She sat on the bench in the park, staring at the lake in front of her. She looked at the reflection of the moon in the still water. She threw a stone into the lake and watched it skip until it sank into the water. She placed her head on her hands and sighed. She heard footsteps, startling her. She saw it was Micah who had walked into the park.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same thing,"
"There's a party on Spring Day, everyone in school will be there, our classmates and…the seniors!" He said excitedly.
"What's the party for? And what is Spring Day?" She asked.
"It's only Summer Bay's greatest landmark. It's this fancy hotel at the town square, Kyrielle's grandfather owns the place,"
"Will she be there?"
"Probably, aren't you coming?"
"I'd love to go!" She said happily. She got off the bench and walked alongside Micah as they went to the hotel.
They walked cautiously into the hotel. She saw couples openly kissing each other and couldn't help blushing. If her grandmother saw that, she would tear the house down.
"Julie, I didn't think you'd come!" Kyrielle said, running towards her. She was wearing a red knee-length gown with sequins on it. Her straight blond hair had been curled, making her look a bit younger. She pulled her into a hug and said, "Let's go meet my friends!", before pulling her away.
She pulled her to a table where she saw three guys and two girls, the two girls being Courtney and Tracy. One of the guys had Kyrie's blond hair and blue eyes, the other had brown eyes and thick black hair made into dreadlocks and the last had pitch-black hair and the most dazzling green eyes she had ever seen. She realized she was drooling over the last guy and shook her head. They were all handsome, but there was something about the last guy that drew her to him.
"I believe you've met Courtney and Tracy today," She said. Tracy smiled briefly at her and she smiled back. Surprisingly, Courtney pulled her into a hug. After releasing her, she saw Courtney stare at the green-eyed guy. She scoffed, realizing that Courtney was only pretending to be nice.
"This is my younger brother Kylian, that's Jacques, and over here is Laurent!" She finally said. She exchanged greetings with Kylian and Jacques confidently but fumbled when she shook hands with Laurent. He chuckled making her loosen up. Kyrielle talked with her for a while before running off with some random girl. Julianne clutched the edges of her jacket, pulling it closer to her. She heard a woman's soft voice directing her to go to the lake at the back of the hotel. She walked towards a window and saw the lake. She walked out of the hotel and went to the lake. The voice told her to go to the lake. She was about to jump when she was suddenly pulled back. She was face to face with her green-eyed god who stared at her curiously.
"What are you doing? That lake is deeper than it looks," He said.
"I… never mind," She said shaking her head. She stared at her surroundings, wondering if she would hear the voice again. She pulled away from his grasp and dusted her pants. They walked without saying a word to each other, creating an awkward atmosphere. Julianne summoned courage and said, "Are you dating Courtney?"
He let out a long laugh. Feeling insulted, she pouted her lips and said, "You didn't have to laugh that loud,"
He stopped after a while and said, "Why would you think that?" in his deep baritone voice.
She shrugged and said, "Don't know…"
They walked back in silence into the hotel and when everyone saw them walk in together, they mumbled. Kyrielle grabbed Julianne and made her stay next to her side till the party was over.
She got up as early as 5 a.m. since she was used to getting up at that time. She grumbled and complained about how early she had to wake up as she walked down the stairs. She walked into the kitchen where she saw Rachel fixing a snack. She jumped when she saw Julianne, she didn't expect her to be up so early.
"Good…morning Julianne, does school start early today?" She asked.
"Grandma wakes me up by five to get ready," She murmured.
Rachel laughed and said, "School doesn't start till 8:30. Go get some sleep, seems like you need lots of it," She said, referring to the dark circles around her eyes.
She smiled warmly and thought, "I've never gotten up later than 5:30, now I get to sleep in!"
She had a huge smile on her face when she came to class. However, the teacher announced that the students would be shuffled into new classes based on their major subjects. There would be art students, business students, medical students, and finally, engineering students. After the shuffling, she found herself in engineering class. She knew this meant having a new seatmate. Although she found Kyrie very annoying, she was still fun to be with. She sighed and walked briskly into the class. The shuffling annoyed her because she wasn't prepared for it. She grumbled and briefly waited for the teacher to show her to her seat. She became more annoyed when she found out that Jacques was her new seatmate. She tried to ignore him and held a book in her hands. Her eyes quickly darted in his direction and she found him smirking at her. She slammed the book and said, "What exactly do you want from me?"
"Nothing," He said with a smile on his face. She waved at the teacher and said, "Excuse me miss, but I…"
"What is it this time?" The teacher said in annoyance.
"Well I…nothing miss, have a good day," She said, sitting back on her chair. He looked at her and laughed wildly. Infuriated, she slapped his biceps but it doubled his laughter. Seeing his persistent laughter, she grumbled once more and lay her head on her desk. He tapped her shoulder but she refused to lift her head.
"You act like a child," He said, still laughing. Still, she refused to lift her head off the desk. He thought for a while and said, "Laurent says hi."
"What? When?" She said excitedly. He laughed heartily and said, "I thought Kyrie was joking…"
"What did she say?" She asked.
"Never mind," He said, straightening his shirt.
"Seriously? Why would you bring the topic up only to leave me in suspense? And they say I'm a child," She frowned.
"To keep you on the edge," He said briefly.
"How do you know him anyway?" She asked. He placed his palm in front of her. Confused, she said, "What's this for?"
"Before I render my services, I should be paid," He said with a cunning smile on his face.
"You are ridiculous."
"He's more or less my partner in crime, get it?"
"Whatever…"