Chapter 11

For a few days now I had been trying to avoid Brax as much as humanly possible. Recently, within several seconds of us being anywhere near each other, we ended up arguing about school and my future. He wanted me to apply to Summer Bay High but I was resisting as much as I could, my stubborn Braxton genes kicking in. Brax didn't give up easy either though.  I was constantly telling him to drop the matter and he was relentlessly bringing it back up, hounding and badgering me about it all of the time whenever I was with him to the point where we both ended up getting angry about it.

I knew that my brother just wanted what was best for my future. During our debates, I noted that he had some very valid points on why I should go back to my studies and pick up where I left off at age thirteen. I understood that it was important to him that I was given an education, especially considering he was never given the choice when he was my age and in my shoes. This was a very important subject to him and I could see that it meant a lot.

All the same, I just couldn't face up to the thought of school. I wouldn't be able to hack it. Not after all this time. The idea of going back to my education and sitting in a class of thirteen-year-olds filled me with dread and made my stomach churn. I lay up at night worrying about it, tossing and turning and resisting the urge to fling open my bedroom window and run for the hills, away from all the crushing pressure building up in my chest. No. I couldn't go to school. It was only a little while longer until my sixteenth birthday. Surely I could hold out till then... right?

As a distraction, I busied myself with spending my time in Angelo's, hanging out with Kyle and Phoebe and Olivia. Kyle seemed like the only person who was completely impartial to the whole matter of me going to school. Brax had got Heath, Bianca, Ricky, Ash and Phoebe onside, but Kyle had remained neutral. He didn't bother me about it. He said nothing about how going back was 'for the best' or how getting my HSC's would 'open loads of doors for me', or that Brax was 'just looking out for me' and 'had my best interests at heart'.  I felt like I could talk to Kyle without being judged or pressured. Most importantly, the conversations we had weren't centered on school. They were just normal, average brother/sister conversations.

 My brother had carried out the promise he’d made the first night I came to the bay to teach me music properly. He ran me through the basics of playing a guitar and then helped me with writing my own music. Kyle was self-taught in this field too, so he could only teach me what he’d learnt himself. That was fine by me. I was just enjoying the time I spent with him.

Olivia had aided in being another brilliant diversion from what I had to deal with at home. She helped me to forget all about my worries by just sticking by me and being a good friend. We went for days out together and had fun at the beach or the surf club or the Diner. She took me out to Yabbie Creek and we entertained ourselves with watching films and generally having a laugh.

Most nights she worked as a waitress in Angelo’s, so I took to keeping her company on her shifts and helping out whenever I could, even though Kyle told me he couldn’t officially give me a job without me talking to Brax first, who we all knew was no way going to let me start working at Angelo’s rather than focusing on my education first and foremost. Nevertheless, my oldest brother couldn’t stop me from hanging around at the restaurant when Olivia was rostered on and assisting when I could. Well… sometimes assisting. Other times, I was just bored and playing around.

“Hey, you’re doing it wrong!” Olivia whined, laughing as I messed around with a ball of pizza dough in the kitchen. We were at Angelo’s and I had accompanied her to her Sunday morning shift after a particularly bad argument with Brax at breakfast.

 In an attempt to cast the quarrel with my brother out of my mind, I had decided to be in high spirits. I was in one of my annoying, playful moods and was basically just clowning around and distracting my friend during her shift. I loved the way Olivia took things relatively serious and was always trying to follow the rules. She got this cute, little annoyed crease between her eyebrows whenever I stood in the way of her and her work. I found that kind of amusing, especially when I was bored.

“Nah, I reckon this is exactly how it’s supposed to look.” I said in a deadly serious voice, hiding a smirk as I squished the dough into three different balls and began juggling with them. “Hey, hey, Ollie! Look at this!”

 “That’s just fantastic, Lex.” She retorted sarcastically, giving me a droll stare, though I could tell she wanted to laugh really. “Now, come on. Stop with the monkey business. We’re supposed to be kneading it.”

“‘We’? I don’t work here.” I reminded her, my brows raised as I grinned down at my friend from where I was sat back on the counter. I don’t think I was supposed to be sat there, but if that was the case, I didn’t really care. I had familiarized myself with the rest of Angelo’s staff and chefs. They mostly left me to it when I was with Olivia. I guessed that being a Braxton sister or a friend of one had its benefits and gave you a free pass to mess around in the kitchens whenever it suited you.

“Well, I do!” Olivia steamed, putting out her palm the way a mother might to a child when they want them to surrender something. “And I don’t want to lose my job. So hand over the dough and nobody gets hurt.”

“What will you do if I don’t?” I teased, holding the dough just out of her reach. I had a slightly bigger build than Olivia who had a petite figure and I was almost definitely stronger. I practically dwarfed her when I was perched up on the counter.

Olivia sighed and crossed her arms, her glinting brown eyes narrowing at the challenge. She had a smudge of flour on her forehead from where I’d thrown it at her a moment ago, during a mini food-fight that I’d instigated out of boredom.

“If you don’t give me the pizza dough, then I’ll stab you to death with a rusty spoon.” She threatened. “It’ll be a blunt one, so you can expect a slow and painful ending.”

I hooted with delight. I loved it when Olivia’s dry, warped sense of humor came out. It had taken a while to entice it out of her, but over the time we’d spent together she’d started to relax and let go a lot more. She was coming out of her shell and I realized that I really liked her personality when she wasn’t hiding it away and being quiet. It clicked well with mine. I thought that she should be more care-free and playful more often.

“Olivia Turner, you are one funny girl!” I boomed.

“I must be if I’m friends with you.” She fired back with a shyly hidden grin.

I frowned impishly and bumped her shoulder. “Who ever said we were friends, eh? I just tolerate you out of pity.”

Olivia rolled her eyes at me. “Right, enough with the monkey business, Lex! Give me the food.”

Grinning, I passed it to her. Still flustered, she continued to grumble under her breath.

“I swear, your tomfoolery is going to get me fired…”

“You use the weirdest phrases I’ve ever heard.” I observed with a snicker, tickled by Olivia’s uniqueness. I don’t think I’d ever met anyone like her before. She was very work orientated, and strong and independent with a fierce intelligence far beyond my own, but she was sweet and kind too, as well as easy to annoy and frustrate. I imagined that she was the kind of girl who had planned out her entire life in an ABC order. 

I shrugged as I hopped off the counter. “Besides, just let the boss try and fire you. I’d have something to say about that.”

“Hmm.” Pressing her lips together, Olivia quietly tilted her head to the side as she took the rest of the dough from me and began kneading it against the spot where I had been sat on the work surface. 

“What?” I questioned, knowing that she was withholding an opinion.

Olivia shrugged. “Nothing.”

“No, go on.” I urged. “If you’ve got something to say, then say it. I’m not going to take offense.”

Olivia tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as her eyes briefly flitted up to meet mine. In a careful voice she said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, Lex, but the way I see it, if Brax wanted to do something, I don’t think you could stop him, even if you tried your hardest. His mind isn’t easily changed by anyone and not many people can stand in his way. Brax is the kind of person who always eventually gets what he wants. One way or another.”

My smile fell as I drew my eyes away from Olivia’s flour-stained face and focused on the dough she was shaping into a pizza.

“Yeah, well… not this time.” I muttered, finally becoming serious again as my bravado and gusto drained away at her truthful words of wisdom.

Olivia offered me a sympathetic smile and nudged me with her hip.

“Want to help me with the toppings?” She asked in her gentle voice, motioning to the now completed pizza dough base.

 I begrudgingly returned the smile. “Yeah. Sure.”

Just then, Brax walked into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of black, red and white surf shorts and a tight black vest top that had a V-neck low enough to reveal his ‘BLOOD AND SAND’ tattoo. My brother’s eyebrows were drawn together and his clenched jaw completed the dangerous, bad-boy look.

“I thought I’d find you here.” He declared, his hands resting against his hips as he stared me down from across the kitchen.

Upon his entrance, the rest of the kitchen staff quickly jumped into their jobs, functioning overtime. This included Olivia. She as well as everyone else became fixated on her work, not daring to look up or pay attention to mine and my brother’s exchange.

I couldn’t help disliking the way that my brother had that kind of fear-factor effect on people. I wondered how much power and influence and control he really had and if he believed that he had me under his thumb as well. Was I just another person who he could dictate and tell what to do? Did he expect me to listen and obey and fall into line like everyone else did? If so, he was in for a rude awakening. No one could push me around.

I shrugged and stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets. “Well, you’ve found me. Now what? Are you here for a repeat of this morning? Do you want to have another go at me by telling me about how I’m throwing away my potential?”

My older brother sighed and shook his head. “Actually I just wanted to clear the air. I realize I’ve been on your back lately and that’s why we’ve not been getting along. I was hoping we could sort it out.”

“What did you have in mind?” I asked, softening slightly when I saw that there wasn’t that same hardness to my brother that had been there at breakfast when he’d yelled at me. Maybe he really was trying to make amends. “Are we going to sit in a circle, holding hands whilst we have a D and M?”

My brother smirked and snorted. “I just want to talk, Alex.” He nodded for me to follow him out of the door. “Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”

Taking a chance on Brax, I followed him as he led me out of the kitchen and across the restaurant, down the stairs and out of the surf club. I carried on, trailing at his heel as he strode down to the beach with me in tow. Then he stopped abruptly and told me to close my eyes as he covered them with his giant, paw-like hands.

“Where are you leading me and what’s this all about?” I quizzed in confusion as I was blindly guided by my brother to some spot on the beach. I could hear the waves crashing against the embankment and the sand was soft and warm underfoot, made that way by the hot sun.

“You’ll see.” Brax replied mysteriously, before removing his hand. “Righto… open your eyes, Lex.”

I did and what I saw was a beautiful surfboard. There was an awesome design on it, like a mural, which was mostly blue. I noticed that there was a wolf on it, along with a moon and stars and birds flying in a flock. There were a series of quotes on it too, including ‘Born At Sea’ and even ‘Blood and Sand’. It dawned on me that it must be custom made. It had been stuck up with its nose buried in the sand, so that it stood up on its own. Someone had tied a massive red ribbon to it, so that it looked like a giant present. When I saw the way my brother was looking at me, I noticed what was going on.

"Is... is that for me?" I gasped numbly, as my mind tried to process the overload of feelings from being given such an amazing gift. No one had ever gotten me something so personal or expensive or amazing before. Despite my rule on not weeping in front of people, I thought I might actually cry myself into a puddle of stupid.

"Yeah. Do you like it?" Brax questioned, beaming.

"Like it? Are you kidding me? I love it!" I laughed, wiping at my eyes for fear that there might be tears there. Unable to think straight or find anything to say that fully expressed my appreciation, I crashed into my brother’s arms. At first he resisted, but then he let me hug him. I could see him smiling.

Tearing myself away, I ambled up to the board and ran my hand over the detailed mural. “Brax, it’s… it’s amazing. This must have cost you a fortune. These things aren’t cheap.”

“You’re my baby sister. You're worth the expense.” He shrugged in return, brushing it off like it was nothing.

I took a step back to observe the surfboard and try and get my head around the fact that it was mine and that my big brother had had it designed for me individually. I had always dreamed of having a board of my own, but I had never thought of it happening because of how expensive they were. Now I had one. This was absolutely crazy.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to carry on using Casey’s forever.” Brax said, watching me like a proud father as I stroked the frieze on the board.

“I never will again.” I replied, still pretty speechless. “Thank you so much, Brax. It’s the best gift I think I’ve ever got. I can’t wait to go out on it.” My eyes lit up in excitement. “Hey, how about we go for a surf now?”

Brax winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, there’s just one condition that comes with owning this surfboard.” He told me.

Feeling suddenly cautious and weary, I took a step back and crossed my arms as I faced my brother.

“Yeah, what’s that?” I asked suspiciously.

Brax took a deep breath. His voice took on an authoritative tone.

“Before you ride it, I want your word that you’ll come with me to see Summer Bay High and talk to Bianca about applying to go to school there.” He instructed.

I couldn’t believe it. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to coax me into going to school. Now he truly had tried everything. My brother had started off with shouting at me. He'd then got everyone else in the house to try and convince me it was the right option. He'd threatened to ground me or ban me from doing anything which was any fun. Now he was finally using bribery. I couldn't help wondering what his next plan would be. I guessed I'd soon find out.

“This was just another effort to get me to cave in.” I realized torpidly, all my happiness evaporating. “Unbelievable.”

My brother’s eyes were hard. “Alex, I’m trying to help you out. I’m not just your brother anymore. I’m also your guardian. That makes you my responsibility. I can’t let a fifteen-year-old girl who’s full of talent carry on wagging school.”

"Brax..." I groaned, running a tired hand through my hair.

Having clearly sensed that I was about to completely shoot him down for the hundredth time, Brax cut me off.

"No Alex, listen." He ordered, turning instantly serious. "This is your future we're talking about. If you don't go to school then you'll end up back in care and there'll be nothing I can do to get you back. On top of that, school opens up loads of other doors. It'll give you chances that you've never had before. You can get qualifications that lead to good jobs so that you'll never have to work as an underpaid waitress ever again."

"And what if I want to carry on being a waitress, Brax?" I countered.

Brax's eyebrows arched in disappointment and he stiffly locked his jaw. “You might be okay with that now but what about in a few years’ time? Are you still always going to want to be an under-qualified waitress whose life is going nowhere?"

I shook my head and cast my gaze down to the floor. I spoke as icily as a winter breeze. "Look, save it, Brax. Spare me the lecture, alright? Because it's nothing you haven't told me a thousand times before. I don't want to hear it."

""Well you’re going to hear it anyway.” My brother growled. “It's about time you started taking this seriously, Alex."

"Brax just stop!" I pleaded, the volume of my voice rising with annoyance. "I'm sick to death of being constantly lectured! I am NOT going to school, so just get over it and leave me alone!"

I spun on my heel to storm away down the beach, but my older brother just followed after me.

“Hey, don’t walk away from me, Alex!” he was shouting.

“Just go away.” I retorted, striding over the sand and wishing I could run away faster.

My brother shook his head as he joined my side. “I don’t get what the big deal is, Alex.” He said. “Why do you hate school so much? What could be so bad about going back?”

“Do I really have to spell it out to you?” I cried, spinning to glower at him. “I haven’t been to school for two years, Brax. Everyone at Summer Bay High will be cleverer than I am. If I go there than I’ll just be the stupid, brainless kook of a new girl that everyone else makes fun of. I’ll be put in a class full of thirteen-year-olds who’ll treat me like I’m an idiot. I’ll be surrounded by kids – strangers – that I have no idea how to act around and bossed about by teachers that I don’t have the time of day for. And then there’s the work. Do I look like the kind of person who sits around doing homework and studying? I wouldn’t even know where to start catching up!” Annoyed with myself for getting so worked up that I was close to tears, I broke eye contact with my brother and looked out across the rolling white waves of the ocean. The sea had always helped to calm me slightly. “Brax, all I’m good for is cooking and waitressing. And that’s all I’ll ever be good for.”

Having finally understood my dislike towards returning to education, my older brother closed the distance between us and wrapped me up in his strong, muscular arms, where I felt immediately safe and secure and protected.

“Hey, cm’ere. Don’t you ever say or think that, Alex.” He told me softly. “You’re a smart kid. And I know that you’re capable of so much more than you think you are. You’re smart, funny, beautiful and talented. You’re a brilliant sister and Darce and Harley couldn’t have asked for a better big cousin. You’ll always have us to lean on if you need help, and there’s always Olivia who you’ve made friends with. Look, I promise I won’t let you go through this on your own, but Alex, I really need you to go back to school. Otherwise, I won’t be able to keep social services at bay. You get that, right?”

Reluctantly, I nodded. “Yeah. I get that.”

“And you know that school is going to be the one way you can get out of the rut you’re stuck in. If you struggle at all, we can get you a tutor or whatever, but Alex, the first hurdle is just getting you registered at Summer Bay High. Once that’s done and the social services are off our backs, we can deal with the rest as it comes, later on.” He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. “We’re going to get through this, alright, kiddo? You trust me right?”

“Yeah.” I mumbled, brushing away a stray tear.

“Good.” Brax smiled. “Then you’ll come with me tomorrow to enroll at Summer Bay High?”

I took a deep breath of the salty sea air and let it clear my mind. This was going against everything I had been fighting against for the past two years of my life, but I could see no other alternative left. I had my back up against the wall, and at some point, I was going to have to stop running and throw my hands up in surrender. That time had come now. It was time to face my fear. Whether I liked it or not, I had to go back to school.

“Okay.” I said halfheartedly, feeling like I was giving in far too easily as I faced my brother. “I’ll go with you tomorrow to register.”

“That’s my girl.” Brax grinned, clapping me on the back as he led me back to the restaurant, having retrieved the new surfboard and slung it under his arm as if it was as light as a feather. He was overjoyed with the news that I had chosen to go back to school, but I was already dreading nightfall, because I knew that night would be sleepless and filled with broken nightmares of returning to school.

*

“I wonder what year they’ll put you in.” Olivia pondered, musing aloud, as she had been for the past half hour since I’d told her the news. I hadn’t realized that all along, this was the decision she’d been hoping I’d make, but seeing how excited and over-supportive she was made me realize her true feelings on the matter for the first time.

“Oh, maybe if they put you back only one year than you’ll still be in some of the same classes as me!” She gushed, then went on to explain how she’d applied to redo some of the classes to get higher marks because she’d done ‘badly’ last year. Olivia was a genius, so her version of bad was getting an A instead of an A*. Mostly, she was only in the classes for the year below because she wanted to get even more qualifications. She didn’t like having to pick between subjects, so she’d decided to stay an extra year just so that she could do them all. That, to me, sounded completely insane.

When she realized the look I was giving her, the smile fell from her face. “I’m sorry. I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Being over the top and getting carried away, I mean?”

“Yeah, kind of.” I said as friendly as I could as the two of us wandered out across the lush grass where the outside tables where located in front of the surf club.

“Sorry.” Olivia winced regretfully. “Do you want to talk about something else?”

“Could we please?”

My friend offered me a smile. “Course we can.”

 Olivia and I strolled over to the fence that bordered the beach and sauntered alongside it. A coastal walk seemed like the best thing for me right now. The smell, sound and sight of the tumbling waves was already relaxing my muscles and easing the headache I’d begun to develop the moment I gave in to Brax’s wishes to return to education.

“Oh, hey! I’ve got some pretty juicy gossip.” Olivia perked up, having remembered something she’d clearly forgotten to tell me. “Did you hear about what happened to the River boys and their leader?”

“Who? Brody?” I quizzed, frowning. “No. Why? What happened?”

“Apparently there was some gang fight between the River Boys and a rival gang from Chatworth.” Seeing the blank expression on my face, Olivia clarified. “That’s a village not too far from here with a pretty bad reputation for being almost as rough as Mangrove River.”

“Wow. So what went down? Did anyone get hurt?” I pressed, my interest piqued.

Olivia shrugged mysteriously. “I’m not sure, but from what I’ve heard, it ended in a police arrest. I’m almost a hundred percent sure that the person arrested was Brody Ace Johnston. That’s probably the reason behind why he’s been keeping such a low profile for a couple of days now. Why else do you think we haven’t run into him and his wolf pack friends in a while?”

“Right.” I nodded, trying to absorb this information. “Tell me about the rival gang. What’s their issue with the River Boys?”

“The Chatworth boys?” Olivia rose an eyebrow at me. “They don’t need a reason to dislike the guys from Mangrove River. The two groups have always clashed a little bit, but it got significantly worse when the Chatworth leader and his crew was kicked out of their school and sent to ours instead. For some reason, he and Brody have this resentfulness towards each other.”

“So who’s the Chatworth leader?” I asked.

“His name’s Gary Hodges, but everyone calls him Gaz.” Olivia informed me. “He’s got a younger sister who goes to our school too. She’s called Anya.”

“What are they like?”

Olivia pulled a face and took a long time to answer. “To put it nicely… they’re both intimidating bullies that like to get their own way a lot.” Olivia admitted, obviously worrying that she might be putting me off wanting to go to school.

I didn’t care if the Hodges’ backgrounds were gritty and might scare me off. I wanted to know all the same. For some reason, I thought this information might become important to me sometime down the line. If I was going to enroll at Summer Bay High, then I needed to know as much as I could about my fellow school students and peers. Most importantly, I needed to know the social ladder.

“How do you mean? What do they do?” I asked, engrossed by Olivia’s story.

My new friend drew in a breath. “Gaz has always been the leader of his gang, so I guess he’s used to being in control and being feared. He used to basically rule his old school and now he’s trying to take over Summer Bay High, which is why he’s at odds with the River Boys – mainly Brody. Honestly though, I think to some degree, Anya’s almost worse than her brother. It’s like she’s trying so hard to prove to him that she can be just as evil as he is. She picks on kids at school all of the time and has a whole entourage of people who are too scared to stand up to her themselves. The Hodges are really close siblings, but Gaz doesn’t like Anya getting involved with him and the Chatworth gang, so he tries to keep her out of it. As a way of entertaining herself, Anya focuses on terrorizing the rest of the school instead, usually by centering on younger students who can’t protect themselves.”

This information didn’t fail to anger me. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand it was bullies. I couldn’t get my head around why anyone could draw security or a sense of control by inflicting pain or discomfort on another human being weaker than themselves. Tormentors and aggressors like Anya Hodges and her brother were the reason I dreaded going back to school and being around cruel kids my own age. I detested bullies with a passion, and so from what I had gathered from Olivia, the Hodge siblings were already not in my good books.

“I hate people like that.” I growled, an anger overcoming me as I balled up my fists and scowled. “I swear if Anya or her brother give us any hassle, they’ll have me to answer to. And that’s not going to end well for them.”

I was about to question Olivia further when she stopped dead in her tracks and stared dead ahead like a frightened deer caught in the headlights of a car.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.

“Nothing. I just think we ought to go another way.” Olivia told me quickly, already trying to turn around and lead me back the way we’d come. I refused to budge however. Curious, I looked over my shoulder in the direction that we had been going and noticed a group of teens hanging out further along the fence. There was a mix of guys and girls, all relatively big and buff, with mean muscles and hardened faces. Some of them looked like they were drinking.

“Who are they?” I interrogated, having noticed the way Olivia’s eyes jumped up to meet them every two seconds, looking increasingly scared by the minute. Olivia had slightly darker skin, but at the sight of the group ahead, she had paled slightly. Though that might have been to do with the fact that it was getting kind of late on in the day and the sun was beginning to set, so there was less light to see by.

“No one worth bothering with, Lex.” She dodged my question hurriedly. “Can we go now? Please?”

“Ollie, tell me who they are.” I demanded, refusing to move a muscle.

My friend exhaled heavily. “That’s them. That’s the Chatworth gang.”

“Point out Anya and her brother to me.” I requested, watching them with lighted interest. Begrudgingly, Olivia obliged.

“That’s Anya.” She told me, pointing to one of the only present females. Anya was – extraordinarily – a girl. Beefy and built like a wrestler, she was easily the most manly looking girl I’d ever come to face. Her hair was a frizzy ball of red curls, kind of like a clown’s wig, and was pinned back in the tightest bun I’d ever seen, showing off more of her spotty round face. Anya had a very flat nose, sprinkled with orange freckles, thin manly lips and eyes like two dark bullet holes. She had a tragically round face.

“And Gaz?” I pressed.

“Him.” Olivia said, gesturing to a guy who was leant up against the fence. He was a big guy, with a lot of muscle and plenty of tattoos covering his skin. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, so all of his rippling abs were on show for the whole Bay to see and on his lower half he was wearing tight, leather biker trousers and big black boots. There were spiky leather bracelets tied around his wrists and dog tags hung about his muscular neck. His hair was quite unlike his sister’s. It was a dirty, ashy blonde colour and was long, relatively spiky and messy apart from the half of his head where it was shaved down to the snake-tattooed scalp. His ears were pierced and in one, he had a black stretcher. His eyes were covered by a pair of cool-looking sunglasses, but I imagined that they were just as unwelcoming and cold as his sisters. He was smoking a cigarette as all of his boys crowded around him, obviously in awe of his tough, bad-boy, manly exterior. I supposed that he was fairly good looking if you were into that kind of thing, but I most definitely was not. He was just another douchebag that was way too in love with himself.

“Let’s go, Alex.” Olivia begged, trying to pull me away. “Before they notice us or something.”

“No, Ollie. Why should we? We’ve got as much right to be here as they do. It’s a free world.” I countered, pulling my arm out of Olivia’s grip and beginning to stride down towards the gang, intent on passing by them and continuing on our walk down the beach. Not really having any other option, Olivia followed after me, waiting slightly behind, like she was afraid and looking for shelter.

“Lex!” She hissed urgently, but I ignored her.

As we neared the gang, the chatter hushed as all their eyes turned on us. Talk ceased as the Chatworth boys and their arm candy, along with Anya, all clamped their hard, heavy gazes on me and Olivia, seeming to size us up like we were pigs for slaughter. I felt like every inch of me was being scrutinized in one way or another, either sexually by the guys or threateningly. I had been in a fair few fights in my time and I mostly emerged victorious, but something told me that if I wanted to take this lot on then I was going to have to whip my body into serious shape. I’d need a whole lot of training and protein before I’d built up enough brawn to hold out against the Chatworth gang.

I had almost convinced myself that Olivia and I had managed to pass by without any trouble when Anya stepped out into my path, blocking my way with her beefy body. She looked me up and down, her gaze cold and calculating, before turning her attention towards Olivia who was cowering behind me. I hadn’t noticed how reedy and slim she was until I’d measured her up against Anya, her brother and their crew.

Anya grinned wickedly, an evil light dancing in her eyes. “Well if it’s not little miss goody-two-shoes herself. What are you in a rush for Turner? Hurrying home to do some homework for tomorrow?”

“N-no. Just passing by.” Olivia answered in a small voice.

Anya sniffed. "Who’s this blonde blow-in? Is she your drongo girlfriend?"

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m her mate.” I stepped in, taking over from Olivia who I could tell was thinking about turning tail and scarpering away from the gang that was crowing around us. I faced up against Anya without batting an eyelid. “We were just going for walk,” I explained calmly, gesturing to the track that followed down the side of the fence. “So why don’t you do us a favor and move to the side? Then we’ll get out of your way.”

Seeming to think that I’d offended or challenged her somehow, Anya bristled and squared up to me. Her voice dropped dangerously low as she snarled at me like a savage animal.

“Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that, you little mongrel dog?” She sneered.

I remained where I was stood and refused to back away. I made sure to keep as composed as I could.

“I could ask you the same thing.” I growled, and then when I saw the shock registering over her face at being confronted, I added, “I’m not someone you can just step all over and push around, alright? The sooner you realize that, the easier it’ll be for all of us. Olivia and I aren’t looking for trouble. So why don’t you back off and leave us alone.”

As Anya regarded me uncertainly, measuring up my height and weight to see if perhaps she’d win in a fight against me, the rest of the Chatworth gang hollered. Gaz Hodges, who had been watching the show with lighted attentiveness, took this opportunity to sweep in. I was surprised to see he was grinning as he slowly, but loudly clapped his hands together, applauding me almost sarcastically as he pushed himself off the fence and came towards me. The little bit of sunlight left flashed off of his shaded sunglasses.

“We’ve caught ourselves a bit of a live one here, boys.” He announced to a series of cheers as he circled me. “You’re a pretty fine-looking chick too. Have you got a name?”

 “Alexis.” I answered aloofly. “But I go by Alex.”

“Righto. Alex it is.” He reached out for my hand and shook it. His grip was frighteningly strong. “I’m Gary Hodges, but you can call me Gaz. And this here, who you were just blueing with, is my sister, Anya.”

"Yeah. So I've heard." I replied, hesitantly slipping my hand out of his. 

The Chatworth leader leaned into me, and blew a puff of cigarette smoke into my face. “So, do you have a second name, or is it just Alex?”

Olivia squeaked next to me. I saw that she was shaking her head at me, but it didn’t dawn on me why, until it was too late.

“Braxton.” I said. “Alexis Braxton.”

At the sound of my surname, the whole Chatworth crew seemed to freeze. Even though the sun was only just setting, I felt freezing cold for some reason. From beside me, I heard Olivia hold her breath.  

“Braxton?” Gaz purred, raising his brows as he pulled off his shades and fixed me with his cold, dark eyes. His voice went through me like a shiver. I felt like I had just made a very big mistake in revealing my identity. “So your legend brothers were all once an important part of the River Boy gang, eh? Interesting. I guess it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what side you stand on then.” He took another threatening step towards me, his muscles heaving, and lowered his voice to a dangerous whisper. “You should probably know, Alexis, that anyone who’s involved with the River Boys, in any way, is not my friend. And you do not want to make an enemy of me.”

I didn't reply, but that's because I wasn't given the chance. Anya was already interrupting before I'd even opened my mouth.

“Oh, I’ve heard all about you, Miss Braxton. You’re pretty much the talk of the town.” She broke in, laughing as she pushed towards me with an unpleasant glint to her eyes. “You’re the newest Braxton half breed.” She tilted her head the side and ran her tongue over her lips to wet them. “Wasn’t it you who was dragged into care, squealing like a little pig? And isn’t your wretch of a mother dying somewhere in the city? If you like, I can make you join her in the grave.”

I was about to launch myself at Anya in a full-blown attack, when Olivia held me back and the Chatworth boys made a kind of barrier between us, making it clear that if I wanted to get to her, I’d have to fight through them first.

“Alex, don’t!” Olivia pleaded as Anya laughed mockingly.

“I’d listen to your nerdy mate, Miss Braxton.” Gaz advised. “This is one fight you’re not going to win. Why don’t you be a good little girl and run along now, all the way back home to the Braxton clan.” He grabbed my chin in his hand and forced it up to meet his horribly, shadowy eyes. “Whilst you can still walk that is.”

As soon as he’s let me go, Olivia began leading me away, her head down low, concentrated on the floor and putting as much space as possible between us and them. I walked stiffly, wondering at what point in that conversation I had lost my verve and my poise. I couldn’t understand what had happened. I was usually so good at dealing with bullies, but this time, I had just kind of snapped and allowed myself to be pushed about. I felt annoyed with myself for letting it end that way and for dragging Olivia through it. I would have been better off leaving it alone.

One thing was for certain, this was not over. No matter how much distance was put between us and the Chatworth gang, I knew that their sights had already been set on us now and that we would never get away or go unnoticed by them again. I had made Olivia and I targets, which meant one of two things; for safety, we should either join them, or intersect with their enemies, the River Boys. Protection from either gang was the only way we would be safe from now on, because I had stupidly made us both a part of this fight.

If I hadn’t already been dreading school in the morning, I most definitely was now. Added onto all those worries of extra tutorials, and being ridiculed and fitting in, I now had to fear bumping into the Chatworth gang and fronting Anya or her brother, Gaz again.

I knew that when I did, it wouldn’t be pretty. That was for sure.

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Hey there, my small collection of fans! I just wanted to let you know that I'll be going away for a few days so I won't be able to post any new chapters until I get back, so hopefully this one will keep you going in the meantime. Things are starting to get more exciting now and when I do get the chance to update, I promise a reeeally good next chapter - Alex's first day back at school!  So many things to go wrong (or) right. Anyway, please please, please carry on voting and commenting. It's the encouragement I need to keep this story going. Thanks heaps for reading and hope you're liking the story so far :) let me know what you're all thinking in the comments!