𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 (𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑)

< Chapter 1 >

Entering high school is like the beginning of a fresh new chapter in a book. You're able to let go of the things that held you back from middle school, while still being able to hold onto the things that pushed you forward. However, the best part of a new chapter is the possibilities in which it holds for you in the future.

You had mixed feelings about high school. As you entered through the large front doors of your new school, many feelings flushed through your entire body. The sight of so many new faces flashing by made you feel out of place. Your middle school was quite small to begin with, but not many people from your school transferred to the high school you chose. In addition to the feeling of uneasiness, you were also eager to go to high school because of the opportunities it offered.

Making new friends, learning new things, and your biggest hope, was to finally fall in love. You grabbed your phone from the back pocket of your jeans. The screen brightened up your face as you received messages from your friends, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. You guys had checked your schedules together the previous night and came to find out you all shared the same homeroom teacher.

You opened the group chat to see that the first text was from Eren, "Hurry up you guys! Me and Mikasa are in class, there's two open seats next to us. Hurry before they get taken." Eren was kind of a pushover at times. He was quite impatient, but it was fun to be around him. The second text was from Armin, "I'm on my way okay? I can't seem to get past some people in the hallway." You were closest to Armin, maybe it was because you both shared a love for books. He was really smart, and you often spent the night over at his house studying with him.

"Okay. Just hurry!" The last text was from Mikasa. She was a pretty girl, a strong one too. You often caught yourself staring at her in admiration. Sometimes she'd notice you and even tease you for it. She looked after Eren a lot. He might've been oblivious to it, but she really loved him. God were you jealous of her, you've always wished you could feel that way towards someone.

You positioned your thumbs over the keyboard and typed up a quick reply, "On my way." You hit send and placed your phone into your back pocket. You reached into the left pocket of your black jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. On it was your schedule. You directed your eyes to the top right of the paper to check the room number of your homeroom class. It read "142". Your school building had 3 floors, first year homeroom classrooms were on the first floor. Essentially, your grade level corresponded with the level your homeroom class would be on.

You made your way past the unfamiliar figures which walked the halls alongside you, and turned the corner into a dimly lit hallway. There weren't many lights in this hallway, but the left side had many large windows along the wall. There were alot of trees outside covering the windows, but the windows still allowed for enough sunlight to pass through them. The sunlight alone was enough to brighten the hallway, even if it was still somewhat dim.

Along the right side of the hallway were doors leading into classrooms. You eyed just above each door, looking for the sign that read "142". The numbers kept increasing; 138, 139, 140. You felt a rush of relief come over you as you neared the entrance of your classroom. You suddenly felt an arm wrap over your right shoulder. You looked to your left and saw Armin. He was panting a little, guess he tried his hardest to catch up to you.

"Hey y/n!" he said. You always seemed to be the happiest when you were with him. He was ambitious and you loved the look on his eyes when he saw something that caught his interest. Your parents always teased you, saying that the two of you were going to get married one day. You've always been fascinated by the idea of falling in love. A lot of the books you read were love stories. You and Armin shared a lot in common, but that was one thing the two of you could never agree on. You were interested in romance, but he was more into researching non fiction topics.

Some family members would say that it was a waste being so close to a guy, but not having any romantic feelings towards him. In a way you actually agreed. You thought he was cute, you shared similar interests, and he was always willing to help you. Any normal girl would be head over heels for him right now. You tried so hard to see him in that way, but you couldn't bring yourself to. You began thinking that maybe you weren't destined to fall in love.

Armin removed his arm from your shoulder and pointed to the door that stood in front of you two. "This is it!" He exclaims. You smile and the two of you walk in together. The room had a whiteboard at the front of the classroom, near the entrance. A few words were jotted on the board, "Please find a seat, anywhere is good for today!". The classroom had windows along the side that stood opposite of the door. There were three columns of desks that stretched from the front of the classroom to the back, leaving a bit of space at the back of the classroom. The back of the classroom had some pictures hung up, the teacher's desk, and a few bookshelves. Each desk was wide enough to fit two people sitting next to each other. 12 desks were placed in a 3 by 4 arrangement in the classroom, seating a total of 24 students.

You redirected your eyes to meet Mikasa, who sat beside Eren in one of the desks next to the windows. Eren leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. They were seated at the second to last desk. Mikasa waved towards you and Armin, gesturing for you to come and sit near them. There was an open desk in front of them, so you and Armin took your spots there. Armin took the seat right next to the window which sat directly in front of Eren, and you took the seat next to the aisle. After placing your bag on the floor, you turned your back a little to face Mikasa.

"Hey y/n!" she says, "took you a while to get here." You chuckled and nodded. "To be fair, I don't exactly live that close to here" you reply. It was true, you chose to walk to school that day. If you had gotten dropped off by your mom, the drive would've only been about 8 minutes. However for some reason, you had the urge to walk. Walking prolonged your travel time to almost 20 minutes.

Eren and Mikasa lived just down the street from the school. They lived together since they were kids, so it made sense why Mikasa grew so attached to him. Armin lived the same distance from the school as you, except in the opposite direction. He got a ride to school almost every morning. You open your mouth to say something to Mikasa, but you're immediately interrupted by a loud voice at the front of the classroom.

You turn your head to face the whiteboard. You see a rather tall female, and estimated her to be about 5'8 or 5'9. She had long black hair which reached all the way to her lower waist. She waved her left arm in the air as she spoke, "Hello everyone! I'll be your homeroom teacher this year, so let's make sure to get along. Homeroom only lasts for the first and last 20 minutes of each school day, so we won't be here too long. This week on Friday, the second and third years will be advertising their clubs all day. Joining a club is not mandatory, but I do recommend you join one that peaks your interest. It's a good chance to make friends and get a feel around the school!"

You tuned her out for the majority of her speech, but the thing that caught your attention most was when she mentioned clubs. There was a good chance that Eren will join some type of sports club, and maybe even Mikasa will too. They were both naturally athletic, so it made sense to you. You weren't nearly as athletic as those two, so you doubted that you'd follow along in their footsteps. As your teacher listed off some popular clubs, you weren't quite sure what to join. In all honesty, you were mostly interested in the part where she said they were a good chance to meet new people.

Besides Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, you didn't have any other friends. You were shy, and sometimes relied on your friends for many things. Despite enjoying the company of other people you often struggled at communicating with others, especially those you didn't know well. This would be a good chance to branch out and meet people at your new school. You wanted to make new friends, but the idea of having to converse with others pulled at your nerves. You secretly hoped someone would take interest in you and approach you themselves. You ultimately came to the conclusion that you'd just wait for Friday to find a club.