Chapter 1

It's just the first day of the Sophomore year and I already ended up in an awkward situation. Having an awkward land on someone you don't know is something I can live with. But no. It had to be Koda. Koda Moreno was someone I knew for most of my life through a common group of friends who lived in the same neighborhood. Koda and I weren't ever particularly close. I was a relatively shy person , not very popular to be exact. But oh boy, was Koda popular. Despite that I never really showed that much interest in him (as well as in guys generally) until last September. You weren't ever planning on informing him about how you felt, except my friend Serene felt otherwise and decided to give us a 'push' as she described it. He never rejected me, he claimed he never saw me that way since I am older by a year and he needed time to think it all over. Later that week I broke my leg and hence never showed up for hanging out and playing football. And the rest is history.

At the moment it's all off point though. I could already feel stares and hear whispers from all over the hallway. Some idiot even whistled. Koda was staring at me with a stoic expression waiting for me to get off. His sister Tanya rushed over and picked me up, and all I could mumble was a shaky "t-thanks". Koda stood up and picked up my bag. "I am so sorry. Are you fine?" I sheepishly asked. "I'm all good. Long time no see by the way" he replied with a sudden smile. What on earth is he smiling for? To my relief the bell suddenly rang signifying we should be in class. "I'll see you later" he said while handing me the bag and walking off in a different direction giving me a salute. What a stressful morning. Shoot! I am late!

Well Ms. Stevenson is still the same boring lady. I already studied all of this during the break. I like to be ahead of the class so that I can comfortably live without continuously stressing out about the exams. Till then I can read about the Cygnus and Delphinus constellations. Both are constellations are best visible in September. Cygnus is described as a swan and is associated with weddings, romance, love and anniversaries. Whereas Delphinus is described as a dolphin and is associated with love, weddings and mythology. Wow these are quite romantic…

I was cut off by Miss Stevenson tapping on my desk with her pointer. "Miss Westbrooke you seem quite engrossed in whatever you are reading. Care to share with the class?" she said while lowering her rectangle shaped spectacles. I just blankly stared back. "I then assume you can enlighten the rest of us who occupied Poland and oppressed it during World War II ?" She questioned making a sarcastic expression. "Soviet Soldiers did" I answered nonchalantly. "Very well you may sit. However it is desirable that you focus when I'm teaching. You are a student here" she said and catwalked towards the smartboard. "As I was saying…"she carried on. What a bore.

Finally lunch break. I felt like I would puke if I stayed even a second more in the stuffy biology lab. Suddenly I was jumped upon and hugged so tightly, I was already considering the possibility of my back breaking. "Saige! What's up nerd?" said Aaron. The guy was as tall as 2 meters. My god did puberty hit him. "Let's head for lunch. I'm starving." He nagged. "I wasn't planning on-" I was about to say. "Don't give me that crap. You need to eat and socialize." "Sure , sure" I said while rolling my eyes. I was hoping to spend the lunch break in the Library and finally get some peace.

This is not what I was hoping to spend my lunch break like. Here I am sitting in a noisy cafeteria, while Aaron and Serene (my best friend) are bickering and the rest which include Jihyun, Merida and Paris are chatting away. These are lovely people and all that, but I would prefer a different atmosphere at the moment. "I totally forgot, but I need to drop by at the library before next class, so see you all around". With those words I rose from my seat, grabbing my bag and leaving this hellish place.

I did not lie though. I was planning on working at the school library and had a number of reasons to do so. 1. I like books so this would be fun . 2. School gives a decent amount of money for helping out along with a recommendation letter. 3. I could skip one of my extra classes which in my case was music. The library wasn't very popular among students except when needing to study, so it was quiet. Just the atmosphere I need and love.

So here I am at the front desk filling and signing my application. Almost done. Looks like no one except me is going to apply this year which is wonderful, meaning it's just going to be just me and the senior supervisor who's barely ever seen around. Suddenly I feel a stare from behind me and turn around to see who it was. And oh for goodness' sake. "Hey there". "Hi Koda…. What are you doing here?". "Same thing as you, Applying for the library of course". This day couldn't get worse, could it?