Chapter 3: School

"You stepped on my foot."

"Your foot shouldn't have been in the middle of the road."

Seven in the morning. Brooklyn's streets hadn't fully woken up yet. Chloe and Leo walked side by side on the sidewalk, their backpack straps swinging on their shoulders.

There was always about a meter between them. Any closer, and Leo would drift sideways. Any farther, and Chloe couldn't reach his heel to step on it.

"Stop stepping on me." Leo said flatly.

"Then walk faster." Chloe said, completely unbothered.

Leo picked up his pace. Chloe had to jog to keep up. Before long, the two of them were practically speed-walking, going faster and faster.

At the intersection ahead, a beat-up van sat tilted by the curb, hood popped open, white smoke pouring out. A bearded middle-aged man was bent over pushing it, face red, but the thing wouldn't move.

Chloe stopped.

"Sir, do you need help?" She ran over and looked up at him.

The bearded man glanced down at her, then spotted Leo coming up behind, and smiled bitterly.

"Little girl, you can't push this. The thing weighs at least a ton and a half."

"My brother is really strong." Chloe grabbed Leo and shoved him behind the van. "Right, brother?"

Leo looked at her, face blank.

"You're using me."

"This is called teamwork." Chloe already had both hands pressed against the rear panel. "One, two, three, push!"

All three of them pushed.

The van rocked. The wheels slowly started to roll. The bearded man felt the weight ease up, glanced back, then pushed harder. The van finally rolled free from the rut.

"Thank you!" The man straightened up and wiped his sweat. "Where are you two headed? I can give you a ride."

Chloe's eyes lit up.

"St. Andrew's Preschool. Six blocks from here."

"Hop in, hop in." The man pulled open the passenger door. "It's right on my way."

Leo frowned.

"Don't get in cars with strangers."

Chloe was already climbing into the seat, looking back and waving at him.

"You can walk then. You're the one who gets marked late, not me."

Leo stood there for three seconds. Then, without any expression, he pulled open the back door and got in.

The van rattled onto the road. The bearded man hummed along to something, in a good mood.

"You two are siblings?" He glanced at them in the rearview mirror. "You don't really look alike."

"Adopted." Leo kept it short.

"She's the adopted one." He added, putting a little extra weight on the words.

Chloe turned and glared at him.

"Why'd you say that?"

"Just stating facts." Leo looked out the window. "You don't like it?"

"I don't like you."

"Good. Same."

The bearded man smiled awkwardly and turned the radio up a little.

The iron gate of St. Andrew's Preschool was painted sky blue, with two rows of short holly bushes along the entrance.

Chloe jumped out of the car, her backpack bouncing behind her. She stood at the gate and looked up at the wooden sign with the school's name.

In her past life, the Sterlings didn't take her back until she was eight. They put her straight into a fancy elementary school in Manhattan. Every kid there looked at her like she was dirt.

This time was different.

This was just a regular preschool in Brooklyn. Full of regular kids from regular families.

"Let's go." Leo walked past her without looking back.

Chloe followed.

The classroom wasn't big. Five rows of small desks and chairs. Colorful drawings covered the walls. A bunch of kids were already in their seats, talking over each other.

The moment Chloe walked in, the classroom went quiet for two seconds.

Then—buzz. The noise exploded.

"A new student? She's so pretty!"

"What color is her hair? It's like red gemstones!"

"Her eyes look like amber candy!"

Chloe walked to the back row without any expression, pulled out a chair, and sat down. She set her backpack on the desk, crossed her arms over her chest, making it clear she didn't want to be bothered.

But five-year-olds obviously don't pick up on that kind of thing.

A freckled boy was the first to come over. He leaned on the edge of her desk, grinning wide.

"Hey, what's your name? I'm Tommy."

"Chloe."

"Chloe, do you want my cookie? It's chocolate." Tommy pulled a squashed cookie from his pocket and held it out like it was something precious.

"No."

Tommy wasn't fazed at all.

"Then do you want to be my girlfriend?"

The classroom went dead silent.

Every kid turned to look at once.

Chloe finally turned her head and looked at this freckled boy. Her expression didn't change. Not a flicker in those amber eyes.

"No."

Tommy's smile froze.

"W-why?"

"Because you're boring." Chloe looked away, back toward the front board. "And your cookie is broken."

The kids around them burst out laughing. Tommy's face went red and he shuffled back to his seat.

Leo sat beside Chloe, the corner of his mouth curving up slightly.

"Pretty effective way to turn someone down." He noted.

"Shut up."

More kids came over.

One boy wanted to give her stickers. Another wanted to give her colored pencils. A girl with a ponytail even took off her own hair clip and held it out to her.

Chloe turned them all down, one by one. She wasn't rude about it. She just didn't want to get close to anyone.

The lesson from her past life had been carved in too deep. People who came at you with smiles were the same ones who'd stab you in the back.

"Alright, alright, everyone back to your seats!" The teacher clapped her hands and walked in. "Today we have two new students in our class—"

The classroom door swung open.

Everyone looked.

A girl in a pink tutu dress stood in the doorway. Golden curls fell on either side of her shoulders. A rhinestone butterfly clip was pinned in her hair. On her feet were a pair of shiny patent leather shoes.

She just stood there, chin tilted up slightly, like a proud little peacock.

"Hello everyone," the girl said, her voice dripping with sweetness. "My name is Mia Sterling."

Chloe's nails dug into her palm.

Sterling.

The moment that name hit her ears, her temples started to pound.

Mia's gaze swept across the room, moving from one unfamiliar face to the next, until it landed on Chloe like it had been aimed there.

Those blue eyes narrowed. The corners of her mouth curved up into a sweet little smile.

Chloe stared back, jaw tight, back teeth grinding together.

In her past life, Mia had worn that same smile while watching her get crushed. While watching everything get taken from her. And in the end, still wearing that same smile, she had personally pushed her toward death.

And now this five-year-old Mia Sterling was walking toward her in her shiny little shoes, one step at a time.

"Hi there." Mia stopped in front of her, tilted her head, her voice soft and innocent. "Your clothes are so old. Did you get them out of a trash can?"

Nobody in the classroom said a word.

Amber eyes met ice-blue ones.

Leo tilted his head and glanced at Chloe.

For the first time, he saw a cold, locked-in look on her face. The exact same look Arthur got when he had a target in his sights.