ended.”

“Sureee,” Kara drawled, letting the older girl know just how true she found that statement to be.

“Where is he?” Maxine stomped her foot.

“I don’t keep tabs on him.” Kara told the red-haired girl before turning around to make her way to the front door.

“When you see him tell him to answer my calls.” Maxine practically growled.

Without looking, Kara held up a hand and shooed the girl away. From behind her, she could hear the girl release an indignant huff before storming off to her overpriced car.

There was only so much of Maxine Almerac she could take.

Her brother Kal’s on-again off-again girlfriend was the epitome of fourth generation, spoiled rich girl that their father, Zoron, approved of. Kara never got what her twin brother saw in her. Maxine was his complete opposite.

As soon as Kara opened the front door to her house, she came face to face with her mother who was trying to exit.

“Oh, good. I thought I wouldn’t get to see you before I left.” Alura said. Kara’s mother was dressed casually, but she had a roller suitcase behind her and her computer bag slung over her shoulder.

“Work trip?” Kara guessed.

Alura nodded. “Japan.”

“For how long?”

Alura released a heavy sigh as she brought a hand up to rub at her temple. “My guy royally screwed things up so now I’ve got to fly out there and fix things. It’ll probably take me at least six weeks to bring us back to where we were.” Alura took in her daughter’s appearance and remembered that she was supposed to have tryouts today.

“How’d tryouts go, honey?” She asked after tucking a lock of the girl’s blonde hair behind her ear.

A frown took to Kara’s face. “There was none. Principal Bernard cut the girls’ soccer program.”

“Aw, honey. I know how much you wanted to play. You worked so hard all summer.”

“Yeah, well. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure something out.”

Just then, Alura’s Oober pulled into the driveway, bringing the older woman back into rush mode. Kara followed her to the car and put her mother’s bags in the trunk once she realized the driver had no intention of getting out to help. Knowing her mother, the man would not be receiving five stars once their trip together ended.

“Okay, I’m heading out.” Alura said. “Tuesday – don’t forget to pick up your debutant dresses from the boutique. There should be two. One for the luncheon and one for the ball.”

Kara let out a long-suffering groan. “Mom, you know I don’t want to do that crap.” She whined; it took everything within her to keep her foot from stomping the ground.

Her mother was dead set on her officially becoming a debutant because she herself had been one over a hundred years ago when she herself was a teen.

“Kara Zorel. Do not start with me. I do not have the time.” Alura said with a light glare before kissing her daughter’s cheek. “Oh, and make sure your brother goes to school.” Her mother added as she pulled away.

“I can’t work miracles.” Kara told her mother.

Alura laughed before finally getting inside the Oober. Kara watched the car drive away until it disappeared around the corner.

She then went inside the house, making sure to lock the door behind her. She went upstairs. While on her way towards her room, she stops outside Kal’s door when she hears how much noise he was making from inside. Kara knocked. Everything inside came to a halt, and the music was turned down. Her brother’s door slowly opened with caution.

Upon seeing his sister’s face, Kal released a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god. I thought you were mom.” He told her before opening the door wider for her to enter.

“Mom is on her way to the airport.” She informed him as she stepped inside. “What the hell is going on in here?” Kara asked her brother as she took in the wrecked state of his room.

Her brother’s bed had a giant suitcase open and mostly filled. Right beside it, more clothes waited to be folded and placed inside.

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked him.

“How long will mom be gone?” Kal asked, completely ignoring her questions as he went back to packing.

Kara’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Six weeks.” Kal seemed pleased by her answer. “Now answer my question.”

“I’m going to England for a few weeks. My band was able to get a slot at a music festival there.”

“What the hell? That’s awesome! How did that even happen?” Kara exclaimed, running over to hug her brother, who was beaming with pride and excitement as he returned the hug.

“The event planner saw one of our videos on MeTube. They gave us the offer after one of the bands they booked backed out. They’re paying for everything — flights, transportation, hotel. It’s going to be great!”

Kara smiled, happy for her brother.

She then remembered that school officially started next week.

“Wait, what about school?” She asked with a small frown.

Kal shrugged. “What about it? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Kara. I’m not going to let this pass me up. And I don’t want to be the one that holds the band back from doing this either.”

Kal was the lead singer and guitarist of his band, Killing Zod. He was also the only member who was still in high school. His bandmates, who were all in their early twenties, have gone through four lead singers before they came across him last year. They’ve waited a long time for something like this to happen. He was not about to be the one to stop their momentum just because he had to attend some pretentious boarding school.

“Mom’s going to kill you.” Kara told him as she flopped backwards on the part of his bed that was free from clothes and hygienic products. “And she’s going to kill me too, cause apparently I’m your damn keeper.”

Kal laughed. “If you’re my keeper then I am yours. Twins for life, baby sister.”

Kara rolled her eyes.

Kal insisted on calling her baby sister because even though there was only five minutes that separated them at birth, it had been so close to midnight when Kal’s fat head finally pushed through, that by the time Kara came along the hour struck and it was technically the next day, giving them two different birthdays.

“So, you’re just not going to show up to Larchmont? You know they’re going to call mom and tell her, right? You just got kicked out of Midvale for skipping, Kal. Mom is going to keep you chained up in the basement when she finds out. I’ll have to sneak in and feed you Takis or something.”

When she did not receive a response, Kara turned her head and looked at her brother. He was giving her what he thought to be puppy dog eyes, when really, he only succeeded in looking like one of those InstaOunce influencers who never evolved from the duck face.

“Please, fix your face. It’s creeping me out.” Kara told him. “And no. Whatever it is you’re planning to rope me into; the answer is no.”

Kal’s face returned to its human form as he jumped onto his bed to side hug his sister.

“C’mon, Kara. All I need you to do is call Larchmont Academy and tell them I have some disease — anything that’ll last for a few weeks. Something like…mad cow.”

Kara looked at her brother as if he were dumb. “Mad cow? What is this, the early 2000s?”

“Hey, it could still happen.” Kal defended.

“Unlikely.”

“Please, Kara. Work with me here! I want to be a famous musician. Last time I heard, they don’t need to know trigonometry. Besides, if you want to chase your dreams, sometimes you gotta break the rules, right?”

“You know the percentage of bands that actually make it to the big time, right?”

“Probably the same as female soccer players.” Kal retorted.

“Touché,” Kara conceded with a light glare. Kal laughed. “I’ll help, but you owe me.”

“Great!” Kal kissed her cheek. He then got up from the bed and got back to packing up the rest of his stuff, making sure he had all the necessary items he wanted to bring for his trip.

“You know, your girlfriend Maxine was looking for you earlier.” Kara told her brother.

“Ew,” was all the boy said, unknowingly using the word he’d picked up from said girl. “And she’s not my girlfriend.” He denied with a crinkled nose.

“She still seems to think so.”

“She wishes,” he scoffed. “Maxine is hot and the sex is not bad either, but she’s not what you’d call a good conversationalist. A fucking brick wall would be better conversation than her. After two years of dating on and off, she still doesn’t know me. Hell, I bet if you cut your hair and wore my clothes, she’d still think it was me.”

And with that thought, an idea suddenly entered Kara’s mind as an idea began to take form.

“That’s funny ‘cause she saw me from behind and literally thought I was you at first.” Kara told him. Kal laughed. “You’d think your girlfriend would be able to recognize the differences after two years together.”

“Right? It’s not hard. My ass is fatter than yours.” Kal claimed, not noticing the deadpanned look Kara was giving him. Suddenly, he perked up with a memory. “Ha, remember that one time in middle school when we switched classes so you could take my math test?” He asked.

“Yeah, and we would have gotten away with it if you didn’t hit on Mrs. Grace.” Kara replied.

Kal shrugged. “What can I say, Mrs. Grace was a MILF.” He said with a smirk at the good memory. “Hey. Why don’t you go to Larchmont as me. That’ll solve all my problems.” He joked, unknowingly voicing Kara’s thoughts even though his words were said in jest.

“It would certainly help your grades, that’s for sure.” Kara teased while her mind continued to race with an emerging plan.

“You’re crazy if you think this will work.” Kara’s third best friend, Kenny, told her with a straight face and a shake of his head.

They were at Noonan’s, making use of the gift cards they won in the beach tournament, where Kara had just filled him, Lucy, and Alex in on her admittedly insane idea of impersonating her brother so she could play soccer for Larchmont Academy’s boys team.

“I don’t know. I think she can pull it off.” Lucy spoke up while glaring at Alex, who sat across from her and noisily slurped from the near empty cup that contained a watermelon-banana smoothie.

Alex just smirked around the straw, finding pleasure in the irritation she stirred within the other girl.

“Remember when they switched classes? Everyone thought Kara was Kal.” Lucy said.

“Exactly,” Kara said with an excited point to Lucy. “Even though they saw us every day, they still couldn’t tell the difference. How can they tell that I’m not Kal when no one at Larchmont knows us? It’s foolproof.” Kara said with a spread of her hands, as if she were laying her brilliant plans out right in front of them.

“Okay,” Kenny amended with a small adjustment to his horned, black rimmed glassed. “Say you do go to Larchmont Academy as your brother. What makes you so sure that you’ll even make the team?”

Kara gives him an unconcerned wave of her hand, though if she were being honest, underneath, she was a little worried about that. Larchmont was ranked number one in the state when it came to its boys’ soccer team. Coach John Jones, an ex-premier league and ex-MLS player, was known for only accepting perfection and nothing less when he put his elite team together.

Kara knew that even with her little experience, she was a good player. She knew that she was good enough to make the boy’s and girls’ soccer team at Midvale, but she could not say — with confidence — that she was good enough to make Coach John’s winning team at Larchmont.

She did not allow herself to think on that for long.

“Larchmont’s team lost a lot of its players at graduation, so they’ll be needing fresh bodies. This improves my chances. Not making the team is not an option for me.” Kara said, determined despite her uncertainty.

“I don’t think that’s how it works, hun.” Kenny told her with a slight shake of his head.

“It doesn’t matter because this will work. I’ll make the team.” She insisted. “And to ensure that I do, I’ll need your help. I need you to ‘Mulan’ me.”

Alex snorted. “Oh, this should be fun.”

“Mulan you,” Kenny repeated, voice flat and filled with skepticism.

“We know you do drag on the weekends.” Kara announced, gathering looks from some nearby tables as she’d been a little too loud. Kara gave her blushing and glaring friend a sheepish look. “Sorry, but it’s true. We know.”

“How? I haven’t told anyone.” Kenny said.

“Oh, baby boy.” Alex said with a smirk to her friend. “You told us yourself.”

“I’ve done no such thing.” He proclaimed with an affronted look.

His friends knew he was gay, but the fact that he did drag was something he had yet to inform them of. Not because he did not trust them, but because of how supportive they’d be. They would go to damn near all of his shows and embarrass the hell out of him and unintentionally give his secret away.

He was still only eighteen, and the club he did drag at didn’t let anyone under twenty-one on the stage. He needed the money, because unlike his friends, who all come from wealthy families, he was on scholarship to attend Midvale. Most of the money he made went to his mother, but the rest he saved for when he went to college.

“You told us.” Lucy backed her friends up. “That night at my house after the last day of school. You got so drunk and started calling yourself Kennedy. Plus, the choreo you spontaneously broke into was the exact one you did at the gay bar.”

Kenny released an embarrassed groan, palm to his face. “Please tell me you guys did not go to the Hole-In-One.”

“We may have gone once or twice.” Kara told him. “They have great wings.” She made sure to inform him with a sage nod of her head.

“You cannot tell anyone there that you know me. They don’t know that I’m not twenty-one yet.”

“We figured,” All three girls said simultaneously.

“I wished you would have told us.” Lucy said.

“I trust you guys.” Kenny assured his friends. “But I know how crazy you guys can get. I’m just behaving cautiously. I don’t want to jeopardize anything. They pay me too well there.”

They girls make sure Kenny knows that they would not be the reason he lost his job, and that if he really didn’t want them there, then they would not go. 

“I love you guys.” Kenny told them. They returned the sentiment. “And as for as me making a man out of you; it shouldn’t be too hard. With your bad posture and that meat stick between your legs, you already walk like a dude.” Kenny quipped. 

Lucy and Alex laughed. Kara glared lightly at her friends.

“We’ll find a good wig, some sideburns, and do a little contouring. That should suffice. But that’s just your appearances. How are you going to convince people — social wise — that you’re a man’s man.”

Kara waved him off. “Eh, that shouldn’t be too hard. Guys are easy.”

Chapter Text

Week 0: Wednesday

“Ms. Inze, I can assure you that there is no other school better than Midvale Prep.” the man’s voice proclaimed through Kara’s phone’s speaker.

“I beg to differ, Principal Bernard.” Kara snapped at her school’s principal in her best impression of her mother, which she had gotten pretty good at from years of mocking the woman for the sole reason of irritating her. “When I enrolled my daughter, I was led to believe that Midvale valued and respected women. Or was that all a lie, Principal?”

“N-no ma’am. W-we do, ma’am.” The man stuttered.

Kara could just imagine the man sitting in his office, red faced and sweating as he babbled his attempts at keeping her (impersonated) mother, a generous donor of the school, from pulling her from the academy. With Kal gone as well, there would be no more reasons for the woman to continue to make donations.

“I highly doubt that. Your actions and the actions of that little weasel, Coach Collins, says otherwise.” Kara couldn’t help but add, earning snickers from her friends who were spectating from her brother’s bed while they ate and spilled popcorn all over.

“Ms. Inze. If there’s anything I can do to get you to reconsider…” Principal Bernard tried. 

Kara paused at that. If she could convince him to reinstate the team, then she would not have to go through with this charade.

“If you reinstate the girls’ team then I will keep my daughter enrolled in that backwards place you call a prestigious boarding school.”

“Unfortunately, Ms. Inze. This is not possible. The budget for this school year is already set in stone. I wouldn’t be able to change it even if I wanted to.” Principal Bernard said with great reluctance in his voice.

“How unfortunate that is.” Kara told him before adding, “Effective immediately, my daughter will no longer be attending Midvale Preparatory. Good day, Mr. Bernard.”

He tried once again to have her change her mind, saying that her daughter could possibly join another team.

“I hear the Cheerleading squad is looking to fill a few spots!” He rushed out as his last Hail Mary.

“I said good day, Mr. Bernard!” Kara hung up on the man.

“Since when did your mom become British?” Alex deadpanned after a moment of silene. They all burst into laughter. 

Just then, Kara dove onto the bed and right on top of her friends who all let out exaggerated groans. Popcorn spilled everywhere on Kal’s bed.

“Guyyysss,” Kara whined from where she lay sprawled out on top of her squashed friends. “I’m officially going through with this!” She said, her eyes bugged with the reality of it all. “You have to help me!”

“No, you help me!” Alex groaned. “I think your fat ass just crushed my kidneys!” She complained as she clutched at her hip.

“I barely grazed you!” Kara, whose whole ass was firmly on Alex’s stomach, defended.

Lucy, who had Kara’s heavy head on her lap, laughed at her friend’s dramatics.

“You’re laughing? I’m going to be peeing blood for a week – could very well die a painful death tonight – and you’re laughing?” Alex glared at Lucy.

“Because, dickhead, your kidneys are here, not here.” Lucy corrected with a smirk, using Kara’s own body to demonstrate the exact placement of the kidneys.

“Oh,” Alex said with a blink.

“Open the schools.” Kara snickered.

“Shut the hell up! It could have been.” Alex snapped.

With a deep, soul reaching sigh and a slow blink of his eyes, Kenny shook his head at his friends’ antics before he gracefully pushed Kara’s legs from his lap and stood from Kal’s bed.

“One, two, three, all eyes on me, children. Let’s not lose the plot here.” Kenny said as he moved towards Kal’s bedroom closet where he began to shift through the hanging garments.

“Seeing as the shenanigans are officially a go – which I still think you’re crazy for, Kara – it’s time for us to move on to the second phase.” He said before pausing on a particular shirt and pants combo that caught his attention. His head tilted in contemplation for a few beats before a slow, almost villainous smile took to his lips.

“Um,” Kara began nervously as she took in Kenny’s cheshire grin that, quite frankly, concerned her. Even Alex, who was yelling at her only moments before, grew concerned for her blonde friend, evident to the way she clutched at Kara’s waist protectively. “Second phase?”

“Kara, my dear. You wanted me to transform you, correct?” Kenny questioned with an expectant brow raised. Kara gave a vigorous nod of her head. Alex and Lucy unknowingly did the same.

Kenny’s grin deepened to almost Grinch levels. “Then let us begin.” He said ominously.

Someone – and neither of the three girls could tell you who – gulped.

“I look like Napoleon Dynamite.” Kara deadpanned as she stared in the mirror. She wore a wig of permed curls with a white shirt and blue jeans.

“You look like a pedophile.” Alex snorted while Lucy cackled with laughter.

Kenny winced. “Yeahhh. Let’s not go with that one, or else you’ll find yourself sitting across from Chris Hansen and looking confused as hell.”

“Get out me swamp!” Kara bellowed before roaring at her friends about onions. She was dressed in a bald cap, a white shirt with a brown woven vest and equally brown pants.

“You see Shrek, but I see my dad.” Lucy commented with an involuntary shudder.

Alex snorted. “Don’t insult Shrek like that.”

“Donkey!” Kara yelled at Alex.

“I’m not fucking, Donkey, you bitch.” Alex yelled back.

“But you like waffles! Donkey likes waffles.”

“Everyone likes waffles!”

“Don’t yell at me! I have layers!”

With his eyes closed and a pinch to the bridge of his nose, Kenny released yet another sigh.

“I like it.” Lucy announced with a smile as she took in Kara’s outfit.

The girl wore a full body muscle suit with a tight black shirt and equally tight, if not tighter, pants. A very prominent grimace was on Kara’s face.

“She looks like a gay Johnny Bravo. And I’m pretty sure I can see the outline of her dick.” Alex commented with her own grimace.

“You can! Oh, thank god! These pants are way too tight! I thought it fell off.” Kara melted with relief. “Oh, look. Krypto is here.” She said suddenly, looking off to the side and towards nothing.

Kenny frowned. “Isn’t Krypto your dog who died when you were twelve?”

Thump.

All three pairs of eyes looked down at the passed-out form of their blonde best friend before they shared looks with each other.

“Maybe we should just keep things simple?”

“You think?”

“Anyone have a stick?”

“Well, what do you guys think?” Kara questioned. She was dressed more simpler this time. The wig on her head was nearly a one-to-one match with her brother. Though, it did itch a little. She was dressed in a band tee with a light jacket and pants that were, thankfully, baggy and upheld by a black belt that hung in the front.

“You definitely look like, Kal, that’s for sure.” Alex nodded.

“So, you’re saying I’m ugly?” Kara lamented.

“Yes, dumbass. You look just like your ugly twin brother.” Alex replied sarcastically to her stricken friend.

“I think this might be the one.” Lucy told Kenny.

“Of course it is. This is what I’ve always had planned.” Kenny said with a smug smile.

“Then why didn’t you lead with this?” Alex questioned with an exasperated roll of her eyes. “I had to sacrifice my Reese’s Cup to wake Kara up after she passed out.”

“Every teen movie needs a transformation montage. It’s a part of the journey.” He answered with a (fake) coy smile as he tucked imaginary strands of hair behind his ears.

‘What is he talking about?’ Lucy mouthed to Alex, who could only shrug in response.

“How come you guys never told me how ugly I was!”

Week 0: Friday

A couple of days later, Kara’s car pulled into the busy student parking lot of Larchmont academy. Her hatch back was filled with her belongings and Kenny, who sat Princess in her car.

“Well, here we are.” Kenny said once Kara parked and turned her car off. They both stared out of the window and towards the bustling courtyard. The school’s colors of red and black were everywhere. From streamers, to flags, and to the school’s crest.

The school, though big, was significantly smaller than Midvale Preparatory, which received all its funding from notable and conservative alumni for over half a century. Larchmont itself has only been around since 2008, but it was fast growing. More progressive parents tended to send their kids here. Her parents, though not conservative, liked the prestige that Midvale brought, which was why they had enrolled both Kara and Kal there.

“Larchmont Academy. Your home for the next five weeks. Are you ready for this, babe?” Kenny asked as he turned his body towards his fidgeting best friend, who was officially dressed in her Kal disguise; an itchy, jet black wig of soft curls that was paired with short sideburn she would have to keep glued to her face, and a single white shirt with black soccer joggers. Kenny had wanted to do some contouring with his makeup to give her that chiseled illusion to better emulate Kal, but when he saw how shit Kara was at doing it for herself, he promptly gave up.

Then it was suggested that she be in a constant state of mew, but that quickly became painful. She would just have to go on without her brother’s more prominent jaw line and hope for the best.

“Fuck no, I’m not ready! If I’m caught, I’m fucked!” Kara told him with a nervous bite to her bottom lip.

It was one thing to plan everything, but it was a whole other thing to actually go through with it. 

The reality of it all was scary as hell.

“Yes, you would be.” Kenny agreed, earning him a light glare from his friend, who no doubt thought him to be unhelpful. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. You know how I feel about all this. There are different ways of going about this that could achieve the same results.”

“True, but nothing would be nearly as satisfying than the look on Mike’s face when finds out that the man who scored a hat-trick on him was actually his ex-girlfriend.” Kara said with a gleeful smirk as her mind conjured up images of the Midvale match that was weeks away from now. 

She would make sure to show Mike and the rest of Midvale that just because she was a girl, it did not mean she was less than.

Just thinking about it all already eased some of her worries.

“Well, I will say — the fact that I find you hot right now goes to show how good the disguise is.” Kenny told her with an appreciative look.

Kara shook her head with a small frown. “I’ll never understand your attraction to my brother.”

Kenny shrugged, unashamed by his preferences.

A knock on the passenger side window gathered their attention. Lucy and Alex stood outside Kara’s passenger windows with raised brows (Lucy) and questioning hands (Alex).

“Are we doing this or not?” Lucy questioned through the window.

“You better not be pussing out, Zorel. You’ve got me invested in this now.” Alex added, her face practically smushed against the glass that fogged underneath her hot breath.

“Fuck, okay.” Kara muttered, mostly to herself. She took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. “Let’s do this.” With that, Kara opened her door and got out.

“About damn time!” Alex exclaimed. “I thought you might have pussed out for a second.” Alex teased with a smirk as she watched Kara give her a side glare while she popped her car’s hatch.

Kara retrieved two large duffel bags filled with weeks’ worth of clothes, soccer gear, and anything else she might need for her — Kal’s — new dorm.

“I wasn’t pussing out. I just needed a moment, is all. This shit isn’t going to be easy, you know.”

“Just because you’re going to Larchmont alone, doesn’t mean you’re by yourself, Kar. We want you to prove those bastards wrong too, but If you need us, we’ll be here to help.” Lucy assured Kara with a comforting squeeze to her upper arm.

“We’ve helped you this far. Might as well see it to the end.” Kenny added despite his caveats.

“You better not forget about us.” Lucy threatened.

“I won’t.” Kara assured her friend, almost wistfully as Alex helped her strap both bags to her torso, one to her front and the other to her back.

Once it was secured, Alex smirked and gave a rough ruffle of her friend’s wig, skewing it, before saying, “Be a good boy now, Kal. Make sure to eat your veggies so you can get big and strong.”

Kara glared at her friend as she quickly tugged her wig back into its correct positioning, all the while scanning the parking lot to make sure no one saw.

Noticing her paranoia, Alex snorted. “Relax. No one saw. And if they did, they’ll probably just think you’re going bald at the ripe old age of seventeen.”

“It can happen.” Lucy said with a sage nod. “My dad went bald when he was sixteen.”

“Racism is what made your dad bald.” Alex said to Lucy, who did not dispute her words, which could very well be true.

“Anywaysss,” Kenny brought everyone’s ADHD back to the forefront. “We should let you get going so you can unpack.”

Kara nodded with a slight adjustment of the bags on her torso in a poor attempt at distracting herself from the sudden onslaught of emotions that attempted to come up. She wasn’t alone either as Kara soon found herself surrounded in a group hug. A cacophony of wet sniffles greeted both of her ears.

When the hug ended, Alex was quick to wipe aggressively at her eye to rid herself of the wet evidence of tears. She cleared her throat. “Alright, enough of that emotional shit. Get the hell outta here.”

“We’ll see you soon, Kara.” Lucy added with a small smile.

Kara gives them one last wistful smile and wave before finally turning and leaving them behind, shuffling her bag laden body through the student parking lot and towards the common.

Most of the Larchmont student body had already moved in during the span of that week. Kara was one of the last few students coming in before school officially started on Monday.

Kara walked through the courtyard that was swarming with students who were either catching up with their friends or soliciting other students to join one of the numerous clubs that were offered at Larchmont Academy.  Bypassing and ignoring the club panhandlers, she reached Windsor Hall, the male dorms at Larchmont. Thankfully, the double doors in front of the building were propped open by a trash can as guys came in and out with boxes and bags.

After checking the paper that was mailed to Kal, which contained his class schedule, room assignment, and student ID (that doubled as the dormitory access key card), Kara made her way up to the second floor and to her listed room of 234.

She paused right outside the door, staring down at the handle that was to the right of the key card access point. Once she walked through that door, that was it. She would be fully in it. There would be no turning back. She would have to see everything through to the end if she wanted to prove her point.

Kenny was right.

“I’ve literally lost my mind.” Kara muttered to herself before releasing a deep breath. She scanned her ID card and entered the room after the double beep.

Inside were three males. All six of their eyes immediately settled on her. Kara couldn’t help but feel as if she were under a spotlight. She certainly felt herself heating up under their hard gaze. The tanned skinned guy on the far right was shirtless and in the middle of folding clothes, while the other two were seemingly in the middle of a FIFA match they were playing on the 32-inch monitor that was on top of a desk.

“J-Jack Spheer?” Kara asked the boys after clearing her throat, almost forgetting to make her voice deeper to better imitate her brother.

Her eyes danced between the three. All of them looked at her as if she were invading their space. She could tell they were unimpressed with her from the way they slowly looked at each other with knowing smirks and eyes that held an unspoken conversation.

“Yeah, that’s me.” The shirtless one finally spoke up with amusement in his voice.

He was cute, Kara observed with a quick glance of appreciation at his pecs; even with the mullet he decided to wear on his head. Kara moved over to the bare twin bed that was closest to the door and dumped her bags on top with a relieved sigh.

“Kal Zorel,” Kara said with a nod of her head, hoping that the nonchalant gesture seemed cool enough. “I’m your roomie.”

An amused snort came from one of Jack’s friends. “There’s no way.” He said with a shake of his head.

Kara froze.

Had she’d already been found? It hadn’t even been a full hour since arriving on campus!

“You gotta be a freshman. I mean, just look at those chubby cheeks — like a little cherub.” The boy added with a squint of his eyes and a pinch of his fingers in Kara’s direction. The other two boys laughed. 

Kara blushed, subtly brushing her cheeks with her fingers.

“That asshole is Adam Foster.” Jack introduced with laughter in his voice, motioning to the smirking teen who had a head full of thick, shaggy brown hair. Jack then pointed to the other boy beside him, who had his hair buzzed on the sides to form a mohawk that was currently in its flat state. “And that’s William.”

“Seriously, how old are you? You look twelve.” William commented with a pointed look up and down her smaller frame. “Jack, dude. Your roommate doesn’t even have hair on his balls yet.” William joked.

“I do have hair on my balls! Lots of hair — I’m so hairy down there, it’s insane.” Kara blurted out nervously, only serving to earn herself complete silence from the other three.

“Gross.” Jack said with a small frown as he attempted to keep his eyes from his roommate’s crotch, unsuccessful with his imagining of a hairy ass bush he hoped not to ever see during the year they’ll spend together.

“I mean, It’s not hairy! Well, I do have hair there. It’s a perfectly natural thing. Everyone has it! But it’s not like a jungle or anything like that. It’s at a respectable length, I swear. I…” Kara trailed off upon seeing the disgusted looks on their faces.

Abort! Abort!

Kara winced.

She wanted to die from embarrassment. 

All eye contact was then on completely avoided.

“Whatever man, just keep that shit away from me.” Jack told her with a shake of his head as he continued with folding his clothes.

“You’re fucking weird, bro.” Adam told her with a straight face.

Kara deflated at his words.

God, she was already fucking up so hard. If this was how it was going to be then she definitely won’t make it past this week.

“Umm, so. Do any of you know when soccer tryouts start?” She decided to move on in hopes of them soon forgetting her bush blunders.

“You play soccer?” William asked skeptically, looking and sounding as if he’d heard a funny joke.

Affronted, Kara puffed out her chest. “Yes, center forward. Got a problem?” She couldn’t help but snap, still a little sensitive after being easily dismissed by the Midvale boys’ team.

“You’re so puny.” William shrugged.

“Yeah, well—" Kara stammered. “I didn’t work out much this summer, so I lost some muscle. Easy fix.”

“Yeah, sure.” Adam snorted.

Jack threw a balled-up pair of socks at Adam’s face, hitting his bottom lip and causing him to sputter from the lint residue that was left behind.

“Leave the kid alone.” Jack finally told his friends, who only looked at him with ‘are you kidding me looks’ before they returned to their paused FIFA match. “I’m a striker. William and Adam are fullbacks. Tryouts are at noon on the practice field.” Jack answered.

“Right. Cool. Thanks.” Kara said before giving a small pat to the closest duffel bag that was on her bed. “I guess I’ll start unpacking until then.”

“You do that.” Jack nodded dismissively.

And that was that.

Jack went back to folding and putting his clothes away in his wardrobe.

It was obvious these guys thought she was a complete loser. Kara was surprised by how concerned she was about that.

She never had trouble making friends, nor did Kal. But Kara as her brother? In their eyes she was some spaghetti armed twelve-year-old looking kid with a bushy ball sack.

And why the fuck did she even say that!?

Fuuuhhk!!

She might have miscalculated this whole being a guy thing.

This shit was a lot harder than she thought!

It was two hours before tryouts and Kara spent an hour of that bringing in the rest of her stuff from her car before unpacking and storing things away. The whole time, Kara felt awkward. Her roommate ignored her the entire time while his friends frequently sent glances her way while they played their video game, as if expecting her to somehow evaporate from existence.

Needing a breather, Kara grabbed her phone and silently left the room and went outside.

The urge to Face2Face her friends was strong, but she stopped herself before she did so. She didn’t want them to worry about her, especially just because her roommate and his friends seemingly did not like her. Instead, she sat on a bench not far from the boy’s dorm and tried not to think about how she might be regretting her decision.

While sitting there, she eventually took notice of a boy coming her way. He was struggling with a large flat screen TV and was swaying side to side in a way that made Kara nervous. That TV looked too expensive to be dropped.

Kara hopped up and hurried over to the pale skinned teen.

“Hey! Need some help?” She called out to the boy as she came up beside him.

The boy, whose face was drench with sweat, gave her a quick look. He wore a slight grimace under the TV’s weight.

“Please!” He told her.

Kara didn’t waste any more time in helping him. She instructed him to keep a good hold at the bottom of the TV while they slowly lowered the top for Kara to hold. They then continued inside the dorm, to the stairwell, and up to the third floor to the corner room of 312. Thankfully, the room’s door was already propped open.

Upon his instruction, they set the TV down on his bed with a groan of relief. Kara looked around and jealously took note of the room’s single bed before finally settling her eyes on the boy who stood before her, now that his face was not obstructed by a giant flat screen.

He had dark hair that was freshly faded on the sides, and his face had a wisp of a mustache that was struggling to form.

“A single?” Kara asked.

“Yeah — even has a full bath too.” He replied with a wipe of his slightly sweaty brow.

“How’d you manage that?” She asked.

The boy looked around and then shrugged “Nepotism. My mom’s the governor.”

Was it sad that Kara didn’t know who the governor was?

Probably.

“I’m kind of jealous.” Kara told him.

“I’m sure.” He said with a small smile. “This is my first year in a single. The other times I was doubled up. But after too many shit roommates, this was the first thing I asked my mom once she took her office.”

“I don’t blame you.” She’s had her share of shit roommates at Midvale. She hoped that Jack would warm up to her eventually. She would rather not stress about being in her own room while her roommate was also there. She had enough stress as is.

“Thanks for helping me. My mom usually does, but with her just now becoming governor, I’ve been moving everything in myself. I probably would have dropped the TV down the stairs if you hadn’t come along.”

“It was no problem.”

“I’m Winn, by the way. Winn Schott.” The boy introduced, sticking his hand out for Kara to shake.

“Kar-Kal Zorel.” Kara fumbled a little as she returned his handshake. Though, it seemed as if Winn didn’t notice.

“Haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?”

Kara nodded “I just transferred in from Midvale.”

Winn scrunched his face in disgust. “Midvale?”

Kara laughed. “Yeah, I know. That school sucks. Nothing but pretentious assholes. I’m hoping Larchmont will be better.”

“Eh, Larchmont can have its share of pretentious assholes, this is still a boarding school after all. But for the most part, it’s alright.” Winn told her with a shrug.

Kara takes note of the Super Friends comics that were lined along the small bookshelf Winn had above his study desk. Kara and Winn then proceeded to nerd out over that and some other things for a while. The conversation lifted Kara’s spirits and made her feel better about her prospects of being at Larchmont Academy. Their conversation over the comic series is interrupted when Winn’s phone alarm goes off.

“Shit, already?” Winn said to himself as he silenced his phone. “That’s my alarm telling me I need to start getting ready for soccer tryouts.” He explained.

Kara perked up at that. “You’re trying out for soccer?”

Winn nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been trying out for the past two years but was never picked up. Coach John is very selective. I’m hoping that this year will be it.”

“I’m trying out too!” Kara told him, excited that her new friend would be out there too. “We’re both going to make the team.” She said with determination.

Winn smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’ll see you out there, then?”

“Hell yeah.”

Chapter Text

Week 0: Friday Continued

As soon as Kara left Winn’s dorm, she returned to hers to get ready for tryouts. Thankfully, none of the boys were there.

Kara quickly got dressed into a simple t-shirt, sports shorts, and running shoes with long socks. She would switch her shoes out with her cleats when needed, until then, she placed them inside her sports bag along with a few bottled waters.

Without having coordinated it, Kara and Winn happened upon each other in the dorm’s stairwell leading to the ground floor.

“Hey!” Kara greeted him excitedly.

“Hey.” Winn replied, although his greeting was a little more subdued. Kara took notice of how clammy he looked compared to when she had last seen him fifteen minutes ago.

“Do you mind if I follow you to the practice field? I just realized I have no idea where it’s at.” Kara asked him.

Winn nodded. “Sure. No problem.”

They walked in silence towards the practice field, which was down the steep hill that was behind the dorms. They then went through the small woods that was at the bottom of the hill, and down the concrete trail that led to a short wooden bridge that went over a man-made pond. According to Winn, there were supposedly ducks and turtles that swam there. Kara, sadly, did not spot any as they went by.

Once they exited the woods, they were met with all of Larchmont’s athletic fields and buildings spread throughout acres of green.

As they continued to walk towards the soccer pitch, neither of them spoke. Though Kara has only known Winn for less than a full hour, she could tell that nerves were beginning to get to him. And if she were being honest, some of it was beginning to get to her too.

Her entire point of being here depended on her making the team. If she didn’t, she didn’t know what she was going to do. She couldn’t keep pretending to be her brother. And she couldn’t face returning to Midvale, either. Even if her failures would only be known by her friends, it would still be humiliating for her.

No.

She had to make this team.

The Larchmont soccer pitch was one of the last fields on the eastern side. The pitch itself was surrounded by a red track, and red and black stadium seats.

There were already other boys on the field when they finally arrived. They were either standing around talking or taking the opportunity to stretch – like her roommate’s two friends from earlier. The two boys sat in a circle with a few others while they contorted their bodies in different stretches. All of them wore red kits with matching shorts with accents of black.

One of Jack’s friend’s – William, Kara remembered – took notice of her and did not waste time in rapidly tapping the back of his hand to Adam’s arm, gathering his attention to look her way. As soon as Adam saw her, he smirked.

Kara gave them a nod of her head, only to receive a skeptical scoff in return before they looked away to continue with their stretches. Kara could tell that Adam and William doubted her being there. Which was kind of ironic seeing as she was dressed as Kal and was still having to face this shit.

However, Kara tried not to focus on that. She didn’t need any more added stress.

Kara and Winn found their own spot in the grass to stretch while they waited for Coach John to arrive. The longer they waited, the more nervous Winn appeared.

“How’re you feeling? You look like you’re about to puke over there.” Kara said to the boy, finally deciding to say something to ease some of his nerves.

“Am I that obvious?” Winn asked sheepishly.

Kara laughed a little. “A bit, yeah. What’s on your mind.”

Winn heaved a big sigh as he switched up his stretching exercise. “I was just thinking about how I probably don’t stand a chance. There are a lot more guys trying out this year than I was expecting.” He said with a look around at the prospects on the field.

When not counting the returning players, who all wore the team’s official red kits, there were probably about thirty other boys hoping to make the team.

Shit. That was a lot.

“There are only eight spots open. Two of them are starting positions.” Winn further explained. “Fuck – there’s no way I’m making it.” He said dejectedly.

“Chill out, man. You can’t think like that.” Kara told him after pausing in her stretching. “You’ve wanted this since freshman year, right?” Winn nodded. “And I doubt you’ve been sitting on your ass all this time, correct?” She asked next.

Winn nodded again. “I played for a private league for the last two years to get better.”

“See! You haven’t been slacking. You know what you want, so you kept at it. Don’t worry about these other guys. Only think about doing your best. We’re both going to do great.”

“You haven’t even seen me play, yet. I could be ass.” Winn smiled. Despite his words, he was already beginning to look more confident.

Kara returned his smile with a shrug. “You don’t try out three times for nothing. You obviously want this. And besides, third time’s the charm, right?”

“That’s what they say.”

Ten minutes later, Coach John finally made his appearance on the field. Walking beside him was her roommate, Jack.

Coach John was a broad-shouldered, dark-skinned man who walked with a commanding air. His eyes spoke of a man who ran a tight ship and did not put up with bullshit. His aura was miles more intimidating than Coach Collins, that was for sure.

Kara almost couldn’t believe that the man stood in front of her. She has watched almost all his premier league and MLS highlights. The retired center forward had been such a legend on the field, that they retired his kits in both leagues.

Many people had expected for Coach John to return to England after his retirement. They expected him to begin his new career as either a manager of a football club or a commentator for some sports network. Instead, he shocked the world by becoming a high school soccer coach at an American boarding school.

“That’s Coach John.” Winn filled her in as they watched the man make his way towards them. “Next to him is Jack Spheer. He’s the new captain this year. Rumor is – he already has MLS clubs looking to sign him on after he graduates.” He informed her in a low tone.

“Jack is my roommate.” Kara told him.

Winn looked over to her with slightly wide eyes and a light smirk. “I’m kind of jealous. Jack is hot.”

Kara returned his smirk. “Winny, you like boy-eees?” She sang in glee.

Winn shrugged with an amused smile. “And girls. I’m not too picky.”

“You just keep getting interesting.” Kara grinned wide just before Coach John and Jack finally met everyone in the middle of the pitch.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” Coach John greeted everyone as they all moved to group up in front of him. He held a clip board that looked miniature in his massive hands, and a shiny new whistle around his neck.

Everyone returned the Coach’s greeting with their own before he continued.

“There is a total of thirty-five of you trying out today, yet only eight spots. I’ll only be taking on the best for my team.” He informed the group.

His eyes scanned them all as he spoke. Kara had to keep herself from gulping when his eyes briefly landed on her. It felt as if he could see right through her disguise. She had to keep herself from reaching up to adjust her wig.

“I hope that everyone used their time wisely by doing some stretches because we’re going to start things off with a bit of a run.” He said before motioning over to Jack, who took a step forward to stand beside him.

“Jack here is this year’s captain.” Coach John continued. Jake gave a slight nod of his head upon his introduction, his face serious and his hands behind his back. “He’ll be leading the run. Two laps around campus grounds. That’s a little over five miles. The last twenty prospects on the field will be automatically cut. Is that understood?”

Once Coach John was satisfied with the responses he received, he gave a slight nod of his head and said, “Spheer. Take it over,” before leaving them to themselves to head back to his office.

“Alright, everyone – columns of two. Move.” Jack got straight to it.

Everyone, even the returning players, were quick to execute his command by forming two lines with Jack at the helm. Kara and Winn found themselves standing side by side. Once everyone was in position, Jack began the five-mile run.

It didn’t take long for people to start falling behind on their running tour of Larchmont’s deceptively large campus. However, no matter the amount of people that were left behind, Kara and Winn kept together. Their strides and breathing were synced and their mind’s, clear.

At some point, when they were more than half-way through with the run, Jack looked back to see who was all still with him. When his eyes fell on her, he seemed surprised to see her still there. He said nothing of it, though. Just as quickly as he looked, he just as quickly looked away and continued to run.

Afterwards, when they finally returned to the pitch, Coach John was already there waiting for them, his clipboard in hand. Winn and Kara were the sixth and seventh runners, respectfully, to make it back. They had even beaten out some of the returning players, which excited them both and made them that much more optimistic.

“You. I don’t know you. Who are you?” Coach John addressed Kara.

“Kal, sir! Kal Zorel! Happy to be here, sir!” Kara answered a little too eagerly. So much so that the Coach raised a brow. Her cheeks, thankfully, were already flushed from the run and thus masked the embarrassment she felt. Coach John wrote something on his clip board before moving on.

“Smooth.” Winn joked with a light snicker.

About ten minutes later, once all eligible prospects returned from the run, tryouts continued.

He first had them going through technical drills before splitting the group in half for a scrimmage. One side would be shirts and the other skins. Of course, with Kara’s luck, she was chosen to be a skin.

Kara’s hand immediately shot up.

“Um!” Kara spoke up, bringing all eyes on her.

“What is it, Zorel?” Coach John questioned.

“I can’t be a skin.”

“And why is that?”

“I’m-ah…I’m allergic to grass. I get a really bad rash if I have too much contact with it.” Kara lied, earning some snickers of disbelief from some of the players. Most of which were from Jack’s friend group.

Coach John move to stand in front of where Kara stood in the line of boys. He looked her up and down with a small frown as if he expected her to blow up with red, irritated blotches all over. “I’m not in the mood to accompany anyone to the emergency room today. You’ll be a shirt.” He announced to Kara’s immense relief.

The scrimmage only lasted for one period, so Kara only had forty-five minutes to prove herself to be a worthy addition to the Larchmont team. At the end of it all, Kara thought that she did pretty well, but she could quickly tell that, though she was one of the better prospects, she was not the best when compared to the returning players.

It was kind of intimidating when facing off against them. They played aggressively and with beautiful technical skill that was surely molded by Coach John throughout the years. On more than one occasion, Kara found herself being out maneuvered by a returning player.

Kara tried not to let it get to her, especially after not scoring any goals. She tried to take her own advice by still making sure to give it her best effort despite having not scored anything.

When Coach John brought the scrimmage to an end, he had them all huddle up in front of him. He did not waste any time before getting to business.

“If I call your name, you’ve made the team…Tyler, Chase, Franklin, Howell, Watkins, and Zorel. You’ll be second string.” Coach announced after reading from his clip board.

Oh shit! She did it! She made the team as--

Wait – did he say second string? That can’t be.

“Hayashi and Schott. You’ll be starting as first string.” Coach continued, confirming Kara’s thoughts. “Everyone else, thank you for trying out, but unfortunately, you did not make this year’s team. I invite you to try out next year.”

With that, the cut players left the field in a cloud of disappointment.

“As for the rest of you – I expect to see you all Monday afterschool for first practice. Get with your captain for further details. In the meantime, hit the showers. Dismissed.”

At that, majority of the players of the newly made team, broke off and headed back towards their dorms for a much-needed shower.

“This is nuts,” Winn happily exclaimed, his face bright from joy and from a sheen of sweat. “We both made it!”

Kara gave him a small smile in response. She was happy for him, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed with the results at the same time. She couldn’t stick it to Coach Collins, Mike, and the rest of the boy’s Midvale team if she was on the sidelines.

“You did great, man.” Kara told her new friend with a light, playful push to the boy’s shoulder. She meant it too. Winn had proved himself today.

Upon hearing her somber tone, Winn stared at her for a few beats while he analyzed her face. And even though they only met today, Winn could easily pick up on the fact that she was upset. “What’s up? Aren’t you happy about making the team?”

“No, I am. I am.” Kara assured him. “It’s just– whenever I thought about being on the team, it never occurred to me that I might be on reserve.”

“Funny thing is — for me, second team was all that I envisioned for myself.” Winn told her.

“Great, now I feel like an entitled asshole.” Kara threw her hands up.

Winn laughed. “No comment.” He joked before saying, “look, you’re still on the team, man. You beat out thirty other guys for your spot. And on your first try, too. That’s not nothing!”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. I didn’t mean to take away from your success.” Kara apologized.

“Oh, you didn’t. I’m still hyped. I’ve waited three years for this. Plus, my mom said if I made the team this year, she’d get me a car.”

They are interrupted by coach John, who yells out, “Zorel,”

Kara spun around a little too fast to face the man, nearly tripping over her feet and falling on her ass. She would have too, had Winn not instinctively reached out to steady her.

“Yes, coach?” Kara tried to play it off. Though, she doubted that she was doing a good job if Coach John’s raised brow was anything to go by.

“Dr. Walsh wants to see you in her office.” He informed her.

“Right now?” Kara asked, looking down at her sweaty form. She had been hoping for a shower.

“Right now.” He confirmed with a nod. “You can hit the showers later.” With that, he turned around and left them both on the field. If there was one thing Kara noticed about the man, it was that he did not waste his time with unnecessary words.

After exchanging numbers, Kara and Winn parted ways with the promise to see the other later.

Kara went back up the hill and to the main building’s front office. Once there, she told the front desk woman that she was there to see Dr. Walsh. The woman told her that the principal was out handling something and should be returning soon, but that she could go ahead and wait for her inside her office in the meantime.

Kara went in and immediately began to look around nosily. There were university certificates and diplomas hanging on the wall, perfectly aligned with the nature themed oil paintings that Bob Ross would be proud of. Tall bookshelves were fully stocked with books that would certainly put Kara to sleep. And on the desk, facing her, was a named placard for a Dr. Elizabeth Walsh.

Kara had no idea why the woman wanted to speak with her. The one thing that came to mind was that the woman had found out somehow. Just the thought of that possibility brought her nothing but heart arrhythmia, so Kara forced herself not to overthink things.

Just then, the sound of the office door opening could be heard.

Kara spun around just in time to see a short woman enter the office with a plunger, of all things, in her hands.

“Ah, Mr. Zorel. Just the person I’ve been wanting to see.” A woman, presumably Dr. Walsh, said with a small smile. She was short with dark black hair with streaks of gray and green eyes.

“I’d shake your hand, but—" The older woman lightly shook the plunger that was in her hand. “There was a faculty mixer last night, and apparently the food from one of the caterers spiced things up with a little food poisoning. As you would expect, the live-in teachers were in dire need of such a tool.” Kara wished the principal hadn’t told her that. “I hope you weren’t waiting for long.”

“I just got here, actually.” Kara informed the woman.

“Oh, good! Let me just put this up then we can proceed with things.”

Dr. Walsh went to another door that apparently led to a small, private bathroom and dropped off the plunger before thankfully washing her hands.

“Ah, now where were we!?” Dr. Walsh lightly exclaimed once she exited the bathroom. “Kal Zorel – I am Dr. Elizabeth Walsh, the principal here at Larchmont Academy.” The older woman said while she shook Kara’s hand. “You can call me Elizabeth should you wish. I’ve found that it helps me seem ‘lit’ with the youth here.” She told Kara, completely serious.

Yeah, no. Kara was not about to do that.

“Why don’t you have a seat.” Dr. Walsh instructs Kara with a hand motion towards the two chairs that were in front of her desk.

“I don’t think you want me doing that, ma’am.” Kara began as she stared at the luxury chairs hesitantly. “I’m all gross from dirt and sweat. I don’t want to mess them up. They look expensive.”

Dr. Walsh waved her off. “While considerate, there is no need for that. The chairs are old.” She explained. “I just remodeled my office during the summer break. The only thing left to replace are those chairs. I ordered new ones, but apparently there was a problem with shipping. Something about a mother goose and her children causing a twenty-car pileup? But I digress.” Dr. Walsh threw her hands up in a ‘what can you do’ manner.

Once Kara finally sat in one of the chairs, Dr. Walsh moved things forward.

“I wanted to meet you before the day was done. I like to make it a point to personally get to know all my transfer students who come to me with such thick folders.” Dr. Walsh said while pulling out said folder from her desk drawer and placing it on top, showing Kara just how thick Kal’s student file truly was.

Kara tried not to gape at it.

Jesus fucking Christ, was that really her brother’s folder?

Dr. Walsh put on a pair of reading glasses before opening the folder and going through some of the infractions listed amongst the numerous files.

“Let’s see, here…Disruption. Cheating. Fighting. Insubordination. Two positive drug tests for marijuana. And most of all, truancy.” Dr. Walsh listed off before pulling out Kal’s transcript. “Your grades aren’t anything to run home to either.”

Dr. Walsh closed the folder and leaned back in her chair, staring Kara down. Kara shifted nervously under the principal’s gaze. It wasn’t her file that was currently being scrutinized by the woman, but she certainly felt like it was.

“Model student, am I right?” Kara joked with a forced laugh.

Dr. Walsh raised a brow in return. “I wouldn’t quite say that, Mr. Zorel.” She told her. “Principal Bernard over at Midvale tried to dissuade me from accepting your transfer. He said, and I quote–

"It’s only a matter of time before Kal Zorel finds himself in a cell at Albatross Bay. You shouldn’t waste your time on him. Seriously. Don’t do it or you’ll go bald and find yourself $10,000 in the hole after a trip to Turkey.”

Kara prickled at those words on her brother’s behalf. Her brother may not have the best track record, but he was far from a criminal. Yes, her brother did all those things listed by Dr. Walsh, but he was not a bad guy. Outside of smoking weed, he didn’t do anything illegal. Kal just wasn’t interested in school, especially after he joined his band.

“Fortunately for you, Mr. Zorel, I don’t give up on students as easily.” Dr. Walsh assured her. “According to your file, it wasn’t until last year that your misbehavior truly escalated. Perhaps there is a reason for that?”

If Kal were here and cared to answer the woman, he’d tell her that he had joined a band that needed him to practice and perform. He would tell her how he never had a true interest in school. However, since Kara was there in the office on Kal’s (unknowing) behalf as his impostor, she told the principal that it was–

“Boredom,”

Dr. Walsh gave a slow nod of her head. She didn’t look convinced, but she thankfully did not push it.

“I hope Larchmont Academy will provide you with the proper stimulation needed to keep you interested — in and out of the classroom.” She then motioned towards Kara’s appearance. “I am pleased to see that you are already taking the initiative by showing an interest in sports. It will no doubt keep you busy and, hopefully, out of trouble.”

If she only knew.

“How were tryouts?” The woman asked next.

“I made the team.”

“Excellent! Coach John is the best. Quite expensive too.” Dr. Walsh laughed. Kara smiled and nodded politely.

“Well, I’ve taken too much of your time. Just wanted to check in with you and introduce myself. I’ll keep doing so throughout the year.” Dr. Walsh promised with a stern look over her glasses.

Great.

“Oh, and since you’re a transfer student, you’ll have to attend the freshman and newcomers’ orientation in the auditorium. It’s 14:30 now so you might want to start heading over there soon.”

Kara held in a groan as she stood from her seat. She had been hoping to take a shower after sweating throughout tryouts, but she guessed that will have to wait a little bit longer.

“It was nice meeting you.” Kara shook the woman’s hand again. “You won’t be hearing a peep out of me.”

As soon as Kara exited the principal’s office, she immediately smashed right into someone, causing their books to fall to the ground and scatter.

“Shit, sorry.” Kara cursed with a wince as she dropped down to help pick the books up. Kara collected a few and looked up to hand them to the stranger. That was when she finally took notice of the other girl’s face.

Kara instantly forgot herself, not able to take her eyes off the girl.

“Whoa, you’re pretty.” Kara blurted out without thought.

The pretty girl’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

A flush was quick to takeover Kara’s cheeks. “I-I mean– your shoes are pretty.” Kara tried to (poorly) save herself. “They look very, um…sturdy.”

“My shoes are sturdy?” The other girl repeated with a small, incredulous laugh.

Kara’s flush deepened and she screwed her eyes shut as she silently cursed herself for her stupidity. “I, uh — I can appreciate some good clogging shoes.”

Jesus, she was looking like an idiot out here.

“Oh god, these do kind of look like clogging shoes.” The girl said, releasing the sweetest laugh Kara has ever heard, with the girl’s green eyes crinkled and her lips pulled up, showing teeth.

Huh. She had a small gap between the two front ones.

Cute.

“It’s part of Larchmont Academy’s formal dress uniform the girls have to wear.” The shorter girl explained with an amused roll of her eyes. “Trust me. If I didn’t have to wear it today, I wouldn’t.”

Now that she mentioned it, Kara took in the girl’s appearance.

Despite it not being an official school day, the other girl was wearing the female’s formal version of the school’s uniform, which consisted of a black blazer over a white Oxford shirt with a plaid red cross tie. And a plaid red skirt with white knee-high socks that were tucked inside the shiny, black (and definitely not) clogging shoes.

God.

Did Kara just discover a new kink?

“Here are your books.” Kara said suddenly, practically shoving said books into the other girl’s arms.

At that moment, Dr. Walsh opened her office door and stared at them both. “I thought I smelt an unusual amount of teenaged sexual tension.” She quipped, causing Kara to jump far away from the other girl.

“We ran into each other.” The unnamed girl explained to the principal, almost sounding exasperated as she did so.

“I was helping her with her books.” Kara added with a small rub to the back of her neck.

“Isn’t that how it always goes?” Dr. Walsh asked with a raised brow before turning her attention to Lena. “Lena, are you ready?”

“Yes, mother.”

The principal opened her door further to allow for the girl to pass through. Lena went, but not before she told Kara, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

When noticing that Kara was still standing there well past Lena’s disappearance, Dr. Walsh made a shooing motion with her hand.

“Run along now, Mr. Zorel. You’re stinking up my hallway with sweat and hormones. Might want to stop by the nurses’ office on your way to the auditorium. Grab some condoms. I won’t have any more teenaged pregnancies this year, especially not one involving my daughter.”

Kara blushed and made a hasty exit.

At the assembly, Lena was there. She spoke to all the new freshman and transfer students as Larchmont Academy’s elected student body president. Assisting and standing next to her was the vice president, Samantha Arias.

Lena welcomed them before she went over the uniform policy, curfew, and off campus privileges for all grade levels. As well as upcoming events for the month and later into the school year, like the debutant carnival Kara had completely forgotten about.

Her mother had signed her up to work the event as a debutant. Which meant that she had to attend a few meetings before then as they prepare for it. With everything she has going on, going to a debutant meeting – something that she never wanted to do in the first place – was not on her list of things to do.

This was going to be a problem.

For the rest of the assembly, Kara barely gave the two student body representatives her attention. Not because she didn’t want too, as she was sure it was all important information, but Kara just couldn’t get over how beautiful Lena was.

At some point, Lena’s eyes fell on her. Even from where she sat towards the back of the auditorium, Kara could make out the slight smile that lifted the corners of the girl’s lips while she continued to talk.

Kara had returned it before Lena was forced to break contact to answer some freshman’s question.

After the assembly, as Kara followed the flood of freshman hurrying to leave the auditorium, Kara heard a female’s voice calling out, “hey, new kid!” Kara turned around to see Lena making her way towards her, walking through the vacated row of seats to catch up with her.

“Hey.” Kara returned with a raise of her hand.

“Hey.” Lena greeted with a smile in reply. “Where are you headed?”

“I’m headed back to the dorms.” Kara answered while they both walked out of the auditorium and into the school’s common. “I’ve been stewing in my own sweat for too long. I need a shower.”

Lena nodded her head seriously. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, as most guys could go the whole day smelling like onions without a care, but I’m glad that you’re at least self-aware about it.” The student president smirked playfully.

Kara smiled with a light laugh. “I’d normally just mask the scent in body spray, but I forgot to pack it.” Kara joked, earning a laugh from Lena.

“So, you’re from Midvale,” Lena stated.

Kara nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“You know, after you left, my mom told me to watch out for you. She said you were a bit of a troublemaker.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a troublemaker, per se. Just misunderstood — no one at Midvale got me, so they just label me as trouble instead.” Kara said in her brother’s defense.

“Wow.” Lena smirked, “That was so emo.”

Kara rolled her eyes, with a small smile. “Alright, asshole. If I knew I was going to be insulted, I would’ve kept walking. And to think I complimented your sturdy shoes.”

Lena laughed and was seemingly about to say something else when one of Lena’s friends, an Asian girl, called her name. With a quick look over her shoulder where her two best friends stood, Lena yelled for them to give her one minute, before turning back to Kara.

“So, trouble. I never actually got your name.”

“It’s Kar–“ Kara was quick to fake a violent cough at her mistake.

She has got to get used to saying her brother’s name when introducing herself or shit was going to get weird real fast.

Lena raised an amused brow at the sight. “As student body president, it is my duty to inform you that dying on school grounds is against school policy.”

“And you would have just watched me die too.” Kara accused with a light glare.

Lena shrugged with a not so innocent look.

Kara rolled her eyes; this girl was cheeky.

“My name is Kal, but I’m not sure you knowing that is a good thing.”

“I think you’ll live, trouble.”

“Lena!” Lena’s other friend, Samantha, Kara remembered from the orientation, called out.

It was Lena’s turn to roll her eyes. “I should go. None of my friends seem to have any patience.” Lena said the last part loudly towards said friends, who both flipped her off in response. Kara laughed.

“I know the feeling.” Kara said, thinking of her own friends.

“I’ll see you later?”

“Maybe,” Kara said with a small smile.

“You will.” Lena promised with a bite to her bottom lip before leaving Kara where she stood.

Kara watched Lena leave with her friends as they all walked towards the student parking lot and off to the unknown. Once she was out of sight, Kara shook her head.

Though Lena called her trouble, Kara had a feeling that Lena was nothing but that.