Chapter 1

As the English teacher droned on, I sat in my seat, feeling a sense of misery wash over me. I had never found the subject to be particularly engaging, but today it seemed even more tedious than usual. My mind wandered, and before I knew it, I had zoned out entirely.

However, despite my boredom, there was a spark of excitement fluttering in my chest. Today was the day that new students were arriving at our school. I couldn't explain why, but the thought filled me with a sense of anticipation. Ness, my best friend, thought I was crazy for getting so worked up over new students, but I couldn't help it.

I turned my gaze towards the window and saw a figure on a bicycle, clutching a suitcase. That's strange, I thought. All the other new students had arrived with their parents, but this guy was alone. Perhaps he wasn't even a student at all. Regardless, I couldn't shake the feeling that something interesting was about to happen.

"I'm starving," I grumbled to my seatmate, Elena. She nodded sympathetically as I complained about my empty stomach.

Just as the bell rang, signifying the end of the period, my thoughts immediately turned to lunch. My excitement was evident as I thought about the new students who would be joining our school.

"Why are you so excited about those people anyway?" Ness asked, annoyance evident in her voice. "You won't even get to study with them." I was taken aback by her tone, wondering why she wasn't happy about the new arrivals. She had been at the school for nearly three days now, alone because she had decided to arrive earlier than the rest of the students in her grade.

After we finished eating, we made our way to the administration office to see the new students. As soon as I stepped inside, I was struck by the sight of familiar faces from my previous school. They were all grown up now and it was hard to believe that it had been a year since I had last seen them in grade 10. I felt a smile spread across my face as I realized that I too had grown and changed in the past year.

As I made my way over to Kayla, a friend from class, we noticed a group of three guys standing in front of the building. "Wanna go say hi?" Kayla suggested. I normally would have declined, being the shy Tessa West that I was, but I felt different since last summer. Confident and unafraid, I replied, "Yeah, let's go."

We approached the group of guys, with Kayla introducing us. "Hi, I'm Kayla and this is my friend Tessa." One of the guys caught my eye and I realised with a start that he was the same guy I had seen on a bike a few minutes earlier. "My name is Tres," he said, extending his hand.

A week had passed, and the rehearsals for the welcome party for the new students had been exhausting. I found it hard to believe that just a term ago, I had never sung in front of anyone, and now I was to perform in front of the entire school. The thought was overwhelming, and I couldn't help but reflect on how far I had come.

As we took to the stage, my heart was pounding in my chest. The nervousness was evident, and I wished I could close my eyes and disappear into the music. Yet, as soon as I started singing, something miraculous happened. I was transported to another world, a place where all my fears and anxieties melted away. Singing felt good, and I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot about everything else.

After our performance, we took our seats and watched the rest of the show. Despite the festive occasion, it seemed as though the other students were not showing the excitement and enthusiasm that I had expected.

The after party was a welcome respite from the tension of the performance, but I couldn't shake the thought of how difficult it had been to sing in front of so many people. I loved singing, but the stage fright had taken its toll, and I wasn't sure if I could handle it again.

**

As I lay in my bed, lost in thought, I couldn't help but wonder if there was someone out there who shared my fatigue towards the school. The mere mention of a Monday filled me with unease, and I couldn't shake off the feeling of fatigue that had taken hold of me.

Despite my reluctance, I knew that I had to awaken myself and start the day. I forced myself out of bed and began to ready myself for the day ahead. As I went through the motions, I couldn't escape the feeling that I had been awake for an eternity, the weight of fatigue bearing down on me like an iron yoke.

And yet, as I stepped into the classroom and the lesson began, my mind started to wander. The letters and numbers on the blackboard seemed to swim before my eyes in a jumbled mess, and I struggled to recall what my teacher was saying. Maths, the bane of my existence, seemed to be closing in on me, threatening to suck me into its vortex of boredom.

But, just as I was about to give in to the lure of sleep, a notification caught my eye. I looked down and felt a flicker of excitement. "Hi there, I liked your voice." The words brought a smile to my lips, and I felt a rush of energy. In that moment, all thoughts of weariness and dullness vanished, and I was reminded that there was still joy to be found in even the most unremarkable of days.