Chapter 1: A Troublesome Neighbour

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Mornings were most definitely not Sophie's favourite part of the day. No one wanted an alarm blaring in their ears. No one wanted to leave the peaceful haven of their bed.

Maybe she was exaggerating, but that was beside the point.

She curled deeper into her covers and had her hand ready. Right on cue: RIIIIIING! Her alarm went off, and she smacked the snooze button, burrowing farther into her soft blankets.

She decided to close her eyes for a few moments more. The word school echoed around in her head, not exactly settling in. She was starting high school at Foxfire. Why they named their school after glowing fungus? She didn't know. Yet it was known worldwide because of its prestigious title.

Sophie sighed and stretched her stiff body as thoughts filled her head. Sunshine streamed into her room through the small cracks of her curtains. 

Sadness clouded her body as she wondered about what could've been with her old family. Yes, she loved Grady and Edaline, but it hurt to think someone didn't want her as her daughter.

Her adoptive parents had decided to move to a new neighbourhood, deciding that it would be best for all of them to have a fresh start. The Sencen family suggested it since they already resided there. Grady and Edaline weren't close with them, but once the idea came, they agreed. 

The area was very extreme, with expansive properties and a few enormous houses. The Sencen's yard was about the same size as theirs and sat vertically across from them. So far, all she knew was that they had a son, and he was terrible at playing rock 'n' roll.

And that his name was Keefe. 

Somehow the troublemaking teenager had gotten her number and called her many, many times. She always left him on voicemail. Oh, and he enjoyed throwing stuff at her window. 

The sound of banging at her window caused her to get out of bed and begrudgingly slide it open. Today Keefe was throwing potatoes at her window. 

For some reason, Grady and Edaline never gave Keefe a hard time about the messes he made. Well, sometimes Grady did, but Keefe would always come over and clean it up.

"Hello?" Sophie called down, speaking her first words to him. He always called her 'Foster,' and she swore he was a part-time stalker. How he knew her last name? She didn't want to know. 

Keefe ducked out from behind a bush wearing black and white track pants, a humongous t-shirt, spray-painted golden chains, A red cap he wore backward, and about ten bracelets on each arm.  

Sophie was ninety-nine point nine percent sure he was trying to be:

A) A Hippie.

B) A Rock Star.

C) A Rapper.

"Sup!" He shot her a peace sign, and she scowled.

His hair was crazy and poofing out at the sides because his hat sat a little too tightly on his head. The outfit wasn't the best, but . . . he was a good-looking guy—Not that she'd ever admitted it to anyone.

His ice-blue eyes pierced into her simple brown ones. It reminded her that almost ninety-nine point nine percent of Foxfire had some form of blue eyes. And the point one percent was her, with her ugly brown ones. 

Keefe smirked as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and leaned them up against the tip of his nose.

"Uh, you know we have school today," Sophie pointed out and jerked a finger towards his hippie outfit. At least they could wear whatever clothes they wanted to at this school. She was starting her first day at Foxfire, a few days later than the actual first day. Sophie had an incident on her real first day, and Grady and Edaline had to make a few arrangements. Foxfire had an advanced curriculum and highly educational studies for only the top prodigies. 

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