The mirror reflected a stranger.
Elena Aster traced the faint scar running along her temple, her fingers trembling slightly. It was the only tangible proof that something had gone terribly wrong—something her fragmented mind refused to reveal. Her dark hair framed a face she couldn't fully recognize, eyes the color of burnt caramel staring back with an emptiness that felt foreign. They told her she'd been in a car accident. They said it had claimed her parents' lives and left her clinging to fragile pieces of herself.
But no one warned her about this—the hollow ache of not knowing who she was.
A knock on the door snapped her from her daze.
"Elena, hurry up. You'll be late," Aunt Vivian's voice called, sharp and clipped, even through the thick wooden door.
Elena exhaled, grabbing the unfamiliar navy blazer that hung on the chair. Bellrose High. A prestigious school with its grand stone buildings and perfectly manicured lawns—a place that should have felt exciting. Instead, it felt like another layer of a life she didn't remember signing up for.
The breakfast table downstairs was pristine, as always. Her uncle, Damian Aster, sat with a cup of black coffee, scrolling through his tablet, while Aunt Vivian meticulously arranged a plate of sliced fruit. Their children, Nate and Lucas, sat opposite each other. Nate barely glanced up from his phone, and Lucas shot Elena a tight, forced smile.
"Ready for your first day?" Aunt Vivian asked with that practiced warmth that never quite reached her eyes.
Elena forced a nod, her throat too tight to manage words. She wasn't ready—not for the sterile politeness of this house, not for the suffocating expectations, and definitely not for a school full of strangers.
---
The car ride was silent, save for the soft hum of the engine. Felix the family driver had been assigned the task of driving Elena , Lucas and Nate to Bellrose High. Elena stared out the window, watching as the city blurred past—a patchwork of places that should've felt familiar but didn't.
Nate finally broke the silence, her voice dripping with condescension. "Try not to get lost. Bellrose isn't exactly easy to navigate, you know."
Elena didn't bother responding. The car pulled up to the massive wrought-iron gates, the school's emblem—a silver crest entwined with ivy—gleaming in the morning light. Students clustered in small groups, laughing, chatting, moving with the easy familiarity of people who belonged.
She didn't.
Elena clutched her schedule like a lifeline, her heart pounding as she stepped out. The campus sprawled before her, elegant yet intimidating, with ivy crawling up ancient stone walls. She inhaled deeply, trying to summon courage from somewhere within the hollow spaces of her mind.
Her first class was Literature, room 204. Simple enough. But as she wandered the hallways, every corridor seemed to twist into another, each door indistinguishable from the next. The weight of stares burned against her skin. She could almost hear the whispers trailing behind her.
That's the new girl…
Isn't she the one who—
I heard her parents—
She quickened her pace, her palms damp with sweat. She wasn't just new—she was a walking tragedy, wrapped in mystery and rumors she couldn't even confirm.
Turning a corner too fast, Elena collided with someone. Books and papers scattered across the polished floor.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" a voice squeaked.
Elena stumbled back, her heart racing, but the girl she'd crashed into was already scrambling to pick up her things. She had curly blond hair, oversized glasses slipping down her nose, and an energy that felt almost overwhelming.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked, thrusting a stray notebook into Elena's hands. "I swear, I'm like a magnet for disaster. It's a gift, really."
Elena blinked, momentarily disarmed by the girl's rapid-fire words. "I'm… fine."
"I'm Lydia, by the way," the girl added, offering a grin so wide it was impossible not to soften. "And you're definitely new. I'd remember someone with your face. Not in a creepy way, though! Just—you know—observant."
Elena's lips twitched, the faintest ghost of a smile. "Elena."
"Well, Elena, lucky for you, I happen to be an expert in Bellrose navigation. Lost, are we?"
She hesitated, then nodded. Lydia beamed, linking her arm with Elena's without waiting for permission.
"Consider me your personal GPS."
Elena wasn't sure how it happened, but suddenly she wasn't alone. Lydia talked the entire way to class, barely pausing for breath, filling the silence Elena had dreaded with stories about teachers, classmates, and random facts about Bellrose High that she couldn't possibly need but oddly appreciated.
"…and Mrs. Calloway is cool if you're into Shakespeare, but she hates when people chew gum in her class. It's like, her mortal enemy. Weird, right?"
Elena found herself nodding, comforted by Lydia's chatter. It was like standing under the warm sun after being cold for too long.
When they reached the classroom, Lydia squeezed her arm. "Don't worry. You'll survive."
---
But surviving was harder than it sounded.
The day stretched on like a blur of unfamiliar faces, teachers' voices blending into background noise. Elena sat in the back of every class, her gaze flickering to the windows, wondering if the world outside felt more real than the one inside these walls.
Lunchtime arrived with an unexpected pit in her stomach. She stood awkwardly in the bustling cafeteria, her tray of untouched food feeling heavier than it should. Before she could retreat to some hidden corner, Lydia appeared like a whirlwind, dragging her to a table already occupied by two other students.
"This is Jenna, and that's Marcus," Lydia announced. "They're mostly harmless."
Jenna, with her sleek ponytail and perfectly arched brows, gave a polite nod. Marcus mumbled a greeting, focused on his sketchbook. Lydia, on the other hand, launched into another story about something ridiculous that had happened during Chemistry.
Elena listened, her mind drifting. She envied Lydia's ease, her ability to belong anywhere.
Why can't I be like that?
But as she glanced around the room, her gaze collided with someone across the cafeteria.
A boy sat alone, slouched in his chair, earbuds in, dark hair falling messily over his forehead. He wasn't like the polished students around him—there was something rough, untamed in the way he carried himself. His eyes met hers, just for a second, sharp and piercing like he could see through her carefully constructed walls.
Elena looked away quickly, her heart inexplicably racing.
She didn't know him.
But something about him felt like… a ripple in still water.
---
The rest of the day passed in a haze, Nate and Lucas left the school already to their afternoon karate classes. By the time Elena escaped the confines of Bellrose High, she felt drained, the weight of pretending suffocating. She waited by the gates for Felix, but the driver car was nowhere in sight. Frustrated, she pulled out her phone—only to realize the battery had died.
Great.
Deciding not to wait, she started walking. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of autumn leaves. Her thoughts tangled with every step, memories trying to claw their way back, only to dissolve like mist. Who was she before the accident? What had she lost, besides her parents?
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure until she nearly crashed into him.
It was the boy from the cafeteria.
"Watch it," he muttered, steadying her with a hand before quickly pulling back, as if even that brief contact was too much.
Elena stumbled, glaring up at him. "Maybe you should watch it."
He raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "You were the one not looking where you were going."
His voice was low, edged with annoyance—or maybe indifference.