Finally Within Reach!
The alarm rang at 6:30 in the morning, filling Sarah’s room with an annoying beeping sound. Still half-asleep, she reached for her phone and silenced it without even bothering to open her eyes. She pulled the blanket over her head, hoping to steal a few more minutes of sleep. For a few seconds, she stayed completely still, wrapped in the warmth of her blanket. Then, with a quiet sigh, she finally opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Something felt different.
For a moment, she couldn’t figure out what it was. Then her eyes slowly moved around the room, and she remembered. Today was the day they were leaving. Her room no longer looked like her room. Almost every corner was occupied by cardboard boxes filled with her clothes, books, decorations and all the little things she had collected over the years. Her shelves were nearly empty, her desk had been cleared, and even the walls seemed strangely bare. Sarah sat up and looked around. It was weird. This was the same room she had woken up in almost every morning for years, yet it already felt unfamiliar.
She walked over to one of the boxes and opened it. Her old notebooks were inside, along with a few photographs and random things she had completely forgotten about. She picked up one of the photographs and smiled. So much had happened here, and now, it was all going into boxes.
“Sarah!” her mother called from downstairs. “We need to leave soon!”
“I’m coming!”
She put the photograph back and grabbed her bag. A few hours later, Sarah stood outside the house with her family, watching the last of their belongings being loaded into the car. She turned around and looked at the house one final time. Suddenly, she remembered all the places she had complained about—the tiny bakery near the corner that always took too long to serve her, the park she used to call boring, the streets she had walked through so many times that she had stopped noticing them, and even her old school, the place she had complained about almost every single day. She had always wanted to leave, and now that she was actually leaving, every single one of those places suddenly felt special.
Sarah got into the car and looked out of the window as they drove away. The familiar streets slowly disappeared behind them. She watched the bakery, then the park, then the school, keeping her eyes on them until they were completely out of sight. She hadn’t expected leaving to hurt this much. She leaned back against the seat and sighed, wondering if maybe you only realized how much something meant to you when you knew you wouldn’t see it every day anymore.
The rest of the journey passed in a blur. Sarah eventually fell asleep, her head resting against the car window. When she woke up the next morning, she had absolutely no idea where she was. She blinked several times and sat up, her hair a complete mess from sleeping in the car. She looked outside the window and immediately knew they weren’t anywhere near her old home anymore. The buildings, roads and streets were all unfamiliar.
“The capital,” she whispered.
Her father glanced at her through the rear-view mirror. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
Sarah rubbed her eyes. “How long was I asleep?”
“Long enough for us to almost reach home.”
That instantly woke her up. “Wait. We’re almost there?”
Her father laughed. “Yes.”
Sarah pushed her messy hair away from her face and looked out the window with renewed excitement. A few minutes later, the car turned into their new neighborhood, and then she saw it.
Their new home was bigger than their old one, with wide windows that let in plenty of sunlight and a bright, welcoming exterior. There was a small garden outside, and the whole place looked completely different from everything Sarah had known before. The moment the car stopped, Sarah practically jumped out.
“Oh my God!”
She ran toward the entrance before anyone could even tell her to slow down. “Sarah!” her mother called after her, but Sarah was already inside. She ran from one room to another, opening doors, looking through windows and trying to decide which parts of the house she liked the most. The house was still filled with boxes, but she didn’t care. Everything felt new.
“This place is HUGE!”
Her father laughed from behind her. “It’s not that huge.”
“It is to me!”
Sarah hurried through the hallway until she found the room that was going to be hers. She pushed the door open and stopped. Her new bedroom was on the first floor, with a large window that let sunlight spill across the room. It wasn’t completely arranged yet, but Sarah could already imagine how she wanted it to look—her books on the shelves, her decorations on the desk and her favorite things filling the empty spaces.
She walked toward the window and looked outside. The view was unfamiliar, but somehow, she loved it. She turned around slowly, looking at the room again. For the first time since they had announced the move, she didn’t feel sad about leaving her old home. She felt excited. This wasn’t just another room. It was the beginning of something new.
Sarah smiled brightly and dropped her bag onto the floor. “Yep,” she whispered to herself. “I’m definitely going to like it here.”
For the next few hours, Sarah completely forgot about the exhaustion from the journey. She threw herself into unpacking, opening boxes and deciding where everything belonged. Her books went onto the shelf beside her desk, while the little decorations she had collected over the years found their places on top of it. She stuck a few photographs near the corner of her mirror and rearranged them three times before finally deciding she liked them that way. Every few minutes, she stepped back to admire her work. “Perfect.” Then she’d notice something else. “Actually... no.” And move it again. By late afternoon, her room finally looked like hers. There were still a few boxes pushed against the wall, but Sarah didn’t care. She sat cross-legged on her bed and looked around with a satisfied smile.
Then her eyes drifted toward the window, and for a moment, she found herself thinking about Lunaris High. She had dreamed about that school for years. It was the one she had mentioned countless times, only to hear the same answer from her parents every time. Too far away. But now they were living in the capital. For the first time, that excuse didn’t exist anymore. Sarah smiled to herself. Maybe… maybe she could finally apply.
The thought alone made her heart beat a little faster. She grabbed her phone and quickly searched for Lunaris High’s admission page. Her eyes widened when she saw the words staring back at her: Admissions Open. A huge smile immediately spread across her face. Finally. After years of dreaming about it, she could actually apply. But as she scrolled further, her smile slowly faded. There were forms to fill out, documents to submit, an entrance test, and an interview. The list seemed to go on forever. Sarah stared at the screen, suddenly feeling a lot less confident. “Okay…” she murmured, swallowing nervously. “It’s a prestigious school. I guess getting in was never going to be easy.”
She looked at the admission page again. For a moment, she considered closing it. Then she shook her head. No. She had wanted this for years. Sarah jumped out of her chair, grabbed her phone, and hurried out of her room. “Mom? Dad?” If getting into Lunaris High was going to be difficult, she would just have to try anyway. She practically ran out of her room, phone still clutched in her hand. After all these years, Lunaris High was finally within reach, and Sarah wasn’t about to wait another second.
That evening, her parents took her to the school to begin the admission process. Sarah sat in the car with the folder pressed against her chest, watching the city pass by the window. The capital was nothing like her old town. Everything seemed bigger, busier and faster. She couldn’t stop looking around. Then, as the car turned onto a quieter road, she saw the gates. LUNARIS HIGH. Sarah’s eyes widened. The school looked even more impressive than it had in the photographs she’d seen online. The large entrance stood behind tall iron gates, with beautifully maintained gardens on either side and the school’s name displayed proudly above the entrance. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
Her father smiled. “Still want to go here?” Sarah looked at him as if he’d asked the most ridiculous question in the world. “Obviously!”
Inside the admission office, several students and parents were already waiting. Some students were filling out forms while others were handing documents to the staff. Sarah’s excitement slowly turned into nervousness. She sat beside her parents and began filling out her form, carefully writing down her name, date of birth, previous school and address. Every time she finished another section, she felt a little more certain that this was actually happening.
Then the staff member checking their documents reached the Transfer Certificate. “Do you have the original Transfer Certificate?” she asked. Sarah’s father immediately opened the folder. “We have this copy.” The woman looked through the document and then shook her head gently. “I’m afraid we’ll need the original before we can complete the admission.”
Sarah’s smile disappeared. “But... we have all the other documents,” her father said. “Yes, and those are fine,” the woman explained. “You can submit the rest today, and we can begin processing the application. But the original Transfer Certificate has to be verified before the admission can be finalized.”
Sarah looked at her father. “So... we can’t get admitted?” The woman reassured her with a small smile. “You can still continue with the process. You’ll just need to bring the original as soon as possible. Your previous school can issue it if you haven’t received it yet.”
Sarah’s shoulders relaxed for half a second, but then she remembered. Her old school was hours away. Her father seemed to realize the same thing. “We haven’t collected the original yet,” he explained. “We moved very suddenly, and we only managed to get the photocopies before leaving.” The woman nodded. “That’s understandable. You should contact the school and ask them to issue or send the original. Once you have it, bring it here and we’ll complete the verification.”
Sarah nodded slowly, but the relief she’d felt was already fading. “How long do we have?” she asked. The woman glanced at the papers in front of her. “As soon as possible. Admissions are being processed this week, so I wouldn’t wait too long.”
Sarah’s fingers tightened around the edge of the form. She looked around the room. Other students were finishing their paperwork, receiving instructions about uniforms and class timings, and walking away with their parents looking relieved. A girl sitting beside her had already completed everything. Another student was being told which classroom she would report to on her first day. Everyone seemed to be moving forward, while Sarah was stuck with an incomplete form.
She looked down at the Lunaris High logo printed at the top of her admission form. She had finally made it to the school she had dreamed about for years, and yet she still wasn’t officially a student. “What if we can’t get it in time?” she asked quietly. Her mother immediately turned toward her. “Sarah, we’ll get it. Don’t worry.” “But what if—” “We’ll figure it out,” her father said firmly. “I’ll contact your old school first thing tomorrow.”
Sarah nodded, but her mind was already filling with possibilities. What if the school took too long to send it? What if there was some problem with the records? What if all the available places were filled before they got the document? She looked at the Lunaris High logo printed at the top of her admission form again. She had wanted this for so long. She didn’t want to lose it because of one piece of paper.
“Sarah,” her mother said softly, noticing her expression. “It’s not over. They haven’t rejected your admission.” Sarah took a breath and nodded. She knew that. At least, she was trying to believe it.
Just as she was about to put the papers back into the folder, a voice came from somewhere behind her. “Wait.” Sarah turned around. Someone stood a few steps away, a small stack of papers held loosely in one hand. He looked completely comfortable in the school, as if he had walked through those halls a hundred times before. His eyes moved from Sarah to the photocopy in her hand. “Can’t you get a new one here?” he asked.
Sarah blinked. For the first time since the problem had started, she stopped panicking long enough to listen.
