Lost in the Pages

Harper Caroline took a deep breath as she stood in front of the building, which was her new school.

Her stomach tossed and turned. Moving to a new town was one thing, but starting a new school in the middle of the year?

Harper held the paper schedule that the front office gave her. Her first stop was her locker. She followed the numbered rows and finally found it: Locker 242

She put the combination, pulled the handle, and the door opened. There were a few old stickers inside, their edges peeling. But then Harper spotted a small brown book inside her locker. It was a diary!

Harper picked it up. The cover was worn out, and the corners were slightly bent. She opened the diary, revealing pages with neat handwriting. No one was watching, so she flipped to a random page and started reading.

Harper smiled a little. The author of this sounded like a typical middle schooler. She flipped forward a few pages and read another entry.

I’m so tired. I stayed up too late watching movies last night, and now I can barely keep my eyes open in class. But it was worth it. Sometimes, I just want to forget about everything else and laugh until I can’t breathe.

Harper closed the diary and held it to her chest—she felt some kind of connection to it. She couldn’t just leave it there. She’d ask around and try to find the owner of the diary, but for now, she needed to head to class.

Putting the diary into her backpack, Harper grabbed her books and closed the locker. With one last glance at the crowded hallway, she took a deep breath and headed to her first class of the day.

Maybe, just maybe, this school wouldn’t be so bad after all. Harper stood at the front of the classroom, shifting uncomfortably as all eyes turned to her. She swallowed and looked down at her hands.

“um… hi. I’m Harper,” she said quietly. I just… uh, I just moved here. She hesitated, glancing at the teacher. I—um, I like reading. And music. But, uh… yeah. Her voice trailed off, and she quickly took a step back, hoping that was enough as the teacher gestured toward an empty seat.

You can sit over there in the middle row next to Olivia, the teacher said with a kind smile.

Harper nodded quickly, happy the introduction was over. She hurried to the seat, keeping her gaze low as she slipped into the chair.

“Hey,” Olivia whispered with a small smile.

“Hi,” Harper mumbled back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She could still feel some eyes on her, but she focused on pulling out her notebook, hoping the attention would fade soon.