Change For You

By Benedict Jequinto

Angela Castro is as happy from the moon and back when she gets accepted into the National Academy of California, a school for the elite and a school any nerd would die for. 

But her feeling of euphoria is immediately extinguished when she runs into pretty-boy bad boy Nathan Heights. 

Together, they get stuck in a notorious game of love, which could spark up a whole lot of things. 

Arguments? Of course. 

Friendship? Probably. 

Perhaps . . . love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benedict Jequinto
• Release date: Apr 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533766861

Book preview

UNBREAK MY HEART

I

01 | letter of approval

'Angela, darling, can you get the mail?' Mom called as she placed the plates in the dishwasher. Grumbling, I pulled open the door and knelt down to collect the stack of letters (that we usually never read) on the doorstep.

I scanned the letters, bored. Yep. Nothing important. Just a postcard from Uncle Joel from Sydney, an invitation to a wedding by Mom's former Chinese colleagues (she just tells me to throw them in the shredder), a letter from the National Academy of California . . .

Wow, wow, wow. The National Academy of California? And it was addressed to me! Could this be it? Could this be the Letter of Approval? Slowly walking into the living room and pulling the door shut with my leg, I opened the letter with quivering fingers.

My jaw hits the floor (and the rest of the letters, too) as I read the contents of the letter. I pinched my arm, and blood started to flow down my arm, and I felt a stinging sensation in the wound. I screamed, 'Mom! Dad! Take a look at this!' Mom literally flew from the kitchen to the living room, grinning excitedly and asked, 'Why, baby? What is it?'

'Look at this!' I exclaimed as Dad walked in from the back door. 'What is it honey? Is it the International Institution of Pole Dancing?' Mom and I, bewildered, slowly turned our heads to face him.

'Dad, since when I have I ever enrolled at the International Institution of Pole Dancing?' I manage to utter, but I shake it off. 'It's not the IIPD. It's my approval in the National Academy of California! I'm going to be attending my high school in the NAC!'

'Oh my god, darling, that is wonderful!' Mom pulls me into a hug, and I hug her back excitedly. 'Now all of you can go to the same school!' God damn, their tests were hard. Find the square root of 9063, like I had the time! Their questions were all so hard, but I think I managed to grasp on an answer.

'I'm going to call Abby,' I say, skipping up the stairs, and past my two brothers' bedroom (which I figured was empty because they were probably in my room, since I was the only one who had an X-Box.), and I pushed open my bedroom door.

Sure enough, there they were, sitting cross-legged on the floor, the annoying 'pew' sounds the game made whenever you shot someone echoing around the room. 'Deploy the troops! Attack! Enemy at four o'clo . . . oh, hey, Angela.' Caleb, the eldest, greeted distractedly, pausing the game and pulling off his headpiece. 'I'm gonna go get some snacks. What's that?' He asks, noticing the letter in my hand.

'It's from the NAC.' I say, trying to sound nonchalant. As Caleb's eyes widen, Isaac, the second eldest, groaned, 'You have got to be kidding me.' He stands up and they both take turns to process the contents of the letter.

Isaac falls onto my bed, placing his two hands on his head, a stark contrast to Caleb, who cheers and pulls me into a bone-breaking hug which broke almost two of my rib cages. I manage to pull away, as Isaac gets up sulkily, and shoots me a strained smile. 'Well done, sis.' He pulls me into a one-armed hug and sits back down on the floor, leaning on the end of my bed as Caleb goes down to the kitchen to get some snacks, like he promised.

'So, what match are you at now?' I ask curiously, ruffling through my desk, searching for my phone. Isaac's eyes lighten up like it always does when we're on the topic of Troops Attax. Isaac starts rambling, 'Oh, this is Match 77, and Caleb keeps messing up! The Archer is supposed to take Position 6 by the shed, right?'

'Mhhmm.' I say distractedly, pulling open one of the drawers in my desk, as Isaac continues, 'But he keeps sending the Gunman there! I mean seriously, if the Enemy attack the shed, the Gunman isn't as alert as the Archer! So I wanted to put him in Position 4, which is approximately 35 degrees South of Position 6 . . .'

'Isaac, have you seen my phone?' I finally interrupt, after searching my closet. Isaac pauses, and he arches an eyebrow. 'Isn't it in your pocket?' My hand automatically shoots to my jeans pocket, and sure enough, I felt my precious Samsung there.

'Gee, thanks.' I roll my eyes as Isaac throws his head back in laughter. I pull up the sleeves of my jacket and fall back onto my bed as I unlock my phone. I find WhatsApp and I click on the group chat Abby and our friends created. (And no, Swifties1989 is not a cheesy name.)

I typed in the message bar : Hey guys! Guess what? I got accepted in NAC! Reply when you can!!! Angela xxxx

I dropped my phone beside me on the bed, and I got up as Caleb entered the room with a bottle of Pepsi, three plastic cups and a bowl of Pringles. I lay on my front, resting my head on my elbows as Caleb sat down next to Isaac and pulled on his earpiece.

'Ready, partner?' He smiled toothily at Isaac as he grabbed his controller. Isaac fist-bumped him as they restarted Match 77. I grabbed one of the Pringles as I watched them position their troop. Thank God Caleb finally gave in to positioning their Archer at Position 6.

The match began and the Enemy invaded the area. The Archers started to shoot, as the Enemies started to take down the Fighters (the one who used their fist to attack) and closed in on the Archers. The Gunmen started to shoot, but I noticed a Gunman at Position 17, which was so close to the Archer.

'Hey! The Gunman at Position 17 has to be transferred to Position 2!' I pointed to an empty spot, where the Enemies didn't care to attack. Caleb used his controller to relocate the Gunman, who killed two of the Enemy who were caught off guard.

The Archer at Position 13 finally managed to take down the last Enemy and we cheered as the game read, 'Victory!' My phone buzzed and I hastily unlocked it to check my WhatsApp.

Wow! Congrats, girl! I knew you could do it! I'll see you soon! We have to talk! Abby xxxxx I smiled at Abby's reply, and I switched off my phone as Caleb and Isaac aced the bonus match. (Which was basically where you and the Enemy had a face-off. Piece of cake for a pro like me. I don't mean to brag, but . . . [blah blah blah])

After playing Match 80 in Troops Attax, they decided that was enough for a day and they flicked the tv to Netflix. 'What movie y'all wanna watch?' Caleb asked as he flicked through all the popular movies - The Last Witch Hunter, Spectre . . .

'Let's watch that new James Bond one . . .' Isaac said, snatching the remote from Caleb as I groaned and rolled to my back. 'Why can't we see any James Bond movies where he doesn't rape anyone?'

Caleb nods in agreement, but Isaac shakes his head and groans as he clicks 'Play'. 'Shut up.' He groans, as Caleb and I exchange fits of laughter.

<><><><>

'Thank God.' I sigh as the Credits start coming up. I had to watch the whole Spectre, much to my disappointment. I kind of (well, I really) fell asleep halfway and I kind of (well, I really) missed three quarters of the movie.

As Caleb and Isaac went down to the kitchen to eat dinner, I turned off the tv and started to change. Today was basically the best day of my life. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and put on my favourite crop top which said 'Swift 89' in front like some jersey and some pink checkered pajamas.

I pulled on my bunny slippers and I walked down the stairs, to the kitchen, where Mom was scurrying around so fast, she looked blurred. I cautiously stepped into the kitchen, and I stared at the table.

'Er . . . Mom?' I asked unsurely, and Mom paused midway of carrying a huge black pot. 'Are we . . . er . . . expecting anyone? As I remember, my birthday is in nine months' time.' I slowly take a seat at the table, the full table, I should say. I'm actually scared the table's legs are going to give way, because the table is full of food. Like, full full full. There's barely enough space to put down my glass of water, and after doing a count, I say, 'Mom, why are there nine plates?'

Mom placed the glasses down and I threw my hands in the air. 'Mom, what's going on? Are we having some sort of celebration or something? And where's Isaac and Caleb?' Mom smiles and she says, 'You'll know soon, dear. Now do Mom a favour and help me turn on the lights in the living room.' She continued doing . . . what she was doing and I walked out of the kitchen, into the dark living room.

My hand fumbled for the light switch, but I couldn't find it. For some reason, I felt like I wasn't the only one here. I felt like there was somebody else . . . Correction: many other people here in the living room with me.

My fingers finally landed on what felt like the light switch, but I kind of (well, I really) knew that it was there all along. I managed to push down on one ed and the lights in the living room came on.

'Surprise!' The voices chanted in harmony as light filled the living room. They all burst out laughing after they saw my reaction, because they probably saw the reaction on my face. I was stunned. What had I done? Had I won the Oscars or something?

'Congratulations on getting to NAC!' They all cheered again, and I finally grinned, as my friends pulled me into a bone-breaking hug. (Caleb, especially. See? That's why I tried to cancel his gym membership.)

'Abby, Jenna, Isaac, Caleb . . .' I said, scanning the people around me, and I took notice of Abby and Jenna's parents, and smiled at them too. 'You all planned this?'

'Of course.' Abby's Mom smiled. 'The three of you got into NAC, so we feel like we're obliged to plan this surprise for you.' I smile gratefully at all of them, while Isaac continues, 'Although it's mainly for you, since you're the youngest, and it's really a surprise you were able to get into NAC.'

I smile at all of them, and I say, 'Well, shall we eat?' They all cheer and we pour into the kitchen like excited kindergarten children going to the zoo.

<><><><>

'And then that time, at the polar bear exhibit then Isaac's underwear . . .' I wasn't able to finish, because I was laughing hysterically, and the rest of the people at the table were also struggling to breathe, of course except Isaac, while Caleb was trying the hardest he could to make a straight face. (It was a hopeless attempt. His face was reddening because of all the pressure.)

'Don't you dare talk about it, or else you're going to be waist-deep in crap.' Isaac muttered threateningly, as Mom hissed, 'Isaac!' I wiggled my eyebrows playfully. 'Why? Are you threatening me?' I challenged.

'Whatever.' He grumbled, and got out of his seat. Jenna dashed after him up the stairs, since she was basically his girlfriend. (They hadn't announced it yet, but they did a bad job of covering up all their PDAs.)

'Erm . . . I'm sorry for being so clueless, but . . .' Abby muttered unsurely. 'What actually happened in the polar bear exhibit?' I threw my head back in laughter as everybody else either giggled or chuckled.

'Oh, that.' I said, and I started (I liked to call it The Amazing Tale of How Isaac's Underwear Fell), 'It was Isaac's twelfth birthday, the little twat. Dad surprised him by bringing us to the zoo. Then we walked around, looked at all the exhibits. But at the polar bear one . . .'

I had to pause, because I had started to giggle again. Once I had caught my breath, I continued, 'At the polar bear one, he suddenly said he needed to go to the bathroom, and when he came back, he was crying, holding an underwear which was full of crap!'

'Not at the table.' Mom snapped sternly, but giggled anyhow. Even though it was one of the most embarrassing experience all of us had ever had, we couldn't help but laugh at the thought of it. Well, us, excluding Isaac.

Ever since, I've been using that to blackmail him to doing things for me, like cleaning my closet and repainting my room. It was cruel, I know, but I kind of (well, I didn't really) paid him after that, so that was that.

I realised how I have a tendency to rant. I rant about random stuff, I rant about makeup, I rant about 5SOS (Which I don't like, by the way. No offence. Truce?), I even have my own rant book on Wattpad. (Awesome website. Favourite book : The Bad Boy Stole My Bra.)

They started going back home, one by one, and I personally thanked them for coming tonight. It was so unexpected, and I wondered why in the world they felt obliged to throw me a surprise dinner.

'Oh, don't worry about it, dear, we had so much fun.' Abby's Mom shot me a toothy smile, deeply expressing her two dimples, and I mirrored her smile. 'It was really unnecessary, Mrs Banks. But nonetheless, thank you.'

I pulled Abby into a warm hug, too, and I bid them goodnight as they got into their Hyundai and drove away. I rubbed my eyes sleepily as I walked up to my bedroom. I pushed open the door, and I saw two figures sitting on the bedroom floor, no doubt playing Troop Attax.

'Gunman at Position 23!' Isaac yelped anxiously, as I entered, I viewed their match. Ooh. Not so easy now. The Enemies were coming in from the South, East and North, so all their troops were jammed at the West section.

'Hey, the Archer's going to die!' I exclaim, pointing frantically at the Lone Archer (Hmm . . . Lone Archer. That seemed like an idea for a story.) at Position 2, nearing the South, where the Enemy was coming in from.

'Oh, god,' Caleb groaned as he anxiously relocated the Archer to Position 24, and replaced the Gunman at Position 24 with a Fighter, who was back at Position 16. This match was generally hard, since the troops barely had space to be located.

'Isaac, Isaac!' I pointed my finger frantically to the Fighter who was getting beaten up at Position 8 by the Enemy. 'Oh, shit.' He swears, and locates an Archer behind the Enemy. I sigh as the Archer kills him, but I freeze as more of the Enemy start swarming in from the East.

'Attack them!' I yelp, and Caleb locates the Fighters in the furthest positions they could possibly be located without directly placing them in the Red Zone, where the Enemy could easily take them out with just one cannon ball.

Wait . . . cannon ball! 'Caleb, Caleb?' I shake his shoulder forcefully. 'Use your cannon ball.' His eyes light up as he visits his Inventory and removes a cannon ball. Okay, so how it works, is the cannon ball takes everything out around it, as long as it's within range. Different cannon balls have different ranges.

Caleb places it dead center of the battle field, and it takes out all the Enemies, excepts one who is having a lost fight with two Archers and a Gunman. We cheer in victory as Caleb and Isaac proceed to Match 88.

I yawn, and I roll over to my side as Isaac and Caleb start the match. 'Goodnight.' They both say to me as I pull my pillow closer to me. 'Goodnight.' I reply, before dozing off. I enjoyed this night. I was kind of (well, really) happy today.

02 | wonderful day

I skipped down the stairs happily. Oh what a wonderful day it was! Well, it was a wonderful day until I tripped down the last step and fell face-down on the floor. I heard roars of laughter coming from the kitchen and I pushed myself up, rubbing the side of my face.

I trudged to the kitchen, where Caleb and Isaac were keeping their heads down, pretending to eat intently. I used this to my advantage and pushed their faces down into their food. They yelped in surprise as I giggled and sat opposite them.

There was egg sticking onto Isaac's cheeks while Caleb's were drenched with soup. I made my toast and greeted them cheerfully, 'Good morning!' I filled myself a cup of orange juice and I went back up to my room.

I closed the door and switched on my tv. Oh, how long was it since I've played Troop Attax? I logged in to my account and I started Match 128 (See? I told you I'm a pro.) and I located my Archers immediately as the Enemy swarmed in from the South.

The door opens and Caleb walks in, his face soup-free. 'Hey, midget.' I greet and I swear as the Enemy uses a cannon ball on my troop retreat. I relocated two Archers at a position where the Enemy couldn't get them, as Caleb sits down next to me.

'Wow, that one's tough.' He shakes his head, and I roll my eyes as one of my Archers gets blown to pieces. 'Thanks for saying that, Mr Obvious.' Caleb points to completely wrong directions, which blew up a second after he pointed to them.

As my last Gunman killed the last Enemy and the word 'Victory!' appeared on the screen, along with the cartoon woman which was wearing an incredibly short dress which was showing incredibly too much cleavage, but I immediately pressed the 'Next' button and continued to the Menu.

Isaac entered the room, busily typing on his phone. I smirked at him and asked, 'Busy texting your girlfriend again?' He grumbled and plopped down on my bed. It bounced slightly as I continued to Match 129.

'Idiot,' I heard him mutter under his breath, and I turned angrily to face him. 'Oh, not directed to you.' He said sarcastically with a fake smile. I rolled my eyes as the Enemy started swarming in from the East and the South.

<><><><>

'Come on, Mom, I'm only leaving in like . . . one week.' I frown, licking my cone of ice cream as I walk down the stairs, and I spot two bags laying open on the floor, my clothes being carried by Mom as she rushes from the kitchen, getting God knows what. Last time I remember, I don't keep my clothes in the kitchen.

'One week,' Mom grumbles, sounding extremely stressed. 'One week, seven days, one hundred and sixty hours, ten thousand and eighty seconds! Well, not sure about the seconds.' She frowns as she dumps another stack of my clothes in the white bag.

I skip down the last few steps and I bite the last of my cone. I pull open the door of the fridge when I'm in the kitchen, and I grab the pitcher of orange juice. My most favouritest juice in the world. Okay, I know favouritest is not a word, but if it was, it would describe my loving for orange juice.

But as I examine the pitcher, I realise there's a Post-It note stuck on it. I pull it off and read it. It's written in Abby's handwriting. Hey, girl! My house, 8pm. Bring sleeping bag and pillow. -Abby

Oh. A sleepover. Seems like something Abby would usually plan. But I've always rejected those offers, since sleepovers were usually attended by those blonde girls who would giggle like two year-old kids when their parents gave them a teddy bear.

Then they would wear so much lip gloss that you could see your reflection in it. (Look, I don't wear lip gloss, I'm really not sure whether you can see your reflection or not, I'm just guessing. So don't criticise me, okay?)

But . . . thinking about it . . . it was actually one of my last chances to spend time with them. I mean, I was about to leave San Francisco  . . . so I guess, I should probably go, shouldn't I? As if reading my mind, Mom called, 'I think you should go.'

I turned to face her. 'How did you . . .' She smiles as she dumps another stack of my clothes in my bag. 'It's my powers of Extra-Sensory-Perception.' Mom makes a few dramatic gesturing motions with her hands. I roll my eyes and snort I pocket the Post-It note and pour myself a cup of orange juice.

'You? ESP?' I laugh again and I place the pitcher back in the fridge and I sip my orange juice. Aah . . . the perfection. It makes you feel like you're in heaven, as if you're heart suddenly gets lighter, as if your thigh is buzzing . . .

Wait a minute. Why is my thigh buzzing? I open my eyes to find that my phone is busy buzzing madly, kind of like a retarded bee. I pull out my phone and check the caller ID. Abby. Of course. I answer the phone cheerfully. 'Hey, Abby! What's up?'

'Hi, Angela,' Abby greets in her normal happy tone. 'So, are you coming tonight?' I don't even know why she's asking. Well, I actually do know, it's because I've never attended one of her crazy excursions ever before. What a good friend I am. (cough, cough)