The Beginning of a new start

The sun shone brightly as the warm ball of light penetrated through the window.

On the bed lay a girl whose body was bathed in a cold sweat. Her eyebrows were tightly knitted and her breaths trembled.

The sheets on the bed were twisted around her limbs probably because of all the thrashing in her sleep.

Ring!

The loud sound of the alarm reverberated in the room startling Nora out of her abysmal nightmare.

She blinked a few times to help her adjust to the illumination directed at her.

Sitting up groggily, she turned at the alarm clock resting on the bedside. The object displayed 06:05 AM showing there was still an hour and a half before school started.

Collapsing on the bed, she stared in the space.

She barely had any sleep.

At this rate, she has already lost count of the number of times she had dreamed the same dream over again.

At first, it haunted her every night causing her to develop insomnia.

Now, she has already accepted to live with it.

It was now a part of her.

A part she did not desire yet was forced upon.

Nora contemplated if she should sleep for some more time or get out of the bed.

It wouldn’t hurt to sleep for ten more minutes, right? There was still time for school, anyway.

Snoozing the alarm, she was about to lie down again when heavy footsteps were heard outside her room.

Nora instantly shot up like an arrow.

Before the person on the other end could react, she yelled, “I’m up. I’m up.”

The room fell silent for a while and she heard the footsteps retreating.

Such intimidating presence!

Nora sighed and bid goodbye to her sleep. After wrapping her duvet, she headed to the bathroom.

The shower lasted for over 45 minutes. Putting on her bathrobe that draped loosely around her body, she sat in front of the dresser.

The girl in the mirror had dark brown hair that fell till her shoulders. Her glances were enticing and her lips full. Under her eyes were two dark circles as big as the pandas. She applied some concealer on it to hide its obviousness and took a wooden comb from the stand, combing through her hair. 

While brushing, the comb accidentally hit her left shoulder.

Hiss!

Nora frowned in pain and untied the bathrobe as it slid down her shoulder.

She slightly massaged the area that had turned red when her fingers traced a certain spot.

There was a faint scar on her trapezius muscle, probably from many years ago. Although it wasn’t visible unless you looked at it closely, the memories that bought along with it were enough to send shivers down her spine.

The nightmares, the scars, all of it was a reminder of her past that made it impossible for her to forget even if she wanted to.

Brushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she quickly put on her bathrobe. 

Dwelling in the past would result in no good. Moving on was harder, but she had to try.

For her.

For the people she loved, and those who loved her.

After rummaging through the clothes in her wardrobe, she settled on a white off-shoulder top with blue shorts, pairing it with white snickers.

Schools that didn’t have uniforms could be troublesome sometimes, she thought.

Making sure she was all set to school, Nora headed to the kitchen where a coffee cappuccino welcomed her on the table.

She sat on the chair and scrolled through her cellphone when a plate of an omelet was served in front of her. “Good Morning milady.” a cheerful voice greeted her.

Nora looked up at the owner of the voice and giggled at how she was addressed.

Krystal Steele, her cousin from her father’s side who was a year older than her, sat on the chair opposite grabbing a bite from the bread.

Unlike Nora, she had ink-black hair. Her narrow amber orbs shining animatedly. She gave off an aura of a no-nonsense woman.

Nora’s parents had business overseas because of which she had to transfer schools regularly. At 11, she had already travelled to 10 different cities. The continuous change in the environment had taken a toll on her and she started developing early stages of autism. Afraid of making her condition worse, they left her in Krystal’s care three years ago.

According to Nora, moving in with Krystal was the wisest decision she had made in her life.

Mr. and Mrs. Stelle were professors of a renowned university in another country. They had sent their daughter abroad for her studies. Therefore, the condo was left in the watch of the two girls.

Krystal glanced at the time displayed on her phone and then at Nora, looking vexed.

The dummy was engrossed watching MVs of a popular boy group on her phone.

Did she have any intention of going to school today?

She poked Nora with the handle of the fork and urged her impatiently. “Oi! Aren’t you afraid of being late on your first day of school?”

Nora raised her head from the phone and smirked. “I can never be late for school.”

Krystal rolled her eyes.

That was probably true.

Despite leaving the house late, she wondered how her cousin was never once punished for being late to the school.

Whatever! nothing else mattered as long as she didn’t cause trouble.

Quickly finishing her breakfast, Krystal rose from her seat. “I’ll be in the parking lot.” She informed while wiping her hands with a wet tissue.

Then, grabbing her car keys, she headed towards the main door. 

Nora

put down the coffee mug and threw her cellphone in her pocket.

Grabbing her bag, she followed behind.

After a 20 minutes drive Nora bid Krystal goodbye and stood at the entrance of the school.

The words ‘Bradford High School’ shone brightly on the school gate, which looked nothing but an eyesore.

Bradford High was esteemed to have the finest teaching standards and the highest enrollment rate in Kingstown. It was one of the topmost prominent schools in the country. Almost more than half of the students who studied here were from rich and influential families. But since admission was modest, there were also students who belonged to the middle or lower class households.

Nora walked inside and greeted the security guard cheerfully, who remained as if awaiting her arrival.

“Good Morning.” she smiled radiantly.

The security guard greeted her back and closed the gates with a long sigh.

It was already long past the time to close the gate, yet here he was making an exception for her. If the authorities were to learn about it, he’d surely have to kiss his job goodbye.

He was hopeless with this girl.

Never in the three years of her time in Bradford has she ever been punctual for school.

Initially, he took it as her ignorance. Later, he realised that his indulgent towards her had made her persistent, and that there was no room for improvement.

As she entered the building, Nora felt emotional.

There was only one year left before she graduated high school. This place had given her lots of sweet and sour memories.

And like every year, she hoped this year would run smoothly with no troubles.

Immediately she put on her spiritual mode.

Clasping her palms, she chanted. “My dear Lord, I promise to behave myself, cause less trouble, do well in exam and-and... I won’t drool over hot boys. But in return, please keep that devil away from me. Just this one year. Please~,”

This was what she’d ask for every year on the first day of school.

The trauma she had gone through three years ago was enough to put her through hell and she would trade anything and everything as long as it would guarantee her safeguard from a certain someone.

Little did she know that her prayers would soon backfire and that too in such a way that her entire life would crumble down.

Engrossed in her prayers, Nora didn’t notice a figure leap out from behind.

“Boo!”

Nora jumped with a start, raising her hand to strike, but halted midway when she saw who it was.

The person in front of her burst out laughing.

“Do you have any idea that I was this close to hitting your head?” She glared at her best friend, Jessica.

“Haha, you really got scared. Well, that expression you made was worth recording.” Jessica covered her mouth with her palm, unable to control her laugh.

“You know I wasn’t lying when I said I would kill anyone who would prank on me,” She threatened. 

“Ok Ok I am sorry” Jessica apologised.

Nora rolled her eyes, appearing displeased, and walked ahead.

Her bestfriend was well aware how much she hated being pranked upon.

Once upon a time, Nora used to be the biggest prankster of all. However, when one of her pranks she made had gone wrong, she realised how much of an enormous price she had to pay for it.

She swore on her life that she would never prank on anyone.

Since then it has somewhat become a taboo for her.

Jessica sighed and soon jogged to catch up with her. “All right, I’m in the wrong, let me compensate it to you.”

“How?” Nora asked hesitatingly, not sure if it was another one of her pranks.

“Remember Evermour High?” Jessica grinned.

“The land of Greek gods? What about it?”

“I heard this year many students transferred to Bradford. Come on, let’s check them out,” and like that she dragged a reluctant Nora to the school hall.

Jessica was the first person Nora befriended when she transferred schools.

It was the first week of school and a bunch of morons were harassing the freshers in the corridor. Some students enjoyed the show while others pitied from afar, but no one stood against the bullies.

So Nora, being the ultimate nosy person, couldn’t accept it and went to their rescue.

Initially, she had quite a bitter argument with the seniors and it was no surprise she was in the lead given her sharp tongue. Obviously, they wouldn’t admit defeat easily. So getting the upper hand, they sort out to violence.

They were 4 of them, 2 boys and 2 girls. And she alone wasn’t enough for a win.

It was easy to take care of the girls, as they were someone who was raised with a silver spoon in their mouths and were no match for her who had practised martial arts when she was young.

As for the boys, she had had a head-on with one of them.

However, no matter how strong she was, it wasn’t possible for her to take down all of them.

What she didn’t know was that these people were nothing but a bunch of scumbags who would resort to any measures to crush their opponent regardless of their gender.

While Nora was busy tackling, Richard Parker, a senior quietly grabbed a hockey stick to strike from behind.

However, to everyone’s dismay, it didn’t land on Nora; rather, someone had caught it midway.

“Call yourself a man Parker? Cornering a girl and still have the galls to attack from behind? Man up, Will you?” The person sneered, and twisted his hand so hard that Richard groaned in pain before landing a few punches on his face.

One of the students soon came rushing towards them, informing about the teacher’s arrival.

The lot helped each other up and ran with a tail in between their legs.

The girl then wiped the invisible dust off her clothes and walked towards Nora, who was crouching and extended her a hand.

“Next time you call me for help, okay?”

Nora looked up and recognised the girl.

Jessica Evans was her name. She remembered being in the same class as her.

She had gorgeous curly brown hair and her eyes of the same colour. She had an impressive height of 168cm and had a petite figure.

But that didn’t conceal the fact that she wasn’t a wimp.

Nora had a feeling they would get along well.

And just like that, they became friends and ultimately the best of them.

The pair entered the hall and paused at the entrance. The view inside was too much for them to handle.

The hall was crowded with new transfer students from various faculties for the opening ceremony.

As more than half of them belonged to rich families, they were all dressed in expensive clothes and branded luxury.

It didn't appear any different from a film festival.

“I never knew we would have a feast for a full year.” Jessica chuckled.

Nora nodded in acknowledgement. “Now I realize why they call Evermour High the house of Greek gods.”

With the amount of testosterone filled in the school, it would be challenging for them to restrain themselves from going wild.

Nora drooled at the sight of the handsome boys, but then gathered herself when she remembered her pledge she had made moments ago.

Sob! For the sake of her dear life, she had to sacrifice this one.

Turning around, she made her way towards the classroom.

“Ogling boys in broad daylight, aren’t you afraid of your boyfriend getting jealous?” Nora glanced sideways at Jessica and teased.

“Hey!” Jessica cried. “There’s nothing wrong with checking out a few hunks. It’s not like I’m sleeping with them. Who knows if we are destined to be together?” she grinned, silly.

Nora shook her head at how Jessica processed her train of thoughts.

She clearly had an outstanding boyfriend who spoiled her and was constantly on her beck and call. Still, she wanted to be fated to someone else.

Arriving at the class, Nora’s first reaction was to scan the entire room to see if a certain someone was present.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she did not notice his presence.

He was never the one to be late in class, which only meant that this year, they won’t be sharing a class.

A loud screech resounded in the class as Jessica marched up to her boyfriend, Jackson, who was surrounded by a few girls.

“Bitch, how dare you seduce my man!” She shoved the girls hard, which made them trip over and hit the desk. She then turned at Jackson and laughed coldly, “You dare cheat on me?”

Jackson immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her on the empty seat beside him.

“Babe, how am I cheating on you? These girls wanted to be my bench partner. I was politely refusing them. How can I sit with them when I still have my beautiful girlfriend?” He buttered her up.

“Humph!” Jessica snorted but had a satisfied smile on her face.

As if she sensed Nora’s existence, she looked at her and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry I-”

Before she could finish, Nora cut her in and spread her palms, “Suit yourself.”

There was no way she would be a third wheel.

And there was absolutely no way she would sit in the front and be the center of attention for the teachers.

“Thank you. You’re the best.” Jessica flashed her a big smile.

Nora did not respond and walked towards the last row at the farthest corner near the window.

After settling herself down on the second last seat, she scrutinised her surroundings filled with familiar and foreign faces.

As she did her eyes settled on Jackson who happened to look at her at the same time. Their eyes met for a brief second and he furrowed his brows, whispering something in Jessica’s ear.

Jessica scowled and Jackson burst out laughing, to which Nora reckoned the latter must have said something to piss her off.

There was still 10 minutes before class started so out of boredom, Nora took out her phone to play.

Jackson and Jessica complemented each other remarkably well.

The former had a black pompadour hairstyle, hazel eyes with a pierced eyebrow while Jessica looked flawless in her curly hair and tanned skin.

The couple gave off both the bad boy bad girl aura. One that would keep people two feet away from them.

Their personalities, however, were the polar opposite of how they portrayed themselves.

“Ah!” A loud shriek drew everyone’s attention when a classmate rushed in excitedly.

“He’s here! I never thought he’d be in our class.”

"Are you for real? Ah! I’m so happy.”

Several other girls ran inside, their expression one of a love-struck fool.

The girls had gone frenzied. Their gazes so feverish that they looked ready to jump out of their seats any moment just to peek outside the class.

Nora felt her hands growing cold. Her jaw taut as an ominous feeling rose inside her heart.

It was almost time for the class to get started.

Surely, it was a handsome homeroom teacher, right? She reassured herself.

Soon a pair of long legs came in her sight as its owner entered the classroom.

Nora’s face turned white as a sheet as terror overtook her face, peering at the person in horror.

He was here!