Chapter 1: My first day
“Wow… look at that. Those cars must be expensive…”
“Woah, all these cars just to bring one person? The life of the rich is something else. Look—he’s coming out of the car.”
Vic… Victor…
“Victor, you’re daydreaming again.”
My mom’s voice pulled me out of a world that felt better than the one I’m currently living in. I blinked slowly, the image fading—luxury cars, attention, belonging… gone.
Reality returned.
My mom, Mia, stood in front of me already dressed for the day, already ahead of me like always. The smell of packed food filled the air. Breakfast. Lunch. Care—wrapped neatly in containers.
“Yeah, Mom,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’m just… stressed about going to my new school.”
New.
Again.
“This is my fourth school in three years.”
The words tasted bitter.
She softened immediately. “Don’t worry. This time will be different.”
People always say that.
“Now hurry up—your dad is waiting in the car.”
I nodded, even though something inside me didn’t fully believe her.
What I didn’t say… was that life has been feeling… off lately.
Like something is building under the surface. Like I’m standing in the middle of a storm that hasn’t started yet.
Sometimes I hear things that aren’t spoken.
Sometimes I feel pressure behind my eyes when people look at me too long.
And sometimes—just sometimes—I swear I see flashes of lives I haven’t lived.
But I ignore it.
Because normal people don’t think like that.
Right?
---
At School
The moment I stepped through the gate, it hit me.
Eyes.
Everywhere.
“Why are they looking at me like that?”
I shifted uncomfortably.
Okay… yeah. I’m not exactly invisible. I’m tall—like really tall. Seven feet. A little overweight. Light-skinned Black.
But still… do I really stand out that much?
I took a slow breath.
Focus.
But something else bothered me more than the staring.
A faint buzz in my head.
Like static… reacting to something in the air.
I ignored it.
Probably nothing.
---
The school was massive. Too massive.
Corridors branching everywhere like a maze built just to embarrass new students.
Great.
I stopped walking.
“I’m lost.”
Of course I am.
First days always go like this—new faces, new walls, new confusion… and me trying not to look like I don’t belong in any of it.
But who do I even ask?
I exhaled.
“I.C.T 1A… where even is that?”
“Uh, excuse me… I can’t help but notice—you seem lost.”
Her voice cut through everything.
Soft. Clear. Real.
I turned—and for a second, everything else got quieter.
She stood there like she belonged in a completely different category of existence. Calm posture. Confident eyes. A presence that didn’t try too hard—but still pulled attention anyway.
Not just pretty.
Noticeable.
[Relax. I’m not about to start narrating poetry. I’m just saying… she stands out.]
“You looked frustrated,” she continued, a small smile forming. “You kept looking around like you were searching for something.”
Oh. So I looked that obvious.
“Uh… yeah,” I said, immediately regretting my voice. “I’m… kinda lost.”
[What I wanted to say: “Hi, I’m Victor. Nice to meet you.”]
[What came out instead:]
“Uh… uh… I.C.T 1A… is me.”
Silence.
Even I heard how wrong that was.
She blinked.
Then laughed.
Not cruel. Not mocking.
Just… warm.
“I think you mean you’re trying to find ICT 1A.”
I nodded quickly, silently considering retirement from speaking forever.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve got you. Just follow me.”
She turned, then glanced back.
“I’m in that class too.”
And just like that, I followed her.
But as I walked behind her, something strange happened again.
That same pressure behind my eyes returned.
Only this time… it wasn’t random.
It was reacting to her.
Like my body recognized something my mind hadn’t caught up to yet.
And somewhere deep inside me, a thought I didn’t understand formed:
She’s not just helping you get to class.
She might be part of what’s coming.
I shook it off.
No.
That’s just me overthinking again.
Right?
Still…
As we walked through the halls, I noticed something else.
People weren’t just staring at me.
They were measuring me.
Like they already knew a version of me I haven’t become yet.
And for the first time today…
I wasn’t sure if I was just a new student.
Or something people were already waiting for.
