[Micheal's POV ]
The clock on my dashboard glared at me.
First full week of school and I was already late. Great.
I pulled into the far end of the corner where the only empty space was. Groaning I let out a sigh which summarised how frustrated I was because not only was I late but being late to a place where you were known as the new guy was worse. I got out of my car, my backpack felt heavy as usual as I swung it over my shoulder.
Turning, I noticed a girl staring at me, maybe already judging me for being late but she wasn't better herself so I did what any person in my situation would do, I smirked, simple as that but what followed next was the instant regret I felt and questioning myself on why I smirked.
I must have looked like an asshole.
Surprisingly, she smiled and In that very moment I thought she had the most beautiful smile but the privilege of seeing her smile was cut short as she turned away and quickly left.
Either realising that we were too late to start a staring contest or that whatever she saw that was funny on my face had faded and she finally thought I was weird for smirking.
I almost laughed under my breath. First day of school I was late and my was to be comrade-in arm because we were both late may think I'm weird. "Perfect, just perfect "
Though, somehow, I felt that being late today wasn't that bad, I was blessed with abeautiful smile today and for reasons I can't explain I hoped to see her again, granted she doesn't hate me.
________________________________________
I slipped into second period late. The door creaked when I pushed it open, and half the class turned to look. The teacher didn't even look up but gave me a sigh that said new student privileges were running out fast and tapped the whiteboard where the half written equations lay. I muttered a quick "sorry".
Take a seat, Mr. Carter," he said.
I scanned the room, spotting an empty desk near the back. A tall guy was already sitting next to it, notebook open but completely blank. His pencil was spinning between his fingers, and he looked like he was more interested in the ceiling than algebra.
I slipped into the seat, setting my bag down.
He glanced at me, then grinned. "You must be the new guy. Michael, right?"
I blinked. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Word travels fast in senior year," he said, leaning back like he had all the time in the world. "Name's Jake—but everyone calls me Jay."
"Michael," I repeated, offering a small smile.
On the board, the teacher started scribbling equations with too many x's and y's for this early in the morning.
"Algebra," Jay muttered under his breath. "Because apparently we're all gonna solve mysteries with imaginary numbers after graduation."
I stifled a laugh, and for the first time since stepping into this school, I didn't feel like a total outsider.
Jay nudged his notebook toward me, revealing doodles instead of notes. "Stick with me, and I'll show you how to survive this place. Algebra class included."
And just like that, I figured I might've found someone who could make being the new kid less of a nightmare.
________________________________________
"Oh, sorry." I apologised to the person I bumped into. Noticing it was the girl I saw this morning I froze- because she was- Jesus- she was beautiful and I must have been blind not to notice in the morning.
The way her hair framed her face in that effortless kind of way, or how the light seemed to soften when it touched her.
She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Not the kind of beauty that shouted for attention, but the quiet kind that made you want to look twice just to be sure you hadn't imagined it.
But her eyes… that was what lingered with me. They were beautiful, shaped just right, the kind of eyes people would write about. Yet behind the surface, there was something muted there, like the brightness had been dimmed. They didn't shine the way I thought they should.
It was strange- someone so striking, yet carrying a dullness in her gaze.