Like every other kid in the world, I woke up late. You'd think by now I'd be used to the routine, but nope. My mom's voice pierced through my groggy state as she screamed, "Wake up! The bus is going to leave you!"
I was half-awake, still wrapped in the warmth of my bed, but I had no choice. I scrambled to get ready. It was a blur of brushing my teeth, getting dressed, and gulping down whatever I could for breakfast. Somehow, I managed to get out of the house and catch the bus, the chaos of the morning still ringing in my ears.
Once I was at school, I slid into my usual seat, next to the same annoying kid who wouldn't stop talking. He was babbling on about... I don't even know what. I wasn't listening. I couldn't be bothered. My mind was on something else today.
Then, I saw her.
I froze. What the hell? Why am I suddenly so nervous? My heart began pounding like a drum. I felt like time had slowed down, like the air itself had thickened around me. I was trying to think straight, but all I could imagine was that moment when my time had come. Should I have said goodbye to my parents? Should I have told Tom and Jerry how much I loved watching them fight?
My thoughts were racing at the speed of light, and suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Snap out of it, dude.
I turned around, and there she was. Eve.
She looked at me with that confident yet somehow gentle smile and said, "You're the new kid, right?"
I blinked. Was this happening? Was she actually talking to me?
Before I could say anything, she continued, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Eve." She paused, probably waiting for some reaction. I'm not sure what I expected, but definitely not this. "I'm the classroom hygiene monitor."
I stared at her, trying to make sense of what she just said. Classroom hygiene monitor? What is that? Does she go around cleaning the city's streets like a... public service worker?
But, no. That wasn't it. Apparently, her job was to make sure we didn't have messy nails, untidy hair, or wrinkled clothes. She was like the class' unofficial fashion police.
I nodded, still trying to wrap my head around what was going on. And then—I can't believe this—she told me, "You don't need to be shy. From now on, we're friends."
Wait, what? Did she just say that? Did a girl—a girl—just call me her friend? I had to blink a few times. No one had ever said that to me before. This was... this was different.
I didn't know how to respond. I mean, I never really had "friends" before. And suddenly, this girl was calling me her friend. Like, what now? Were we going to hang out? Maybe rob a bank? I don't know. My mind was in a frenzy, but I managed to stammer, "Sure."
She nodded and moved on, checking in with other students. I was left there, sitting in a daze, trying to process everything.
Of course, the kid next to me wouldn't leave me alone. He started up again, pestering me about stuff I couldn't care less about. The loop continued: teacher enters, class starts, lunch arrives, and soon, the day ended. It all blurred together like time was skipping ahead.
That night, as I lay in bed, I couldn't stop thinking about her. Her face. Her words. "We're friends." That simple sentence had somehow wrapped itself around my mind, and now I couldn't shake it.
I kept replaying the whole thing in my head, like a broken record. And for the first time, I noticed something about her. Something I hadn't seen before. She was... different.
I don't know why, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. I mean, I hadn't even seen her face properly at that point, but my thoughts were consumed by her. Was it normal to feel like this? I kept thinking about the lessons my mom had taught me, about staying away from "beautiful" girls, but none of that mattered. Eve had done something to me.
I stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, my mind spinning with questions, with thoughts of her, until sleep finally overtook me.