It was the first day of the new term, and the atmosphere at Albert's school was charged with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Over the break, news had spread like wildfire — breedwood, the less wealthy neighboring school, had faced financial collapse and was now being absorbed by Albert. The students of Breedwood were to join Albert's permanently, wearing Albert's pristine uniforms and adjusting to its rigorous system. While some students were thrilled at the prospect of new faces, others weren't so welcoming. After all, Albert was known for its prestige, and now, they were opening their gates to a struggling school.
In the 11th grade class, students were already seated, murmuring among themselves as the principal stood at the front of the room, addressing them. The tall man adjusted his glasses, his expression serious but composed.
"…and I expect you all to be welcoming to our new classmates from Breedwood ," he said. "Remember, they are now part of this school. I expect nothing but kindness and cooperation as we adjust to this new change."
Just then, the door creaked open. Heads turned toward the back of the room as a girl slipped in quietly. She had long brown hair that flowed past her shoulders, and her neatly pressed Alberts uniform clung to her frame perfectly. Her face was calm, but her eyes betrayed a trace of nervousness.
"You're late," the principal said, his gaze falling on the girl.
"I— I'm sorry," the girl began, her voice soft but clear. "I—"
"No excuses," the principal cut her off with a raised hand. "You're lucky it's the first day. Don't let it happen again. Sit down."
The girl nodded, lowering her gaze as she slipped toward the back of the classroom. A familiar group of friends from her old school smiled and waved her over. Michelle, a girl with warm brown skin and bright eyes, had saved her a seat. Kira sat down beside Michelle and Naomi, who flashed her an encouraging smile.
The principal cleared his throat. "Since we have new faces in the class, I think it's important for everyone to get to know each other. Let's start with… you." He pointed toward Kira, his expression expectant. "The girl who was late. Your name is…?"
Kira hesitated before sitting up straighter. "Kira," she said.
"Alright, Kira," the principal said. "Introduce yourself."
Kira stood up. The room was suddenly quiet.
"My name is Kira," she began. "I'm mixed. My mom is from Nigeria, and my dad is from the U.S." She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I love photography and cinematography — I'd love to be a photographer or filmmaker one day. I also love ballet, and I hope to travel the world and maybe live in a cottage in the countryside someday."
When she finished, some students whispered to each other. Kira sat back down, feeling Michelle give her a reassuring nudge.
"Thank you, Kira," the principal said. "Next."
Michelle stood up confidently. Her dark hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. "Hi, my name is Michelle. I'm from Jamaica. I play tennis, and I'd love to become a psychologist one day — maybe living in London."
Michelle glanced at Kira and smiled before adding, "Also, I was the class captain in my former school."
At this, the principal raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Class captain, you say?"
"Yes, sir," Michelle replied, her tone steady.
The principal nodded thoughtfully. "Let's keep that in mind."
Next, a boy with dark, curly hair stood up. His uniform was crisp, and his posture was relaxed despite the attention on him. He adjusted his tie before speaking.
"My name is Wilson," he said, his voice calm but clear. "I'm from Dunedin in New Zealand, and I love hiking. I also love playing basketball, and I would love to be a computer scientist in the future." He paused, looking at Kira. "I'd also love to live in New York — it's a great place," he added, pointing toward her with a slight smile. "You've got good taste."
A few people chuckled, but Kira's cheeks flushed as she glanced down.
"Oh, and I'm the class captain," Wilson added casually before sitting down.
The introductions continued around the room. Soon, Trinity, Alicia, and Becca stood up together. They were dressed perfectly, their hair and makeup flawless despite the early hour.
"Hi, I'm Trinity," Trinity said, flashing a bright smile.
"I'm Alicia," Alicia added, her voice smooth and confident.
"And I'm Becca," Becca said with a wave.
"We're the Tab Girls," Trinity added. "T-A-B — get it?"
They shared a laugh.
"Yeah, we're kind of big on TikTok," Alicia said, twirling a strand of her blonde hair.
"Follow us if you haven't already," Becca added, winking at the class.
The room was filled with murmurs and laughter as they sat back down. The principal smiled tightly before returning his attention to the class.
"Alright," the principal said. "Now that we know each other better, I'd like to encourage everyone to participate in extracurricular activities. We have basketball, tennis, ballet, singing, and many more. For those of you from School B, this is a great way to integrate and make friends."
The principal's gaze returned to Michelle. "Since you were a class captain in your former school, I think it's only fair to give you some responsibility here as well."
Michelle's eyes widened.
"To balance things out, you will serve as the assistant class captain alongside Wilson."
A few murmurs rippled through the class. Some students from School A frowned.
"What? Why should she—"
The principal's gaze hardened. "That's enough." His voice cut through the noise sharply. "This is my decision, and I expect you all to respect it."
Michelle smiled slightly and sat back down. Kira gave her a small high-five.
"That's all for now," the principal said. "Welcome to the new term."
As the class settled, Kira caught Wilson glancing at her with a curious expression. She quickly looked away, but a small smile crept onto her face.
my decision, and I expect you all to respect it."
Michelle smiled slightly and sat back down. Kira gave her a small high-five.
"That's all for now," the principal said. "Welcome to the new term."
As soon as the principal left, the classroom erupted into chatter.
"Oh my God, did you see the way Wilson was looking at you?" Mitchell teased, turning toward Kira.
"What?" Kira frowned.
"Oh please," Naomi rolled her eyes. "He was totally into you."
"He literally pointed at you when he talked about New York," Gemma added with a grin.
Kira's cheeks warmed. "Stop it," she mumbled.
"You can't tell me you didn't feel that," Mitchell said, laughing.
Kira shook her head. "He's just being friendly," she insisted. "Besides, I'm not his type. You saw his friends. I don't… belong in his world."
"Girl, please," Naomi scoffed. "You're gorgeous."
Kira sighed, running her hand through her hair.
"Let's drop it," Kira said.
But Mitchell's grin didn't fade.
Break Time
By lunchtime, the initial buzz of the day had settled. Students poured into the cafeteria in clusters, laughing and chatting as they filled their trays. Kira grabbed her food and followed Michelle, Naomi, and Gemma to a corner table.
Across the room, Wilson was seated with his group — Gray, Kai, Zion, and Kobe — laughing over something on Zion's phone.
"Are you seriously not going to sit with him?" Mitchell whispered.
"Stop it," Kira shot back, but her eyes lingered on Wilson for a moment longer than necessary.
Wilson caught her gaze and smiled slightly.
Kira quickly looked away, her heart thudding.
Chapter 1 (continued):
"Are we seriously not going to sit with them?" Mitchell asked, eyeing Wilson's table with a smirk.
Kira sighed, setting down her tray of food. "Stop it, please," she said, rolling her eyes. "I can't do this. I only care about my grades and my education. I'm not here for boys or anything else. I'm here to focus on school, and that's it."
Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because Wilson seemed pretty focused on you during the introduction."
Kira shot her a glare. "By the way, we literally just resumed today. I'm not about to get distracted."
"Mm-hmm." Mitchell leaned back, giving Kira a knowing look.
Kira shook her head. "Can we please not talk about him?"
Across the cafeteria, Wilson was sitting with his usual group — Gray, Kai, Zion, and Kobe — laughing over something on Zion's phone. Zion's loud, easy laugh echoed across the room as he passed the phone to Kai.
"Bro, you're stupid," Zion said, still laughing.
"Wait, wait," Kai cut in, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "Forget that — we need to talk about Wilson's little moment during the introduction."
"What moment?" Wilson frowned, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh, you know exactly what we're talking about," Gray said, smirking.
Kai leaned forward. "You were totally flirting with Kira."
Wilson's expression stiffened. "What? I wasn't flirting."
"Oh, come on," Zion said. "You pointed at her and everything. 'You've got good taste.'" He mimicked Wilson's voice mockingly, and the others laughed.
"It wasn't that serious," Wilson said, brushing it off.
"Yeah?" Kobe raised an eyebrow. "Well, is she your type?"
Wilson gave him a look. "You guys are overthinking it."
"I don't think she's your type," Kai added. "She's… new."
"And not from money," Gray muttered under his breath.
"Exactly," Kobe said. "That was so fucking weird, though."
As they were talking, their eyes occasionally flicked toward Kira's table. Kira seemed oblivious, focused on the conversation with her friends, but Wilson's gaze lingered for a moment longer than it should have.
Just then, Trinity slid into the seat next to Wilson, her long hair cascading over her shoulder as she flashed a smile. Her white-tipped nails grazed the edge of the table as she leaned in.
"Hey, guys," Trinity said smoothly. "What are you talking about?"
Wilson's jaw tensed.
"Wilson was flirting with Kira during the introduction," Kai answered casually.
"Oh," Trinity's expression darkened slightly. "Kira, huh?"
Wilson's eyes narrowed. He didn't like where this was going.
Trinity laughed lightly, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "I mean… she's new," she said, her tone light but her eyes sharp. "They don't exactly look… wealthy."
Wilson's eyes flashed.
Trinity leaned closer, her lips curling into a smirk. "I'd be disappointed if you went for that kind of girl."
Wilson's jaw tightened. His gaze shifted toward Kira, who was laughing at something Mitchell had said.
"Well," Wilson said coolly, "that's my business."
Trinity's smile faltered. Wilson leaned back in his chair, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.
"Anyway," Wilson added, his tone light but cutting. "Not really your concern, is it?"
Zion whistled under his breath, amused. Kai's eyes widened slightly.
Trinity's smile stiffened, but she quickly recovered. "Sure," she said, standing up smoothly. "Just looking out for you."
She walked off, her heels clicking against the floor.
Gray leaned toward Wilson. "That was cold."
Wilson shrugged. "Was it?"
Zion laughed. "You really have a thing for this girl, don't you?"
Wilson didn't answer. His eyes drifted toward Kira's table again — just for a second — before he turned his attention back to his friends.
At Kira's table, Mitchell was still going.
"I mean, did you see the way he looked at you?" Mitchell teased.
Kira rolled her eyes. "Enough already."
"Oh, stop denying it," Naomi said. "He literally defended you just now. I mean, Trinity looked pissed."
"I'm not interested," Kira said firmly, but her cheeks were burning.
"Oh, you're interested," Gemma said with a grin.
Kira shook her head. "I don't have time for this."
"Yeah, yeah," Mitchell said, winking. "We'll see about that."
Kira sighed, stabbing at her food with her fork. Her gaze — completely by accident, of course — drifted across the room toward Wilson's table.
Wilson's eyes were already on her.
Kira's breath hitched, but Wilson only smiled faintly before turning away.
Kira quickly looked down, her heart hammering in her chest.
"Not interested, huh?" Mitchell said smugly.
"Shut up," Kira mumbled.
But Mitchell was right. And Kira knew it.