[Alex's POV]
On the first day of school, I find myself standing in the middle of a whirling and swirling sea of people. I mean... I already knew that this town is packed with people, but this is bordering on the absurd!
I arrived about half an hour ago, and at that time, it was still calm. I even found a bench in the sun to sit on. School wouldn't start for another three quarters, so I'd closed my eyes and basked in the sun's warmth.
I must have dozed off at some point, because I startled awake when I felt a soft leg press to the side of my leg.
I'm a little ashamed to admit that my first thought was that Hanna had tracked me down again to pester me. She's been appearing around me more and more these past weeks. But when I open my eyes, I’m surrounded by unfamiliar boys and girls.
Apparently, in the twenty minutes in which I hadn't been paying attention, the courtyard had gotten really crowded. There were so many people sitting next to me, that it was a miracle that they hadn't touched me earlier.
The person sitting next to me, the one who touched my leg, is a girl with gray eyes and freckles dusting her nose.
The moment my eyes find hers, she turns bright red and starts sputtering an apology. While she fumbles for words, I notice a boy on the edge of the bench smirking into his fist.
He probably pushed her against me on purpose.
I smile at the girl and say, "No problem. If anything, I'm sorry for not noticing sooner that I was in the way. Bye."
For some reason, her blush deepened all the way to her shoulders. Even the boy next to her seemed to flush. Strange, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not part of their group, so I get up and walk away.
An action I regret badly now that I am standing here in this swirling sea of people. People constantly bump into me as they push their way through the crowd. At first, I apologized every time, but after receiving one too many "what’s up with this guy?" glances, I gave up. I wish the bell would ring already so we can all get to class—at least then we'd have a seat and some breathing room.
I glance at the school entrance, hoping that the flood of students is finally slowing down. No luck. More are still streaming in.
Then, as if the situation wasn't bad enough, I see Hanna enter the courtyard.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
I watch her as her eyes scan the crowd. She won’t spot me in all this chaos, right?
Wrong.
My blood runs cold when her eyes meet mine. A shiver runs down my spine at the mischievous smile that spreads across her lips. I feared this might happen, but having it confirmed is terrible news. Hanna attends this school too. Avoiding her has just become more difficult.
She always seems to find me. Not only at the park, but at the shopping district too. And now the school was added to that list.
I need to leave before she reaches me.
Just as I shift to move, an arm appears in front of my chest, stopping me. I follow it up to a slightly familiar face—a boy taller than me, with dark brown eyes and light brown hair standing up in messy tufts.
"Alex! My man! How've you been?" he says with an easy grin.
The familiarity in his tone catches me completely off guard. Combined with the terror I'm feeling because Hanna will be biting at my heels even at school, I accidentally give him a very dirty look. I can tell that it’s bad because he immediately takes a step back, hands raised in surrender.
"Whoa! You do not remember me at all, huh?" He looks startled. "It's me, Jasper! From the park—you were sitting in a tree? I thought you were a tree nymph."
Tree nymph? Ah. So that's why he seemed familiar. Now that he's cleaned up and in a school uniform, I barely recognize him.
"Ah, right. Jasper, you say? Sorry about that. I moved here at the start of summer from a quiet, remote town. Keeping all the faces apart has been quite the challenge."
I glance over my shoulder. Hanna is still looking at me, her expression neutral—but I can tell she doesn’t like that I’m talking to someone else.
Jasper chuckles.
"Caught Hanna’s eye, have you? I have to say, I’m impressed that you haven’t thrown yourself at her feet yet. Hanna packs a mean punch when she sets her sights on someone."
"Huh?" I blink at him, caught off guard.
"Ah, you wouldn’t know since you recently moved here. Hanna has quite the reputation. I think she’s dated at least half the guys at school."
"Half? Does that include you?"
"No, not me. I rubbed her in the wrong way some time ago and she won't even look at me without frowning."
That explains why she’s keeping her distance now.
I glance at her again. She’s given up.
"My savior," I sigh in relief, and Jasper laughs.
"My pleasure. Although I have to say, if you’re this bothered by her, I’m surprised she hasn’t given up on you yet. Have you actually told her to leave you alone?"
I think about it for a second. I’ve made my dislike clear, but… no. I don’t think I’ve actually said the words.
"Hmm. Maybe you're right. I'll try that next time."
Jasper nods but doesn't continue the subject.
"So, you moved here, huh? First day at a new school?"
"Yeah. I actually don’t know anyone here. I’ll be glad to be introduced to my classmates. To find some familiar faces in the crowd."
"Well, you know me now. You’re welcome to hang with me and my friends."
"Your friends? You mean those girls?"
"Jessy and Otto, yeah. We actually hoped to run into you again at the park, but it never happened."
"Really?" I mumble. It’s strange—I’ve been to the park often, but I haven’t seen them either.
"Want to go see them now?" Jasper asks.
"Yeah, sure. Why not?"
He grins. "Cool. Come on."
And just like that, my lonely spell has broken.