"Caleb!"
I roll my eyes as my brother calls out my name. Rushing me when I'm in the middle of my morning skincare routine is bad enough, but rushing me for school of all places is a whole 'nother offense. I finish rubbing moisturizing cream into my face and relish the smooth feel of my golden-brown skin as I hear him call out again.
"If you ruin my perfect attendance because of your stupid hair, I'm disowning you!"
Disrespecting my hair is the final, fatal straw. I step out of my bedroom and make a show of running my fingers through the fifty inches of black coils. I worked too hard growing out my crown to let it be anything less than gorgeous at all times. I find Darius impatiently pacing our small living room. We might be identical twins, but he doesn't put nearly as much effort into his appearance as I do. His hair's in a high-top fade, his gold eyes, a staple of our Sun bloodline, are hidden behind a thick pair of black glasses, and he's wearing the same old, tired, green hoodie he insists is 'lucky'.
"First of all, my hair always takes priority over your sad life achievements!" I snap back. "Second, if 'disowning' me means I don't have to acknowledge I'm related to you, all the better for my social life."
"Boys, what have I told you about fighting?"
We both jump at the sound of momma's voice. She still looks exhausted from working late yesterday. Her hair's in a messy bun, her gold eyes have bags, and the lotion on her copper brown skin hasn't been completely rubbed in. I make a rubbing gesture against my elbows to remind her, resisting a smirk as she sucks her teeth and smoothes it in.
"You're both gonna be late for school," she continues. "Did you remember your lunches?"
We both mutter 'yes', irritatingly in unison. I cross my arms just to give us a little less symmetry. He looks like he's about to do the same, before deciding to stick his hands in his pockets.
"Sorry, momma. I'll drive us," Darius says.
"No way, every time you drive, you melt the steering wheel," I say. It really isn't his fault, Darius's Magic involves intense heat, the type not even Fire Keepers can achieve. It doesn't mean that I can't still tease him for it.
"T-that only happened twice! It's not my fault I get nervous on the road," he replies, defensively.
Momma pouts the way she always does right before she scolds me. "You know your brother still has trouble controlling his powers, Caleb. They're more...potentially destructive than either of ours."
"I'd say my Soothing Aura can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands," I say. As if in response to my words, the faint gold Aura around me brightens slightly. Being able to relax someone and take away their tension can be very useful in disarming someone, not that I ever use it in such a way, of course.
Darius rolls his eyes. "Yeah, 'cause it's not like you only use it to charm and manipulate people." It's like he can read my mind with how he senses when I'm falsely playing innocent.
Momma forcefully points at the door. "That's enough from both of you! In your car, now."
We both mumble another apology and give momma a hug goodbye before leaving. We hurry out to our shared car in the driveway. It's a small, old, plain-looking thing, but it still drives well, which is all that matters when we can't afford much better at the moment. Momma's isn't faring too well either, but at least she doesn't have to share it with Darius. We get in, Darius backs us out of the driveway and we're off.
Concordia High. A spider web of social navigation and ladder climbing. The classes are boring, of course, all the good drama happens in the halls. Or even before you've stepped inside the building's bland walls.
I check myself in the mirror for the dozenth time, just to make sure I still look the best among the sea of trashy try-hards and unremarkable try-not-at-alls. It might not exactly be the hardest to maintain my role as king charming in this setting, but that doesn't mean I can't keep making an effort to best myself. When there's no real competition, be your own. Darius rolls his eyes as he gets out of the car. Finally satisfied with myself, I get out as well, and instantly regret it as I see who's waiting at the school entrance.
"Oh great. Look who's playing welcoming committee," I grumbled with disdain.
Standing at the front doors is James Mason, the golden boy mayor's son. A strategically polite, approachable smile is on his face as he greeted students walking in. He's not even in the student council, no doubt he's just trying to get brownie points from the staff.
Darius drags me from our car to the entrance, and as we get closer, I can't help but eye James. I'm not checking him out, of course, but it's hard not to notice him. He holds himself with perfect posture, his stature taller than most of the other students at six feet, three inches. His dark brown eyes almost match his umber skin and his cropped, black coils are as neat as his pristinely ironed clothing. Anyone would think he goes to a private school for how overdressed he is. Who wears a sweater vest and dress pants to a raggedy public school like this?
James's smile turns into a grimace as his eyes meet ours. "The Teller twins. How nice to see you," he says. To his credit, he manages to keep his expression and tone neutral, no doubt biting back disdain for us commoners.
All jokes aside, I can't help but notice he seems tense. Maybe it's because of the emotional focus of my powers, but I'm good at telling when someone's uncomfortable or stressed. Almost without thinking, I get the urge to extend my Aura out to him to try to soothe him. He and I might not know each other well, but it's good practice for me to use my Magic whenever I can, and I don't often get the chance.
I give into my instincts and step up to him until I'm in a decent range for my Aura to reach him without needing to get any closer. I've never wished that my Magic didn't require close proximity any more than now, with him towering half a foot over me with a look of subtle surprise.
I put on my best charming smirk as I radiate my Aura outward. Then, my eyes glow brighter, their gold hue even more obvious as they shine. A sign that I'm channeling my Magic.
"Nice to see you too, Jemmy," I coo. "Just make sure to take it easy."
My charming smirk falls as I see he has an underwhelmed expression. A flash of blue briefly glows in his dark eyes. Of course, my Aura isn't strong enough to influence other Keepers yet. Luckily James is the only Keeper other than us who goes to this school. He crosses his arms and gives me his own condescending smirk.
"Thank you for your concern, Caleb, but I'll be fine," he says.
Well, I gave it a shot. And even if it didn't work, it was an improvement to see him have a genuine smirk on his face, even if it was at my expense. I shrug and smile innocently. At least it was good practice. I feel the same mystical boost running through me that I feel every time I use my ability, and I know I've gotten stronger, if only slightly. Just like training a muscle.
It only lasts a split second, and once it's over I notice that I haven't moved back away from James. His eyes are looking at me curiously and suddenly I feel embarrassed. Darius clears his throat and breaks us both out of a stupor neither of us realizes we're in.
"It was nice seeing you too, James," Darius says. "But, we should get inside."
James gives a stiff nod as we finally walk inside and he follows in after us. As he does, I can't help but feel something tugging at me. Even without seeing him, I can feel the tension coming off of him.
