Willow Moreno was convinced that her dead sister's ghost had yet to rest and haunted her in a way. Even though Anya was dead for more than three years. Even though it was way past the due time for Willow to grieve for her sister.

Or maybe that's just her mind playing with her psych. As much as Willow convinced herself that she got everything under control, there was always the stubborn piece that won't budge into the puzzle.

"You look terrible," Anya said, sitting down on the bed.

Willow did not even bother to respond to her sister, fully accepting that this was herdeep-rootedd guilt and sadness manifesting right before her eyes, prodding her to unleash the hurtful memories in their history.

"Ignoring me doesn't mean that I'll go away," Anya happily informed, smiling at Willow. Even though her long-dead sister was just a projection from Willow's mind, Anya smile was still all the same. "Wilhelmina."

"Don't call me that."

"I know, precisely the reason why I call you Wilhelmina."

Rolling her eyes, Willow rose up from her bed and stood at the bedside, her hands carefully folded her blanket and set the bed neatly. "Whatever, Anya."

"This is the first day of senior year, cheer up at least," Anya muttered as she walked around Willow's room.

For the last few months Anya manifested, Willow wondered if her sister could actually touch and make physical contact. Before dwelling for too long, Willow brushed off the thought, fully aware that Anya was just her issues manifested right before her eyes. Her mind played cruel tricks on her, far crueler than the stares or sneers she had on the receiving end at Chadwick.

"You should find friends you know," Anya advised in a sagely voice that grated Willow's ears. "It has been years since you actually talk to someone."

Willow wished she could shut her mouth, ignoring the fact that her dead sister was talking to her. Alas, she could not. The reeling guilt, pain and grief rolled into one giant ball that lurched down at her still existed, making it impossible for Willow to ignore.

"If you're trying to be a smart mouth and giving a half assed reply like talking to me counts, news flash, it doesn't. Practically I'm dead and a figment of your imagination," Anya cheerfully informed as she skipped around Willow's room.

At least, Anya was dead enough. That way, she would not slide open the windows that would illuminate the morning sunshine that most definitely will hurt Willow's eyes.

"At least I don't let someone be my friend and ditch them for the middle school boyfriend with whom your relationship did not last more than three months," Willow harshly replied. "He may be the crown prince of Spain, but let's be real, you're never going to be a princess."

Blinking the sleepiness away, she walked towards her wooden closet to retrieve her Chadwick uniform.

Today would be the last first day of school and Willow could hardly wait to throw these damn uniforms right at the fireplace and watch it burn with satisfaction.

Aesthetically, Chadwick Prep's uniform clearly had no problem. Navy blue colored blazer, long-sleeved white blouse, and block motif blue skirt that the rich students could modify as much as they'd like. It represented the burden Willow had to carry as a scholarship student with almost zero power or influence.

"Willow, wake up! It's 7 a.m.!" A shrill voice tore through Willow's fog of mind, followed with a string of harsh knocks. "WILHELMINA!! BREAKFAST IS READY AND YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THE PANCAKES MY MOM MADE."

"Who's that?" Anya asked as she cocked her head to the side. "That's someone new."

Willow faced the full-body length mirror right beside her bed as she knotted her tie. As much as Chadwick's lax school rules regarding uniform tempted Willow to ditch the tie knotting, she was aware sticking to the status quo was the best option. If she wanted to survive one last year under the radar.

"That's not Mom, obviously," Willow sarcastically replied as she picked up her school bag on her desk, slinging it up on her right shoulder. "I don't live with Mom since sophomore year. As a ghost who haunted my life for several months, you should know it by now."

Setting aside the hedonistic society, at least Chadwick considered the scholarship students' wellbeing. After a series of pranks and bullying happened to a group of scholarship students who lived in the dorms several years ago, Chadwick was threatened with PR nightmare when those kids decided to bring the matter to public attention. Articles printed describing that the school bringing up prestige a little bit over the edge and the huge media coverage would potentially destroy the school's reputation as an educational institute, causing parents to rethink their decision sending kids to attend.

To cover up the 'tragedy', Chadwick's board of directors devised a 'homestay program' in which scholarship students stay with other students' family who volunteered to take them and live in their house. Willow immediately signed into the program, seeing it as an opportunity to leave home without actually abandoning her mother.

Although Trish certainly did not share the same sentiment. Honestly Willow did not really care about Trish opinions and sentiments, as much as most people think she should just because Trish is her mother.

It was easier that way, considering that it was Anya who was Trish's favorite daughter. Even though Willow was the one hailed as 'gifted' and 'child prodigy' by therapists and doctors that Trish made Willow see, to see what is wrong with her. Even though Willow had demonstrated 'poster golden child' attributes with her extraordinary grades and was recommended to skip three grades ahead. Even though Willow was the living, breathing daughter, not trapped six feet underground forever rotting in a casket.

"Willow, you're not supposed to leave home until you're eighteen, that's the deal we make before I went to Kingston!" Anya protested, but it fell on deaf ears as Willow just pushed open the door and stepped out from her bedroom. "Willow!"

Willow tuned Anya out, an ability she acquired long before Anya's death. As she stepped down the staircase, Willow closed her eyes before opening them again and Anya was gone.

For weeks it had dawned upon her realization that she could make Anya vanish from her thoughts, stopped the guilt from manifesting. Willow chose not to dissect the reason why she kept Anya around, when she could easily wipe her sister out of her head. The answers were scarier than the demons lurking inside her head and Willow was not ready to find out.

***

"So, the recluse has finally decided to show up to breakfast," Katherine Jarvis, the eldest (and by far the smartest) Jarvis child spoke up as she scooped another chunk of ice cream on top of her pancake. "No offense, Willow, as much as I am nonchalant about your habits, most people who live in this house wishes for another trouble child."

Willow pulled a chair before seating on the seat right beside Katherine, who flashed her a smirk.

"I can be a trouble child, but I choose not to be. It is a hassle." A hassle to Willow's plans to graduate as valedictorian and just straight off to any one of Ivy League universities. Or any potential choices in Prince Raphael's list of prospect universities.

For so long Willow wanted to confront Anya's pathetic middle school ex-boyfriend. Just to see the young prince's face when Willow mentioned Anya's name in front of him, or partly the reason her sister died in the first place because of him. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on both Willow's and Anya's side, wishing at least the latter meant something for entirely different reasons.

Aside from opposing personalities fathers, maybe there was something that tied both Willow and Anya together into a twisted similarity. Willow's forehead scrunched at the thought that even after Anya's death, it was Prince Raphael who bound the Moreno sisters.

"Something wrong?" Katherine raised one of her eyebrows in a challenging manner, as if daring Willow to say something negative about Mrs. Jarvis' pancake. "I surely hope not."

"Oh, Willow, you don't like pancakes?" Carol Jarvis aka Katherine's mother asked, her voice laced in concern. If Willow did not know any better, she was a better mother figure than Trish could ever wish to be. "I should have asked before cooking it."

Katherine stayed silent and stared at Willow, waiting for the latter's response. An amateur observer would miss it, but she saw Katherine's knuckles turn white as she gripped her black leather jacket. Willow knew that Katherine did not want her mother to ask questions that would set Willow off.

Not after what the girl had seen when she walked into Willow's bedroom in one wrong moment.

"Nothing, there's just a lot of things that have been running inside my head," Willow admitted, a little bit unsure. Her gaze flicked to Katherine, but her hands were relaxed now as she laid them on her thighs. "Sorry for worrying all of you."

"Worrying is my job, not yours," Carol exclaimed with a clap of her hand. "Now, finish your breakfast and off you go to school. No more skipping classes, Katherine. I know you're smart enough to graduate high school earlier, but you have to adhere to the rules."

"Ma, the rules don't apply to the geniuses," Katherine retorted with a smirk. The brunette turned her head to face Willow, her long wavy hair swished a little as she did so. "Willow can attest to that, right?"

Even though she had been living with Katherine as her housemate for over two years, Willow still maintained enough distance with Katherine for precaution. Not that Katherine was a bad person or flaunted her wealth like the other students at Chadwick (even though the Jarvises were well off enough to earn that privilege).

Everything about Katherine screamed 'dangerous'. With her sneer, the way she shrugged off everyone's expectations of being her father (who was a renowned scientist and biotech billionaire) and the fact she's off the charts genius who honestly give Willow a run for her money, Katherine was not someone Willow considered as 'safe'. Not to mention the leather jacket with the word 'not your baby' embroidered on the back that she always seemed to wear only added more the rebellious vibe she's pulling off overly too well.

Willow was not afraid of challenges, one reason she earned herself a ticket out of the small town where her mother was trapped in. However, letting Katherine—who could dissect Willow's inner demons with one stare and one sentence—it was too much for Willow to handle.

"The rules don't apply to everyone," Willow said carefully, weighing her words as she cut through the pancake. "Some people are born lucky; some are lucky to be born."

"Quoting Fire Lord Ozai, I see," Katherine stated, somehow her tone made Willow think she said the wrong word. "I always appreciate pop cultured people, not only quoting pretentious books like Dorian Gray or Pride and Prejudice. Honestly, Willow, if you're not this closed off, I think we can be friends."

Willow gulped, swallowing the bile rising in her throat. She was reminded of Anya's words of advice to make friends and Katherine's casual words punched her in the gut, quite literally so.

"Aren't you both are at the same year?" Carol asked, not turning her attention away from the dishes.

One thing about the Jarvises that Willow liked, they lived far below the standards of living set for people whose fortune is as much as theirs. Not living in a mansion, but a humble brownstone townhouse and not hiring personal housekeepers or bunch of maids like most families of their caliber.

"Yeah, but we run in different social circles," Katherine said, her gaze was unreadable.

It was a silent help to say that Willow did not run in any social circle. Only a handful of acquaintances from Mathlete club, Student Council and literature discussion club, but they did not imprint a meaningful mark on Willow's life. Not chalking up the 'friend' category.

It had been several years since she actually let herself be friends with anyone. But that was before Anya died.

"Holy Mother of God," Katherine suddenly exclaimed as she scrolled through her phone, pulling down the weird atmosphere that hung up in the air. "That girl got balls, I have to freaking admit it."

Willow glanced at Carol, who was taking a seat right across her daughter's, her lips pressed into a thin line. It was obvious that Carol was going to reprimand her daughter, but stopped herself on the nick of time.

Katherine learned the lesson to polish her language in front of her southern belle mother.

"What is it?" Carol asked, not actually curious about whatever content her daughter was scrutinizing on her phone.

"You wouldn't believe it, Mother. Hell, even I still can't believe it."

Carol raised one of her eyebrows and Willow repressed the urge to chuckle. Of course, she would not understand. Katherine and her mother shared almost next to nothing traits or personality that would tie them together. That included the definition of 'unbelievable' according to each of them both.

"Vivian is making a comeback, Mom, and everyone is talking about it now."

Suddenly, Willow experienced a flashback that transported her right to the moment in Chadwick's hallway several years ago. The girl who maintained her shattered image with a mere blow of cigarette. As if hand waving everything that is happening in her life.

Vivian's casual warning about Chadwick played inside Willow's head, Katherine's announcement served as the switch that turned on the recording, playing over and over like a broken record. Willow tried not to beat herself up for not listening, her old self thought that she had been through enough to withstand the complicated social intrigues at Chadwick.

Chadwick, the main social scene of the rich kids of Upper East Side, a place Willow clearly did not belong. Not that she ever belonged anywhere.

"Tatianna will not be happy about this," Katherine said with a satisfied expression, her mouth curved into a sinister smile.

"Aren't the three of you used to be friends?" Carol inquired, merely asking. No curiosity or malice, just an honest question.

Carefully Willow watched the exchange between the mother-daughter pair. Katherine's face tensed a little bit, her hands balled into fists as if restraining herself from punching the wall.

With the number of kickboxing practice sessions Willow witnessed every day, it was not a surprise Katherine could make a hole in the wall with only one punch.

Before Katherine could open her mouth to either clarify or be sarcastic (Willow highly suspected it was the latter), Courtney Jarvis, Katherine's younger sister, practically skipped into the dining room. Her strong perfume wafted in the air, causing Willow to scrunch her nose in a failed attempt to stop inhaling the air.

If Katherine was made of leather jackets, snarky remarks and angry vibe, Courtney was made of frilly skirts, typical teenage complaints, and saccharine sweetness.

"Mom, why don't you wake me up!? Keenan will pick me up in like ten minutes and now he will complain about my 'high maintenance' habits," Courtney complained as she nonchalantly opened the fridge to grab the milk crate. She unscrewed the lid and gulped it all down her throat.

"At least try to be sanitary before your boyfriend arrives," Katherine remarked as she stood up. "Willow, be quick or you'll have to catch subway train all alone. Wouldn't want that to happen right?"

For some reason that Willow had yet to figure out, Katherine always spoke in challenging rhetorical questions. She would always get the last word, but Katherine thrived from seeing people squirm.

Something Willow could relate to.

"No, I won't."

"Great," Katherine exclaimed with a smile, genuine this time. "I can feel that senior year is going to be nuts."

Willow did not know whether Katherine's definition of 'nuts' consisted of beating her from valedictorian position (as if Willow would let that happen) or the fact that Vivian's emergence from obscurity would shake the natural order of things at Kingston.

That being, Tatianna Winthrop-Petrova, the ruling queen of Upper East Side social scene, had her time running out sitting on the throne.

Looking back to the first day of senior year, Willow could honestly admit that she did not care about the cutthroat social jungle in Chadwick. All she wanted was to survive. That was, until the Universe seemed hell bent to drag her out from her self-imposed lone wolf habits.

"As long as you're ready to face whatever's down the road, Katherine," Willow muttered, her voice not low enough as it somehow reached Katherine's earshot.

Katherine, who already walked several steps ahead, turned her head and raised one of her eyebrows. "You got anything to say, Willow?"

Coming from anyone, it would sound like a challenge to engage in a verbal battle. But that's just Katherine's default setting, to challenge anyone and anything with her commanding presence, even the natural order of things in Chadwick she was trying to shake.

"No," Willow said with smile, "none at all."

On the corner of her eye, she caught Anya standing close to the front door. Disapproval tugged her facial expression, so real that Willow almost forgot she was just a figment of her imagination. "Liar, liar, pants on fire," Anya whispered as she stepped closer. "Remember what I say, Willow, a best friend is crucial for survival, especially in a school like yours."

Willow waited for Katherine to walk further before dishing out her last reply. "You say that to me, but look where you are now, Anya. You died in the first place to chase an apology from your so-called best friend Natalya, who doesn't have the guts or decency to attend your funeral."

Her sight started to blur a little bit with the tears pooling in her eyes, but Willow snapped herself out.

She would get out of Chadwick alive and thriving. She would confront every single person who caused her sister to die in the first place.

Even if the struggle would kill her in the long run, Willow didn't care much. At least she could prove to herself or Trish that she's a good daughter, a good sister to Anya. If only she could take the last words before Anya decided to hop into that car.

If only she could beg and grovel for the universe to turn back time just once.