M I D N I G H T

Covalent network solids: basically a bunch of molecules held together by covalent bonds.

The thing about these is that they could be something relatively soft or literally one of the strongest things ever found in nature. Both pencil lead and a diamond are made out of carbon. Both are called covalent solids. And yet one breaks easily and the other doesn’t.

The same could be said for people.

We are all made out of flesh and blood but we’re all different. We’re either the pencil lead type of the diamond type. But how do you know for sure which one you are?

I look down at my chunky black combat boots as they slap against the wet sidewalk.I then looked up at the sky. It had stopped raining fifteen minutes ago and it wouldn’t be long before it started again.

I sipped on the caramel macchiato I had bought a few minutes prior, before letting out a deep sigh. It’s not that I hated the rain. Actually, I very much liked it, but ever since I had moved here it had done nothing but rain. If I didn’t see even the tiniest sliver of blue sky soon, I might lose it.

The thought moved to the back of my mind as I took another sip of my coffee.

I’m definitely pencil lead.

For sure.

I wasn’t a super astounding person, and while I considered myself to be kind of pretty, and maybe even hilarious, others just thought of me as boring.

The large school building came into view and dread filled me. No one likes being the new kid. Especially senior year of high school. I walked through the parking lot to get to the front door.

Some kids were sitting in their cars and peaked through their windows not so subtly when they saw me. I brushed the feeling of their eyes off me and my attention was brought to a pretty large group of kids near the front of the school. They were surrounding a large white jeep and in the center of it all was a boy with dirty blond hair leaning onto it. He looked nonchalant as the people around him talked animatedly.

He’s a diamond.

I scrunch my nose.

And he knows it.

I watched him cross his muscular arms, a small patch of ink covering his upper bicep. As I walked closer to the school, I looked over his arm again. It was a wolf with a moon behind it.

My eyes trailed up to see his face one more time. He had a chiseled jaw and strong cheekbones. Pink lips and ocean blue eyes, staring into mine. Oh my god. He knew I was looking at him.

My face flushed and before I looked down I saw a ghost of a smirk gracing his beautiful face.

I felt a wave of water hit me and the concrete began to echo with the sound of heavy rain. I rushed into the school building and behind me I heard a few squeaks and squeals.

“Alexander, baby, I’m getting all wet. Can I borrow your jacket?”

“We’re fifty feet from the door. You’ll be fine.”

Damn.

That was a little harsh.

I mean, we were pretty close to the door but he could’ve said it a little nicer.

The bell rang and everyone shuffled to class. I stayed behind and walked to the front office with my boots making an ungodly squeak with every step I made on the shiny linoleum floors. The lady at the front desk wore a large floral top with a thick green cardigan over top. The large coral statement necklace she wore moved with every single movement she made.

It was incredibly distracti-

“Did you get all that dear?” she smiled through her painted lips.

Beaming Strawberry by Revlon.

My mother wore the same one.

I shook off the thought and nodded my head, “Yes, thank you.”

I grabbed the schedule from her hand and read my first period. History. I tried to navigate my way through the halls but the school was a lot larger than I had anticipated. I made one turn and saw the boy from earlier. His back was facing me but I knew it was him by the sliver of black ink on his left arm.

His black shirt was slightly damp and clinging to his body. Another guy was next to him. They were talking about something, or I thought they were based on the way they looked at each other so concentratedly. But his body moved to the side and I noticed that both their mouths weren’t moving.

So how come it looks like they were having a conversation?

A teacher came out of a copier room with a large stack of papers in her hand. Her head was held high and she almost had a snarky look on her face. Yet when she noticed the boy, who I presumed was Alexander, the expression left her face and she bowed deeply.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Why would a teacher bow to a student like that?

“Oi, kid,” Alexander’s friend called out to me, but Alexander was nowhere in sight. Did he leave?

He walked up to me, “I’m James Moonie. You’re new, right?”

“Yeah,”

“What’s your name?”

“Corvina Choi.”

He smiled at me brightly and I felt my cheeks heat up. He was cute and he gave off such a warm and friendly vibe. His brown eyes met mine, “What is your first period Corvina Choi?”

“History-” I pulled out my schedule, “- with Mr. Thompson.”

“Wonderful, I’ll help you get there,”

I smiled at James as he kept my gaze in front of me. I heard a tap behind me and I wanted to turn around, but I didn’t. I think James subtly kept me from doing so.