The Shadow Circle

Chapter-1

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a really bored girl with above average intelligence must be in want of trouble.

I'm here to tell you that the aforementioned truth is not the truth. Trouble is a magnet for bored girls with above average intelligence. But of course my sister, Arianna, didn't want to hear any of it after she came home from the parent-teacher conference with a sour look on her face.

"Hi!" I chirped.

"We need to talk," she said in a threatening tone, brushing her sleek blonde hair out of her face. Arianna was a classical beauty. She had long blonde hair, porcelain skin and sharp blue eyes, exactly like mother. Me, on the other hand? I took more after my Israeli father. I had tanned skin and thick dark hair. Sometimes people would ask if I was adopted whenever I was out with Ari and mother.

"Are you positive? Maybe we can talk later?" Like when there isn't any steam shooting out of your ears.

She huffed. "So I met your teachers," she said.

"I assumed you would," I nodded. "That's what parent teacher conferences are held for."

"Don't act smart now," she warned.

"Who said I'm acting?" I asked with a tone of false incredulity.

She sighed, "The teachers did mention you had an ego problem and a superiority complex."

I only shrugged in response. It was probably true. Sadly, I didn't really care enough to dwell on it.

"So we need to talk about your little adventures in school," she said.

"I'm a legal adult," I said, slightly annoyed. "Stop babying me."

"No legal adult carries powerful magnets into the physics laboratory. Want to explain that first?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, yeah. It was a prank, nothing major. Nobody even got hurt so I don't really understand why you guys are raising a hue and cry about it-"

"Why did you do it?" She asked with exaggerated patience.

"I was bored," I admitted. It was funny though, every instrument that came in the magnetic field went haywire. I nearly giggled as I recalled the students and the teacher scurrying across the lab to find an instrument that worked. Some guy thought there were ghosts too.

Well, I always believed that if life wasn't entertaining enough, you're not living it right.

"And you thought the best way to entertain yourself was to mess with an entire class?!" She demanded.

"Well...yes," I answered. "How can you not find something like that entertaining?!"

Ari's palms curled into fists. "You can't keep doing stuff like this, Kes! You'll be off to college in a few months! You can't keep acting this immature!"

"I'll mature when I'm in college. Why not enjoy till then?" I countered. "And it wasn't really my fault, what do you expect if you leave a bored kid with above average intelligence in a physics lab-"

"Above average, huh? You're being modest," she said sarcastically.

"Glad you appreciate my efforts, this entire thing is too tiring. Lowering my intelligence to fit social acceptance criteria can be quite taxing," I said drily.

"That's why I put you in sociology, not that it worked," she said.

"I thought sociology was about how to get along with people," I admitted.

"You're the only one who would need a class to tell her how to get along with people," she sighed.

"They have classes for that?"