ZORA

MONDAY

morning.

5:39 AM.

Zora Walker's alarm screamed through the quiet dorm room, dragging her out of sleep. She stretched, groaned, and forced herself out of bed. The hallway was already noisy - Mondays at Michael Austin Girls' Private Academy were chaos.

The bathrooms were packed, as usual. Girls were arguing over sinks, hogging mirrors, rushing with towels on their heads. Zora slipped into an empty shower stall, took the quickest cold shower ever, and got dressed in her uniform - a skirt so short it might as well be a napkin.

She tied her dark hair into a ponytail, grabbed her bag, and stepped out...

Only to bump shoulders with Keisha, the school's number-one spoiled brat.

"Watch where you're going, you bitch," Keisha spat.

Zora didn't even respond. She simply brushed past her like Keisha was air.

Inside the cafeteria, she grabbed her breakfast and sat down. Halfway through her eggs, her best friend Selena dropped into the seat across from her.

"Hi, Zora!"

"Hi. Where's your breakfast?"

"I'm not eating."

"You on the same diet again?" Zora teased.

Selena rolled her eyes and flashed a middle finger. "Nope. I'm just not hungry."

"Oh. Okay. What's the time?"

"Six-oh-four."

"Damn, I woke up too early today. When's assembly?"

"Seven."

Selena groaned.

"Man, I'm going back to bed."

Zora widened her eyes. "Are you kidding? You can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because if you sleep, you'll skip class. And don't forget - today is Monday."

Zora sighed.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck it. Fine, I won't sleep." Selena said.

"Great!" Zorah grinned.

Selena sighed "Now all we need is for time to go faster. I swear I hate Mondays."

Zora shook her head. "Honestly? I don't get why people hate Mondays. They're normal."

"That's why you're not normal."

"What? How?"

"Because anyone who likes Mondays is abnormal... just like you."

Zora burst out laughing. "Whatever."

---

Everyone sat down for assembly. The teachers walked in - all of them male, all of them strict. Michael Austin was known for being elite, expensive, and full of rumors. And passing wasn't easy here.

The principal stepped forward. He was young-looking, handsome, and terrifying when angry.

"Good morning, students."

"Good morning, sir."

"I welcome you to the third week of the term. I have a few announcements. First - punctuality..."

While he talked, Selena kept whispering gossip in Zora's ear about the "IT Girls," the group who pretended they ran the school just because their parents were rich.

"We may rise for the anthem," the principal said.

Everyone stood. They sang. Assembly ended.

Zora and Selena headed straight to math class.

---

Math was... tolerable.

Zora and Selena sat apart, but Zora was chosen to solve a problem at the board. She solved it aloud and got it right. Then the teacher announced a surprise test - and the entire class groaned.

Halfway through the day, the principal walked in again - this time with someone new.

A tall, unbelievably cute guy.

The previous coach was dismissed for "inappropriate behavior with a student," which turned the whole school upside down.

"Good morning, students," Mr. Ray said calmly.

"Good morning, sir," the class replied.

He smiled slightly - and Zora felt her cheeks heat up.

He noticed.

The principal cleared his throat. "Shall we continue to the next class?"

Mr. Ray nodded. "Lead the way."

Zora watched them leave, her heart thumping harder than it should.

As soon as the principal and Mr. Ray left the classroom, the whole place exploded with whispers.

"He is so handsome-"

"Who is he-?"

"He looks like he goes to the gym every day-"

Selena didn't even hesitate. She stood up, strutted across the room, and hopped right onto Zora's desk, ignoring the fact the math teacher was right there.

"OMG, he is so cute, right?" she whispered loudly.

Zora gave her a look. "Very much. Now go sit down."

"Hell no," Selena said. "Mr. Cornell is boring. Cute, but boring."

"He's coming!" Zora hissed. "Go! I'm not getting detention today."

Selena rolled her eyes, slid off the desk, and walked back to her seat - dramatically, of course.

The rest of the day? Pretty average. Nothing interesting besides Zora bouncing her leg nonstop because she couldn't wait for gym class to finally start again.

---

Night time in the cafeteria was the only entertaining moment on campus. It was the hour when the studs usually came in. They were loud, dramatic, permanently chaotic, and honestly... entertaining.

Girls kissing their girlfriends in the corner. Couples arguing by the vending machine. Someone crying because their partner liked someone's else's personality.

Just pure drama.

"Bitch, look over there," Selena whispered.

Zora turned.

And froze.

There he was.

Nick Miller.

"That's the king," Selena said. "King of the studs here."

Zora didn't move. Her breath hitched.

He was so... cute. Ridiculously cute.

"Zora? ... Zora?" Selena snapped her fingers. "You okay?"

"Huh? Me? I'm fine."

"Then turn your head and look at me."

Zora slowly dragged her eyes away from Nick.

"You were looking at him, right?" Selena smirked.

Zora nodded. "Yeah. Wait-did you say him?"

"Yeah, girl. Nick is not a girl. He's a him. A very cute him."

"I'd only heard his name," Zora whispered. "I didn't know he looked like...that."

"I KNOW, right? God should've just given him a whole other package."

Zora burst into laughter.

She stole another glance at Nick. He was laughing with his friends, leaning back casually - even cuter up close.

"Anyways," Selena said, "I'm going to bed."

"What about prep?"

"Oh, I'm sick," Selena said dramatically, putting her hand on her stomach. "Dying. Very ill."

"Since when?"

"Right now."

Zora rolled her eyes as Selena left. Prep wasn't that bad anyway, so she stayed behind to study.

---

One Hour Later.......

The classroom was quiet. Everyone was gone. Zora was still reading.

She didn't hear the footsteps.

She didn't even notice the door open.

"Hey."

The voice startled her. She jerked up and looked-

Nick Miller.

Standing right there.

"Um... hi," she stuttered.

He gave a small grin. "I'm Nick. And you're..."

"Z-Zora."

Her heart was doing backflips. She felt like she was talking to an actual crush - except worse, because he was gorgeous.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked.

"N-no problem," she whispered.

He sat on the edge of her desk, and Zora felt her whole body tense up. She had never been this nervous over anyone.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "It's pretty late."

"Um... studying," she mumbled.

He tilted his head. "You seem nervous. Why?"

"Oh-I-I-I'm not-"

"Am I making you nervous?"

"N-no..."

"Relax," he said softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

She inhaled. Exhaled. Tried again.

"Zora."

"Yeah?"

"I wanna be your friend."

She blinked. "Oh... really?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

"Of course."

"Cool," he said. "You like music?"

"Very much."

"Favorite artist?"

"Post Malone."

"Favorite song?"

"sunflower. I love it."

Nick stared at her for a moment - not a creepy stare, but a curious one. Zora felt her face warm.

"Please don't stare at me," she whispered.

He smirked slightly and pulled out his phone - an iPhone 17 pro max.

Zora froze. .

He tapped something and held it out to her.

The song Flowers started playing.

"Here."

She stared at the phone. "I... I can't. We could get in trouble."

"You won't get in trouble. Trust me."

"But-"

"Zora." His voice softened. "You're with me.

You won't get into trouble."

She hesitated for a second.

Then said, "Fuck it."

She took the phone.

Her favorite song played, and she could feel her whole body lighten. She smiled without even realizing it.

Nick watched her - the way her eyes brightened, the way she tapped her foot to the rhythm, the way her smile made her even prettier.

He noticed all of it.

Zora sang along softly to the lyrics, hitting every note perfectly.

Nick kept watching her - the way she sang like she meant every word, the way she seemed to glow when she heard music she loved.

She caught him staring again. "Should I return it now?"

"Nah," he said. "Take your time."

"Thanks."

She kept listening... until the phone suddenly buzzed in her hands.

"It's ringing," she said. "Uh... here. Someone called Venom is calling you."

Nick took the phone and answered it casually.

"Hello?"

His voice shifted into a deeper tone as he talked. Zora couldn't hear the whole conversation, but she caught things like "not now," and "later."

"Yeah, I'll call you back," he said finally, hanging up.

He slid the phone back into her hand.

She continued scrolling, this time watching trailers for Netflix's newest movies.

"Wow... damn. I wish I was home," she whispered.

"Why's that?" Nick asked.

"I miss movies."

Nick smirked. "I could download all the movies you want."

"While I'm here?"

"Yeah."

"You'd get in trouble."

"Nah," he shrugged. "Give me a list."

Zora blinked. "You're serious?"

"Yeah."

She grabbed a paper from her notebook, ripped it out quickly, and wrote down ten movies - fast.

"Here," she said.

"Next ticket," he grinned. "You'll watch them and more."

"What if you get caught?"

"Then I'll be in trouble too." He shrugged. "Relax, Zora. You won't."

She packed her books, her heart beating fast from excitement, nerves, and whatever Nick's energy was doing to her.

They walked out of the classroom together, and Nick's eyes flicked to her body shape as she walked - elegant, confident, naturally beautiful.

He exhaled quietly. Goddamn.

"I'll walk you to your dorm," he said.

"You don't have to."

"I know." He looked at her softly. "But I want to."

Her face warmed instantly.

He walked with her down the quiet campus path toward the girls' dormitory area. Her dorm building, London, stood at the end of the walkway.

They stopped at the door.

"You sure you don't wanna come in?" she teased, smiling lightly.

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Thank you for tonight," he said.

"No problem."

"We're friends, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Zora said gently.

"Good. Then... goodnight."

"Goodnight."

She opened the dorm door, stepped inside, and closed it softly behind her. Her heart felt too light, too warm, too full.

Zora changed into her pajamas, washed her face, and crawled onto her bed. She hugged her pink teddy bear tightly, unable to stop smiling.

She whispered to herself:

"Mondays are the best."

Then she turned off her lamp and drifted into the happiest sleep she'd had in a long time.

-------