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“Our moms are best friends.”

She placed her hands over her mouth as if she’d just reached the plot twist of a mystery novel.

“You have no idea how lucky you are.” She said. “You know the Hart brothers.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t know them.” I said. “It’s not like we’re friends.”

How long are these hallways?

I turned the corner, only to collide straight into Noah.

“Sorry, sis.” He said without a trace of sincerity.

“Learn to walk, Noah.”

“Someone’s grumpy already.” He nudged Joshua.

“Are you finding your way around?” Joshua asked.

I nudged my thumb in Stella’s direction.

“I have my very own tour guide.”

Josh waved, unaware of her identity.

“I’m Stella.”

He nodded and smiled.

“Pleasure meeting you, Stella.”

The ding of the bell disrupted our unpleasant interaction.

“See you at home.” I said to Noah before grabbing Stella’s wrist. “Let’s get going.”

I followed her to class 23B. There were fewer people than I had expected. Everyone appeared unhurried to arrive on time for class. I took a seat beside Stella in the middle row.

Laughter captured my attention as the pretty committee walked in. They reminded me of the Pink Ladies from Grease. I slouched in my seat to hide myself from their gaze, but it didn’t work. Ava’s eyes landed on me, and her nose scrunched as if she hated what she saw.

It’s like I never left home.

The middle-aged woman, whom I assumed to be Ms. Beech, strutted into the classroom. I’m not sure if her scowl was natural or if it’s because her face was pulled back from her tight hair bun. She seemed uninterested in anything other than the curriculum.

I appreciated the fact that she pretended I didn’t exist. There’s nothing worse than the awkward introduction, exposing me as the outlier. It would ruin my plans of surviving in this new town until I graduate. One drawback of living in a small town was the limited hiding places.

As soon as the bell rang, Stella and I were both eager to leave. In my rush to leave the classroom before everyone else, I accidentally collided with someone.

This is not a good first day.

“My apologies, Ms. Bennet.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Sorry.” I tried to move past him, but he blocked me. “Please move, Asher.”

He raised his hands in surrender.