The alarm rang earlier than I expected.
I groaned and buried my face deeper into my pillow.
"First day…" I mumbled.
Today was my first day at Sylvan Helston University, and honestly, I didn't know if I should feel excited or terrified.
Probably both.
I slowly sat up and looked out the window. The fog was already covering the streets outside.
Very different from Manila.
"Sam! Breakfast is ready!" Jacky called from downstairs.
"Coming!" I replied.
After a quick breakfast with Jacky and baby Allison, I grabbed my bag and jacket.
Jacky looked at me with a proud smile.
"So… first day," she said.
"You'll be fine."
"I hope so," I replied nervously.
"Relax," she laughed. "Just be yourself."
Easy for her to say.
A few minutes later, I found myself standing in front of the huge entrance gate of Sylvan Helston University.
I stared at the campus.
"Wow…"
The buildings were beautiful—modern but elegant. Tall trees surrounded the campus, and the buildings looked like those in an American university.
Now I understood why Jacky was so impressed with this place.
Students were everywhere. Some were talking loudly with their friends, while others were laughing like they had known each other forever.
Meanwhile…
There I was.
Standing alone.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay, Sam," I whispered to myself.
"You can do this."
Still, I couldn't help feeling nervous.
Being a transfer student wasn't easy. Everyone here already seemed to know each other. They already had their groups, their friends, and their routines.
And then there was me.
The new girl from Manila.
I tightened my grip on my bag and walked toward the locker area while keeping my head down.
Luckily, I found my locker easily. I checked the small paper with the combination number the school had given me and opened it.
Inside, several books were already waiting.
I blinked.
"Oh my God…"
There were so many.
And the worst part?
I hated reading.
"Jacky really chose a difficult school for me," I muttered.
Just as I was about to close my locker, voices nearby suddenly caught my attention.
A girl's voice.
She sounded like she was crying.
I didn't mean to listen, but the hallway was quiet enough for me to hear them clearly.
"Please… don't do this," the girl begged.
"I said enough," a boy replied coldly.
"We're not together. And we never were."
I slowly peeked from the side of my locker.
The girl looked beautiful but heartbroken. Tears were streaming down her face.
In front of her stood a tall boy with black hair.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
"I never asked you to be my girlfriend," he said.
"All I said was that if you wanted to hang out with me, we could have fun. It's not my fault if you misunderstood."
Wow.
That guy was brutal.
I felt bad for the girl.
"You bastard!" she cried.
She raised her hand to slap him, but the guy quickly grabbed her wrist.
"You used me!" she shouted.
"You made me believe that we were—"
Suddenly—
RING!
The sound of a phone interrupted the moment.
My eyes widened.
The ringtone was coming from my pocket.
"Shit," I whispered.
In my panic, I didn't even know what to do.
And unfortunately…
They both turned and looked straight at me.
Great.
Just great.
"Uh… hi," I said awkwardly.
"M-my phone is ringing… excuse me."
Even I was shocked by what I had just said.
Who does that?
Apparently…
Me.
I forced an awkward smile before quickly walking away.
The moment I turned the corner—
I started running.
"Oh my gosh… this is so embarrassing," I whispered to myself.
This was only my first day, and I had already embarrassed myself.
Amazing.
I hurried down the hallway, trying to get as far away from them as possible.
But suddenly—
BAM!
I collided with someone.
Everything went dark for a second.
But strangely…
I didn't feel any pain.
Instead, the first thing I noticed was a very nice scent.
It smelled warm and expensive—like some kind of luxury cologne.
"Miss?"
A deep voice spoke.
My eyes slowly opened.
And when I looked up—
I froze.
The guy standing in front of me had dazzling brown eyes.
He was tall.
Very tall.
And unbelievably handsome.
For a moment, my brain stopped working.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts.
"A-ah… sorry!" I said quickly, bowing my head.
"It's fine," he replied.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"N-no," I said, shaking my head.
But then I noticed something worse.
Several students in the hallway were staring at us.
My face immediately turned red.
I hated attention.
Quickly, I gathered the books that had fallen from my arms.
"Um… bye!" I blurted out before rushing away.
I didn't even wait for his reply.
I walked as fast as I could toward my classroom.
"Calm down, Sam," I whispered to myself.
"This day just started."
When I finally reached my classroom, I let out a long sigh of relief.
No more accidents.
No more embarrassing moments.
Hopefully.
I chose a seat at the back of the classroom and checked my reflection in a small mirror from my bag.
"Okay… you still look normal," I said quietly.
Students slowly started entering the room.
Some came in groups, laughing loudly like they owned the place.
Meanwhile, I was just sitting there, trying not to look too awkward.
"Hi… is anyone sitting here?"
I looked up.
A beautiful girl with hazel brown eyes was standing beside my desk.
"Uh… no," I said.
"You can sit there."
"Thanks!" she said with a friendly smile.
She sat beside me.
"So, what's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Chloe," she added, extending her hand.
"I'm Samantha," I replied, shaking it.
"I didn't see you last year," Chloe said.
"Are you new here?"
"Y-yeah. I moved here about three weeks ago. I'm from Manila."
"Oh, cool! So, you speak Tagalog?"
I laughed a little at how cute she sounded speaking Tagalog.
"Yep."
"This might be a foreign school, but we mostly speak Tagalog here. Some international students are still learning it."
"Oh good," I said.
"For a second I thought—"
"Of course," she laughed. "I grew up here. Both my parents are pure Filipino."
"Really?"
I looked at her more closely.
"You look Italian. You're so beautiful."
She laughed.
"Thanks! You're pretty too. If I weren't a girl, I'd probably date you."
"Huh?"
I didn't know how to react to that.
She chuckled at my confused expression.
"Do you have a boyfriend? I'm sure you do."
My face immediately turned red.
"Uh… well…"
"It's okay if you don't want to say."
"I… I don't have a boyfriend," I whispered shyly.
"Seriously?" she said in surprise.
"With a face like yours? I find that hard to believe."
"But it's true," I said.
"Do you have one?"
She gave me a strange look.
"No," she answered quickly.
"Really?"
"I know what you're thinking," she teased. "But there is a guy I like."
"Oh," I nodded.
I found it funny how our conversation suddenly turned into a topic about boyfriends when we had just met.
Suddenly, a tall woman in her forties entered the classroom, her expression serious. The conversations inside the room immediately stopped.
She placed her bag on the desk and scanned the room.
"Good morning," she said firmly. "I am Professor Arenas, and this is Introduction to Economics."
No one spoke.
She nodded once.
"Since it's the first day, we'll begin with introductions. When I call your name, stand up and tell us a little about yourself."
She picked up the class list.
"Let's begin."
Small conversations immediately started around the room.
"She seems very strict," I whispered to Chloe.
Chloe nodded slightly and leaned closer so the professor wouldn't hear us.
"Yeah," Chloe replied. "I heard she is."
"Really? I sighed quietly.
Chloe chuckled.
"Relax. It's just introductions today."
I nodded, trying to calm myself down.
Then I turned to Chloe and introduced myself again, even though we had already talked earlier.
"Hi, I'm Sam," I said with a small smile.
Chloe laughed.
"We literally met a few minutes ago."
"I know," I said, laughing softly. "But the professor said to introduce ourselves."
"Fair point," she replied playfully. "I'm Chloe."
Then I turned to the girl sitting on my other side.
And—
Wow.
She was gorgeous.
At first glance, she looked a little intimidating. Her posture was confident, and her body figure was perfect.
Was she a model or something?
I realized I had been staring for too long.
"H-hi," I said quickly. "I'm Sam. And you are?"
"H-hi… I'm Mikaela," she said shyly.
"And I'm Chloe," Chloe added cheerfully.
Mikaela gave us a small, gentle smile.
"Nice to meet you both."
After that, the three of us spent the rest of the day together until it was finally time to go home.
I would never forget this day.
Because this was the day I met two people who would become the beginning of a new chapter in my life.
Maybe it's normal to feel nervous on your first day.
But sometimes…
Things turn out better than you expect.