The Salt to my Pepper

Chapter 1

“They’re gone,” Blake—my brother—told me after I came home from cheerleading for a school football game. Our parents. That’s who he was referring to. Our parents had abandoned us. Just like that.

Two years had passed since that terrible conversation, and it was now my first day of high school.

I was a freshman at Pineshire Academy, a private school designed to prepare us for our future career.

The only issue was that I didn’t know what I wanted to be.

Everyone else at Pineshire Academy knew what they wanted to be.

A doctor. A lawyer. But I had no idea. I only knew what my brother wanted me to be. Rich.

I took forever trying to get ready for school—picking out what shirt to wear with my overalls, how I should do my hair, and which hair accessories to wear. My room was a mess by the end of the morning—just piles and piles of clothing stacked everywhere.

After an hour of going through my belongings, I stared at the finished product in my narrow floor mirror: a yellow top and blue overalls with flowers embroidered in them.

My natural red wavy hair was put into two braids, tied with white laced bows.

The braids could have looked better if my brother helped me, but as usual he declined.

After our parents abandoned us—when I was twelve and he was eighteen—he legally adopted me but has treated me… not so great, to say the least.

But this was the year—no more bullies and no more drama. Especially no more drama. Just me and these classroom doors. Peace is waiting on the other side.

Or at least that’s what I am trying to convince myself of.

I stood outside the walls of Pineshire Academy after being dropped off by the school bus.

Many students pushed past me, walking into the two-story building.

It was different than other schools; instead of going to multiple classes, students get assigned one classroom.

The school only had around two-hundred students, so everybody knew everybody.

Attending this school for my middle school years, I already knew my way around and had no issue finding the classroom I was meant to attend. I stood outside the classroom, staring through the window. Everyone had already been sitting in their seats.

There were ten of us, I counted. Their faces were all familiar; they were at this academy for their middle school years just like me. I didn’t like most of the faces I saw.

As I entered, I scanned the classroom and spotted my best friends—my only friends—Hero and Ayden.

They had been my best friends since elementary school.

Those two used to be the epitome of best friends, but now they only tolerate each other due to their friendship with me.

Without that connection to me, they would surely rather be on opposite sides of the planet.

Once the two of them caught sight of me, they tapped the desk in between them, gesturing for me to sit there. Of course, they wouldn’t want to sit next to each other.

As attendance started, it didn’t surprise me to hear familiar names. I knew my name would be called last—or close to last—because my last name is Vaughn, although it didn’t take long since there were only a few of us.

“Pepper?”

“Here!” I shot my hand up. I heard snickers from the back of the room, but I simply paid them no mind. Stupid bullies.

Those same kids bullied me in middle school for my name. Having the name of a fruit or a spice is unique, but it’s an easy target for bullying. Sometimes, I wished my parents would’ve named me Penelope instead.

Anything but Pepper.

Once attendance was over, the old man who seemed to be our teacher took a few minutes to gather papers for our first assignment.

Pineshire Academy was known to push us to our limits and make us use our brain cells, so I wouldn’t be surprised if our first assignment was insanely difficult for students our age.

The teacher wobbled as he stood up from his chair, his grey beard swaying. “Good morning, children.” His voice was raspy, and he appeared to be around retirement age.

“Good morning,” the class said in unison.

“You children can call me Mr. Miller,” he introduced himself. “Since you are all high-schoolers now, I expect the absolute best from all of you. For the next few days, you will have a project to complete.”

“Ugh, why do we have work on the first day of school?” the pale-skinned, athletic boy in the back of the room complained.

Reese Lynch.

Reese was on the football team I had cheered for. He and his girlfriend at the time used to bully Hero and me. Only two summers had passed since then.

“Sir!” the old man scolded, but nobody was able to take him seriously.

He continued, “It is a simple project. You children will split into groups of up to four—no less than two—and create a science experiment. It is due Friday, so you have all week to complete this assignment. Good luck.” He wobbled back into his seat, almost falling backwards as he sat down.

“That is considered simple?” Ayden gawked, dramatically slumping over his desk.

Ayden was the type to mess around instead of actually doing his schoolwork. Being the funniest one in the friend group, he lightens the mood during negative situations. But he was also the logical one, always having to babysit us and stop us from executing crazy ideas.

Hero rolled his eyes at Ayden. “Stop complaining. I have an idea already.”

Hero was the type to do schoolwork just because he was bored, not for the grades. He was the grumpy one in the friend group; you’d never see a smile on his face unless he was extremely passionate about something.

Ayden and I jerked our heads to face Hero. “You do?” I asked, impressed at how quickly he was able to come up with an idea.

I was the optimistic one in the friend group. The one who gives pep talks. The one who always had a smile on their face. I was also the people-pleaser of the group, never having the guts to say no to my best friends.

Hero narrowed his eyes at me, like I shouldn’t be surprised after knowing him for so long. It was true—he was known for his quick wit and determination.

“We should invent something new,” he suggested, although his tone made it feel final.

“Invent something new?” Ayden asked, his voice filled with doubt. “Like what?”

“A new potion, one that nobody has made before.” Hero’s eyes lit up. That was the look of him becoming passionate in this project.

Ayden facepalmed in disbelief. “What kind of potion would we even make?”

“Well, I was thinking a truth serum?” Hero shrugged his shoulders, glaring at us for approval.

Ayden snorted. “Since when did you start cracking jokes?”

Hero blinked. “I’m serious.”

“That kind of stuff isn’t real.” I paused. “Is it?”

“It is, according to my ancestors’ potions and spells book.”

My eyebrows raised. “You mean like a grimoire?”

“Why are you seriously entertaining this?” Ayden grunted.

Hero leaned past me. “I’m not a liar, Ayden.”

“I… I didn’t say you were,” Ayden stammered. “Look, it would just be dangerous to create something like a truth serum.”

“We’ll wear protective clothing.”

“That’s not what I mea—”

“Please,” Hero pleaded, making puppy dog eyes at us—mainly to me. Trying to talk sense into him didn’t seem likely to work; he never backs down once he sets his mind on something. Seeing how passionate he was getting, how was I supposed to refuse?

“Okay, we’ll do it,” I caved, then turned to Ayden. “Right, Ayd?”

Ayden sucked his teeth. “Sure, what could possibly go wrong?”

The three of us used up the class time to plan out our project.

Because we didn’t want any of our classmates to witness what we were creating until it was completed, Ayden and I decided it would be best for the three of us to work on it at Ayden’s house.

Hero seemed so eager to make this, and we weren’t going to let anyone ruin this for him.

* * *

Ayden’s family was wealthy, and everybody knew that. Because of his status, nobody ever dared to bully him; they all wanted to be his friend. But he refused to be friends with people that only cared about status.

Standing outside of Ayden’s house—or rather, mansion—I stared in awe.

I had never been to his house before, and it was even more luxurious than I imagined.

The suburban mansion was two stories tall and had many windows.

The exterior walls were made of light-grey stone, with a gable roof in a darker shade of grey.

It had a two-car garage, painted the same color as the front door: a deep brown.

I stepped up onto the porch before knocking on the modern-looking front door, a wreath hanging on it. Pressing my face against the right sidelight, I was able to see the figure of a blonde woman approaching the door with a tray of baked cookies.

She set the tray down on the entryway table before opening the door, smiling widely at me. “You must be Pepper. I’m Mrs. Davis, Ayden’s mom.” She extended her hand, and I shook it. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

I nodded, reciprocating the smile. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Davis. I’m here for—”

“Oh, yes, dear, I know,” she said, opening the door wider, “Ayden is in his room upstairs, fourth door to the left. Feel free to take a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie on your way in!”

Stepping inside, I picked up a cookie from the tray as I admired the interior of the home.

A chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating a warm light.

The carpeted stairs were located on the left wall, curving slightly to the right.

The wooden handrails were a deep brown color, matching the garage and front door, and its balusters were painted white.

A large vase sitting on a glass table next to the stairs held a bouquet of blue hydrangeas. The view was so breathtaking.

Taking a bite of the chocolate-chip cookie, the flavors instantly melted on my tongue, its warmth confirming that it was fresh out of the oven. “Thank you, ma’am,” I exclaimed in-between bites.