It had been a week.
A hilariously chaotic week filled with the stress of settling in and classes and the stress of constantly separating Skye from Amelia. Asides from that, her class was pretty chaotic itself. In a very chill way that is. Everyone had this family vibe they gave each other. She realised almost everyone had social media influence. What surprised her was the fact that one of them was even a prince. Her teachers were nice, welcoming and even the strict one had a soft spot for the students in the class.
She still had a hard time understanding how a hostel could look like an hotel suite till she went to school that Monday morning. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the building.
The school building was tall and wide, painted in a beautiful mix of wine and white that made it look like a piece of art rather than just a place of learning. Its design was so perfect it could make an artist emotional without anyone saying a word.
The classrooms looked futuristic, with smart boards covering the walls and sleek desks fitted with digital screens. Everything felt modern, clean, and designed for the future.
The science lab looked even more impressive. The beakers and test tubes were neatly arranged, each engraved with the school's name. Shelves were filled with almost every chemical imaginable, all carefully labeled and organized, making the lab feel more like a professional research center than a normal school laboratory.
The most intriguing part was that this school wasn't even expensive enough to come as a school with such modern facilities. Her father was even skeptical because of its fees but she was bent on coming to the school and she couldn't be any happier she was there.
Asides the modern aesthetic, she couldn't trade anything for being allowed to dress how she wants without people judging with their eyes. She could be herself without worrying about people or mentally preparing for glares and spite. Everyone here was either used to seeing things like this or just to unbothered to care.
Then, there was the atmosphere. It was fun and free. The school had strict anti bullying rules and Kadesha didn't even understand why they needed it. Noone was bullying anyone cause honestly, they were too busy to. Even their scholarship students could talk to even the richest students. It was like in this school, everyone was just who they were.
★
Basketball court
The evening air was cool. The setting sun painted the sky in shades of purple and gold, covering everything in a soft warm glow. The sound of a basketball bouncing echoed across the empty court. As Kadesha walked closer, she noticed a familiar silhouette shooting clean shots into the basket. When she got nearer, she saw Victoria — her stylish, masc-presenting best friend — dressed in fitted sportswear and playing a solo game like she owned the court.
"There she is." Kadesha teased and Victoria laughed and brushed loose strands of hair behind her ear. She tossed the ball to Kadesha. Kadesha got on the court and started bouncing the ball. She made to move around Victoria but Victoria was faster, intercepting quickly and making a clean shot.
"I haven't played in a while." Kadesha quickly defended herself.
"You don't play at all." Victoria said with a grin. "You only play whenever I force you to." She added and tossed the ball to Kadesha again. "I'll go easier, okay?" She said and Kadesha scoffed.
She moved fast, dating around Victoria and shot the ball, only to have it collected midair by Victoria who took a long shot and nailed a perfect basket.
"I wasn't in the mood for basketball." Kadesha defended.
"Of course." Victoria laughed and picked up the ball. "Yeah, let's go." She said and picked up her jacket and wore it. She kept the ball back in the storage room as the two exited the court.
"I really want to see this glowing pond you were blabbing about." Kadesha said with an eye roll.
"You still think I edited that video?" Victoria asked with a smirk and Kadesha's expression already answered her question. She let out a small laugh. "You should know that Victor would never allow a video to be edited that much." She reminded.
"Still not believing it till I see it." Kadesha said firmly and Victoria raised her arm in defeat as they turned a corner.
"I need my coffee--"
"Ugh." Kadesha groaned loudly and Victoria laughed. "What are you? Sherlock Holmes? Who the heck likes coffee?"
"Who the heck doesn't?" Victoria argued with a laugh and pulled Kadesha towards the nearest cafe. "Just behave like a freaking composed human and follow me." Victoria said through gritted teeth as she tried to pull a reluctant Kadesha into the cafe.
"As your what? Coffee holder?" Kadesha refused
"I'll get you a chocolate drink." Victoria said and Kadesha immediately straightened up and walked into the cafe before Victoria herself. Victoria rolled her eyes and walked in after Kadesha.
†
Kingston West Park
They both stopped in front of the school's park. Victoria turned to face Kadesha. "Don't scream, okay?"
Kadesha gave her a 'what the heck?' look.
"What am I? 10?" She asked rhetorically, and Victoria just shrugged before leading her deeper into the park.
A cool breeze greeted them first, brushing against their faces, carrying the faint sound of rushing water. They moved behind several trees, the soft glow of blue light growing brighter with each step. Around the last tree, the breathtaking view of a glowing pond came into sight.
It flowed from a small waterfall, lined with lights that traced the water down to the pond below. Built-in lights under the clear water made it shimmer, while tiny sea creatures swam lazily, creating ripples that made glowing water plants drift across the surface. The view was out of this world.
"Told you," Victoria whispered in Kadesha's ear. Kadesha wanted to punch the victorious smirk off her face—but all she could do was stare.
"Pick your jaw off the floor princess." A voice snapped Kadesha out. A voice she immediately traced to the other side and a smile appeared on her face as she recognised her sister in a man's body, hair dyed red and braided back with a strong feminine energy.
"Victor!" She called out with a smile and walked over to him before hugging briefly.
"Do you believe the video now? I can't believe you don't trust my editorial skills." Victor said with an offended look and started fake sobbing.
"Oh come on, that's not true. It's Victoria I don't trust." Kadesha cooed and Victoria just glared at her.
"Apologise with a spa date." He whimpered and Kadesha gave him a blank look. He batted his long lashes and gave her a cute pleading eyes. "Pwetty pwease?"
"You're both insufferable. Fine." Kadesha groaned and Victor snapped his fingers happily.
"Why are you even here again?" Victoria asked her twin. Victor swept his hair aside with an unnecessary confidence.
"Stalking. And I got an amazing shot of Kadesha staring at the pond. It's so cute." He said and Kadesha face palmed while Victoria laughed loudly.
"Two annoying carbon copies. I'm out of here." She said and left while the twins gave each other a high five before taking the other direction
★
School Cafe
Nothing like a chilled chocolate drink with wafer sticks and whipped cream to step down on a Monday afternoon during recess. What was even better was when you weren't the one paying. Kadesha sipped her drink, humming like it was more delicious than it was while Victoria was glaring at her.
"You're insane, do you know?"
"Insanely in love with chocolate." Kadesha said with a smirk while Victoria rolled her eyes.
"Keep treating it like it's your lover, okay? This is why you're still single." Victoria muttered and drank from her soda. Kadesha glared.
"You're single too." She reminded her.
"Whatever. Have you thought about it?" Victoria asked. Kadesha took a bite of her wafer and nodded.
"You wanted me to join your dance group, right? Well, I love the idea behind it, and the aesthetic, but you know better than anyone that I have another identity to protect." She explained.
"I knew you'd say that. So I have a proposition. We have an event this Friday. Our first event outside school. Just do that one first, then you can decide if you want to continue or not. Please." Victoria pleaded. Kadesha took a deep breath and nodded. Victoria smiled so wide that Kadesha had to step back with a raised eyebrow.
"For someone with a small mouth, you sure have a wide smile." She said and drank from Victoria's drink and ran out of the cafe with her drink before Victoria could do hers back.
★
Football Field
The evening came soon as the sun began to set. A group of people say by the bleachers talking and laughing and some even dancing to the music that was booming out of a MP. Kadesha slowly approached and sat beside Victoria. Most of the people there were not even part of the group, just friends that everyone trusted enough to be there.
Victoria clapped, getting everyone's attention. "We have a new dancer pending to join. Please welcome Kadesha." She said and everyone clapped. She recognised a few faces from class but she didn't know some of them, especially the guys.
"So, asides Cody, Choco, Victor Lewis and I, you don't really know anyone else. That calm looking girl with the cornrows is Ava. Don't let the calm face fool you. That guy with the packed hair is Reggie. He's a flirt, avoid him. Then this cutie is Dean. Wester isn't here. But that's basically everyone." Victoria introduced.
Kadesha nodded and waved at the new faces and they returned the greeting. Victor stood up next and stood beside Victoria in the front. He started playing Tattoos by Loren.
"This is the main song we are using for the event." He said and started playing the song from the MP. "So I'll play it and you guys can first vibe to this before we talk about arrangements." He said and the twins went back to sit.
"Yeah Vic, the group, Kings and Queens, yeah? It's an association of masc girls and femme boys?" Kadesha asked and Victoria shook her head.
"That's what fans says. But it's literally just an association of dancers. We believe that we can bring people together through dance and music. Why we mostly have mascs and femmes is because we –Victor and I– wanted to create it using people who constantly have to go through segregation in one way or the other. So since we are promoting unity, we first wanted to bring a group of people who usually aren't accepted together, you feel me?" Victoria explained and Kadesha mouthed an 'oh' and nodded.
After the song played once, rehearsal started. The bass thumped through the field, rattling the floor and vibrating in their chests. Ten dancers weaved and popped across the space, fists, feet, and hips moving sharp and loud—but not perfect, not yet.
Amelia stumbled on a twist and almost went down. Laughter burst out, light and teasing. She shot everyone a glare and Victoria just grinned like she'd been waiting for this. Cody laughed so hard she missed a beat, and Kadesha shook her head, smirking. Victor reached out a hand, steadying Amelia, and she rolled her eyes but smirked anyway, ready to jump back in.
Ava spun across the floor, landing a step ahead of Lewis. Reggie threw in an unexpected pop mid-sequence, and Dean slid dramatically, brushing past Wester, who froze mid-pose with a little laugh. Amelia, determined not to be outdone, added a tiny freestyle flourish, and Victoria mouthed nice one from the corner. Everyone noticed—it was ridiculous, perfect, and completely them.
When they finally nailed the tricky sequence together, cheers erupted. Hands slapped for high-fives, someone clapped so hard it echoed, and Cody threw his head back, letting out a triumphant whoop. Even the little wins—Kadesha landing a sharp stomp, Victor's smooth glide—got their own mini celebrations.
By the end, sweat dripping, lungs burning, they were all laughing and grinning.
"That was incredible. Let's go to Paradise. Bills on your leaders." Dean shouted and everyone cheered before the twins could protest.
"Hey!"
"We never agreed to that." The two protested but the group was already headed to the restaurant. They looked at each other and laughed before catching up with their group.
†
Paradise Restaurant
The group was sitting outside the school restaurant, stuffing their faces with ice cream and fries. They were still recounting each other's missteps and their choreo, laughing while arguing.
"I think we should add one more song, maybe like an ending song, you get?" Ava suggested and dipped a fry in ketchup. Victoria nodded.
"How about Flow? By KDA?" He asked and everyone turned to him.
"That singer that covers her face?" Dean asked and Victor nodded. Everyone looked at each other.
"Come on. And besides, it's not we are doing any infringement, are we? And the song really gives that beat." Victor said and everyone nodded subtly. "And you can't deny not liking her a little." He teased Lewis.
"Just a tiny bit." He admitted proudly and everyone laughed except Amelia who just scoffed.
"How do you like someone you haven't even seen? The only thing we know is her age actually. Asides that, she might just be a bit for all we know." She scoffed.
"I don't think it's right to judge a person like that you know." Kadesha defended immediately.
"What kind of coward hides behind a mask?" Amelia said and popped a fry in her mouth.
"It's wrong to judge a person without knowing their reasons Amelia." Kadesha said, her tone taking a more serious and sharp edge. The tension was slowly building and the fun topic was slowly becoming something something more serious.
"She wants to be accepted but isn't ready to accept herself. What a great reason." Amelia said.
"Okay, can we stop now?" Victoria intercepted but Kadesha wasn't having it.
"You think it's about not accepting herself? You're being completely one sided without even knowing reasons." She said as her grip on the ice cream container tightened.
"She avoids the question during interviews and doesn't make public appearances. What is she? An ex-convict? No matter, it's definitely not a cool accessory cause she would have taken it off. She's a coward who's just hiding." Amelia said and Cody claimed a hand over her mouth which finally shut her up.
Kadesha gave her a long, clearly furious glare before walking out of there. She needed to leave before she did something that she would regret later. She went to the park, which was the closest location to the restaurant.
Damn Amelia, damn her. She was lucky the school had a strict policy against violence. Otherwise she would have punched silence into her before she could complete her stupid statement. She was boiling hot and really needed to cool off.
She weaved through the trees and came in view with the pond. She sat down on one of the benches and started taking deep breaths, fighting the tears that threatened to spill.
Why did Amelia's words have to be so real though?
Why did they have to sting her so much?
She covered her face with her hands and tried to control her emotions. Her breathing started to slow down and the tears that once threatened to spill were completely gone, yet, her hands still remained on her face.
A softer hand wrapped around her wrist and removed her hand off her face. It was Cody.
"Hey Tiger. You okay?" She asked and sat beside Kadesha, respecting her space. Kadesha nodded.
"Yeah. Just that, why is she so infuriating?" Kadesha said as her anger threatened to resurface. Cody laughed.
"She got an earful already. She won't be saying anything any time soon. But you took it so seriously. Why?" Cody asked.
"I know KDA. And what Amelia said was just accusatory. I don't like it." Kadesha explained, hugging herself. Cody nodded in understanding. "And I did want to ask though. You and your sister look so alike yet so... different." Kadesha said and Cody laughed.
"Skye? Well yes. Most guys think I'm here twin brother." Cody joked and Kadesha smiled. "Of course I love being a lady, just don't like the idea of being like that. I'm more into street dressing you know?" Cody explained and Kadesha nodded thoughtfully.
"How many girls have flirted with you by mistake?" Kadesha joked and both girls laughed.
"A lot actually. Some still continue even after I tell them I'm a girl." Cody answered and chuckled. "Yet the one I liked couldn't even tell I was flirting with her." She scoffed and Kadesha threw her head back and laughed.
"Really?" Kadesha asked.
"Yeah. Roxie didn't exactly think I liked her." Cody explained.
"And now, you guys are together." Kadesha teased and Cody grinned.
"Two fucking years. It's been a bliss really. Wait, how did you get me to say all that?" Cody sked, suddenly realising Kadesha made her talk about her relationship without even trying. Kadesha shrugged.
"Wow. I'm not saying anything again. Let's head back." Cody said and stood. Kadesha followed suit and they started leaving .