Alex gazed at himself in the mirror and tilted his head slightly as he appraised his appearance. He was finally dressed in the Grenville High School uniform.
Though the school was owned by his father and he had always planned to go there someday, he only got the chance to be a student when his grandmother in France was diagnosed with a terminal diabetes.
Being a responsible grandson, Alex took on his father's role and flew to France to be with his grandmother during her final days.
A month had passed since her death and Alex had taken care of everything, from the funeral arrangements to the obituary notices, and he was finally back in his hometown of Athens.
As Alex gazed at himself in the uniform, he couldn't shake off a sense of sadness. He should have spent the last three years at his father's school and taken advantage of the top-notch education his father had wanted to provide.
However, at the same time, he didn't want to wear the uniform because it only reminded him of his grandmother's passing and the reason why he was able to return.
There was a knock on his door and Alex quickly wiped away a single tear. He looked at the moisture on his finger and realized how emotional he was.
"Ready For school?" Mrs James smiled at her son Alex. He shrugged. "More than anything." "Good." Mrs James mused. "Be prepared for the excitement waiting for you downstairs," Mrs James warned.
As he approached the stairs, he heard screams growing louder and rolled his eyes. "Oh goodness." Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the screams became even more intense. "ALEX~~~" Six of his closest friends ran towards him and tackled him in a group hug. "Alex you punk, do you have to look even more handsome?" Brad playfully punched his arm.
"Damn, the girls won't even look my way with you around." "More like you won't even care if they do." David retorted.
"You'll only ever have eyes for Nancy." Brad's cheeks reddened and he swallowed. "What? I love my girlfriend okay? Do I deserve to die?" he pouted. Alex blinked in surprise and raised his brows at Steve. "Steve, I really didn't believe you when you said Brad's whipped." He looked back at Brad. "He really is."
***************
"Ouch!" Steve rubbed his arm after Brad gave him a playful elbow nudge. "What are you accusing me of, dude?"
"Nothing, I swear!" Steve retorted. "Just the honest truth."
Meanwhile, poor Alex was struggling to catch a breath with Joe's death grip on him. "Dude, I know you've got a soft spot for me, but let's keep our relationship strictly platonic, okay?" Alex teased.
Joe pouted and finally released Alex. "Who said anything about missing you?" he protested.
"Come on, we all know it's true!" Philip chimed in. "You're always moping about it."
Joe feigned disbelief. "Me? Whine? Never!" He paused for a moment. "Well, maybe a tiny bit."
David gave Alex a friendly hug and chuckled. "But let's focus on the positive here, guys. We're all together for our final year of high school, and that's pretty awesome!" he squeezed Alex's shoulders.
"Alright, bring it on!" Alex chuckled.
"Whoa." Alex shuddered. "This is even more nerve-wracking than back in France"
The Aerospace boys were navigating their way through the throngs of people as they made their way to the hallway. As usual, fangirls were flocking to them, but there was an added buzz that morning due to the arrival of a handsome new member in their group.
The word was out that he had stepped out of Principal James's car and was actually Principal James' son. With both wealth and good looks, he was a much-coveted catch.
"Hi there! What's your name?" A girl suddenly popped up in front of Alex, beaming a bright smile at him.
"Uh..." He stammered. "Alex."
"ALEX!!!" she squealed. "You're so handsome, ALEX!!!!"
"Alex side-stepped with lightning speed, narrowly avoiding the fainting girl in front of him. Meanwhile, Joe was getting bombarded with similar attention from the fangirls. All the Aerospace chaps were dealing with ultimate craziness from the ladies.
"These guys are seriously a big deal at school," Alex muttered. "I think you're underselling it, they're more like ridiculously popular."
Joe let out a chuckle. "Buckle up, partner, it's only going to get wilder," he said with a laugh.
Deliah, who was collecting her books at the hallway, greeted her male admirers with a polite smile. She knew the moment Aerospace showed up, but the ear-piercing shrieks from the ladies that morning were next level.
"Your BF's here, Nancy," Iris said, nudging her friend. Nancy lit up, waving excitedly at Brad, who returned the grin with interest."
"Who's the new stud in Aerospace?" Yvonne asked Deliah, her eyes devouring the new guy from head to toe. "Dang, he's hot. Like, really hot." She fanned herself dramatically.
"Calm down, Yvonne," Deliah giggled as she took a glance at the guys. "I highly doubt he'll be as exciting as you think." Her gaze locked onto Alex, who was secretly chatting with Joe and making silly faces.
But when Alex noticed the girls, he quickly wiped the smirk off his face and put on a fake smile. He was clearly trying to escape the situation.
And that's when Deliah felt the spark, the one she had read about in romance novels. A feeling that started from the bottom of her heart and spread throughout her entire body.
Oh. My. Goodness. "He's..." she couldn't even find the words.
"Finally, a guy that can leave Deliah speechless," Iris laughed. "Who would have thought?"
"Who's the mystery man?" Deliah queried, intrigued.
"Brad says his name is Alex," Nancy shrugged. "He's the son of Principal James and just landed from France. Rumor has it, he was quite the heartthrob over there."
"Alex?" Deliah mumbled as she watched him stroll away with the rest of Aerospace.
And then, she finally laid eyes on him.
"Class, we have a new student in the house," the Professor declared. "Meet Alex James, son of the one and only Principal James."
Alex winced at the announcement, not wanting any VIP treatment. But he knew deep down, the ladies' reaction from this morning spoke volumes about his future popularity.
"Umm, hey there," Alex awkwardly waved.
"The girls in class swooned and Alex shuddered. Oh boy.
His gaze landed on David who was waggling his eyebrows and Alex chuckled, suppressing a laugh. He cast his eyes around the class and saw a girl sitting in the corner, who appeared uninterested in the new arrival.
She blended in with the rest of the girls, lost in her own world, staring out the window.
A typical introvert, a classic nerd.
But Alex's focus was quickly drawn by the professor who placed him next to Philip. And all thoughts of the strange introverted girl were forgotten.
Sarah rolled her eyes at Alex and went back to her book.
"Another Aerospace guy. Another big shot," she mumbled. "Big shots are all the same," she shook her head.