First day at school

"Where's my school, by the way?" he muttered to himself.

He had no idea about the school's name or how to get there. As he attempted to re-enter the house to call Jane, he noticed a note on the front door. "It's Punahou School, and it's here," with a small map attached.

He took the note Jane left him on the front door and started running, hoping to arrive on time. School started at seven-thirty, but he needed to get there before that to meet with the counselor. Alex pushed himself, running until he arrived at seven-twenty-five, completely out of breath.

Inside the school, he asked for directions to the counselor's office but received little attention from the secretary engrossed in her computer.

"Excuse me," he repeated.

The secretary finally noticed him, removing her eyes from her computer screen. She gave him a cold, appraising look. "Aha."

"I'm here to see the counselor," Alex explained.

"Aha," she responded, not appearing particularly interested.

"Is he going to be late?" Alex inquired.

"Son, are you an FBI agent or something?" she retorted, her big red glasses perched on her nose.

"No, I'm here to meet the counselor," he replied, growing increasingly frustrated with her lack of attention.

"It's alright; I'll call him for you," she said abruptly before darting out of the office. Alex took a quick glance around the room, noticing there were no personal pictures on display, just a photo of her in a bingo contest.

Alex waited in the office for what felt like hours. Finally, she returned, looking exhausted. "Come with me; he will see you in the gym."

Alex grabbed his bag and followed her, glancing into the classrooms as they passed. Everything was neat and orderly, a stark contrast to his previous school, where graffiti and profanity adorned the walls.

They reached the gym, and Alex overheard a girl's voice shouting from within, "I said throw it harder." They entered the gym to find students playing dodgeball, with a few spectators on the benches. Among them was Ashe, shouting orders.

A man descended from the bleachers with an exuberant smile. "I can't believe it; you're finally here."

Alex was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" the man replied, while the secretary stifled a giggle. "I'm Thomas, the school counselor and headmaster."

The secretary, Megan, chimed in, "And I'm Megan, his assistant."

"I'm Alex," he managed to say before being interrupted once again.

"Oh, we know who you are," Mr. Thomas said with a wide grin.

"You do?"

"Your mother told us all about you," Megan added.

"You know my mom?"

"Of course, we do. We're like family," Thomas said, a statement that left Alex bewildered.

"Let me introduce you to the class head," Thomas continued, searching for someone in the crowd. "Aha, there she is," he said, pointing to a group of girls sitting on the top row bench. They exuded an air of sophistication and glamour, clearly the school's popular crowd.

One of the girls noticed Alex and poked another. Soon, the group started to whisper and glance in their direction. A girl, sitting apart from the others, lost in thought, suddenly snapped back to reality. She looked towards the group, then towards Mr. Thomas and Alex, and her eyes widened. A faint smile played on her lips as she stood up and approached them.

"Hello," Mr. Thomas greeted.

"Ah, sorry," the girl said, her gaze fixed on Alex for a moment before she extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Eve."

"Nice meeting you," Alex replied, shaken by the encounters so far.

"So, starting today, I'll be your class head," Eve declared.

"Class head?" Alex inquired, still not entirely sure what that meant.

"Since you've transferred, and to help you adjust to the school, we've assigned you three students to assist you in your studies," Eve explained. "Every student here must also join an activity club."

Alex sighed in relief, "Please, not art or math."

Thomas and Megan exchanged glances, and then Eve spoke up, "You've been assigned to the sports club."

Sports weren't exactly Alex's forte, but it was better than art or math in his opinion. He wasn't a skinny teenager; his body had a natural athletic build.

Thomas glanced at Ashe, who had the ball in her hands, and called her over. "Starting today, Alex will be on your team."

She inspected Alex with a critical eye, almost as if she were meeting him for the first time. "I don't need weaklings on my team. We already have plenty," she remarked, her trademark attitude on full display.

Something inside Alex urged him to challenge her arrogance, but his mind told him otherwise. Annalina's voice echoed, "Are you going to run away again?"

As he heard her voice, he hoped it was just a dream. However, Annalina was standing right behind Ashe, scrutinizing her.