I never planned on falling in love. Actually, I had a whole list of things I did plan:
1) Survive school without embarrassing myself,
2) Keep my grades high enough to not get a dramatic lecture from Mom,
3) Avoid attention at all costs.
Love was definitely not on that list.
But life apparently doesn't care about my lists. It all started on a random Tuesday morning—the kind where the sky looks tired and the hallways at school smell like someone burnt toast again. I walked through the front doors with my earbuds in, messy bun barely holding itself together, already counting down the hours until I could go home.
Then the whispering started.
"Did you see him?" "He's new." "He's in 10B, I think." "He's cute." Cute?
That one word got my attention even though I pretended it didn't. I kept walking toward my locker, but the crowd near the office made it impossible to ignore. Everyone was staring at someone I couldn't see yet.
And then he turned around.
I froze.
He had that kind of face you'd see in a Netflix teen drama—messy dark hair, warm skin, and eyes that looked like they had stories to tell. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't look lost or nervous like normal new kids do. Instead, he stood there like he'd been here all along. Confident. Calm. Completely out of place. My best friend Maya elbowed me as she appeared beside me.
"You're staring," she whispered.
"I'm observing," I whispered back.
"Observing boys now? Wow. Character development." I rolled my eyes, even though she was right. I wasn't the type to stare at anyone—especially not guys. They usually made me awkward, especially the cute ones.
I'd end up saying something like, "Hi, I like your… elbows," or some other disaster. The new guy caught me looking.
And for a second—just a tiny, microscopic second—our eyes met. My brain short-circuited. I quickly turned to my locker, pretending to be extremely fascinated by… the door. And the scratches. And the tiny sticker I'd been meaning to peel off since last year.
"Smooth," Maya laughed.
"Shut up." Behind us, a voice echoed down the hallway.
"Everyone, please welcome our new student, Adam Faris. I hope you all make him feel at home."
Adam. Of course his name was Adam. Then I heard footsteps behind me. Getting closer. Heading our way. My heart started beating like crazy.
"Hey," a voice said. Deep. Calm. Close. I turned. Adam stood right beside me, holding his schedule.
"Do you know where Room 204 is?" he asked. My mouth opened. Nothing came out.
Maya saved me. "Yeah, it's upstairs. We can show you. Right, we?" She nudged me so hard I nearly fell into my locker.
"Oh—uh—yeah," I finally managed. He smiled. Just a small one, but enough to make my stomach flip. "Thanks," he said. And just like that, the three of us walked down the hallway together—me trying not to melt, Maya smirking like this was the best entertainment of her life, and Adam, the boy I absolutely, definitely wasn't supposed to fall for. Looking back, that walk to Room 204?
That was the beginning of everything.