The morning began like any other.

The streets were already crowded, the sound of vehicles filling the air as people rushed to work and students hurried through the gates before the bell could ring.

Inside the school, the corridors were no quieter.

Shoes dragged across the floors. Classroom doors slammed shut. Someone was laughing way too loudly at the other end of the hallway, while a teacher's voice could be heard telling a group of students to stop running.

Among all that noise, one girl walked through the corridor without paying much attention to any of it.

She wasn't in a hurry.

She didn't need to be.

Nicky had always been the kind of person who walked like she already knew exactly where she was going.

She stopped outside her classroom, checked the time on her phone, and sighed.

“Five minutes early.”

A small victory.

She pushed the door open.

And just like that, another ordinary Monday began.

At least, that's what she thought.

The first thing you should know about Nicky was that she hated losing.

Not in the dramatic, I’ll-destroy-you-if-you-win kind of way.

She simply hated the feeling of someone being better than her.

It was Monday morning, and Nicky was already having the kind of day she didn't want to remember.

She sat at her usual desk, half-listening to her friends talk while absentmindedly scrolling through her phone.

“Are you even listening?”

Nicky looked up. “No.”

Her friend sighed. “At least pretend.”

“I'd rather be honest.”

She slipped her phone into her pocket and glanced around the classroom.

Everything was normal.

Same noisy hallway. Same annoying teachers. Same people she had known for years.

She liked it that way.

Predictable.

Until the teacher walked in with a file tucked beneath her arm.

“Everyone, settle down. We have something new to discuss.”

Nicky barely looked up.

Whatever it was, she was sure it had nothing to do with her.

She was wrong.

And she had no idea that, before the day was over, someone she hadn't even met yet would become the biggest irritation in her life.

Nicky has girls crushing on her left and right, even girls who are already dating someone. Some of their boyfriends are lowkey jealous because their girlfriends keep talking about Nicky. Nicky genuinely doesn’t care she’s completely used to it.

The classroom was loud until the door opened.

The noise slowly faded.

A girl stood at the entrance, one hand resting casually on the door.

Tall. Confident. A sharp wolf cut framing her face, with an effortless kind of presence that made everyone look twice.

She didn't smile.

She didn't need to.

Her eyes swept across the classroom once, calm and unreadable, before she stepped inside like she already belonged there.

Whispers immediately broke out.

“Who is she?”

“She's new, right?”

“Wait… she's actually-

Raine didn't seem to care.

She simply walked toward the teacher's desk, hands in her pockets, completely unfazed by the attention following her.

And somehow, within thirty seconds of entering Westbridge

Raine had already become the center of everyone's attention.

I Heard the classroom door open.

I barely looked up, until the entire room went strangely quiet.

And then I saw her.

Raine.

Tall. A messy wolf cut framing her face, her uniform somehow looking effortlessly cool on her. She had that kind of face that made people look twice without even meaning to.

I rolled my eyes.

Seriously?

One new student walks in and suddenly everyone forgets how to breathe.

But then Raine glanced across the classroom.

Our eyes met for barely a second.

I frowned.

...Oh.

So she knew exactly what effect she had on people.

Great.

Another problem.

"Looks like you're also going for that new student" teases Amy

Amy smirked,"I already am"

I simply rolled my eyes and shook it off, I listen to the lecture our teacher was giving and I was bit distract by the thing I just encountered, I thought about stealing the mangoes from the backyard of our school at the lunch time, but suddenly thoughts about Raine came across, I gain my consciousness and focus myself, I looked at Amy, she was busy admiring the new student.

The class was already loud before the bell even rang.

Someone was arguing over a seat. Someone was laughing way too loudly in the back. Two people were practically fighting over a pen, while the rest were busy talking about things that had absolutely nothing to do with school.

Honestly, I didn't understand how these people survived a full school year together.

My eyes wandered around the room.

Everyone had their own little group. The loud ones. The quiet ones. The ones who acted like they owned the place.

And then there was me.

I preferred staying out of everyone's business.

At least, that's what I told myself.

Amy was friend, well yea one of my close friend Annoying, dramatic, ridiculously talkative, and somehow one of the few people I actually enjoyed having around.

She knew when I wanted silence, when I was pretending not to care, and when I was about to lose my patience.

Basically, she knew me too well.

Across the room, the rest of the class was just as chaotic. People were laughing, arguing over seats, throwing paper, and completely ignoring the fact that the teacher could walk in at any moment.

The classroom slowly returned to its usual noise.

Amy dropped into the seat beside me, still laughing about something from earlier.

“You seriously need to stop doing that,” I told her.

“Doing what?”

“Laughing like you’re about to get us both kicked out.”

She grinned. “You love me.”

“Debatable.”

She gasped dramatically and placed a hand over her heart.

“You're so mean.”

I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh.

Across the room, our other friends had already started arguing over something completely pointless.

One was complaining about homework.

Another was stealing someone's snacks.

And somehow, someone had already started a debate about which teacher was the strictest.

Same class. Same chaos. Same idiots.

Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Amy leaned toward me again.

“So, what are we doing after school?”

“Going home.”

“Boring.”

“Peaceful.”

She laughed.

I shook my head, looking around at everyone.

For all the noise and nonsense, these people had somehow become my normal.

And maybe that was why I never noticed how quickly things could change.

The moment I stepped into Westbridge, the hallway went strangely quiet.

Then came the whispers.

I pretended not to notice.

Being the new student was already enough of a reason for everyone to stare, and honestly, I wasn't interested in giving them anything more to talk about.

I walked into the classroom, scanning the unfamiliar faces.

Everyone seemed busy doing their own thing.

Almost everyone.

My eyes landed on a girl sitting near the window.

She had this quiet confidence about her, like she didn't care who was watching. She wasn't trying to stand out, yet somehow, she did.

For a second, our eyes met.

She looked at me.

I looked away.

Okay.

I had been here for barely five minutes, and somehow, one person had already caught my attention.

I didn't even know her name.

And I had no idea why I was curious about her.

I took the empty seat near the back, dropping my bag beside me.

I glanced around.

Groups everywhere.

People laughing, talking, comparing schedules.

I was definitely the outsider.

Then someone from the desk beside mine leaned over.

"You're new, right?"

I nodded.

"Thought so."

Then she introduced herself to me" I'm Amy, what's your name?"

I answered her question, she smiled at me, I just gave her a nod

They gave me a quick smile before turning back to their friends.

I looked toward the window again.

The same girl was there.

She was talking to her friends now, completely relaxed, like she owned the place.

Amy was sitting with her now, 'maybe they were friends !!'

I caught myself looking again.

Why am I even paying attention to her?

I quickly looked down at my desk.

I had bigger things to worry about.

New school.

New people.

New everything.

I didn't come here expecting to get involved with anyone.

Especially not someone I didn't even know.

But somehow, I had a feeling this school wasn't going to be as simple as I thought.

The teacher entered the class and started giving us lecture, I kept my focus but somehow ended up thinking about that one sec eye contact I had just a while ago. I snapped back, I was getting annoyed by my action just now, 'what the heck, why am I even thinking like this, it happens everywhere damm'

Then the teacher called out to me,

"Alright, everyone. We have a new student joining us today."

Of course.

All eyes turned toward me again.

I stood up, giving the shortest introduction possible.

"I'm Raine."

A few students smiled. Someone whispered something to their friend.

I sat back down.

Done.

No speech. No awkward details.

Perfect.

The teacher began explaining the day's lesson, and I tried to focus.

Tried.

Because from somewhere across the classroom, I could feel someone looking at me.

I didn't turn around immediately.

Then I did.

The girl near the window was looking in my direction.

The second our eyes met, she looked away.

I raised an eyebrow.

Interesting.

I turned back toward the board, pretending I hadn't noticed.

Maybe she was just curious about the new student.

That had to be it.

Still...

For some reason, I found myself wondering what her name was.

I shook the thought away.

Focus, Raine.

This was my first day.

I wasn't supposed to be curious about anyone yet.