It All Started With A Crush！

The sound of the alarm broke through the quiet morning.

Sarah slowly opened her eyes, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above her. For a few seconds, she simply lay there, trying to remember where she was.

Then it hit her.

We’re moving.

She turned toward the window. Pale morning light slipped through the curtains, falling across the half-packed boxes scattered around her room. Books. Clothes. Old photographs. Everything she had known for years was slowly being packed into cardboard boxes.

Sarah sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Great,” she muttered. “We’re going to a new city.”

She wasn’t sure whether she was excited or terrified.

Maybe both.

Her father’s work was the reason for the move. He had been transferred to a new branch, and after weeks of discussions, her parents had decided that the whole family would move together.

Sarah hadn’t exactly been thrilled about it.

She had friends back home. She had her favorite places, her favorite little shops, and the streets she could walk through without even thinking about where she was going.

Now, everything was unfamiliar.

She glanced at one of the boxes beside her bed.

SARAH — SCHOOL

Sarah sighed.. Tomorrow was her first day in her new school.

Lunaris High.

Even the name sounded unfamiliar.

She walked over to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her hair was messy from sleep, and she looked more nervous than she wanted to admit.

“New city. New school. New people,” she whispered. She paused for a moment before giving herself a tiny smile.

“New story, I guess.”

From downstairs, her mother’s voice echoed through the house.

“Sarah! Breakfast!”

“Coming!”

Sarah grabbed her phone and took one last look around her room. It didn’t feel like hers anymore. Not completely.

She picked up her school bag and walked downstairs.

By the time they reached the new city, Sarah had already lost count of how many times she had looked out the car window.

Tall buildings. Crowded streets. Small cafés. People she had never seen before.

Everything seemed to move faster here.

Sarah rested her chin against the window and watched the unfamiliar streets pass by.

“Lunaris,” she whispered.

Her father glanced at her through the mirror.

“You’ll like it here.”

Sarah gave a small smile.

“I hope so.”

She wasn’t convinced yet.

But she wanted to be.

As the car continued through the city, Sarah watched her new surroundings slowly become real. She didn’t know it yet, but somewhere among these streets were people who would become important to her.

Friends she hadn’t met. Memories she hadn’t made. Arguments she hadn’t had. Tears she hadn’t cried. And a boy whose name she didn’t even know yet.

For now, Sarah knew none of that. All she knew was that tomorrow, she would walk through the gates of Lunaris High for the very first time.

And everything would begin there.

A new city. A new school. A new story!

The next morning, Sarah woke up a little earlier than usual. Her alarm hadn’t even rung yet, but she was already awake.

For a few seconds, she stared at the ceiling, still half-asleep. Then she remembered.

Today is my first day.

She sat up slowly and looked around her room. Most of the boxes were gone now, but a few still remained in the corner.

Sarah got ready for school, fixing her hair and checking herself in the mirror one last time.

“Okay... new school, new people,” she whispered to herself. “Don’t embarrass yourself.” She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. Her parents were already waiting for her.

“Ready?” her father asked.

Sarah gave him a nervous smile. “I think so.”

The drive to Lunaris High was quiet. Sarah spent most of the time looking out of the window, watching the unfamiliar streets pass by.

And then she saw it.

LUNARIS HIGH

The school was much bigger than her old one. Students were everywhere, walking through the gates in groups, laughing and talking with their friends.

Sarah suddenly felt a little smaller. Everyone seemed to know everyone. Except her, her father stopped the car near the entrance.

“Have a good day, sweetheart.” Sarah nodded and stepped out. “Bye, Dad.” She watched the car disappear down the road before turning toward the school.

Sarah took a deep breath. Here we go. She walked through the gates.

The first thing she noticed was how crowded the school was. Students were walking in every direction, some rushing toward their classrooms while others stood around talking with their friends.

Sarah held onto the strap of her backpack a little tighter. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was supposed to go. There were so many faces.

Some students were laughing loudly, some were running through the corridors even though they probably weren’t supposed to, and a few were already complaining about their first class of the day.

Sarah couldn’t help but feel a little out of place. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to be. Everyone seemed to have someone to walk with. She checked the piece of paper with her timetable again.

“Room 204...” she whispered.

She looked up at the signs above the corridors.

“Okay... where is 204?”

After a few minutes of wandering around, Sarah finally found the right corridor. She paused outside her classroom for a moment before stepping inside.

A few students glanced at her.

Sarah quickly looked away and found an empty seat near the window. She placed her bag down and quietly sat there. For the next few minutes, she watched the students around her.

Some were talking about their weekend. Others were exchanging notes or laughing over something on someone’s phone.

Sarah stayed quiet. She didn’t know anyone yet. She didn’t know where she belonged.

But maybe that was okay.

After all, it was only her first day. The bell rang.

Sarah turned toward the front of the classroom as the teacher walked in.

And just like that, her first day at Lunaris High officially began.

The teacher placed her books on the desk and looked around the classroom before her eyes stopped on Sarah.

“You must be our new student.”

Sarah looked up nervously.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The teacher smiled. “Why don’t you come up and introduce yourself to everyone?” Sarah froze for a second.

Already?

She slowly stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her, which only made her more nervous.

“Hi guyz...” she began quietly. “My name is Sarah. I recently moved here because of my father’s work.”

She paused, glancing at the class.

“I hope we can get along.”

There was a small silence before a few students smiled at her.

“Thank you, Sarah. You can take your seat.”

Sarah nodded and quickly returned to her desk, letting out a quiet breath as she sat down.

Okay. That wasn’t as bad as I thought.

The teacher began the lesson, and Sarah tried her best to focus.

The first few hours went by quietly. She attended her classes, listened to the teachers, and tried her best to remember where everything was.

She noticed that some students looked at her curiously. Probably because she was new.

But nobody really approached her.

By lunchtime, Sarah found herself sitting alone at one of the benches in the courtyard. She looked around. There were groups of students everywhere.

She was about to open her lunch when a girl suddenly approached her table. “Is this seat taken?” she asked, already smiling as if they had known each other for ages. Sarah looked up and shook her head. “No. Go ahead.” The girl quickly sat down and placed her lunch on the table. She barely waited a second before looking at Sarah again. “I’m Roopa, by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, so you’re new, right?” Sarah blinked at the sudden burst of questions. “Yeah. I’m Sarah.” “I knew it!” Roopa said excitedly. “I mean, not your name—I obviously didn’t know your name. I just knew you were new because I’ve literally never seen you before, and trust me, I notice everyone around here.”

Sarah couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that so?” “Absolutely!” Roopa nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been here forever. Well, not forever, but you know what I mean. I know most people in this school.” She paused for barely a second before continuing, “Okay, maybe not everyone, but I know enough people. Are you in Grade 8? Which section? Do you like the school? Have you found your classrooms yet? Because the first week is honestly so confusing. I got lost once and ended up in the science block when I was supposed to be in the library.” Sarah stared at her for a moment, trying to keep up with everything she was saying. “You talk a lot, don’t you?” Roopa’s eyes widened before she burst out laughing. “People tell me that all the time!” Sarah smiled. “I can see why.”

There was something oddly amusing about Roopa’s energy. She barely seemed capable of sitting still, and every few seconds she found something new to talk about. Sarah had only known her for a few minutes, yet she already had a pretty good idea of what kind of person Roopa was.

She was loud, energetic, curious, and probably the kind of person who could turn a five-minute conversation into an hour-long one without even realizing it.

Sarah wasn’t sure how she felt about it yet.

Roopa talked so much that Sarah sometimes struggled to keep up. Every time Sarah thought the conversation was finally coming to an end, Roopa somehow found another story to tell.

Still, Sarah listened.

She didn’t know anyone else at Lunaris High yet, and as overwhelming as Roopa could be, having someone to talk to was better than spending her first day completely alone.

By the time the final bell rang, Roopa was still talking.

She walked beside Sarah through the hallway, telling her about different teachers, random things that had happened in class, and students Sarah hadn’t even met yet.

Sarah laughed at some of the stories, nodded at others, and occasionally glanced at the clock.

Does she ever run out of things to say?

Apparently not.

When they finally reached the school gates, Roopa stopped and turned toward her.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

Sarah smiled. “Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

Roopa waved before disappearing into the crowd.

Sarah watched her for a moment before turning toward the road. Her father’s car was waiting nearby. She walked over and opened the passenger door, placing her bag beside her before getting inside.

Her father looked at her and smiled.

“Hey, sweetie. How was your first day?”

Sarah buckled her seatbelt and thought about it for a moment.

“Honestly? It was... interesting.”

“Interesting?” he repeated, starting the car. “That’s one way to describe it.”

Sarah laughed softly.

“I met someone.”

Her father glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Already?”

“Yeah. Her name is Roopa.”

“Was she nice?”

Sarah smiled slightly. “She was.”

Then she paused.

“Very... energetic.”

Her father chuckled. “Energetic?”

“She talks. A lot.”

He laughed. “Sounds like you had an interesting first day, then.”

As the car moved through the unfamiliar streets of Lunaris, Sarah rested her head against the window and watched everything pass by.

Well... that was my first day.

It hadn’t been perfect. She had gotten confused more than once, barely knew where half of her classrooms were, and had spent most of the day surrounded by people she didn’t know.

And then there was Roopa.

Sarah smiled to herself.

She’s definitely... a lot.

She wasn’t sure if Roopa was someone she would become close to, but at least she hadn’t spent the entire day alone. Maybe tomorrow would be different. Maybe she’d meet more people. Maybe she’d finally start feeling like she belonged here.

For now, though, Sarah was just glad she had made it through her first day.

One day down. She smiled faintly as she watched the city lights pass by.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings!