Page 1 of Mistaken Prejudice

Chapter 1

Andrei

“Senior year is going to be hell,” Diesel grumbled, shoving an angry hand through his short hair as I parked our truck between two newly bought sports cars. With all those expensive cars around, one would think we had arrived at a gala or some other red carpet of sorts, but no, we just parked at Beverly Bay High, also known as BH. The school for the rich and privileged kids of the even richer and more privileged parents.

“Trust us four devils to make sure it will!” Jessie’s hoarse voice came from the back seat, where he was sitting with Levi. Since the truck was already parked, I turned around to give them a raised eyebrow.

“You better not get us into trouble on our first day, Jess.”

Putting his hands on the front seat, he leaned forward, pink locks of hair getting into his green eyes and a shit-eating grin decorating his handsome face. “You better count on it, pretty boy! What’s the point of starting a new school without getting into trouble?”

“How about, I don’t know… learning something?” Levi asked cynically as he unbuckled himself and grabbed his backpack. Unlike Jessie’s tall and lean frame, Levi was much smaller in height and size. He was the youngest of us, yet none of this bothered him. He might have looked like a doll with his baby face, pale porcelain skin, sharp gray eyes, and thin pink lips, but things couldn’t be further from the truth. When needed, he could be a true devil.

“You know me, babydoll. I’m not much of a learner.”

Jessie turned from us to kiss Levi, his boyfriend, who gladly returned the kiss, which was the sign for Diesel and me to turn around.

“For fuck’s sake, at least wait until we’re outside,” Diesel grunted as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He put one between his lips, but before he could light it up, I snatched it away and shoved it into my backpack.

“What the fuck, Chica?”

“A, don’t smoke inside the truck. B, you can’t smoke in school, and C, this goes for all of you.” I stopped and pinned everyone with a look. “Chief worked extra hard so we could go to school here, so don’t fuck it up. Am I clear?”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Jessie squealed while Levi hummed his agreement, and I shot them a nod through the mirror. That was enough for them to get out of the truck and give me a moment alone with Diesel.

Leaning back against the seat, I took a moment to examine my best friend. Calling him that felt wrong, though; he was more like the brother I never had. We met almost six years ago in juvie. I was thirteen years old, new and scared out of my mind, while he was a bit older and with a lot more time on his record.

Back then, we were each other’s whole world. But we weren’t those scared little kids nobody gave a damn about, not anymore. Not since Chief came into our lives and rescued us all. Each at a time. I was the first he took in, followed by Levi, Jessie, and Diesel. We all lived in an old Santa Monica beach house that Chief inherited from his uncle and now used as a surfing club as well as a home for himself, four delinquents, and three stray dogs.

Diesel’s curly dark hair looked good, combined with his dark eyebrows and naturally tanned skin. The oversized baggy clothes he wore did the job of hiding all of his tattoos. A frown pulled at his eyebrows, twisting his handsome face. I knew he wasn’t happy about starting at a new school, but he had to give it a chance.

“I know it’s not easy for you…” I waited for him to speak or look at me; knowing it wasn’t about to happen, I continued, “With our old school burned down and going to this rich kids’ place… But maybe it won’t be so bad.”

He sneered at that.

“Fuck, man, I’m serious!” I patted his shoulder, trying to make him face me. “Maybe you’ll meet the love of your life here.”

He shrugged and finally looked me in the eyes. Victory. His eyes always made me think of Pooh, our pit bull. Not because he looked like a dog—Jesus, he’d kill me if I ever told him that—but because of the silent pain and kindness hiding behind a wall of defense. A brutal, harsh, sometimes cruel wall that no one seemed to be able to break. I didn’t break it; I was allowed in. Sometimes Chief nudged it down a bit, but I could be wrong. When it came to Diesel, no one knew what went on behind his dark eyes. No one.

“You know what I think about those rich fuckers. They’re rotten to the core, dishonest, privileged assholes who only care for their money. Guys like us mean nothing to them. We’re trash in their eyes, Chica, fucking garbage.”

He clenched his fists, and I smiled, knowing how hard he was trying to keep it cool. I was proud of him.

“Hey… Posmotri na menya.”

“I don’t want to look at you.”

Juvie left you with a lot of free time on your hands, so I’ve taught him Russian in return for him teaching me Spanish. Thanks to my nonexistent language absorption, I sounded like a broken record, while his Russian was better than mine. The bastard. The only reason I could even speak it was because of that woman.

“Fine, so just listen. You can’t let those assholes stand in your way. What we’ve got here is an opportunity, man. We won a fucking lottery ticket, and we can’t waste it. So they’ll think we’re trash. Who gives a fuck?” I tried to encourage him. “Tell me something. Do you think I’m garbage?”

“What the fuck, Chica? How can you even ask that?”

“What about Jess, Levi and Chief? Are they garbage?”

He narrowed his eyes at me as he bit the inside of his cheek. His jaw clenched.

“Are you trying to piss me off or something?”