The Day Everything Changed

The Day Everything Changed

Chapter One — The New Boy

Maya had always believed that the first day of school was supposed to be predictable.

Wake up late. Rush through breakfast. Find her classroom. Pretend not to be nervous.

But that morning, everything changed.

She was halfway through the school gate when she noticed the boy standing beneath the old mango tree.

He wasn't talking to anyone. He was simply looking around the school as if he were trying to memorize every corner of it.

Maya slowed down.

"Who is that?" her best friend, Tessa, whispered beside her.

"I don't know."

"You're staring."

"I'm not."

Tessa laughed. "You definitely are."

Maya quickly looked away.

The boy suddenly glanced in their direction.

Their eyes met.

For a second, Maya forgot what she was about to say.

Then he smiled.

It wasn't a huge smile. Just a small, almost shy one.

Maya looked away immediately.

"Okay," Tessa said. "Now you're definitely staring."

"Can we please go to class?"

They hurried inside.

By the time Maya reached her seat, she had almost forgotten about the mysterious new student.

Almost.

Then their teacher walked into the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone. We have a new student joining us today."

Maya looked up.

The same boy from the mango tree walked through the door.

Her heart skipped.

"This is Daniel," the teacher said. "Please make him feel welcome."

Daniel looked around the room.

And then his eyes landed on Maya.

Again.

Maya lowered her eyes to her notebook, hoping nobody had noticed.

Unfortunately, Tessa had.

She leaned closer and whispered, "This is going to be interesting."

Maya tried to ignore her.

But somewhere deep inside, she had a feeling that Tessa was right.

She just didn't know yet that meeting Daniel would change much more than her school year.