By the way, names, places, and events that happen here are all made up. If you have experienced or think it's offensive because the experience is identical, please, no hate, it was just a pure coincidence. Anyways, enjoy!!!

Kitty from the void!

I woke up with a very torturous headache, with jolts of pain all around my body as if I was hit with thorns. Like if I had jumped off a cliff higher than a high school building (Don't ask how I know that). Either way, it didn't matter; I backed up my pain and tried my very best to focus more on my surroundings, even though my eyes were blurry as heck. The room was dark, with very little sunlight peaking through. As my vision began to clear, I noticed I was locked in very weird-looking chains, yet I tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea hit me like a freight train.

This almost made me faint. Panic surged through me as I grasped for any memory of how I ended up in this unfamiliar place; Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming towards me. I squinted against my blurry vision, my mind racing to find out who kidnapped me. I tried to talk, but my throat was dry and aching, so I could only mutter a few words: "How did I get here?"

1

I woke up with the usual startling noises from my phone. If you're asking why I got startled, well, it's because my alarm ringtone is a damn fire alarm, since that seems to be the only noise that seems to wake me up. I forced my tired mind to wake up and start the day as usual. After doing all of my morning routines, I went downstairs as the quiet sound of morning hit me. No noise, movement, nothing, just me and the minimal amount of sunlight peeking through the curtains of the hallway. 

The stillness of the house felt almost surreal as I made my way to the kitchen. I poured myself a cup of coffee, savoring the comforting aroma that filled the air. It was a little ritual I had; the first sip always grounded me, bringing a sense of normality to the chaotic world outside. Sometimes, it felt like the calm before a storm—the world outside would soon buzz with activity, but for now, it was just me, my thoughts, and the soft sounds of a waking neighborhood.

After almost five minutes of staring out the window, I went back to my room to get dressed for school. I opened my closet to see if anything caught my eye. Usually, I would wear baggy jeans with a cropped top or an oversized shirt, with a sweater, of course (I love my black sweater). My mind was still deciding whether to wear something different today or stick with my usual look, but as always, I ended up giving in to my favorite dress combo.

Once I was dressed, I headed to the washroom to brush my black, wavy hair. I’m too lazy to actually put any effort into my semi-long hair, so I just brush it and hope for the best. As I stepped out of the washroom, I checked the time on the clock beside my closet. "7:55!" I shouted, rushing downstairs to grab my bag and dash out the door. I realized I had forgotten my lunch, but it didn’t really matter since I always keep some extra money handy for those moments.

As I ran like my life depended on it, I finally came across the front of my high school, Stonebridge High. It's a quite normal school with all the boring subjects, and all the torture they give us in tests. I genuinely hate it sometimes, but there are also some days when it does get interesting, but that barely happens lately. I rushed to my first period, which, unfortunately, was math, and took a seat in the back of the classroom. Feeling a bit sleepy, I lay my head down to rest while unknowingly eavesdropping on my classmates' conversations out of boredom.

It was a typical day at school, and the chatter among my classmates was filled with curiosity. Then all of a sudden, I heard something that caught my eye, "Hey, did you hear? A new student is coming to our school today, and it appears that he used to go to Stonebrook Elementary School long ago, too." My mind went straight to my childhood best friend. "Maybe he's finally coming back after ghosting me all those years ago. Maybe we can finally hang out and be best friends again!" I thought excitedly, but I couldn't be certain that it was actually him since it could be literally anybody who's coming here that coincidentally also went to Stonebrook. 

As I sat in class, my mind was racing with possibilities. What if he had changed? What if he didn’t remember me? The bell rang, signaling the start of the day, and I knew I wouldn't be able to focus until I found out who this new student was. I decided to stay calm and wait for the announcement. With each second that passed, anticipation built within me. Would this be a chance to reconnect with the past, or just another fleeting moment of hope? The door swung open, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw a familiar face step into the classroom.

His dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes almost made my heart jump out of my chest. It's him, it has to be him. "What the actual heck!" I screamed internally. It's him, it has to be him! How is it possible that he had just walked into my life again just like that? My brain was literally short-circuiting at this point as he stood in front of the classroom where the teacher was asking him to introduce himself. "Hey, my name's Malachi Silmen, Age 14, and... Yeah, I hope we can get along or whatever, I guess," he exclaimed, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. 

The classroom buzzed with whispers and murmurs, most of which centered around how cute he looked. Honestly, I couldn't blame them. Ms. Wilow told Malachi to take a seat, so he did. Beside me!? My mind was racing, "What the heck, what the heck, what the heck...! My ex-best friend is literally sitting beside me right now!" Will he notice me? Will he realize that I was his best friend? Although I really wanted to talk to him, I couldn't bring myself to do so. The tension was getting to me. I wanted to make a good impression and try to start a friendly introduction, but I couldn't. 

 "What's wrong with me?" I thought. As the minutes passed by. I could feel the warmth of embarrassment creeping down my neck. Part of me wanted to scream, but all I could manage was a nervous fidget with my pencil. "Hey," I finally whispered with a hint of nervousness. His head turned slightly, and for a moment, our eyes locked. "My name's Eliana. I guess we'll be sitting together for a while," I exclaimed, giving an awkward but decent smile. The moment I said my name, his eyes widened for a split second, just enough for me to notice. 

He gave a slight smile and turned back to his notebook or whatever. The moment he turned away, a pool of embarrassment spilled all over my body. I swear I thought my whole face turned red. Although his smile was dim, it felt like the world to me, like someone had just given me a cat to cuddle with for comfort. I suddenly realized that I had been glancing at him while I was lost in my thoughts, so I immediately turned back to my work, while still having aftershocks from his sweet smile.

2

After enduring an awkward and boring time in math class, it was time for History (I don't see the point in learning about the past, by the way). I know that we learn History to learn about the past and hope not to make the same mistakes they did, but does that really matter? I mean, even now, politics are at war, and for what? Land, fame, or money? It could be a lot of reasons. Although I still learn History because I have to, I always take it like this: 

It’s just another subject to get through. Sure, there are interesting stories, but often they feel distant and irrelevant to what’s happening in the world today. History seems like a never-ending cycle of conflicts and resolutions that don't really change anything in the end. It’s hard to see the value in memorizing dates and events when it feels like we’re just repeating the same mistakes. Yet, there’s something about the human experience that ties us all together, and maybe that’s what we’re really studying. But still, it’s not my favorite class.

History was pretty usual since Malachi had different schedules from mine. Although Malachi and I were in the same class for the 3rd period (language), nothing too awkward or annoying happened since we sat in different rows of desks. Although we had a pretty cool language teacher, I was still yawning my eyes out, yearning for lunchtime. "10, 9, 8, 7..." I counted down the clock, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. As soon as it did, every student in the classroom zoomed out the door like runaway cows, including me. 

The smell of pizza and garlic bread wafted through the air, making my stomach grumble. As I made my way to the lunch line, I spotted Malachi. He was standing with a group of friends, laughing and joking. It was nice to see him enjoying himself. After all, it's all I ever wanted. I took out the lunch money that I had stashed months ago, not even knowing how much I even had in my bag. $15 should be enough to buy some pizza or something, I thought as I waited in line. Maybe I could get an iced coffee too, even though I already had coffee in the morning. What can I say, I love coffee.

Laughter and gossip barricaded the cafeteria, while others were just on their phones scrolling through. As I walked around the cafeteria in search of an empty seat, I came across Hamu and Ava. I saw an empty seat beside Hamu, and since I couldn't find any other empty seats where I wouldn't have to bother anybody. I shyly walked toward the table, trying to make no eye contact. Sadly, that did not work according to plan, as I predicted. "Hey Eliana, I'm in a few of your classes, know me?" 

Hamu asked with her sweetest smile ever. Hamu went to the same elementary school as I did, but although we never actually talked that much, it always felt like she knew more about me than I told you. The cafeteria felt alive with chatter, and as I sat down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Hamu’s gaze was a friendly spotlight. The warmth of her smile eased my nerves a little. Ava glanced up from her phone, giving me a stare, then went back to her scrolling. 

I can't pretend; sometimes her constant kindness annoys me. However, it doesn't matter much because she can be tough when needed. After all, we've been classmates more times than I can count. Our conversation has been surprisingly good, covering everything from school life to the latest dramas and random topics(I was barely able to keep up). After lunch, the day went on pretty smoothly, aside from getting beaten in dodgeball in the worst way possible.