Bestie!

The sun rays fell through the blinds on her face the next morning and when she woke up and turned to the other side of the bed she saw Jasper asleep on the couch. She looked at him for a while and stretched out her hand and moved it in the air pretending to caress his face and moved her fingers across his lips and eyes. How can someone look so perfect even when they're asleep, she thought to herself. 

Just then Jasper moved a little and she immediately retreated her hand and pretended to be asleep. 

After a while when she thought the coast was clear she opened her eyes and found that he had got out of the couch. 

She sank her head into the pillow for a few seconds, and then turned to look up at the ceiling in a daze. As time went by, she laid there with her thoughts straying back to 11 years ago when everything began.

It was a sunny morning just like this. She got ready for school, it was the first day of her high school senior year, and she was excited about it. Humming to her favorite song, she sprayed her favorite perfume and took a last glance at herself in the mirror. 

"Perfect", she said, winking at herself.

"Sweetheart, the breakfast is ready." Her mother called out to her while knocking at the door.

"Yes mom, I'll be there in a minute".

Melissa checked her bag to make sure she had everything she needed.

"It's a new beginning. Good luck Millie, you can get through this." She said to herself.

She went down the stairs to the dining hall and found her parents at the table.

"Ahh… I wish you would never grow old, my love. I want you to stay young forever", her father complained,while watching Melissa have her breakfast. 

To his words Melissa smiled at him and said,"I wanna grow up quickly and take care of you and mom".

Her father laughed and petted her on the head and said,"Oh my little girl is a high school senior now all grown up."

Both her parents wished her luck on the first day as they watched her leave while standing at the door. 

…

…

[Classroom]

She walked into her classroom and found that many of the seats were taken and friend groups had already been formed among the girls in the class.

She noticed an empty seat behind a girl who was immersed in her phone. The girl seemed to have no friends and was sitting alone staring intensely at her phone as though she would get sucked inside it any minute. 

Melissa walked up to her and tapped on her shoulder and asked, "Is this seat taken?"

The girl turned and looked at her with a sour face exasperated by the disturbance, and responded with a,"No."

"Uh okay- ", her voice cracked a little and so did her heart.

She did not expect her to respond in this way and reflected on her actions thinking if she had done anything wrong to receive that sort of response. Remembering the expression on the girl's face she felt defeated at the idea of making a lot of friends. 

She wanted to say something but stopped at the thought that she might end up pissing her off and so she sat down without a word.

'Here goes my first attempt at making a friend. Why are you so useless?'she groaned internally.

Melissa was the only daughter of her parents who were both doctors. They owned the largest hospital in their city and so it was easy for her to afford expensive things and live a comfortable life. 

She sat there for a bit and a little later was approached by a group of girls who asked her name and where she lived and what she liked.

They noticed the designer bag, expensive jewelry, and shoes that she wore and it grabbed their attention. Soon enough she became popular and everyone wanted to talk to her and be friends with her. She was showered with compliments on her looks, her fashion sense and so on.

Melissa was not only rich but she was also pretty and had a charming personality. People were easily attracted to her soft and bubbly nature and was liked by everyone she met.

It was a perfect first day.

…

…

[At home]

Melissa looked up at the ceiling as she lay on her bed, "First day, so far so good." she said to herself proudly with a smile on her face. 

Just then her maid knocked on the door.

"Miss your dinner is ready, your mom informed me that she will be here in a few minutes."

To this, Melissa politely responded with, "Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Melissa couldn't wait to tell her mother about her first day in school. It was rare for her family to have dinner together since both her parents were always busy at the hospital. She spent most of her dinner time alone and so hearing that her mother was returning home for dinner was the cherry on top.

The clock kept ticking and a minute turned to an hour but her mother did not return even after waiting. All the thrill and excitement died down when she received a text from her mother saying that she had to return to the hospital because of an emergency case.

She thanked the maids for the delicious meal and went back to her room.

She laid down on her bed and scrolled through the phone and looked at the pictures of her and her parents on a picnic and recalled those memories. She felt a sting in her heart missing all those times they spent together wanting to do it again. 

A while after she fell asleep her mother returned home and went up to the room and knocked on the door and called her. After knocking for some time she opened the door and saw that her daughter was asleep. She felt sorry for not being able to share the special moments with her daughter and regretted it.

"Honey, Mommy is back. I'm so sorry for being late once again. Please forgive me dear. I promise to make it up to you." She said in a hushed tone. 

As she was leaving the room, Melissa groggily said, "Mom I love you." To this, her mother smiled and replied, "I love you lots more sweetheart. You mean the world to me."

Months went by smoothly. Melissa fit into the surroundings, got used to the class and was well liked by her classmates and teachers. She volunteered for many club activities and was also elected as the vice president for the literature club.

…

…

[Art Room]

The teacher brought in a bowl of fruits and placed it on the table.

"Class this is your classwork. Start painting and I will not tolerate anyone who doesn't have your paint brushes or materials. Leave the room if there is anyone like that." The teacher said, staring at each student in the room.

Melissa noticed the girl next to her rummaging through her bag and panicking because she didn't have the paint brush. 

The teacher noticed the tension and asked,"Miss Jessica is everything okay? Do you have your paint brush?"

Melissa then quickly placed the paintbrush in the girl's hand and acted as though nothing happened.

Jessica raised her hand and showed the teacher the paintbrush and said," Y-Yes ma'am I do."

The teacher nodded and replied," Okay start with your work then."

Jessica heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Melissa who was sitting beside her working on her canvas. To her she was her savior that day, a goddess descended from the heavens. She saw that Melissa was focused on her work and so she did not disturb her. She just smiled and continued to work on her own board.

(30 mins later)

The teacher entered the class and announced" It's almost time, leave your work as it is. We shall continue it in the next class. Make sure you cover your work with a film so that it doesn't get spoiled or dirty."

The students started packing their bags as soon as the teacher left.

"Hey, umm thank you for saving me back there, I owe you one. I am Jessica by the way." She said, while handing over the paintbrush to Melissa.

"It was nothing, you're most welcome" she smiled at her,"I am Melissa", she added and stood up to leave.

Jessica hurriedly packed her bag with the intention of following Melissa. She wanted to offer her a drink or food in return for help she received.

"Hey? Wanna go grab something to eat? Or maybe a drink?,"Jessica said walking behind her.

Melissa heard this and turned to her and smiled,"Sure why not!." 

They bought cold drinks from the vending machine that was in the cafeteria hall and sat down on the bench nearby.

"I thought you didn't like me", Melissa said trying to start a conversation.

Jessica was surprised at that and asked, "Huh!? What made you think so?". 

Melissa turned to her and said," On the first day of class I asked if the seat behind you was empty but you gave me an annoyed response so I thought you didn't like me."

Jessica laughed out loud hearing this from her.

"I'm sorry, I was just annoyed by every single person asking me if that seat was empty when they entered the class. I don't dislike you." She assured her.

"I'm so glad!". Melissa cried. "I thought you hated me or something and I was concerned as to why". She added.

"Nah chill", Jessica responded, sipping the juice box.

After a while Melissa received a call from her driver who asked her about where she was since she was late. 

"I have to go, my driver is here to pick me up." And she stood up and fixed her uniform.

'She seems nice and pretty', Jessica thought to herself while sipping the juice box, looking up at Melissa. She offered to walk with her till the gate.

Melissa got inside the car and then she smiled at Jessica and said ," See you tomorrow then?."

"Yeah, see ya," Jessica smiled and nodded.