chapter 1: A New Beginning

Moving schools in your senior year wasn't exactly how I pictured starting this phase of my life.

I stood at the entrance of Ridgeview High, a mixture of nerves and excitement twisting in my stomach.

It was strange, being the new kid again.

I'd been through this before, but somehow, every time felt like the first.

I glanced down at my phone, rereading the message from my mom "You'll be fine. Just be yourself."

Easy for her to say. I shoved the phone back into my pocket, took a deep breath, and walked through the front doors.

The halls were buzzing with activity.

Students rushed to class, greeting each other like they'd been apart for years instead of a weekend. I felt like I was walking through someone else's world, trying to figure out where I fit.

"Hey, you lost or something?" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see a tall guy with messy brown hair, wearing a smile that was a little too confident. His jacket read "Ridgeview Track Team" in bold letters.

"Yeah, kind of," I admitted, laughing awkwardly. "First day."

"Figured. I'm Jack," he said, offering a hand. "Welcome to Ridgeview, man."

"Liam," I replied, shaking his hand.

Jack seemed cool, the kind of guy who knew everyone and everything about the school.

"You'll get used to it. Let me guess, transferred in last-minute, right? Tough break being the new guy in senior year."

I shrugged. "Pretty much."

Jack grinned. "No worries, I'll show you the ropes. Just stick with me, and you won't get lost in the chaos. You got a schedule?"

I handed him the paper from the office, and he scanned it, his eyebrows lifting slightly. "Drama, huh? Didn't peg you for the theater type."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm into acting. It's kind of my thing."

"Cool. Drama club's solid here. The guy who runs it, Mr. Hughes, is pretty chill. You'll probably meet some of the crew at lunch," Jack said, handing the schedule back to me. "Let's get you to class first."

As we walked, I felt a little less out of place. Jack talked nonstop, filling me in on who to avoid, which teachers were cool, and where to get decent food off campus.

By the time we reached my first class, I was already feeling more at ease.

"So, meet me by the lockers at lunch, yeah?" Jack said as the bell rang. "I'll introduce you to some of the drama nerds."

I nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. Thanks, man."

"Don't sweat it," Jack said, flashing a grin before disappearing into the crowd.

Class went by in a blur, my mind too preoccupied with settling in to really focus on the lessons. When lunch finally rolled around, I found Jack waiting by the lockers, just like he said. He wasn't alone, though.

A girl with short, bright blue hair stood next to him, her arms crossed over her chest.

She looked me up and down, her expression unreadable.

"So, this is the new guy?"

"Yep," Jack said, grinning. "Liam, meet Maya. She's in the drama club too. Pretty much runs the place."

Maya gave me a nod. "Hey. You any good, or are you just here to waste our time?"

I blinked, taken aback by her bluntness. "Uh, I guess I'm decent. I've done a few plays back at my old school."

Maya smirked. "We'll see about that."

Before I could respond, another voice cut in. "Maya, lay off the poor guy."

I turned toward the voice and my breath caught for a second. A tall guy with dark hair and glasses approached, carrying a couple of notebooks under his arm.

He had an easy smile, the kind that made you want to smile back.

"This is Ethan," Jack said. "Don't worry, he's nicer than Maya. Most of the time."

Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't let them scare you. Drama club's not as terrifying as they make it sound."

I smiled, feeling more at ease around Ethan's laid-back energy. "Good to know. I was starting to think I signed up for a cult or something."

Ethan laughed, a sound that somehow made the crowded hallway feel a little quieter.

"Nah, it's just Maya's initiation process. You'll survive."

As we headed toward the cafeteria, I found myself walking next to Ethan, feeling an odd sense of comfort around him, even though I barely knew him.

We joked about random stuff, from terrible cafeteria food to the upcoming school play, and I realized I was laughing more than I had in a while.

By the time lunch ended, I felt like I'd known these guys for years instead of just a few hours. Jack and Maya were hilarious in their own way, but it was Ethan I couldn't stop thinking about as I made my way to the next class.

He was easy to talk to, and his jokes were sharp, but there was something else. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was the way he smiled, or how he seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.

Whatever it was, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Ethan than just another face in the crowd.

And for some reason, I wanted to find out what that was.