Chapter 1 : Not Again, Nora!
A beautiful day to start over, a day to be a different me, a day that can change my life...Ahh well if that happens to a girl like me for heaven’s sake. Who knows maybe first days would turn out to be an awful day as it is meant to be. No miracle will never come out of the sky cause miracles for my case, nuh-uh!
But even if I do have a boring life, atleast I am enjoying...a little bit. And today was the perfect day to be a whole different person as it was the day after a big break from first semester exams. Yeah, that was one stupidest and weirdest exams I have ever written so far. But that is a different part of the story and I decided to forget it and move on. No one knows me yet, my talents or the way I idiotically look.
Anyways you might get a slight idea about me but let’s get to the main points, shall we?
The name’s Nora Rivera, a normal girl of 17, and please don’t think me as a famous girl of a great group of cool and awesome people because you’re totally wrong! I am kind of a introvert and quiet according to my 10th grade classmates who wrote it in my slam book which I don’t agree now because believe me, I always raise my voice even when I talk a secret to some people (my voice box is always in an excited state for some reason...).
My hobbies...well, quite extra-weird-ordinary. And these hobbies, I recognized it during my big break after the 10th grade final exams, the time, I was literally stuck at home. But thanks to that, I realized that I like drawing anime characters and writing fanfictions. Its nothing like I wrote when I was 8th or 9th as those stories sucked and were incomplete because for a reason, I started to use a dictionary to write the chapters (atleast I am using it so that I don’t repeat words which is a big complain from my great aunt who is apparently is an English professor at her college). Anyways drawing became a passion eversince which lead to me to digital art later on.
And I also apparently play the guitar which is a common hobby among people (cause even my brother Noah plays it too) and maybe a bathroom singer. Sometimes I try to make a song when I get a tune but then the next day, I will just forget about it. XD. I know, classic me.
Oh, and just because I said “main points”, don’t think I have some huge story to tell about my oh-so-fabulous social life and my amazing, big, happy family and a whole documentary on our daily lives. Nope. Trust me, even a mosquito’s life is more interesting than mine.So,here goes,try not to fall asleep. My dad’s a...doctor! Voila. Now,I know y’all might think it’s a fancy job with a fancy name. But trust me, it isn’t fun having to hear a medical commentary on every single thing you touch 24/7.And wait for it...I can actually read what he writes!Earth-shattering, isn’t it?Man,what a scientific breakthrough.
My mom’s a...no,she’s not a doctor too.Don’t get your hopes up.That would’ve been a nightmare.She’s...well,idk if there’s a specific word for it...like every other mom. You know,sweet at times(but that’s just the outside appearance,don’t be deceived),terrifying most of the other times,with a hint of crazy, loves giving long, pointless lectures to me and my brother,which again,is pointless, ’cause we forget about it the moment it ends. Oh,she bakes too! What better than a angry mom with a baking tray weapon?I’m just kidding.Or...maybe not.It might happen,who knows? The future is unpredictable,people. Why else do you think I’m writing about my life which doesn’t have much to be written about like this?
And last,but definitely not the least,is my little brother Noah. Erase that picture of a young, adorable boy who loves you and does whatever you ask you just had from your mind.’Cause my brother is a different species altogether. And he’s anything but “little”. He’s 3 years younger than me, and truth be told, most of the times, it feels like he considers me his servant or something, not that I actually ever do anything he says. Though even servants get more respect than this!I t’s just a constant cycle of annoying me to death, blackmailing, complaining, fighting with god-knows-what,lying,backstabbing and stuff with him. People with brothers will understand.We older siblings should all be awarded Oscars just for exisiting.
Consequently, that’s my little family, pretty great right? I love my family, trust me but when sometimes when things become, you know, ashamed...I sort of hate them but that’s just a coincidence in all of our families so not going so detailed about it.
Nevertheless, today is the first day of school, you know how it goes, get-up in the morning, brush your teeth, blah,blah...well guess what, it works here too? What? You think I live in a superhero world? I wish...so after doing the usual routine, I was doing my hair because quick fact, I am kinda famous for my awesome braids at school. Pretty weird huh? Of course it is! But atleast people know me for that so I am not partially extinct.
After doing my hair, while doing my eye liner stuff (which is the only girly thing I do according to my mom, bummer and sed lyf), a ring on my phone came in. It was Luna, my BFF since 8th grade. We are almost the same! Except for being too studious and too obessed with k-drama. Trust me, if you have a friend who is 24/7 watching and crying for koreans, take a left turn to fun town where I will be team leader to happiness.
Its not that I hate k-dramas, I do love them and have a favourite one - Vincenzo starring Song Joong-ki and believe me, he is my, how can I say it? My star crush. Before I go onto k-drama mode which I don’t want to, back to Luna, she is into it and there is no stopping her from it as well, its her life and hey, besides being studious, she can’t be claimed as a totally nerd!
So back to reality, I take the phone and it was a video call.
“Someone is really getting ready for a big day ahead, huh? You know you’re going to school not for Prom, right?“, she says as I finished doing lining my eyes.
“I know, dude...and you think my school would actually arrange Prom? I mean, come on, in my dreams it would”, I shot back, putting my ID-card and looking the mirror.
“What can you do when you are trapped in a country where you don’t belong?”
“Tell me about it. But its just for 3-4 months and then we are finally out of school. College, I can see it already...”
“Let me guess, going to America, huh?“-I laugh at this and take the phone to move out from my room- “Or you have some other place in mind? Ooh, is it Korea?”
“Korea? Are you kidding me? Dude, just because I love Song Joong-ki that does not mean I’m totally obsessed like you are, Luna...And besides, you’re totally okay now right?”
“And why you ask that?”
“You were kinda down yesterday because you know....one of k-dramas you watched ended-?”
“(😑) I was feeling a lot better and you ruined it...”
“Whoopsies, my bad? Anyways leave that, I decided to go to, dumroll please,... Japan!”
I sat at the dinning table next to my brother Noah who apparently was watching gaming videos in Youtube.
“I thought to myself that since I was interested in creating an anime series of mine and want to know how the magic happens, its best to go to the place where anime was born and that was my answer...Japan...don’t you think it is a great idea?”
“Impressive...so what about America? Wasn’t that the place you first wanted go?”
“Oooh I haven’t thought about that...but I will think about it? Gosh, there are a lot of places to travel...”
“Tell me when you’re going to Japan or America, cause I will be joining you as well...to escape and have a life with a Korean...”
“(😅)You and your koreans...Either way for college, I am out of this country where I am right now...”
“That’s not happening under my watch, young lady”
My excitement disappeared thanks to that statement from yours truly - my mother.
“Good morning Mrs Rivera...“, said frightened Luna as I looked at her seriously. “What? Don’t you know you have to wish your parents?”
“Since when did you started to do that? You never do it to your parents... (My mom pulls my ear) Owwww! Mom!”
“At least what she did was a good thing unlike you who always mind her own business...” my mom says.
“Okay family drama...again..(looks at her watch) Ouch! Look at the time, I got to go...Talk to you later, Nora...tell me about today after school, okay bye!” Luna cuts the video call as an escape route as she always does leaving me at the clutches of my mom. Great work, Luna, you are such a wonderful friend!
“Mom! What did we say about you interfering into my convos with Luna?”
“A decision made by you isn’t approved by me and your dad...so you can’t just tell her all the rubbish you ever thought of...”
“Its not rubbish, Mom...its Japan what I am talking about...”
“Technically it is, Sis...because you kind of...again...meant that you hated this country...“, said Noah who unfortunaely had to listen to this.
“No one wanted your opinion, Noah...why don’t you continue watching those lame videos of your games?”
“Its not lame! Its something that makes sense unlike you who makes fanfictions about an anime that was unpopular...”
“Say that again, and you’re toast!”
“BOTH OF YOU KEEP QUIET!” My mom explodes, with that our moving mouths shut. “If you both open your mouth for a fight, I will take away your stuff, mind you...”
“Whoa, whoa, Mom! Easy! We will get along okay? Right, Noah?”
Noah agrees as he knows what will happen if he or I doesn’t agree. It would be the end of our lives, when I say I don’t live in the superhero world, well, except for my mom, I won’t say she is the superhero for this case, more like the opposite of hero - villian.
After breakfast, we leave for school by riding our bicycles for the first time. Earlier, Mom used to drop us but then after the big break, she became too lazy to drive us. Noah always goes faster than me but I like to keep myself safe.
I don’t know if I should be excited or sad for school, but my instincts tell me that it would be great (I hope). Even though Luna isn’t there in my school anymore, I still have other friends too but when you compare both of them, Luna is better because I could talk everything to her while the other friends of mine, yeesh, the last time I talked to them about anime, they were, effectively, not so puzzled because they thought anime were the same as cartoons.
But who cares if we have differences within each other, there are some topics we can talk with each other too.
So after a few minutes, we reach school. My first period was zoology which apparently I had to go another classroom. And since I came last from my class, there was no space in the girl’s side so I had to sit in the boys side and it was embarrasing. The only girl sitting there is like almost I got a punishment. Gah, why me?
After the first period, I went back to our ‘original’ classroom - 12C. Fun fact, I have been almost the same section ‘C’ for four years. But what is most interesting about our classmates is that half of them are comp-maths and the other which includes me are bio-maths.
Unfortunately, Isla, she was in Qatar with her dad. I had Skylar but still it doesn’t feel the same. So I was kind of alone in my bench but it didn’t really matter because it was the last bench and you know how fun is sitting at the back benches.
I wasn’t left completely alone as Serenity and Gracie stayed with me since they felt bad for me. Serenity was one of my classmates since 9th grade so we’ve been close through our moms but for Gracie, even though she came into our school in 11th grade, we got close in 12th during our first semester practicals.
Even though we had fun together today, but it didn’t go that well. One of the best moments we had in 9th and 10th grade is checking out cute boys. Don’t get me started cause just like Luna and her k-drama, this is something that no girl can avoid except for Skylar who isn’t that interested in this type of stuff. Now you get why I was close with Luna right?
Anyways, in our school, unfortunately there weren’t nobody! Yeesh, why? why? WHY? Instead a bunch of ‘studious’ boys were more in number. Dude, last year of the 12th grade and you want to be in a relationship with books?
So yeah, the first day sucked by 50%.
But it was the first ‘first’ day to be a little better than my other first days before. Maybe because its the last year of school or maybe I changed? Who knows? Its just the first day and there are a lot more days to go. New friends, new talents even new hairstyles (Okay, that was all me).
Yet, this is my last chance to prove I can be like everyone else in the school. Be it pretty or lame, when our class puts a reunion after 5 or 6 years later, I want everyone to remember me as who I am, not the weird Nora Rivera who apparently failed at two love affairs and that too abnormal ones.
One of the reasons why I got rejected from both of them is because I am fat not pretty. It made sense to me at first but then, it just became a phobia later on. I just don’t want to be rejected for the 3rd time and I am afraid too. And the best part is that, I don’t think there will be a cute guy in my class so I am saved for now?
Anyhow, the next day arrives. Same routine, nothing special. But this time, I reached kind of late before the morning prayer.
As usual, the morning announcements come on and as expected, came the principal’s greeting to everyone, in his signature 0.000001x speed. Everyone stood up like every other year for no apparent reason and well, no one was was really listening ’cause like, who’d wanna listen to the most depressing motivational talk abt studies and the apparently “colourful new academic year” to come. Everyone knows it’s basically code for “I’m expecting everyone to get straight this year too but since it’s the first day, I’ll just mix it up with some faux boring motivational-speaker talk”.
And then the morning prayer song, which was basically one of the four or five songs they shuffle and sing on repeat every day. How exciting. And then the pledge. A quarter of the class stretched their hand forward while most of the others didn’t even bother to fake their ardent passion for the country and all it’s “brothers and sisters”. Yeah, right. If everyone was everyone else’s sibling, then what, is dating a myth or something? Immersed in these thoughts, I didn’t notice that the pledge had already begun until Gracie snapped me out of my world- class brainstorming. Then I noticed the voice playing on the speakers.
It’s definitely not the voice of one of the pretty, cool and popular and well, stupid girls from our grade who usually say the pledge. Well,i t’s obvious that it’s not a girl, ’cause well, duh, it’s a guy. I didn’t know guys could have such high pitched, baby voices. The dude sounds like he’s in 7th grade or something. Maybe he is. Anyway,who cares? All the guys in this school are well dumbos in their own way XD, especially A-.
Nope. Nu-uh. Shut up, my idiot mind. We are NOT getting into my stupid ex-crushes on the first day itself. I forbid you to even utter their names. And of course, since the mind is kind of a rebel and if you tell it not to think of something, it fills up with that particular thought.Wow,this is already looking to be a terribly suckish day. Nora-0, My brainless(literally), stupid conscience smiling from wherever it is-1.
The pledge finally gets over and the screechy, baby voice goes away. I didn’t think about it afterwards. The first period began and it’s just useless information going in from one ear and exiting from the other like any other wonderful day of school, until, that is, someone comes to the door, panting and says, “Ma’am, may I come in?“.
“WHOA....Is that the Mr.Baby from before in OUR class?“.
“Mr. Who?“, says Gracie from beside me.
“Shit, did I just say that out loud?“, I thought and kick myself internally. “Um...it’s nothing.I was just thinking about a new anime character I was thinking of drawing - Mr Baby, get it?.”
On hearing that,of course, I dismisses it ’cause well, no one in our class has brains and thinks anime is like doraemon or something. I mean, come on, the only thing common between those two is that they’re both Japanese. This is why I’ve given up all hope for our class. Anyway, back to the guy in question. I look up, and suddenly goes,“Damnnn.”
Gracie turns to her again and says, “Damn, what?“. Oh god,I said that aloud again. Is this one of new useless habits or what?
“Uh...damn, my pen fell down!“, I remark and bend down and slowly drops her pen and picks it back up and smiles awkwardly. Then I got up and look at him. I covered my face with a book to not let others know what type of shape my mouth was at the moment.
The person standing by the door was anything but a baby. He was actually (No, not uglier than a baby)...kinda cute!
And...there goes my brain into crush mode. That too on the second day itself. Oh, boy, I’m in some serious trouble....again.
